Florida adds 1,400 law enforcement recruits as police departments across US struggle to hire

Florida has doubled its number of law enforcement recruits — to 1,400 — since December as police departments across the country are struggling to find new hires.

“In Florida, our number one priority is to protect Floridians, and the best way to do that is by supporting the law enforcement officers who keep our communities safe,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a statement Wednesday.

“My administration will continue to deliver on our promises by prioritizing law-and-order policies and making Florida the best state to be a law enforcement officer.”

The Sunshine State has attracted a slew of new officers since DeSantis launched the Florida Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Program last year, which offers a one-time $5,000 bonus to new police hires in the state.

To date, 431 recruits have relocated to Florida, including 155 from New York, California and Pennsylvania, DeSantis said, adding that crime in his state is at a 50-year-low.

DeSantis, 44, has embarked on a nationwide pro-police tour, blasting liberal bail policies in Democrat-run cities like New York City, ahead of his widely expected 2024 presidential run.

“If you’re disenchanted, if you don’t think things are going to turn around wherever you are — not just in New York, wherever — just know that there’s a state that’s doing it right. “There’s a state that will value your service,” DeSantis told cops during a visit to Staten Island Feb. 20.

In 2022, the NYPD saw 3,701 cops retire or resign — the most since the post-9/11 exodus in 2002, when 3,846 cops said goodbye to the job, according to data obtained by The Post.

Bail reform, resentment for the city’s vaccination mandate, the defund-the-police movement, cops feeling disrespected and the lure of higher pay and lower stress has forced New York’s Finest into retirement or to other police departments.

Florida’s surging police recruitment is an anomaly compared to national trends.

Officer retirements across the US are up 45% and resignations rose 18%, according to a national survey by the Police Executive Research Forum from June 2021, the latest numbers available.