eLaws of Florida

  SECTION 943.031. Florida Violent Crime and Drug Control Council.  


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  • 1(1) 2FINDINGS.3-4The Legislature finds that there is a need to develop and implement a statewide strategy to address violent criminal activity, including crimes committed by criminal gangs, and drug control efforts by state and local law enforcement agencies, including investigations of illicit money laundering. In recognition of this need, the Florida Violent Crime and Drug Control Council is created within the department. The council shall serve in an advisory capacity to the department.
    76(2) 77MEMBERSHIP.78-79The council shall consist of 14 members, as follows:
    88(a) 89The Attorney General or a designate.
    95(b) 96A designate of the executive director of the Department of Law Enforcement.
    108(c) 109The Secretary of Corrections or a designate.
    116(d) 117The Secretary of Juvenile Justice or a designate.
    125(e) 126The Commissioner of Education or a designate.
    133(f) 134The president of the Florida Network of Victim/Witness Services, Inc., or a designate.
    147(g) 148The policy coordinator in the Public Safety Unit of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budgeting, or a designate.
    167(h) 168The Chief Financial Officer, or a designate.
    175(i) 176Six members appointed by the Governor, consisting of two sheriffs, two chiefs of police, one medical examiner, and one state attorney or their designates.

    200The Governor, when making appointments under this subsection, must take into consideration representation by geography, population, ethnicity, and other relevant factors to ensure that the membership of the council is representative of the state at large. Designates appearing on behalf of a council member who is unable to attend a meeting of the council are empowered to vote on issues before the council to the same extent the designating council member is so empowered.

    274(3) 275TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP; OFFICERS; COMPENSATION; STAFF.281-
    282(a) 283Members appointed by the Governor shall be appointed for terms of 2 years. The other members are standing members of the council. In no event shall a member serve beyond the time he or she ceases to hold the office or employment which was the basis for appointment to the council. In the event of a vacancy, an appointment to fill the vacancy shall be only for the unexpired term.
    353(b) 354The Legislature finds that the council serves a legitimate state, county, and municipal purpose and that service on the council is consistent with a member’s principal service in a public office or employment. Membership on the council does not disqualify a member from holding any other public office or being employed by a public entity, except that no member of the Legislature shall serve on the council.
    421(c) 422The members of the council shall elect a chair and a vice chair every 2 years, to serve for a 2-year term. As deemed appropriate, other officers may be elected by the members.
    455(d) 456Members of the council or their designates shall serve without compensation but are entitled to reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses pursuant to s. 481112.061482. Reimbursements made pursuant to this paragraph may be paid from either the Violent Crime Investigative Emergency and Drug Control Strategy Implementation Account within the Department of Law Enforcement Operating Trust Fund or from other appropriations provided to the department by the Legislature in the General Appropriations Act.
    530(e) 531The department shall provide the council with staff necessary to assist the council in the performance of its duties.
    550(4) 551MEETINGS.552-553The council must meet at least annually. Additional meetings may be held when determined by the department and the chair. A majority of the members of the council constitutes a quorum. Council meetings may be conducted by conference call, teleconferencing, or similar technology.
    596(5) 597DUTIES OF COUNCIL.600-601Subject to funding provided to the department by the Legislature, the council shall provide advice and make recommendations, as necessary, to the executive director of the department.
    628(a) 629The council may advise the executive director on the feasibility of undertaking initiatives which include, but are not limited to, the following:
    6511. 652Establishing a program that provides grants to criminal justice agencies that develop and implement effective violent crime prevention and investigative programs and which provides grants to law enforcement agencies for the purpose of drug control, criminal gang, and illicit money laundering investigative efforts or task force efforts that are determined by the council to significantly contribute to achieving the state’s goal of reducing drug-related crime, that represent significant criminal gang investigative efforts, that represent a significant illicit money laundering investigative effort, or that otherwise significantly support statewide strategies developed by the Statewide Drug Policy Advisory Council established under s. 751397.333, 752subject to the limitations provided in this section. The grant program may include an innovations grant program to provide startup funding for new initiatives by local and state law enforcement agencies to combat violent crime or to implement drug control, criminal gang, or illicit money laundering investigative efforts or task force efforts by law enforcement agencies, including, but not limited to, initiatives such as:
    816a. 817Providing enhanced community-oriented policing.
    821b. 822Providing additional undercover officers and other investigative officers to assist with violent crime investigations in emergency situations.
    839c. 840Providing funding for multiagency or statewide drug control, criminal gang, or illicit money laundering investigative efforts or task force efforts that cannot be reasonably funded completely by alternative sources and that significantly contribute to achieving the state’s goal of reducing drug-related crime, that represent significant criminal gang investigative efforts, that represent a significant illicit money laundering investigative effort, or that otherwise significantly support statewide strategies developed by the Statewide Drug Policy Advisory Council established under s. 916397.333917.
    9182. 919Expanding the use of automated biometric identification systems at the state and local levels.
    9333. 934Identifying methods to prevent violent crime.
    9404. 941Identifying methods to enhance multiagency or statewide drug control, criminal gang, or illicit money laundering investigative efforts or task force efforts that significantly contribute to achieving the state’s goal of reducing drug-related crime, that represent significant criminal gang investigative efforts, that represent a significant illicit money laundering investigative effort, or that otherwise significantly support statewide strategies developed by the Statewide Drug Policy Advisory Council established under s. 1008397.3331009.
    10105. 1011Enhancing criminal justice training programs that address violent crime, drug control, illicit money laundering investigative techniques, or efforts to control and eliminate criminal gangs.
    10356. 1036Developing and promoting crime prevention services and educational programs that serve the public, including, but not limited to:
    1054a. 1055Enhanced victim and witness counseling services that also provide crisis intervention, information referral, transportation, and emergency financial assistance.
    1073b. 1074A well-publicized rewards program for the apprehension and conviction of criminals who perpetrate violent crimes.
    10897. 1090Enhancing information sharing and assistance in the criminal justice community by expanding the use of community partnerships and community policing programs. Such expansion may include the use of civilian employees or volunteers to relieve law enforcement officers of clerical work in order to enable the officers to concentrate on street visibility within the community.
    1144(b) 1145The full council shall:
    11491. 1150Receive periodic reports from regional violent crime investigation and statewide drug control strategy implementation coordinating teams which relate to violent crime trends or the investigative needs or successes in the regions, including discussions regarding the activity of significant criminal gangs in the region, factors, and trends relevant to the implementation of the statewide drug strategy, and the results of drug control and illicit money laundering investigative efforts funded in part by the council.
    12232. 1224Maintain and use criteria for the disbursement of funds from the Violent Crime Investigative Emergency and Drug Control Strategy Implementation Account or any other account from which the council may disburse proactive investigative funds as may be established within the Department of Law Enforcement Operating Trust Fund or other appropriations provided to the Department of Law Enforcement by the Legislature in the General Appropriations Act. The criteria shall allow for the advancement of funds to reimburse agencies regarding violent crime investigations as approved by the full council and the advancement of funds to implement proactive drug control strategies or significant criminal gang investigative efforts as authorized by the Drug Control Strategy and Criminal Gang Committee or the Victim and Witness Protection Review Committee. Regarding violent crime investigation reimbursement, an expedited approval procedure shall be established for rapid disbursement of funds in violent crime emergency situations.
    1369(c) 1370As used in this section, “significant criminal gang investigative efforts” eligible for proactive funding must involve at a minimum an effort against a known criminal gang that:
    13971. 1398Involves multiple law enforcement agencies.
    14032. 1404Reflects a dedicated significant investigative effort on the part of each participating agency in personnel, time devoted to the investigation, and agency resources dedicated to the effort.
    14313. 1432Reflects a dedicated commitment by a prosecuting authority to ensure that cases developed by the investigation will be timely and effectively prosecuted.
    14544. 1455Demonstrates a strategy and commitment to dismantling the criminal gang via seizures of assets, significant money laundering and organized crime investigations and prosecutions, or similar efforts.

    1481The council may require satisfaction of additional elements, to include reporting criminal investigative and criminal intelligence information related to criminal gang activity and members in a manner required by the department, as a prerequisite for receiving proactive criminal gang funding.

    1521(6) 1522DRUG CONTROL STRATEGY AND CRIMINAL GANG COMMITTEE.1529-
    1530(a) 1531The Drug Control Strategy and Criminal Gang Committee is created within the Florida Violent Crime and Drug Control Council, consisting of the following council members:
    15561. 1557The Attorney General or a designate.
    15632. 1564The designate of the executive director of the Department of Law Enforcement.
    15763. 1577The secretary of the Department of Corrections or a designate.
    15874. 1588The director of the Office of Planning and Budgeting in the Executive Office of the Governor or a designate.
    16075. 1608The state attorney, the two sheriffs, and the two chiefs of police, or their designates.
    1623(b) 1624Subject to funding provided to the department by the Legislature, the committee shall review and approve all requests for disbursement of funds from the Violent Crime Investigative Emergency and Drug Control Strategy Implementation Account within the Department of Law Enforcement Operating Trust Fund and from other appropriations provided to the department by the Legislature in the General Appropriations Act. An expedited approval procedure shall be established for rapid disbursement of funds in violent crime emergency situations. Committee meetings may be conducted by conference call, teleconferencing, or similar technology.
    1712(c) 1713Those receiving any proactive funding provided by the council through the committee shall report the results of the investigations to the council once the investigation has been completed. The committee shall also require ongoing status reports on ongoing investigations using such findings in its closed sessions and may require a recipient to return all or any portion of unexpended proactive funds to the council.
    1777(7) 1778REPORTS.1779-1780The council shall report annually on its activities, on or before December 30 of each calendar year, to the executive director, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairs of the Senate and House committees having principal jurisdiction over criminal law. Comments and responses of the executive director to the report are to be included.
    1842(8) 1843VICTIM AND WITNESS PROTECTION REVIEW COMMITTEE.1849-
    1850(a) 1851The Victim and Witness Protection Review Committee is created within the Florida Violent Crime and Drug Control Council, consisting of the statewide prosecutor or a state attorney, a sheriff, a chief of police, and the designee of the executive director of the Department of Law Enforcement. The committee shall be appointed from the membership of the council by the chair of the council after the chair has consulted with the executive director of the Department of Law Enforcement. Committee members shall meet in conjunction with the meetings of the council or at other times as required by the department and the chair. The committee meetings may be conducted by conference call, teleconferencing, or similar technology.
    1966(b) 1967Subject to funding provided to the department by the Legislature, the committee shall:
    19801. 1981Maintain and use criteria for disbursing funds to reimburse law enforcement agencies for costs associated with providing victim and witness temporary protective or temporary relocation services.
    20072. 2008Review and approve or deny, in whole or in part, all reimbursement requests submitted by law enforcement agencies.
    2026(c) 2027The lead law enforcement agency providing victim or witness protective or temporary relocation services pursuant to the provisions of s. 2047914.25 2048may submit a request for reimbursement to the Victim and Witness Protection Review Committee in a format approved by the committee. The lead law enforcement agency shall submit such reimbursement request on behalf of all law enforcement agencies that cooperated in providing protective or temporary relocation services related to a particular criminal investigation or prosecution. As part of the reimbursement request, the lead law enforcement agency must indicate how any reimbursement proceeds will be distributed among the agencies that provided protective or temporary relocation services.
    2133(d) 2134The committee, in its discretion, may use funds available to the committee to provide all or partial reimbursement to the lead law enforcement agency for such costs, or may decline to provide any reimbursement.
    2168(9) 2169CONFIDENTIALITY; EXEMPTED PORTIONS OF COUNCIL MEETINGS AND RECORDS.2177-
    2178(a) 2179The Legislature finds that during limited portions of the meetings of the Florida Violent Crime and Drug Control Council it is necessary that the council be presented with and discuss details, information, and documents related to active criminal investigations or matters constituting active criminal intelligence, as those concepts are defined by s. 2231119.0112232. These presentations and discussions are necessary for the council to make its funding decisions as required by the Legislature. The Legislature finds that to reveal the contents of documents containing active criminal investigative or intelligence information or to allow active criminal investigative or active criminal intelligence matters to be discussed in a meeting open to the public negatively impacts the ability of law enforcement agencies to efficiently continue their investigative or intelligence gathering activities. The Legislature finds that information coming before the council that pertains to active criminal investigations or intelligence should remain confidential and exempt from public disclosure. The Legislature finds that the Florida Violent Crime and Drug Control Council may, by declaring only those portions of council meetings in which active criminal investigative or active criminal intelligence information is to be presented or discussed closed to the public, assure an appropriate balance between the policy of this state that meetings be public and the policy of this state to facilitate efficient law enforcement efforts.
    2399(b) 2400The Florida Violent Crime and Drug Control Council shall be considered a “criminal justice agency” within the definition of s. 2420119.011(4)2421.
    2422(c)1. 2423The Florida Violent Crime and Drug Control Council may close portions of meetings during which the council will hear or discuss active criminal investigative information or active criminal intelligence information, and such portions of meetings shall be exempt from the provisions of s. 2466286.011 2467and s. 24(b), Art. I of the State Constitution, provided that the following conditions are met:
    2483a. 2484The chair of the council shall advise the council at a public meeting that, in connection with the performance of a council duty, it is necessary that the council hear or discuss active criminal investigative information or active criminal intelligence information.
    2525b. 2526The chair’s declaration of necessity for closure and the specific reasons for such necessity shall be stated in writing in a document that shall be a public record and shall be filed with the official records of the council.
    2565c. 2566The entire closed session shall be recorded. The recording shall include the times of commencement and termination of the closed session, all discussion and proceedings, and the names of all persons present. No portion of the session shall be off the record. Such recording shall be maintained by the council.
    26162. 2617Only members of the council, Department of Law Enforcement staff supporting the council’s function, and other persons whose presence has been authorized by the chair of the council shall be allowed to attend the exempted portions of the council meetings. The council shall assure that any closure of its meetings as authorized by this section is limited so that the general policy of this state in favor of public meetings is maintained.
    2689(d) 2690A tape recording of, and any minutes and notes generated during, that portion of a Florida Violent Crime and Drug Control Council meeting which is closed to the public pursuant to this section are confidential and exempt from s. 2729119.07(1) 2730and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution until such time as the criminal investigative information or criminal intelligence information ceases to be active.
History.-s. 1, ch. 93-204; s. 1, ch. 94-215; s. 2, ch. 95-161; s. 32, ch. 96-388; s. 2, ch. 97-52; s. 1, ch. 97-73; s. 1, ch. 97-302; s. 9, ch. 98-251; s. 1, ch. 2001-127; s. 1, ch. 2002-61; s. 1927, ch. 2003-261; s. 56, ch. 2004-335; s. 20, ch. 2008-238; s. 9, ch. 2011-51; s. 10, ch. 2013-116.

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