Q&A of the Day – About Florida law enforcement decertification's
Each day I’ll feature a listener question that’s been submitted by one of these methods.
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Today’s entry...
Did FDLE take away Israel's Law enforcement Certificate to be a Law Enforcement Officer in the state of Florida? If NOT,why NOT? How can he run for a Law Enforcement position if he does not have it?
Bottom Line: Scott Israel did not lose his law enforcement certification as a result of his suspension by the State of Florida and is eligible to serve in law enforcement currently. It’s important to remember the circumstances that resulted in his ouster. The failures at Stoneman Douglas and Fort Lauderdale airport weren’t circumstances of direct misconduct by Scott Israel. Rather,his suspension was based on the Governor and Senate’s determination that he wasn’t fit to continue to lead the Broward Sheriff’s office. According to FDLE standards here’s what results in decertification:
Any officer who fails to comply with the requirements of (Florida Law) by engaging in conduct that constitutes a felony or a serious misdemeanor involving perjury or false statement, or is not of "good moral character," as defined in Rule 11B-27.0011, F.A.C., is subject to disciplinary action.
That disciplinary action can include decertification. Scott Israel was never charged, let alone prosecuted with a crime or misfeasance. Also, it’s the FDLE, which makes the determinations about decertification. The act of decertification is pretty rare. Over the past decade Florida has averaged decertifying only around 100 law enforcement officials per year. With around 47,000 members of law enforcement in our state, that’s .002% of law enforcement officials being decertified annually. As an aside, it speaks to how generally good our police are throughout Florida. In fact, several states, including neighboring Georgia have higher rates of decertification. What did happen, as a result of BSO failures under Israel’s leadership, was the loss of Broward’s accreditation by the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation. The loss of accreditation, which is voluntary, has implications to the agency but not Israel personally.