Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed two pieces of legislation that enact more protections for law enforcement as his administration continues its efforts to make Florida what St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick called “the most law-enforcement-friendly state” in the country.
“We’ve developed a track record in Florida of supporting law enforcement that is quite simply second to none,” the governor said. “We understood how important it is to have safe communities, and the way you do that is to support the people that are putting the uniform on and risking their lives to keep safe.”
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2025, any individual who harasses a law enforcement officer in the line of duty will face second-degree misdemeanor charges; it specifically targets those individuals who approach an officer intending to interfere with his or her duties, threaten physical harm, and harass after being given a verbal warning not to approach.
Additionally, beginning on July 1, any civilian oversight boards throughout the state will fall under the direction of either the relevant county sheriff or chief of police. That directing law enforcement official will appoint three to seven board members, with one of them required to be a retired law enforcement officer. The goal is to ensure that misconduct allegations are handled and investigated by the proper authorities, such as the Internal Affairs Department or the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission (CJSTC). It will also increase all of the state’s county sheriffs’ base salaries by $5,000 (salaries vary because they are based on a county’s population, but each will increase by a total of $5,000 in every jurisdiction regardless of population).
The signing of this legislation follows the signing of a bill that enacted extra protections for law enforcement officers and first responders who might be exposed to fentanyl in the line of duty.
The governor signed the bills in the presence of Sheriff Hardwick and several other members of law enforcement, including two K9 units, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass, who said that the new bills would help first responders who have to deal with protests and hold civilian agencies accountable.
“This simply gives us the law and gives us that latitude [to] enforce if someone doesn’t want to listen and doesn’t want to pay attention as we continue to do our jobs,” Sheriff Hardwick said.
The governor also touted a milestone in his Florida Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Program. Since its inception in 2022, nearly 5,000 law enforcement officers have been recruited to serve in the Sunshine State.
The program provides a $5,000 bonus for both new recruits and current officers who decide to relocate from other states, and the governor’s office reported that more than $32 million has been invested in the program to date.
Of the recruit total, 1,267 recruits relocated to Florida from 49 states and U.S. territories, including 400 from what the governor’s office called “anti-police jurisdictions,” specifically Illinois, California, and New York.
“Florida’s investments in law enforcement recruitment are investments in the safety of our communities,” Mr. DeSantis said. “Florida is a law-and-order state, and we will continue to pursue policies that attract the best law enforcement officers in the nation to serve and protect Floridians.”
