Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody welcomed the new officers who have transferred to the state from Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico and New York.
“Florida is the most aggressive law enforcement state in the nation because it leans toward Democrats,” Moody said.
“We’ve publicized extensively about the great incentives to join our Corps, and people like our Sarasota recruits have answered the call, leaving places where their service wasn’t as valued as it is here.”
After highlighting rookie officers from California and New York who joined the St. Petersburg Police Department, Moody again recognized rookie officers who move to work in Sarasota through the “Thin Line Tribute: Sunshine Salute” campaign.
“This is a law and order state, and we want our officers to be able to do their jobs,” Sarasota Police Chief Rex Trosch said.
“There’s no better feeling than going out there and knowing you have law enforcement support. I’ve spoken to police officers across the country, and when they don’t have their backs from state prosecutors, they don’t want to do their jobs. I thank Attorney General Moody and the Governor of New Jersey for their work.” [Ron] Mr. DeSantis, law enforcement officers know they can come to Florida and know they will be supported in doing their jobs.”
According to a statement from Moody’s office, rookie Sarasota Police Officer Andrew Capozzi said he left New York for Florida because “it became increasingly difficult to police and serve in New York over the past few years as some leaders turned their backs on law enforcement and flawed criminal justice policies allowed many defendants to be back on the streets within hours of being arrested.”
After working as a programmer in Chicago for more than 20 years, rookie Sarasota police officer Les Kismaltoni decided to change careers and become a police officer in Florida.
Kismaltoni said it was law enforcement leadership at the local and state levels that prompted the change.
The officers are relocating to Florida through a new Law Enforcement Recruiting Bonus Program created by Gov. DeSantis and the state Legislature and first launched in April 2022.
Governor DeSantis signed the first bill ever to allocate $125 million in bonus payments to local police officers, sheriff’s deputies, emergency responders, paramedics and firefighters across the state.
Since then, Congress has restored funding for these programs and expanded protections for law enforcement officers.
In February, Governor DeSantis presented the 4,000th bonus check to Bay County Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew Beltrop, who moved from Virginia to take advantage of the program.
The new hire will receive a $5,000 bonus after taxes, bringing the total bonus to $6,693 including federal tax on the $5,000 bonus.
Since July 2022, the number of new hires has increased to nearly 5,000.
That includes more than 1,200 participants from out of state and a combined 400 participants from California, Illinois and New York.
The new recruits came to Florida from all 50 states and two U.S. territories, according to the governor’s office.
SPD recently announced that Sarasota will have zero homicides in 2023 and that in 2022, homicides, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, larcenies and vehicle thefts decreased by more than 16%.
Overall, Florida currently has the lowest crime rate in the past 50 years.
DeSantis argues that communities across the country have suffered in jurisdictions where politicians have supported “soft on crime policies” such as cutting law enforcement funding and eliminating bail.
In 2020, the Florida Legislature passed a bill to protect against cuts to law enforcement funding and began allocating funds to provide $1,000 bonuses to law enforcement officers for three consecutive years.
A recruitment program has been created for 2022.
Moody launched the “Thin Line Tribute” in 2021 to celebrate the efforts of frontline police officers every day.
She launched the Sunshine Salute Series in 2023 to welcome 30 new recruits to St. Petersburg College’s Southeastern Institute for Public Safety Studies, and also featured recruits from Philadelphia, Chicago and New York City, The Center Square reported.
In addition to the New Hire Bonus Program, law enforcement officers may also be eligible for the Hometown Heroes Housing Program, which provides frontline workers in more than 100 eligible occupations with down payment and closing cost assistance to purchase a primary residence in the community where they work.
If you’re interested in applying, you can find more details here.
