As a career path, working in law enforcement is highly active, often exciting and always changing. And now, because of new benefits and incentives, Florida is one of the best places for a law enforcement career in the country. Want to learn more? Here are three benefits of law enforcement careers in Florida.

1. Family Benefits

In recent years, thanks to the statewide leadership in Florida, there are new incentives encouraging qualified candidates to choose a law enforcement career in Florida. Perhaps most notably, this campaign includes a one-time bonus payment of up to $5,000 for new Florida law enforcement employees. 

Other incentives focus on providing helpful benefits for families. For example, children of law enforcement are eligible to receive a Family Empowerment Scholarship for private school tuition. Second, the state is offering a benefit of up to $25,000 to officers who adopt a child from within the state welfare system. Finally, first-time home buyers are eligible for $25,000 toward buying a home in Florida.

2. Reduced Training Costs

Making a career switch can be a big step, and Florida is offering to make it easier. To cover potential training and education costs, new employees can receive $1,000 toward training for a basic recruit training program and up to $1,000 of equivalency training costs for certified law enforcement officers who relocate to Florida (or members of the special operations forces who become full-time law enforcement officers).

To make the transition as smooth as possible, Florida is also offering an exception from the basic skills test required for veterans and applicants with an associate degree or higher to enter a law enforcement officer basic training recruit program.

3. Life in Florida

While these benefits are certainly reason enough to consider a career change, there are additional benefits to life in the great state of Florida. According to Be a Florida Hero, Florida also offers:

– Respect for law enforcement. In Florida, specific legislation increases penalties for those who target law enforcement officers.

– Cost of living. In addition to having no state income tax, Florida has a lower cost of living than other states of similar size and growth rate.

– Recreation. Florida boasts a breathtaking coastline, diverse landscape, theme parks and more golf courses than any other state in the U.S.

Plus, it’s home to several notable universities and sports teams, including the Florida State University Seminoles and the University of Florida Gators. A few popular professional sports teams include the Miami Heat, the Orlando Magic, the Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lighting and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jump Start Your Career in Florida

For everything that Florida is, it’s certainly never one thing: boring. To take advantage of everything it has to offer, many individuals are considering beginning a new phase of life as a law enforcement officer – or moving their current law enforcement careers to the Sunshine State.

The Florida Sheriffs Association’s job board provides information about career opportunities across the state of Florida. You can browse available positions by job type or location to find the role that’s perfect for you.  Sign up for email alerts to become the first to know when new jobs are posted. Click here to get started today.