Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) says that police officers are welcome to come to the state and work in what he says is a much healthier work culture for law enforcement.
What are the details?
According to a Monday report from the Western Journal, DeSantis made the remarks during a speech in Green Cove Springs, Florida.
“If you have a chance to do law enforcement in Florida versus some of these other jurisdictions, you’re much better off in Florida because we’ll actually stand by law enforcement,” he said in his speech.
Florida Politics reported that it’s a no-brainer for law enforcement officials to come to Florida because the “culture is better.”
“They understand they’re going to be supported much more resolutely than what they do,” he said. “Make no mistake: The reason that you have such huge spikes in crime in many parts of the country is because of not standing up for law enforcement, having weak policies where you’re letting people out, and you’re not prosecuting people who are committing habitual offenses.”
He added, “That is clearly causing disastrous consequences.”
What else?
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno told WBBH-TV that he’s already begun to receive employment inquiries from people across the country.
“Other officers in New York and different places ask if we have any openings,” Marceno said. “They want to transfer down. No one wants to work where they’re not supported. … We have some vacancies, but we’re not looking to just fill a vacancy. We’re looking for the right people and we’re not going to lower the bar.”
Corporal Phil Mullen of the Cape Coral Police Department told the station that his department’s waiting list for openings is extensive.
“We have a waiting list of people we’re vetting and our hiring is constant. We’re always looking for job applications,” he added. “No one is going to get rich being a law enforcement officer, but that is not why we do it.”
For Myers Police Department Lieutenant Jason Pate told the station that his department offers relocation assistance and academy training for selected invidiuals.
DeSantis acknowledged that the pay “is not great” for police in Florida, adding that the state has done “some stuff to increase that, and obviously, you have on the municipal and county level as well,” according to WBBH.
“If we’re sponsoring officers to go through, you have a job with us the minute we hire you. We pay for you to go through the academy plus we pay you while you’re in the academy,” Pate said.
*story by The Blaze
