Milestones and Accomplishments

The Florida Sheriffs Association has been credited with contributing to many positive trends related to public safety in our state. In recent years, Florida has actually seen a decline in crime. State prisoners are now serving an average of 78.8% of their sentences, as compared to in the early 1990s when it was less than 20% for some criminals. There are also more prison beds to accommodate them, and with the Sentencing Guideline legislation of 1997, offenders are now receiving stiffer penalties to start.

The Florida Sheriffs Association has been on the forefront of these and many other issues. Following are a few achievements and other notable accomplishments, all of which directly affect the quality of law enforcement in each community throughout the state:

  • FSA created the Florida Sheriffs' Bureau in 1955, forerunner to what is known today as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
  • FSA founded the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches, a child care facility in operation for over since 1957
  • FSA founded the Florida Law Enforcement Academy in 1963. Located in Tallahassee, the state's capital, it was the first statewide training center for city, county and state law enforcement officers
  • FSA helped create a way to provide affordable insurance programs for individual Sheriffs' offices with the founding of the Florida Sheriffs Self-Insurance Fund. Created in 1978, the program has saved taxpayers millions of dollars on liability claims and annual premiums
  • FSA pioneered accreditation in the state and was co-founder of the Commission for Florida Accreditation in 1995, a program which encourages law enforcement agencies to maintain the highest standards of professional law enforcement for our communities.
  • FSA has been a leader in developing "minimum standards" for law enforcement and corrections in the state and nation. In the mid 1980s, the Florida Sheriffs were on the ground floor of the Florida Model Jail Standards committee, forerunner to the Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission which was founded in 1998. FSA was the first to certify Florida Jail Inspectors under these programs and continues to offer the only Jail Inspector Certification course and certification in the state.