Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiDecember 22, 2017

Donors are demanding their money back from former state Senator (and still current candidate for Governor) Jack Latvala. However, the Fraternal Order of Police still stands by its endorsement of the Pinellas senator whose sexual harassment and intimidation became national news. And the next time the police union may review the decision will be in February — weeks […]

Mitch PerryDecember 14, 2017

It’s time to deal with privacy in the age of Alexa, Sen. Jeff Brandes says. The St. Petersburg Republican has filed legislation (SB 1256) to protect the expectation of privacy in the use of cell phones and other microphone-enabled household devices. The surge in sales of “smart speakers” like Amazon’s Echo, with its “Alexa” cloud-based voice service, […]

Jim RosicaDecember 4, 2017

A change to the state’s “lost and found” law could help needy Floridians, its sponsor says. State Rep. Bobby Olszewski, a Winter Garden Republican, filed a bill (HB 851) to allow “lost or abandoned personal property” at a “theme park or entertainment complex” to be donated to charity. Specifically, his measure—which also includes zoos, museums and aquariums—allows […]

Associated PressJuly 26, 2017

Gov. Rick Scott wants the state’s highway patrol troopers, wildlife officers and law-enforcement agents to get another pay raise. Scott announced the proposal Wednesday during a visit to a Florida Highway Patrol station in Jacksonville. This year legislators agreed to give the state’s nearly 4,000 sworn-law enforcement officers a 5 percent raise. Scott wants to […]

Jim RosicaJune 14, 2017

Chalk it up to “passion.” Or politics. Gov. Rick Scott, speaking to reporters after a Wednesday bill signing, explained away the open tension between him and House Speaker Richard Corcoran after the House this year tried to gut VISIT FLORIDA and do away with economic development organization Enterprise Florida, his two favored state agencies. By […]

Staff ReportsApril 12, 2017

The power, resiliency and efficiency of digital radio and other next-generation services are driving the need to modernize public safety communications networks toward internet protocol (IP) and broadband. In this new multi-service, all-IP era, backhaul, the critical communications links between first responders and the backbone network that connects all statewide public service agencies and command […]

Les NeuhausMarch 7, 2017

In an effort to promote public safety, a state legislator filed a bill widening by a far margin the state’s use of body cameras by the law enforcement community at large. State Rep. Al Jacquet filed HB 513 Monday. The bill would, if enacted, require officers to wear and use body cameras while conducting routine traffic […]

Larry GriffinAugust 16, 2016

With a virtual reality headset that fits snugly over the eyes, Motorola Solutions is bringing in the wave of the future. The technology, intended to usher in a new age of high-tech police work, is reminiscent of what the layman, even only a few years ago, might have called science fiction. Motorola Solutions, as a part […]

Associated PressJune 13, 2016

As the largest mass shooting in modern U.S. history began to unfold, an off-duty police officer working at a gay nightclub exchanged gunfire with the suspect. But three hours passed before a SWAT team stormed the building and brought the attack to an end. The decision by law enforcement to hold off on entering the […]

Ryan RayApril 25, 2016

When a prisoner told former Dade Correctional Facility counsellor Harriet Krzykowski about how the prison guards starved him and his fellow inmates, Krzykowski thought he must be paranoid. But as Eyal Press in the New Yorker writes, that wasn’t the half of it. Krzykowski worked in the facility’s “Transitional Care Unit,” or T.C.U., which, in theory was “designed […]

Tag: law enforcement

Fraternal Order of Police still standing by ‘true champion’ Jack Latvala

Jeff Brandes wants privacy protection for Echo, Google Home

Bill tweaks state law on theme parks’ ‘lost and found’

Gov. Scott proposes $30M for state law enforcement recruitment, retention

Rick Scott: No hard feelings between him and Richard Corcoran

Behind the radio: A critical network component for Florida public safety

Bill would require LEOs to wear body cameras during traffic stops

With virtual reality technology, Motorola Solutions intends to help law enforcement be more efficient

Did a delay in police response give shooter more time?

In Florida’s prisons, fear and loathing