Florida Governor Ron DeSantis traveled to Panama City in Bay County, then to Franklin, Gulf, and Walton counties, to greet new law enforcement recruits by awarding them $5,000 recruitment bonuses.
Known as the Florida Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment Program, it has given out more than 9,400 recruitment bonuses to new law enforcement officers.
The governor started the bonus program in 2022 as a way to sway police officers from other states that were soft-on-crime jurisdictions and 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,” said Gov. DeSantis.
Seen as a first-of-its-kind initiative, the program offers a one-time $5,000 bonus to newly employed officers as a gesture of appreciation and an incentive for choosing to serve in Florida. Besides the $5,000 recruitment bonus, the state also offers benefits to Florida law enforcement officers, such as health and retirement benefits, student loan forgiveness programs, home loan programs, and more.
This latest round of bonuses was awarded to officers serving the Florida Panhandle region, with an additional 734 bonuses distributed to recruits statewide.
The Governor’s office says to date, there have been more than 1,900 law enforcement officers from 49 other states and two territories have relocated to Florida, with more than 600 coming from anti-police states like California, Illinois, and New York. Since its inception, the program has distributed over $63 million.
Under the Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget, the Governor secured $49 million in pay increases for more than 16,200 state sworn law enforcement officers, raised the minimum base pay to $60,000, and provided significant raises for both entry-level and veteran officers. The state has also expanded wellness resources, enhanced penalties for crimes against officers, introduced law enforcement education programs in high schools, and launched the Florida Law Enforcement Academy Scholarship Program to cover training costs for new recruits.
