Bureau of State Investigation

The Bureau of State Investigations is responsible for conducting criminal, administrative and internal affairs investigations for the agency. Criminal investigations are referred to the appropriate State Attorney's Office for prosecution. Administrative and Internal Affairs investigations are referred to management for the appropriate follow-up action.

During 1994-95 there were 10,280 incidents reported to the IG's office. The types of incidents fall into the following categories:

Of these incidents, 2,727 official investigations were assigned. Of the 2,727 investigations assigned, 2,322 were completed on June 30, 1995.

A total of 559 cases were completed and forwarded to the State Attorney's Offices throughout the State for possible criminal prosecution.

A total of 134 civil rights cases were assigned to the Bureau's investigators. These cases were both internal (originating within the Department of Corrections) as well as external cases (referred to this department for investigation by the Florida Commission on Human Relations and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). This represents a 15% increase from fiscal year 1993/94.

Continued growth is expected in the areas of criminal and administrative investigations as both the inmate population and staff expand their numbers as well as an increase in investigations generated by the U.S.A. case, Americans With Disabilities Act, EEO complaints, sexual harassment, the Whistle Blowers Act, and alleged physical abuse cases.

In addition to sheer growth of the inmate population, as the inmate population becomes more violent and aggressive, we can expect an increase in crimes against persons. Data reflects that inmate on inmate and inmate on staff assaults have steadily increased since 1992.

The following table compares significant incidents reported to the Inspector General's Office for the first six months of 1994 with the first six months of 1995. This data reflects significant increases in reported incidents involving battery on law enforcement officers, and civil rights complaints.

Because of the continued growth in investigative workload, the Bureau instituted a case assignment system in February, 1994, that employs solvability factors. Applying solvability factors to incidents reported to the Bureau allows for more effective utilization of staff resources and helps to a degree to counter-balance the effects of growth without sacrificing the quality of investigations.