PANAMA CITY, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference Tuesday morning to award checks to several law enforcement officers and announce a significant milestone in the state’s recruitment bonus program.
Counting Tuesday’s awards, DeSantis said the state has awarded over 9,400 bonuses throughout this program, which gives $5,000 checks for new in-state recruits and transfers from other jurisdictions.
“Of that 9,400, come from other jurisdictions outside of the state of Florida, and then the bulk of them are the younger people who are getting their first job in law enforcement. So that’s a great way to start for them as well,” DeSantis said.
In addition to the checks awarded on Tuesday, DeSantis said there are another 734 bonuses in the mail for law enforcement officers across the state.
“This program has been part of changing people’s lives for the better, getting people to maybe consider law enforcement where they wouldn’t have or getting people to pick up their lives and move their families to the state of Florida because they know they’re going to be treated better,” DeSantis said.