Jason Delgado
Lawmakers will provide $8 million to help local governments comply with Florida’s criminal justice data collection effort.
The Legislature in 2018 created the Florida Criminal Justice Data Transparency program. It requires all criminal justice agencies to collect and submit data to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
“The goal of the CJDT initiative is to increase public visibility of criminal justice processes throughout the state and to provide policymakers with the information they need to make informed policy decisions,” explains a FDLE website.
Jails, prisons, public defenders and clerks of court are required to submit data to the state, among others. The data is person-based and focuses on those who interact with the criminal justice system — whether they are arrested, prosecuted and incarcerated.
FDLE also collected administrative data, showing the workload, staffing and expenses of those who report to the database.
The data is submitted monthly. It is available to the public via an online dashboard, though officials have struggled in recent years to meet deadlines.
Still, it has drawn acclaim as a national model, with some describing it as a medium to provide lawmakers and the public with a means to better assess criminal justice issues. House Speaker Chris Sprowls carried the proposal before taking leadership of the chamber.
“The person-based CJDT data includes only adult and treat-as-adult records, and contains no personal identifying information,” FDLE adds.
Led by Commissioner Richard L. Swearingen, FDLE employs about 1,900 members statewide and operates on a roughly $300 million budget.
The agency is composed of five divisions —Executive Direction and Business Support, Criminal Investigations and Forensic Science, Criminal Justice Information, Criminal Justice Professionalism and the Florida Capitol Police.
FDLE is also getting $500,000 to purchase new earplugs for law enforcement officers. According to Police Health, law enforcement officers are 19% more likely to suffer from hearing loss than the general public.
Both the House and Senate get millions in tax revenue to play with near the end of budget negotiations. That money is spread across different projects in what’s known in legislative parlance as the “sprinkle list.”
The House and Senate released their “sprinkle lists” Wednesday evening. Leaders agreed on $759 million for local projects.
The release of the list is a sign budget negotiations are wrapped and the Legislature will hit its new planned end date of Monday, March 14.
