Florida Dept Of Highway Safety And Motor Popular Books

Florida Dept Of Highway Safety And Motor Biography & Facts

The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) is a division of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. It is Florida's highway patrol and is the primary law enforcement agency charged with investigating traffic crashes and criminal laws on the state's highways. Duties A 2011 study by the Florida Highway Patrol Jurisdiction Team noted that "For all practical purposes, the FHP currently investigates all traffic crashes in the unincorporated areas of 24 counties, and in an additional 26 counties, the majority of crashes. In 17 counties, the Sheriff's Office conducts more crash investigations than the FHP."The FHP's functional role and responsibilities vary significantly among counties. The 2011 report noted, "The staffing methodology of the FHP is largely based on historical agency decisions, formal and informal arrangements with local governments, and to some degree political influence...There is a disparity in the level of services provided to local governments that cannot be explained. In places like Orange, Escambia, Marion, and many rural counties, the FHP handles all traffic crash investigations in unincorporated areas. In other counties like Duval, Broward, and Palm Beach, the Sheriff handles a majority of traffic crash investigations on the same type of roadways. All other Florida counties fall somewhere among or between these extremes."FHP has statewide jurisdiction, but shortfalls in FHP staffing sometimes lead to sheriff's offices and city police forces picking up more work, straining resources. Of the annual average long-form traffic crash reports completed by Florida law enforcement agencies, the 2011 study found that FHP investigated 32% of crashes, county sheriff's offices 23%, and municipal police and other agencies 45%. FHP investigates 58% of traffic fatalities in the state; these investigations are substantially more complicated than non-fatal traffic investigations. The Florida Highway Patrol differs from most State Agencies in the Country as it is not considered a State Police. Troopers are however sworn law enforcement officers with Statewide Arrest Powers, but unlike for example the Louisiana State Police, FHP only handles Traffic Enforcement and Traffic Crash Investigation on the State of Florida roadways. In Florida, the constitutional Sheriff is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida's equivalent to the FBI, handles Criminal Investigations and Officer Records and Training and provides Statewide Crime Lab Services. FHP does have a Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence, but it does not do the same thing FDLE does. Its function is slightly different but works hand in hand with FDLE and other agencies. BCII handles odometer fraud, VIN number fraud, and in some cases Auto Theft Rings. The Director of the Florida Highway Patrol serves as one of the 19 members of the Florida Criminal Justice Standards & Training Commission. History The FHP was established in 1939 under Colonel H. Neil Kirkman. Troopers originally patrolled on motorcycles; among the first patrol cars used by the force was the 1940 Ford De Luxe.In 1948, Florida received national recognition for its driver license program from the National Safety Council.In 1994, the FHP, in collaboration with all ten cellular phone companies operating in Florida, launched a "Dial *FHP" program, which allowed the public to make free phone calls to FHP to report highway offenses (such as drunk and reckless driving) as well as motorists in distress. The program became very popular.On July 1, 2011, the Office of Motor Carrier Compliance (a state law enforcement agency responsible for commercial vehicle laws in the state) was transferred from the Florida Department of Transportation to the FHP (which is a division of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles). The consolidation was a result of Senate Bill 2160, passed by lawmakers during the 2011 Legislative Session, which gave responsibility for commercial vehicle licensing, registrations, fuel permits, and enforcement to DHSMV.In 2013, the agency fired a trooper who declined to give speeding tickets to two state legislators who had been pulled over. The trooper won reinstatement after arguing that he was following an unwritten FHP practice of not issuing citations to state legislators, who control the agency's budget.The FHP has launched a series of anti-aggressive driving campaigns, including "Operation Safe Ride" (2004–2005). FHP also launched the "Statewide Overtime Action Response" (SOAR) program targeting traffic enforcement in areas deemed high priority. An investigation by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles' office of inspector general into the SOAR program found that more than a dozen troopers, including several with decades of service had committed misconduct by receiving overtime pay for hours spent not working, among other offenses; some of the troopers were fired, while others were suspended or internally disciplined. The troopers' lawyers argued that their clients had followed a longstanding unwritten FHP rules. Racial discrimination In 2019, the Office of Inspector General conducted a review of Florida Highway Patrol Troopers and bias based profiling. The results of the review were published January 14, 2020.A 2021 study in the American Economic Review found that minorities were significantly less likely to receive discounts on their traffic tickets than White drivers; the study estimated that 42% of FHP troopers practiced racial discrimination. Ranks and organization The director of the Division of Highway Patrol is the commander of the FHP, and has the rank of Colonel; there are two deputy directors of the Division of Florida Highway Patrol, both hold the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. The FHP is divided into two bureaus: the Bureau of Records and Training (which, among other duties, operates the Florida Highway Patrol Academy in Tallahassee) and the Bureau of Field Operations. The enforcement activity of the Bureau of Field Operations is divided into a Northern Region and a Southern region, each headed by a chief. FHP's Special Services Command and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement are also headed by a chief of equal rank to the regional commanders.The North region consists of Troops A, B, G and H. The Central region consists of Troops C, D and K, and the South region consists of Troops F, L and E . These troops are assigned responsibility for enforcement activity with specific areas (a cluster of counties). A few troops have statewide or regional responsibilities, including troops charged with weigh station enforcement. Troop K patrols Florida's Turnpike, Troop I covers commercial vehicle enforcement for North Florida, and Troop J covers commercial vehicle enforcement for South Florida. The troop commander of each troop holds the rank of Major.Promotion of troops to the ranks of Corporal (Trooper II), Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain require s.... Discover the Florida Dept Of Highway Safety And Motor popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Florida Dept Of Highway Safety And Motor books.