Department of Law Enforcement

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What is the purpose of the department?

The mission of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is to promote public safety and strengthen domestic security by providing services in partnership with local, state, and federal criminal justice agencies to prevent, investigate, and solve crimes while protecting Florida's citizens and visitors.

What services does the department provide?

Through its seven regional operations centers and six crime laboratories, FDLE delivers investigative, forensic, and information services to Florida's criminal justice community. The department is composed of five divisions.

Criminal Investigations and Forensic Science manages, coordinates, and provides investigative and forensic laboratory services. The division also has a role in domestic security through its administration of the Florida Mutual Aid Plan, which coordinates state and local law enforcement during a declared state of emergency or a natural or man-made mass disaster.
Criminal Justice Information Services provides screening services to criminal justice agencies, non-criminal justice agencies, and private citizens to identify persons with criminal warrants, arrests, and convictions. The program also provides the information technology infrastructure for FDLE's systems and networks, which support all criminal justice agencies in Florida.
Criminal Justice Professionalism Services promotes the competency and professional conduct of Florida criminal justice officers. It works with criminal justice agencies to provide entry-level and in-service officer training and maintain disciplinary standards and it assists law enforcement agencies in their accreditation efforts.
Florida Capitol Police provides specially trained law enforcement officers to protect the security of the Governor's Office, the Cabinet, the Legislature, visiting dignitaries, and other state officials, employees, and visitors to the Capitol Complex.
Executive Direction and Business Support integrates the management, coordination, and business functions of FDLE, including the offices of the Executive Director, Inspector General, General Counsel, and External Affairs.

How is the department structured?

FDLE is headed by the Governor and Florida Cabinet, which is comprised of the Attorney General, the Chief Financial Officer and the Commissioner of Agriculture. The Governor appoints a Commissioner (Executive Director) with the approval of the Cabinet and subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

What department crime information data bases are open to the public?

The department provides public access to the following information.

How are these activities funded?

Fiscal Year: 2020-21

	Fund	Dollars	Positions
LAW ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF
PROGRAM: CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION PROGRAM
	INFORMATION NETWORK SERVICES TO THE LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITY	30,736,829	121.00
	PREVENTION AND CRIME INFORMATION SERVICES	50,339,851	320.00
PROGRAM: CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROFESSIONALISM
	LAW ENFORCEMENT STANDARDS COMPLIANCE	11,055,775	50.00
	LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION SERVICES	6,205,645	54.00
PROGRAM: EXECUTIVE DIRECTION AND SUPPORT
	AVIATION SERVICES	3,421,321	4.00
	EXECUTIVE DIRECTION AND SUPPORT SERVICES	79,221,372	139.00
PROGRAM: FLORIDA CAPITOL POLICE PROGRAM
	CAPITOL POLICE SERVICES	7,754,852	88.00
PROGRAM: INVESTIGATIONS AND FORENSIC SCIENCE PROGRAM
	CRIME LAB SERVICES	62,491,623	446.00
	INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES	97,967,724	710.00
	MUTUAL AID AND PREVENTION SERVICES	1,941,994	17.00
TOTAL		351,136,986	1,949.00

Source: www.transparencyflorida.gov

Updates

Uniform Criminal Justice Data Collection. The 2018 Legislature enacted Ch. 2018-127, Laws of Florida, with the intent of creating a model of uniform data collection by requiring local and state criminal justice agencies to report complete, accurate, and timely data, and making such data available to the public to promote criminal justice data transparency. Specifically, the law requires the clerks of court, state attorneys, public defenders, county detention facility administrators, and the Department of Corrections to collect specified data on a biweekly basis and report it to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) on a monthly basis. FDLE is required to publish the data collected on their website and make it searchable and accessible to the public by January 1, 2020. Through the Criminal Justice Data Transparency (CJDT) initiative, the department dataset currently contains information related to arrests connected to physical bookings, prosecution actions, and court dispositions covering all 67 counties in Florida.

The 2019 Legislature enacted Ch. 2019-167, Laws of Florida, which amended the law to define new data elements and revise existing ones, and require certain state agencies or local entities to collect and report these elements in an effort to help ensure accurate and comprehensive collection.

Where can I find related OPPAGA reports?

A complete list of related OPPAGA reports is available on our website.

Where can I get more information?

Other Reports
Review of Cabinet and Long-Range Program Plan Performance Measures, FDLE Inspector General, Project Number PM-1718-01, September 2018.
Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and Publications, Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Department of Law Enforcement - Firearm Purchase Program Prior Audit Follow-Up, Auditor General Report No. 2017-034, October 2016.
The Auditor General reports on department operations are available on its website.

Websites of Interest
U. S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
FBI National Crime Information Center
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website

Performance Information

Performance measures and standards for the department may be found in its Long Range Program Plan.

What are the applicable statutes?

Chapter 943, Florida Statutes.

Whom do I contact for help?

Ron Draa, External Affairs Director, 850-410-7001

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