Florida Department of Law Enforcement

Overview

FDLE's "four fundamental values" are "service, integrity, respect, and quality."

FDLE's five "program areas" are:

FDLE is one of the few state law enforcement agencies in the United States to have earned triple accreditation. FDLE is accredited by the following organizations:

FDLE Special Agents handle a wide variety of crimes and assist local police and Sheriff's Offices with limited resources, to include, Homicide, Public Official misconduct, Police Misconduct,as well as Major Drug Trafficking crimes. They also provide security for the Governor of Florida and his or her families. FDLE is the State of Florida's investigative arm.FDLE is equivalent to the FBI. They are considered more of a State Police than Floridas Highway Patrol, which specializes in traffic enforcement and traffic homicide.

History

In 1967, the Florida Legislature merged the duties and responsibilities of several state criminal justice organizations to create the Bureau of Law Enforcement. Bringing together the resources of the Florida Sheriffs Bureau, the State Narcotics Bureau, and the law enforcement activities of the Anti-Bookie Squad of the Attorney General's Office, the original Bureau of Law Enforcement had 94 positions and a $1.5 million budget for its first year of operation. The bureau was headed by a commissioner who reported to a board composed of the Governor of Florida, specified members of the Cabinet, two sheriffs, and one chief of police. The agency had five divisions: Administration, Intelligence and Investigation, Technical Services, Administrative Intelligence, and Planning and Research.

As a result of Florida governmental restructuring in July 1969, the bureau became the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, or FDLE. As a department of the executive branch of government, FDLE was headed by the Governor and Cabinet. The FDLE commissioner was appointed by the Governor with the approval of three members of the Cabinet and subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate. At the time, the department consisted of four divisions – Operations, Administrative Intelligence, Criminal Identification and Information, and Training and Inspection.

The agency permanently decentralized many services offered previously only through Headquarters, and rolling them out to the newly defined Regional Operations Centers (ROC). They assumed responsibility for human resource and business functions and began to offer information systems support, training, and increased analytical assistance directly to the surrounding region. The restructuring placed authority at the regional level, with members of the ROCs reporting to a regional director (special agent in charge) instead of the Tallahassee headquarters. The traditional investigative role of the ROCs expanded significantly, allowing them to offer more specialized assistance.

In July 1990, FDLE was the first state law enforcement agency in the nation to be accredited by CALEA. The agency successfully attained CALEA reaccreditation status in 1995, 2000, 2003 and 2006. In October 1996, FDLE was the first statewide law enforcement agency to be accredited by CFA. The agency was jointly reaccredited in 2000, 2003 and 2006 by both CALEA and CFA. FDLE also received initial accreditation by ASCLD/LAB in 1990 and has achieved reaccreditation during each subsequent five-year reaccreditation period.

In the late 1990s, FDLE's Executive Policy Board was formally organized. Composed of program directors, regional special agents in charge, and other headquarters leadership, the EPB provides a frequent forum for the review of department-wide issues and policy-level decision making.

In 2000, the Legislature transferred the Division of Public Assistance Fraud from the Auditor General to FDLE. The following year, the Department of Community Affairs' Office of Criminal Justice Grants was legislatively transferred to FDLE. Following the events of September 11, 2001, FDLE assumed responsibility as the state's domestic security coordinator and partnering with Florida Sheriffs to lead the state's seven Regional Domestic Security Task Forces. The Florida Capitol Police, with its responsibility for providing law enforcement and security services to the state Capitol, was legislatively transferred to FDLE in 2002.

Organization

Headquartered in Tallahassee, the FDLE employs nearly 2,000 members statewide who work at headquarters, the department's 7 regional operations centers, 15 field offices and 7 crime laboratories.

Headquarters

Office of Executive Director

Public Safety Services

Investigations & Forensic Science

Regional Operations Centers and Field Offices

Regional Crime Laboratories

Florida Capitol Police

The Florida Capitol Police, part of the FDLE, is a uniformed police department in Tallahassee, in charge of security and law enforcement on the grounds of the Florida State Capitol and various other state government buildings.

History

The Capitol Police was created by the Florida Legislature and began service in 1973 as a plainclothes security force created. Originally known as Legislative Security, it operated under the Florida Department of General Services (DGS).

The first director was Florida Highway Patrol Captain Nathan Sharron, and the original administrative offices were in the Larson Building, with security operations office in a few small offices in the Senate Office Building. In 1973, Legislative Security employed twenty members, including security officers and a handful of plainclothes law enforcement officers, known as special agents. It had the only explosive ordnance disposal unit in the Big Bend area.

In 1978, two years after the new Capitol building was completed, Legislative Security moved its operations and administrative offices into the new building.

In 1983, legislation changed the name from Legislative Security to the Division of Safety and Crime Prevention. The director at that time was James McPherson, formerly of the State Beverage Agency. The uniformed police became more highly visible and members were assigned to various state buildings besides the Capitol. Responsibilities increased and included the Capitol Complex as a whole, state buildings, and state facilities in Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and eleven other cities known as Regional Service Centers.

In 1985, the Florida Legislature mandated that the Division of Safety and Crime Prevention provide training and safety courses to other state agencies at their request. They were also mandated to develop and conduct evacuation procedures for the Capitol.

During the early 1990s, the department became the Capitol Police. McPherson retired in 1995 and was succeeded by Colonel Timothy Kerns as director. Kerns retired in 1998 and was succeeded by Terry Meek, a former FDLE special agent.

After the September 11 attacks, Governor Jeb Bush placed the Capitol Police under the direction of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The new director was Scotty Sanderson, former FDLE Director of Mutual Aid. Security at the Capitol was elevated, magnetometers and x-ray machines were used to screen all visitors, and additional state law enforcement officers were assigned to the Capitol.

In 2002, the Florida Capitol Police were officially transferred to the FDLE under House Bill 1407, with sworn law enforcement officers across the state relocated to Tallahassee. Today the primary responsibility of Capitol Police is to protect the security of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the members of the Florida Cabinet, the members of the Florida Senate and the Florida House of Representatives, and all employees assigned to assist such state officials in the performance of their official duties and provide security and protection for other state officials, employees and visitors to the Capitol Complex.

Units

Units of the Florida Capitol Police include:

Notable FDLE Members

Fictional members