PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Speaking in Panama City, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the law enforcement recruitment bonus program has awarded over 9,400 bonuses to new officers in the state.
According to the governor, the one-time $5,000 bonus incentives the younger generation to start a career in law enforcement, while also encouraging recruitment from jurisdictions outside of Florida.
In addition to the bonus, the governor’s office said “benefits of becoming a Florida law enforcement officer include financial stability, upward mobility, health and retirement benefits, student loan forgiveness programs, home loan programs, and more.”
The latest round of bonuses went to law enforcement serving the Panhandle region, with another 734 distributed to LEOs across the state of Florida, DeSantis said.
“Today in Panama City, we welcomed new law enforcement recruits from Bay, Franklin, Gulf, and Walton counties and awarded them $5,000 recruitment bonuses,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Many new officers across the state moved to Florida from soft-on-crime jurisdictions, where prosecutors allow crime to run rampant and local politicians denigrate law enforcement. Here in Florida, law enforcement officers are supported and appreciated — and criminals are held accountable.”
Out of the 9,400 bonuses, DeSantis said 2,000 have come from other jurisdictions. The bulk of the bonuses are young recruits starting out in law enforcement, he said.
Since the launch of the program in 2022, DeSantis said the total awarded has been $63 million.
For more information about the Florida Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment, visit here.
Spectrum News Staff
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