a permanent waiver of Rule 11B-18.004(9)(a) and 11B-18.004(6)(a), F.A.C. These rules place the Petitioner, Hernando County Sheriff’s Office within Region IX for training purposes. The Petitioner wishes to rejoin Region VI, which Petitioner ...

 

DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT

Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission

RULE NO.:RULE TITLE:

11B-18.0051Regional Training Council Meetings

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on April 16, 2014, the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, received a petition for a permanent waiver of paragraphs 11B-18.004(9)(a) and 11B-18.004(6)(a), F.A.C. These rules place the Petitioner, Hernando County Sheriff’s Office within Region IX for training purposes. The Petitioner wishes to rejoin Region VI, which Petitioner contends provides closer training opportunities with agencies that are smaller and serve similar smaller communities than those agencies within Region IX. If the Commission will not grant a permanent waiver, Petitioner requests, in the alternative, a temporary waiver until a rule change can be effectuated.

Petitioner contends that it suffers a substantial hardship by being included in Region IX. It contends that the training opportunities are, on average, 61.16 miles from Petitioner’s offices. On the other hand, Petitioner asserts that training opportunities in Region VI are, on average 37.65 miles from its offices, which it contends would result in great cost reduction for training its officers. In addition, Petitioner states that it is the smallest Sheriff’s Office in Region IX and is only one of many agencies. Region IX is the third largest region with 8044 law enforcement and correctional officers. Region VI, on the other hand is the second smallest region and serves only 1304 officers. If the Petition is granted, Petitioner states that it would be one of the top three largest agencies in the region. Petitioner argues that if it were permitted to transfer to Region VI, it would have significant impact on training money allocated to that region, resulting in more opportunities there. Petitioner further argues that its departure from Region IX would hardly be noticed because it is so small and would not impact regional training moneys in a significant way.

Petitioner states that granting this waiver will serve the purposes of the underlying statute by alleviating hardships and advancing the Commission’s directive of developing and maintaining a plan assessing regional criminal justice training needs. Petitioner argues that implicit in the clear language of the statute is that any plan ought to be functional and practical in its effect and application. Petitioner asserts that granting its Petition would better serve the training needs of the Petitioner as well as rebalance the Regions and create a cost effective, more frequent, and accessible training atmosphere.

Petitioner states that the only other Hernando County law enforcement agency, Brooksville Police Department, is a member of Region VI. Petitioner states that it was made a member of Region IX by a previous Sheriff who had some concerns about training at Citrus County Public Safety Training Center. That Sheriff believed membership in Region IX would result in greater training opportunities. The Petitioner states that those opportunities did not materialize and the CCPSTC has now come under the direction of the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office and has greatly improved its training offerings for Region VI.

A copy of the Petition for Variance or Waiver may be obtained by contacting: Grace A. Jaye, Assistant General Counsel, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, P. O. Box 1489, Tallahassee, FL 32302 or by telephone: [phone].