No one is happy!

one agent is from kpd and ahppy to be FROM! FDLE should recruit, if possible, from KPD. the brass are corrupt but the loyal ten year hitchers are generally good boots on the ground. things may not be the best at fdle but it is HEAVEN compared to kpd. just because the officers did not investigate kpd before being hired probably means that they will not make that mistake twice and acquired the necessary investigatory skills for survival. lesson learned, maybe.

I think things are fine at FDLE. Sure, there are problems, as there are anywhere. But, in all FDLE is a pretty good job. I think the majority of the *****ers wouldn't be happy if you tripled their salaries and cut their hours in half. Some people just aren't happy unless they *****. Every agency has them.

Guest,

Good hear someone making a positive comment about FDLE.

As a prospective applicant, it would be nice to hear some of the PRO's about FDLE other than the typical gripes.

I'd have to say this is the best job I've had in 20 years of law enforcement.

There are many great aspects to this job. One is the variety of crimes that you can work. I have worked just about everything you can think of in my 19 year career; homicide, drugs, fraud, computer crime, sex crimes, human trafficking, art theft, missing persons, money laundering, and so on.

Working governor's details, I have met celebrities, presidents, athletes and other famous people that I probably would have never had the opportunity to meet.

I have always had a nice vehicle to drive and for the most part the equipment that I am issued is top notch. The department is in the process of buying any agent that wants one a baby Glock for a dept issued back-up. I average about $20,000 in overtime a year.

I work whatever hours that I choose and don't feel like I'm under the thumb of my supervisor. As a matter of fact, I'm detached to a unit with a local agency and sometimes go weeks without even talking to my supervisor.

I have traveled all over the country and twice out of the country on FDLE business (cases, conferences and training). I have become proficient in several areas and systems that have opened up the opportunity for some lucrative post retirement jobs.

Those are the things that I can think of but I'm sure that there are more. As I said in my first post, there are some negative aspects to the job that I doubt differ from the problems with any government agency. There was a time that I *****ed and moaned about things and took everything to heart but I got over that. I realized that I only made things bad for myself and others around me when I did that. I don't own FDLE and I'm sure that if I were the one making the descisions that there would be many that would complain about what I did. You just have to learn to enjoy life and make the best of any situation.

I guess it's true what they say, it's all what you make of it. Hope that helps.

I've been with FDLE for a lot less time than Ghost, but I agree with you. There is no perfect agency, but FDLE you do enjoy working various cases with little micromanaging. I know from coming from a local PD being an Agent it seems that you get a lot of respect from other Agencies. Now if we can just get the legislature to stop cutting our budget.

Thank you for the positive posts.

I am going to be applying to FDLE and see how the coin lands.

I can handle the pay issue as I am financially sound but like others I would like to progress financially. Hopefully the Florida legislature will see the light and increase the salaries.

I do have a question, Guest you mentioned you made approx. $20K in OT, is OT difficult to get or can an SA work off duty details or jobs?

I reside in South Florida so making a couple of extra duckets would be nice.

How is the retirement and benefits?

Lastly, I hear a lot about how the Miami area is difficult to staff, would you happen to know who many positions are currently open out of the Miami Regional Operations Center? AND what exactly does a Racino Unit do or more specifically what is the duties involved for an SA assigned to such a Racino Unit?

Of course all the questions are non-issue if I don't get through the competitive hiring process, still I am hoping for the best.

Thank you for any info you can share.

Your welcome. As far as the pay goes, I think it’s pretty good. I am just a lowly agent and I made about $80,000 last year. For North Florida I think that’s a respectable salary. In South Florida you could add $6,000 to that (I think) with the CAD. Overtime is very easy to get so long as it’s reimbursed. I work dope so it’s is pretty much unlimited. There are a few off-duty jobs, mainly escorting jewelry dealers from store to store. I know that there are other opportunities in South Florida but I haven’t worked down there in many years so I’m not familiar with them.

The state retirement system is pretty good. 3% per year and the final figure is an average of your highest 5 years of service. There is also DROP which is a great thing.

I know that they always have openings in Miami, although a lot of them are unfilled positions that they never fill. They use those to get extra money for themselves. They just had several taken away from them that will be reallocated to other offices that have needed the positions for years. The Racino Squad monitors the gaming operations and conducts any investigations that involve them. My understanding is that there are agents assigned shifts and that there is always an agent or two in the casino around the clock. Maybe someone from Miami can give you more info on that.

Good luck.

To the FDLE agent who travels all over has met many famous people...
1. Where do you work and are there any openings?
2. What exactly is in that kool aid?

All joking aside, the reality is that all state law enforcement is in a serious
budget crisis. No overtime, no training that costs money, travel is a crap shoot, etc.

Is anyone concerned that the MN. bridge tradegy may affect our future for pay raises?

Sorry folks, gotta call em as I ceim.

I am the agent that you are talking to. I work for FDLE in North Florida. What are you questioning? Yes, we are having budget problems just like every other public service agency in the state is right now, city, county and state. Even federal agencies are broke right now with all of our tax dollars going to Iraq and the so called "War on Terror". The Governor's idea of saving the average Floridian a little money has caused upheaval with all government agencies, FDLE is not alone in this. We have been through this before and I'm sure we will go through it again. Can you believe it, we survived. And as I said, if you work O/T that is reimbursed from other sources, at least in my office, you can pretty much work all you want. I have put in 50-60 hours so far since July 1 and have been to one great school and traveled out of state once and to South Florida once, on cases of course. Travel has been limited for vacations, I mean, conferences, statewide meetings and the like, which I agree with completely.

Hang in there. It will get better. Oh yes, we will have a few opening in my office soon. Keep an eye out.