Marion County Sheriff's Office removes crime-fighting kiosks amid SAO investigation

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — A crime-fighting program that garnered national recognition for Marion County is under investigation.

More than 100 crime prevention kiosks, which display pictures of wanted criminals or missing children in order to drum-up tips, have been removed by the state attorney's office.

Officials haven't said exactly why they took the kiosks away

The sheriff's office unveiled the crime-fighting kiosks around Marion County about two and a half years ago.

The area's most-wanted would flash across the screen--with a hope someone walking by would recognize a face.

It also alerted residents about recent crime and when a sex offender moved to town, but not anymore.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office removed the electronic boards Friday as a result of information it got about an ongoing investigation through the state attorney's office.

When the initiative kicked off, former Sheriff Chris Blair posed for a photo in front of the machines with Attorney General Pam Bondi and other business owners involved with the project.

The governor suspended Blair two months ago when he was charged with perjury and official misconduct.

Channel 9’s Lauren Seabrook went to one of the companies involved with producing the kiosks to see if they could say what happened, but no one was around.

It’s still unclear what will happen to the more than $300,000 spent out of a crime prevention fund on the kiosks.

The sheriff's office said it pulled nearly 150 machines Friday.

It’s not known if the machines went to the sheriff’s office or the company.

Cox Media Group