40-year prison system vet Richard Comerford named Florida Corrections Secretary

A 40-year prison system veteran is getting the Florida Department of Corrections’ (FDC) top job.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has named Richard Comerford, previously FDC Deputy Secretary, as the agency’s new Secretary. Comerford succeeds Ricky Dixon, who retired Tuesday, after 30 years with the Department.

In a press note announcing the appointment, DeSantis lauded Comerford’s work history with FDC, which dates back to the mid-1980s, calling him “instrumental in advancing the Department’s mission.”

“His experience, leadership, and commitment to public safety make him well qualified to serve as Secretary,” the Governor said, “I am confident he will continue to build on the Department’s success.”

Comerford, a 59-year-old Crawfordville resident, began his career with FDC in 1986 as a correctional officer at Okaloosa Correctional Institution. He rose steadily through the ranks over, holding multiple warden and assistant warden assignments across the state before serving as Assistant Deputy Secretary of Institutions — where he directed operations for 96,000 incarcerated individuals, 19,000 staff, and 143 facilities — and most recently as Deputy Secretary, providing executive oversight for the nation’s third-largest state correctional system.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of Florida and has completed executive training through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, National Institute of Corrections, Florida Emergency Management Agency and American Correctional Association.

Comerford said he is “truly humbled” to be elevated to lead the Department where he’s worked almost all of his adult life.

“Serving the men and women of FDC has been the honor of a lifetime, and I know the experience I gained working alongside former Secretary Ricky Dixon will serve Florida well as we take up the mantle and build upon the successes he delivered,” he said. “I look forward to working together with our dedicated correctional professionals to uphold public safety and strengthen resources for our staff.”

State voter records show Comerford was a registered Democrat until 2020, when he switched to Republican.

Dixon, who was appointed by DeSantis to lead FDC in November 2021 and later served as President of the American Correctional Association, praised his successor, saying the Department is “in great hands.”

“As Deputy Secretary, his fingerprints are on every major success our agency experienced during my tenure,” Dixon said. “His vision and expertise helped shape Florida into a national leader in corrections, and I am confident he will continue building on that success while supporting the men and women who serve on the front lines.”

Comerford, who takes the helm of a Department with a more than $3.9 billion budget, nearly 23,400 full-time positions and about 151,000 inmates, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.

He is an active member of the Florida Sheriffs Association and the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents, and he has presented before the U.S. Department of Justice Review Panel on Prison Rape, helped to develop Florida’s Rapid Response Team program and established FDC’s centralized use-of-force review unit, according to the American Correctional Association, of which he is also a member.