Florida Highway Patrol

Florida Highway Patrol is mainly concerned with all vehicular traffic on our state and national highways throughout the state. Yea, mostly they deal with speeders and traffic accidents but there is more to this branch of law enforcement than just keeping people safe while they travel our major roadways. More information on that is below. The Patrol is authorized for 1,946 sworn positions and 529 non-sworn positions. In 2013, they patrolled 31,654,272 miles and investigated 213,024 crashes. Florida had less than two million residents in 1939, while today we have over 19 million with more than 90 million visitors to our state each year. You can find out more on their website at: http://www.flhsmv.gov/florida-highway-patrol/about-fhp/ The information on wiki states that there are only 10% of the employees are female but doesn’t say if they are sworn or non-sworn employees. The Florida State Law Enforcement Demographics Survey for 2015 list 211 female employees all within the Florida Department Of Highway Safety And Motor Vehicles but again not how many are troopers and/or investigators.

They are divided into 9 different areas of patrol or troops with specialized areas of Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Intelligence, Criminal Interdiction Unit, and Office of Commercial Vehicle Enforcement.

“The Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Intelligence (BCII) is led by a Bureau Commander that holds the rank of Major. The Bureau Commander serves as the Florida Highway Patrol’s Chief Investigator. BCII is a component of the agency’s Special Services Command. The Bureau conducts investigations into auto theft, commercial vehicle and cargo theft, heavy equipment theft, identity theft, driver’s license fraud, title fraud, odometer fraud, and other criminal activity related to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and Division of Florida Highway Patrol authorities. The Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Intelligence works closely with local, state, and federal partners in a concerted effort to combat all types of criminal activity.”

“The Criminal Interdiction Unit (CIU) consists of specially trained troopers designated as felony officers and canine handlers. These troopers are strategically assigned throughout the state to patrol the interstate system and other highways in order to interdict drug couriers and other criminal activity. The CIU assists other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in the detection and apprehension of drug traffickers and other criminal offenders that utilize the roadways of Florida. The CIU is an active participant in various enforcement operations coordinated by the Florida Office of Drug Control.”

“The Commercial Vehicle Enforcement (CVE) mission is to reduce the number of crashes related to commercial motor vehicles, CVE officers perform safety inspections on commercial vehicles and enforce traffic with an emphasis on violations by commercial motor vehicles and passenger vehicles interacting with large trucks. The primary purpose of CVE’s weight enforcement program is to protect Florida’s highway system and bridges from damage from overweight vehicles. CVE conducts vehicle weighings at its 20 fixed weigh station locations and mobile enforcement with portable scales statewide.”

Florida Highway Patrol has their own training academy. You can visit their website at: http://beatrooper.com/ Below are some of the questions answered on their FAQ page that I thought we more relevant to the curious.

“How does the selection process work?
All applicants must pass a written test (*BAT) and a Physical Abilities Test (P.A.T.). All successful applicants will undergo a physical exam (including a drug screen), a polygraph exam, and a psychological evaluation. A complete background investigation and credit check are conducted on applicants who pass all the preceding tests.”

What is the Academy like?
The Training Academy offers a quasi-military training regimen. Recruits begin each weekday with physical training. They have classes for eight hours a day and their evenings are used for studying. The recruits live at the Academy during their 25 weeks of training. On the weekends’ recruits are allowed to leave Academy grounds.

How long is the FHP training academy in Havana?
The Basic Recruit Academy is 28 weeks for non-certified individuals. Those who hold a Florida Criminal Justice Standards & Training Commission Certificate attend an eight-week transitional academy. All new Troopers will participate in a ten-week Field Training Program at their first duty assignment.

Do I receive a salary while attending the Academy?
Yes. State Trooper recruits are paid $2514.88, as well as full room and board!

If you really want to know more about this branch of Florida Law Enforcement then talk to some of their troopers, visit one of their main offices nearest your area and read more from their various websites.