FLORIDA (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — Florida highway safety officials closed out 2025 with a long list of operational changes they say reshaped how the Florida Highway Patrol works the road, how state offices handle vehicle services, and how the agency supports broader public safety missions.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said it now has more than 1,600 personnel statewide, with nearly 2,000 state troopers serving Florida’s “23 million residents and 143 million visitors each day.” The department framed the year as one focused on enforcement, outreach, and technology — and it emphasized a sharp expansion of immigration-related work alongside routine traffic safety.
Executive Director Dave Kerner called 2025 “an unprecedented year,” crediting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ leadership and pointing to efforts the agency described as aimed at protecting families, preserving law and order, and keeping highways “safe, secure, and welcoming for all.”
A major piece of the department’s recap centered on immigration enforcement. FLHSMV said it entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement that allows more than 1,800 FHP troopers to carry out certain immigration enforcement functions within Florida. The department also said it “led the nation” in securing DHS funding for equipment and resources tied to that work and trooper safety.
The agency said Florida “apprehend[ed] more than 7,000 illegal aliens,” including more than 1,240 with prior criminal histories. In the release, those histories were described as including crimes related to narcotics trafficking, weapons smuggling, and organized criminal activity. FLHSMV also said it created an Immigration Enforcement Section, describing it as support for the governor’s mission and part of the state’s readiness posture.
Beyond immigration operations, the department highlighted staffing and retention moves inside state law enforcement. FLHSMV said state sworn officers received base pay increases, including a 10% increase for entry-level sworn officers and a 15% increase for veteran sworn officers with at least five years of state service.
The department also pointed to ongoing deployments and event operations, including continued support for “Operation Vigilant Sentry” in the Florida Keys and along the Treasure Coast. It said FHP expanded its immigration footprint with multiple operations meant to detect and apprehend illegal immigrants. The agency also said troopers assisted local law enforcement in Miami and Panama City with spring break enforcement and coordinated with police agencies in metro areas to reduce the impact of street takeovers.
On the traffic safety front, FLHSMV said proactive enforcement has contributed to fewer deaths on Florida roads, stating traffic fatalities have trended downward for the past four years.
One of the more practical changes for everyday drivers, the department said, was the implementation of what it calls the Desk Trooper Program. The program is designed for minor crashes, allowing a trooper to investigate remotely using a driver’s cell phone — but only with the driver’s permission — so a trooper can view the crash scene without physically responding. The agency said that can reduce long waits that sometimes stretch hours when drivers are stuck on the roadside waiting for a trooper to arrive.
The year’s recap also included recruiting milestones. FLHSMV said 51 recruits graduated from the 154th Basic Recruit Class and two transitional recruit classes, with recruits including 16 members with prior U.S. military experience across the Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air Force, and Army.
The department said it also received $3.3 million to replace vehicles, along with funding to replace in-car video cameras and install ballistic panels in patrol vehicles.
Away from enforcement and patrol operations, FLHSMV highlighted several “motorist modernization” projects. The agency said it completed the ORION pilot and launched a statewide rollout of ORION’s Motor Vehicle Issuance functionality, describing it as a major step toward transforming how vehicle-related services are delivered across Florida. The department said the new phase is meant to streamline transactions and improve efficiency.
It also said it fully transitioned the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System to a new platform meant to improve stability and reduce outages. NMVTIS, the department noted, plays a role in public safety by helping law enforcement detect and prevent title fraud schemes such as title washing, which can conceal a vehicle’s true history. FLHSMV said the new platform improves system stability and allows faster, more secure responses when verifying vehicle histories.
The agency said it completed its first annual disaster recovery fail-over exercise, describing it as a “landmark achievement” for operational resilience and continuity planning.
In Miami-Dade, FLHSMV said it effectively began transitioning day-to-day motorist services operations in offices there from state-maintained to county-run tax collector operations.
Finally, the department pointed to a Verification of Lawful Status and Temporary Protected Status program, saying it improves access to verified identification data and eligibility status, strengthens interagency coordination, and supports “safer, more informed interactions” with individuals under TPS.
Source: Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles news release (Tallahassee)
