DIFS Insight

[Unregistered]

hey guys,

Im a local LEO for a fairly large city in South Florida, I have about 2 years of experience and a degree. I want to go into detective bureau in my current agency but its all on who you know and barely anyone leaves back there.

I was looking into DIFS but i got a couple questions. I would take a bit of a pay cut with starting salary of about $46k, but do you guys have a steps program? What are some of the pros and cons of working for this agency. I would appreciate any pointers.

[Unregistered]

First, it may or may not be wise to try and leave the road for a position here with only two years of experience. Many of the people here are already retired from another agency and most have a baccalaureate or advanced degree. The cases we work can be very complex and a lot of the Statutes are not even in the patrol statute book. When I first came here, with ten years of experience (about five as a Detective), and a Master's degree I did not know what the hell I was looking at so far as the typical case was concerned. The Training Agent I had gave me my first case and left me to sort it out on my own.

Next, our pay is tied to State allocation regarding raises. We may get a five percent raise one year and not see another for a decade or so; hence, why this is a difficult job for those working on their first pension, but we are a lot better off financially than FHP.

The day-to-day working conditions are pretty decent, but also vary by the field office you work in. We are not a first response agency, so there really is no rotating shift work, weekends, or holidays that you will be working on a regular basis. If you get hired into a decent region with a good Lieutenant and do your job as expected you really should have no problems. There are always exceptions and this place is not perfect by any means. I came here for the ability to spend more time with my family, to see my children grow up, and I have been able to do that.

The pay is pretty mediocre and you will have headaches here like any other agency. I cannot tell you if it is worth it for you to come here or not, that really depends upon your priorities and financial situation. The only thing I can say for certain is do not count on any regular pay increases at all.

[Unregistered]

Thanks for the pointers, yeah I see where your coming from as far as experience and money. Family wise it made sense which was one reason why I was considering it.

[Unregistered]

I agree with everything the previous poster said. I also came to this agency to spend more time with family. It is nice to not be on call, work a set schedule, and knowing I can take time off as needed, which was a challenge when I worked the road. We have had guys come over from a PD with very little experience and they picked it up really fast and do good work. We have also had people retire from a PD with many years in the DB that left us wondering how they made it in the DB. You know your own abilities and what kind of learner you are. You may want to reach out to the office of interest and see if you could stop by one day to meet with a Lieutenant and/or Detective to see if it is right for you.

Feel free to post anymore questions you may have.

[Unregistered]

Yeah thanks for the answer, I will contact the Miami field office to get further information and try to pass by and check it out. It would be nice to have a normal schedule and spend more time with family.

How extensive are the fraud cases that you guys work?

[Unregistered]

Yeah thanks for the answer, I will contact the Miami field office to get further information and try to pass by and check it out. It would be nice to have a normal schedule and spend more time with family.

How extensive are the fraud cases that you guys work?

The cases seem to vary. We get some small cases that you can finish real quick, and others that may take a year or longer. Unfortunately, there is not a short answer to that question. We need a good variety of short and extensive cases to keep Tallahassee happy, if such a thing is possible.

[Unregistered]

Oh okay that is good, and keeps work instersting. I'm definitely going to consider it. I will look more into it.

[Unregistered]

One last question, do you guys have any joint task force?

[Unregistered]

Yes, we have task force cases. I spent over a year working a large staged accident case with several federal agencies, the US Attorney, Office of Statewide Prosecution, etc. I also worked another shorter one with the OIG of the Postal Inspector. These cases are more occasional than routine though; however, the federal contacts you make are invaluable going forward if you need assistance with a case that might nexus into their jurisdiction. I have a literal Rolodex of contacts for most agencies that are useful in most cases that come across my desk; this is just a routine part of networking and you will build your own or borrow from one of the other detectives in the office.

We also attend a lot of meetings, conferences and functions where you can grow your network of useful contacts. I can tell from the type and number of questions that you have more than a passing interest in the agency. I think you should definitely come by your local field office and poke around. So many applicants skip that opportunity and it is a missed one for sure. Best of luck to you.

[Unregistered]

One last question, do you guys have any joint task force?

The task forces seem to come and go depending on the office. The current "leadership" has pulled back on the task force assignments because some people were abusing it, but some people are assigned to task forces with some federal agencies.

[Unregistered]

I’m going to pass by my local field office on Tuesday to get a bit more insight, the only thing that has me over thinking it is the pay cut I would be taking of about 10k.

[Unregistered]

Glad that you are stopping by, but you also need to consider that there is no annual 3% COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) in retirement if you come into the FRS (Florida Retirement System) now or at anytime after July 1, 2011 which I am presuming you are with only a couple of years of patrol experience. Plus, the FRS went to a non-contributory pension to 3% pre-tax just to get the same 75% pension at 30 years that those that came in before that date will get at 25 years. In other words, the multiplier is only 2.5%, vice the 3% per year of service if hired before then to get the same thing. Thank the governor for that, and that COLA makes a difference.

The bottom line is this; do a very good cost:benefit analysis before you make the leap, two years or so may not seem like a lot where you are now, but it is two years closer to retirement than you would be if you started over.

Of course, none of this matters if you are already in an FRS Agency as all of your time will transfer but it may take some time to recoup that $10,000.00 that is for sure.

[Unregistered]

Yeah, that was one of the things that I took into consideration however now I contribute 11.5% towards our city pension with 70% retirement at 20 years. I always thought about buying back a few years of leo experience.

I was talking to my wife about it and she seems to like the idea of a normal schedule rather than night swift. I know eventually I would get into the DB at my agency but most of the crime we get is burglaries and thefts.

My goal eventually would to get into the Secret Service as I’m only 24. But who knows maybe I like DFS and can promote.

[Unregistered]

The 3% multiplier did not change with the FRS for those enrolled after July 1, 2011, but the vesting period, and age did. You have to work either 30 years to collect regardless of age, or age 60 assuming you worked a minimum of 8 years. Your pension would be determined from your highest 8 year average, and then 3 percent times the number of years. At 30 years, you would collect 90% of your highest 8 years.

https://www.rol.frs.state.fl.us/forms/Member_Handbook.pdf

[Unregistered]

OK, but let's be honest with this kid; the legislature does not give us raises very often and I do not make much more than I did when I came here from the S.O. almost twenty years ago. Promotions here are also a pretty fairly political affair and most, if not all of of our WC Squad (Worker's Comp) Lt's are female statewide. During the time that I have been here there have been people promoted to Lt/Capt with little-to-no experience who came in with a new Director and others who got fired for BS. The agency is no different than any SO in the state.

I say if you want to go federal, apply with the UD (Uniform Division) of the Secret Service right now; they are hiring many Officer's right now and you can work unlimited overtime if you want to. Then, apply for an 1811 (Agent/Criminal Investigator) position internally after you have done a couple of years at the White House. You will already have your Security Clearance, be an agency Employee, and be in the federal LE retirement system.

Plus, the UD has no salary cap; the 1811's (Agents) can not earn more annually than a freshman Congressman.

I should have done this myself before I aged out at 37, but my first wife did not want to move again and I listened to her. The bottom line is this; you work for your family and a pension so that you can retire and be done. The federal system is the way to go if you are young. If you do not want to go to the UD, go to the FBI, they are also hiring, and as a local LEO you will be miles ahead of everyone else in your class...and probably at your field office...plus, they get paid much better...starting at a GS-10...no other agency does that.

You do not need to come here; it will not benefit you!

[Unregistered]

I agree 100 percent, policy changes every promotion, and VERY political.

[Unregistered]

Are you guys considered special agents like FDLE? And can you guys make arrests for general crimes, traffic stops or only fraud related crimes?

[Unregistered]

No, we are not! No FSS 316