Published on Wednesday, March 9, 2005
in the Gainesville Sun

What about the Patrol?

Just about any Florida legislator has favorite causes. Most all of them love apple pie, the American flag, Mom and law enforcement.

But try to convince Florida Highway Patrol troopers that they're included in that last item.

As important a piece as the FHP is to the law-enforcement puzzle, many legislators think of the agency's role as one of public safety. Perhaps it's easier to justify its shabby treatment that way.

While the state's population grew by nearly 9 percent in the past five years, the number of troopers has increased by less than 3 percent.

The FHP was budgeted for 1,116 troopers last year, but of those positions, more than 100 went unfilled because the pay isn't competitive.

"We don't have enough FHP people out there doing the job," Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, recently told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "We've got the same amount of state troopers on I-95 as we had 10 years ago."

FHP spokesman Major Ernesto Duarte said troopers often quit to take jobs with higher-paying police departments. "We've got troopers who can get $6,000, $12,000 raises just by changing uniforms," Duarte told the newspaper.

"We're competing with all the other large police agencies and sheriff's departments in Florida for the same qualified applicants," Chief Sylvester Dawson of the FHP's training academy told a reporter last year.

To complicate matters, back in the 1990s, the Legislature tinkered with FHP salaries in an effort to attract more rookies by raising entry-level pay. But the pay for experienced troopers wasn't adjusted, so veterans left for other agencies.

Slosberg said Gov. Jeb Bush's proposed budget for the coming year doesn't do much to help the shortfall. "I think the transportation budget is ridiculous" when it comes to highway safety, Slosberg wrote in a letter to Bush this month.

Slosberg is sponsoring a bill to add $20 to the fine for each traffic violation. The money would be placed in a grant program designed for safety.

"All law-enforcement agencies with jurisdiction on the interstates would be able to apply for the grants," Slosberg said. "This could bring approximately $60 million each year to fund interstate traffic enforcement."

He added that even with the extra money coming in from the $20 surcharge, Florida still needs to increase funding for the Highway Patrol.

The FHP needs 30 percent more troopers than it has, and their salaries need to be increased so they'll be competitive with other agencies.

Slosberg told the Sun-Sentinel that he will be in Tallahassee "screaming, making sure that traffic safety gets its share of the pie."

For public safety's sake, we hope his won't be a lone voice.