Florida using cash to attract law enforcement recruits

FLORIDA — New legislation in Florida uses cash to encourage Floridians to join the law enforcement profession and incentivizes out-of-state law enforcement professionals to bring their skills to the Sunshine State.

The new legislation is aimed at improving the recruitment and retention efforts of Florida’s law enforcement agencies by:

• Providing signing bonuses of up to $5,000 to newly employed law enforcement officers in Florida through the creation of the Florida Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment Program.
• Covering tuition, fees, and up to $1,000 of eligible education expenses for trainees enrolled in a law enforcement officer basic recruit training program through the creation of the Florida Law Enforcement Academy Scholarship Program.
• Offering a reimbursement program to pay for up to $1,000 of equivalency training costs for certified law enforcement officers who relocate to Florida or members of the special operations forces who become full-time law enforcement officers in Florida.

Among other provisions, the bill also makes dependent children of law enforcement officers eligible to receive a Family Empowerment Scholarship to attend private schools.

Also, the legislation provides law enforcement officers who adopt a child from within the state child welfare system with a $10,000 benefit or a $25,000 benefit for adopting a child with special needs.

Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law last week.