Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited three blue cities recently to recruit police officers to the sunshine state.
As crime spikes and police morale slips, DeSantis is offering signing bonuses to officers who relocate.
In Elmhurst, Illinois on Monday, DeSantis told the crowd, “We have this recruitment program in place. If you come and you’re qualified from another a state and join any of our agencies – city, county, state sworn law enforcement – you get a $5,000 signing bonus immediately right off the top.”
“The reason why you have crime that has spiraled out of control in so many different areas is because you have politicians putting woke ideology ahead of public safety.”
There are additional perks for those who make the move such as help with adoption costs and purchasing a new home.
It has been reported that by the end of 2022, more than 600 police officers from other states had taken advantage of this opportunity.
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department alone recently added eight former Chicago cops. Officer Matthew Molitor went to St. Petersburg.
“I’m from the Midwest,” Molitor said. “I’m from the Quad cities originally.”
Molitor worked in the Near West (12th) and Town Hall (19th) Chicago Police districts for more than four years. He said he did not need much convincing when he left for the St. Petersburg Police Department in March.
“If you can’t staff, then you can’t put enough officers on the street – and therefore, that’s where your 12-hour days; your canceled days off are coming from,” Molitor said. “Yeah, morale is definitely going to suffer.”
Officer Molitor said morale is a big issue at the CPD.
That is also why former Miami Police officer turned moving and storage company owner Spero Georgedakis began running commercials in Chicago at the beginning of each month – urging Chicago Police officers to head south.
“I thought, let me help not only promote the program, but help these police officers move to Florida safely, and get their families here,” said Georgedakis, of Good Greek Moving & Storage.
See DeSantis in Illinois below.
