The Florida Senate

943.125  Law enforcement agency accreditation.--

(1)  LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--

(a)  It is the intent of the Legislature that law enforcement agencies in the state be upgraded and strengthened through the adoption of meaningful standards of operation for those agencies.

(b)  It is the further intent of the Legislature that law enforcement agencies voluntarily adopt standards designed to promote equal and fair law enforcement, to maximize the capability of law enforcement agencies to prevent and control criminal activities, and to increase interagency cooperation throughout the state.

(c)  It is further the intent of the Legislature to encourage the Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Police Chiefs Association to develop, either jointly or separately, a law enforcement agency accreditation program. Such program shall be independent of any law enforcement agency, the Florida Sheriffs Association, or the Florida Police Chiefs Association. Any such law enforcement agency accreditation program should address, at a minimum, the following aspects of law enforcement:

1.  Vehicle pursuits.

2.  Seizure and forfeiture of contraband articles.

3.  Recording and processing citizens' complaints.

4.  Use of force.

5.  Traffic stops.

6.  Handling natural and manmade disasters.

7.  Special operations.

8.  Prisoner transfer.

9.  Collection and preservation of evidence.

10.  Recruitment and selection.

11.  Officer training.

12.  Performance evaluations.

13.  Law enforcement disciplinary procedures and rights.

14.  Use of criminal investigative funds.

(2)  FEASIBILITY AND STATUS REPORT.--The Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Police Chiefs Association, either jointly or separately, shall report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate regarding the feasibility of a law enforcement agency accreditation program and the status of the efforts of the Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Police Chiefs Association to develop a law enforcement agency accreditation program as provided in this section.

(3)  ARREST AND SECURITY PROTOCOLS REPORT.--No later than October 1, 1996, the Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Police Chiefs Association, either jointly or separately, and in consultation with the Association of Voluntary Hospitals of Florida, Inc. and the Statutory Teaching Hospital Council, shall develop protocols establishing when injured apprehendees will be placed under arrest and how security will be provided during any hospitalization of such apprehendees, and shall report to the Legislature by January 1, 1997, on the protocols that have been established. The report developed pursuant to this section shall also address the cost to hospitals of providing unreimbursed medical services to persons who are injured in the course of or at the time of apprehension.

History.--s. 4, ch. 93-252; s. 68, ch. 96-388.