- 2 days ago
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) speaks at the Florida Sheriffs' Association Summer Conference.
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00:00How are our country's best sheriffs doing? Of all 50 states, we're number one.
00:07We appreciate what you guys are doing. And I think you're going to end up at this conference next year
00:13potentially be talking about, hey, they elected some anti-law enforcement mayor in New York City
00:20and now all these NYPD cops want to come work in our agencies and get the $5,000 bonus.
00:25And I think that that's unfortunately something from New York's perspective that may happen if they do this.
00:32And it's kind of frustrating to see it because we know what works and what doesn't work.
00:38Some of this stuff has been tried where you're anti-law enforcement, releasing criminals, not pursuing prosecutions.
00:46And then we see states like Florida that have done it the opposite and have had really strong positive results.
00:53So we've been able to do a lot of stuff holistically.
00:57I always talk about we're ranked number one in economy three years in a row by CNBC of all 50 states.
01:03We've led the nation in net migration for at least the last three or four years.
01:10We're number one in education freedom, number one in higher education, number one in business formations,
01:15number one in talent development, entrepreneurship, all these things.
01:19And there's a lot of great things to talk about, but I will tell you none of that stuff would be sustainable
01:25if you don't have law and order prevail in your communities and in your state.
01:30And we've seen that across the country.
01:33Yes, they've had a lot of problems in other areas too in some of these places.
01:37But the number one reason why people fly the coop from some of these places is because law and order is broken down.
01:45They don't feel safe in their communities as the politicians, for whatever reason, have let inmates run the asylum.
01:51What we've done in Florida is we've done strong policy and we've done strong support for the people that are out there getting the job done.
02:01At the end of the day, you can have the right policy if you don't have folks in our sheriff's departments
02:06and in our police departments that are out there doing God's work, then you're not going to be successful.
02:13But you can have great sheriffs, great police departments if you have really bad policy that's empowering criminals
02:20and harming public safety, then you're fighting a really serious uphill battle.
02:26So if you look at what we've done throughout my tenure as governor,
02:29well, one thing we've done is we've rejected jailbreak-style policies that have prevailed in places like New York and California.
02:38And let's just be clear, those have been proposed in the state of Florida.
02:43And people think, oh, we're so law and order.
02:45There's a lot of folks that wanted to do that.
02:47You have people that want to release felons from prisons now,
02:53saying they don't even have to serve their sentence like Florida law requires.
02:57You also have folks that want to go easy on people that are committing street-level crimes,
03:05and we know that that would just cause more crime and a proliferation of a lot of bad things.
03:11There's movements to abolish cash bail.
03:14You even had a movement down in Miami-Dade where a judge wanted to do that.
03:19So this stuff has all been percolating around the country.
03:22They run into a roadblock with me as governor because I'm not going to support it,
03:27and we're going to make sure that we're law and order.
03:30But just think, if those policies were to take hold in Florida,
03:34how much more difficult would your jobs be as sheriffs to be able to do it?
03:39I just think to myself, like in New York City, you have these cops,
03:43and they're risking their lives out there.
03:47You never know what's going to happen, and that's just against the backdrop.
03:50They know if there's any type of altercation,
03:53the politicians and the media will likely blame them,
03:56even if they didn't do anything wrong.
03:57So you kind of have that.
03:58So you're doing all this.
03:59You apprehend a criminal suspect.
04:02They end up getting charged, and a judge just lets them go,
04:06even for very serious crimes.
04:08So then, like two, three weeks later, you get called out,
04:11and you've got to apprehend the same guy for committing additional crimes.
04:16And it's like, at some point, you know,
04:18whose side are you on with some of this stuff?
04:21So our policies have been strong.
04:24We nipped all the jailbreak legislation and proposals in the bud,
04:30and it never got traction in the state of Florida.
04:34We also responded to some of the trends we saw in other parts of the country,
04:39particularly on the heels of the BLM riots in 2020 in this movement to defund the police.
04:46You know, this guy running for mayor in New York City, you know,
04:49wants to defund the NYPD.
04:51He said that many, many times.
04:53And this is an asinine policy.
04:55We said it at the time.
04:57You know, a lot of the media were hyping this.
05:00These politicians thought it was, like, somehow cool to do it.
05:04You know, they had their social media campaigns and everything.
05:07The places that did that got catastrophically bad results as a result of doing that.
05:14In Florida, what we said is, you know, you can run your city or your county.
05:20And, look, most places in Florida, this wouldn't be an issue.
05:23You can run it how you want,
05:24but we're not going to let some city council, you know,
05:28cut off their nose to spite their face by defunding law enforcement.
05:33And so we actually enacted legislation preventing local governments from defunding police.
05:38Now, most of the places in Florida would not try to do that, particularly at the county level.
05:45But, you know, it only takes, you know, you have some city commission where there's five city commissioners.
05:49You know, you can get three bozos to do stupid things sometimes.
05:53So why would we want to indulge that when we know the results are catastrophic?
05:58So we said, you're not going to be able to do it.
06:01We'll put money back in, and we'll keep it going.
06:03And then the other thing that happened on the heels of that, you know,
06:06you had the streets being overrun with rioting and disorder around the country.
06:11Now, we said from day one when that was good, when that was percolating, that ain't happening in Florida.
06:16You know, we backed, obviously, our local law enforcement, our state law enforcement were out there to help whatever needed to be done.
06:23But we also knew this is a trend to go up.
06:26You see unrest across this country now very frequently, and it's whatever cause celeb somebody has.
06:33So we enacted the strongest anti-riot legislation in the country,
06:38and part of it is geared towards really coming down hard if these rioters are harming law enforcement because they do target law enforcement.
06:47We also want to make sure they're not just caught and released immediately so they can keep going.
06:52So we had some good bail provisions in there.
06:54And then we made sure that individuals had a right to defend themselves, and particularly, you know,
07:01if you have a swarm of these people that are, like, banging on your car,
07:05you have every right to just get out of Dodge as fast as you can, and you don't need to sit there and be like a sitting duck.
07:11So when they try to take over streets in Florida, it doesn't work out well for them.
07:19They end up getting held accountable.
07:21We get the streets clear.
07:22So they don't even try, and so it's funny.
07:24They were protesting something.
07:26Maybe it was the immigration, and it's like they would tiptoe in the street,
07:30but as soon as that light changed, like, you see the video of these guys getting up because, you know,
07:35we're just not going to tolerate the nonsense, and the more you tolerate it, the more it builds,
07:40and it builds, and you get even more and more terrible results.
07:45So that's an example of we are squarely on the side of law-abiding, peaceful citizens,
07:51and we're not going to let inmates run the asylum.
07:55Another example of that is the legislation we provide to give our sheriffs more authority over these squatters
08:02that try to take over not just residential but even commercial properties,
08:07and Florida did not have that to the extent that some of these places around the country did,
08:13but the reality is is that you can just take, and we have a lot of seasonal residents,
08:17you just go move into somebody's house, and then all of a sudden, you know,
08:21you can assert some type of property right.
08:24Obviously, that's insane, but if it's a nine-month process, then that's not adequate disincentive to do it.
08:30So we've now created enhanced authority to be able to remove squatters from these properties.
08:38We've also done a lot on targeting animal cruelty, and we just signed legislation to create a registry
08:45for people that are convicted of cruelty to animals because I think it's just something that, you know,
08:51you have a neighbor that's abusing a dog or something.
08:55You know, that's a huge, huge problem, and I know a lot of people would be very concerned about that
08:59and would certainly want to know that, but we've also paired that with unprecedented support
09:05for our police canines, huge support for veterinary, huge support so that the handlers are able to adopt
09:12when the canines are retired, enhanced emergency response services for injured canines
09:18who are in the line of duty, and I can tell you, you know, I really learned the value of canines
09:25when I was in the military.
09:26Places like Iraq, you see what these guys do, it's amazing, but I know they've been huge instrumental parts
09:32of all of our law enforcement agencies here in Florida, and so there's never been another state
09:37that's done more to support both animals writ large but also supporting our police canines.
09:45And then we've been as strong as any state in the country on child sexual abuse, including enacting the death penalty
09:52for pedophiles. Now, there was a ruling from the Supreme Court 20 years ago saying that somehow
09:57you could not do death penalty if it's short of a murder. Now, that was not what the founding fathers
10:05ever thought. No one really asserted that for 200 years. Then all of a sudden, the court on a 5-4 decision
10:11just said, no, you can't do it. Well, I'll tell you, you look at some of these people, how sadistic they are,
10:17you know, serially raping these very young children. I think the only appropriate punishment
10:23is the ultimate punishment. I also know that even if you sentence them to prison,
10:29they will offend in prison, and if they ever get out, they will definitely re-offend once they get out.
10:34So we now have, I know there's a case or two where they're doing this. There's going to be litigation on it.
10:40We know that. Like sometimes I'll have some reports say, well, the Supreme Court ruled. You can't do that.
10:45No, we're testing that. We don't think it's a valid decision. We're putting it up there. We have a new,
10:50different court, different members. They can re-evaluate it, and I think ultimately restore
10:55the Constitution's true meaning to say, yes, states have the option. Juries can consider the evidence.
11:02A jury may not want to authorize a capital punishment in every state. That's fine. That's how our system works.
11:08But it absolutely should be something that people can do, and I don't think that we're doing as much
11:13for the victims as we could be unless we're willing to do the ultimate punishment.
11:19So, and we've done other policies, but I don't think you're going to find a state that's been
11:23stronger on policy to help you do your jobs and do your jobs well than the free state of Florida.
11:30Now, it's one thing to really be, to sabotage law enforcement like some of these crazy states
11:37have done, but I would say a lot of states are just kind of, they sit on their hands.
11:41They're not doing bad things, but they're not really leading and getting out there like Florida's
11:47done, and so on issue after issue, we've led the way, and we'll continue to do that, and we've coupled
11:52that by, yes, strong policy, which is action speaking louder than words, but we've also shown
11:59support for our law enforcement communities by putting our money where our mouth is, and not that
12:04not that funding and everything is the whole nine yards, and there are probably some agencies
12:10around this country that get a lot of money and don't produce results.
12:13I know that's true in other spheres other than law enforcement, but when we've had opportunities
12:18to do things to make a difference, we've stepped up.
12:21So a couple years ago, we enacted the $5,000 bonus for the new recruits, and so that's being,
12:27that's used for young people who are joining for the first time, which we thought that was important
12:31to include because as people have been negative on law enforcement for recent history, I think
12:38it's getting a little bit better, but there was a time period where it was really, really
12:41difficult in media and stuff, the way they would portray this, and young people, you know,
12:46we didn't want them to get this impression, so we wanted to know it's a meaningful career,
12:50it's a noble cause, and then, of course, the transfers from other states.
12:55When they come in, they're able to get a $5,000 bonus, and I think that, I mean,
13:00almost every one of your agencies has probably done both the new recruits as well as the out-of-state
13:06transfers in.
13:08Like I said, I do think you're going to see strong interest in New York City if this election
13:13goes the way that some people are predicting.
13:15I mean, I don't know about you, but would you want to put on a uniform and go out and
13:20serve if the mayor doesn't even think your agency should exist or get any funding at all,
13:25doesn't think police should go into dangerous areas, that they should send social workers
13:30into there?
13:31That ain't my cup of tea, and I don't think anybody who wears the uniform thinks those policies
13:36will succeed.
13:38We also have done the Law Enforcement Academy Scholarships.
13:41We have a program in Florida.
13:43It's great.
13:44I'm a big supporter for higher education, bright future scholarships.
13:48So, in the state of Florida, first of all, we have the lowest tuition in the country.
13:53In-state tuition is about $6,300, which is the same as it's been for many, many years,
14:00and there's no better value in the country than the state of Florida's in-state tuition.
14:05You can get bright futures, and a lot of people who are good enough to get into University of
14:09Florida, some of these places, they're good enough to qualify for bright futures.
14:13So, they may pay no tuition, or they have 75% off tuition, and that's great, and that's
14:18been really good for a lot of students.
14:20But, you know, we do have, and even though we're working to kind of reform higher ed,
14:25get rid of the fluff, and everything like that, you know, you have had over the years
14:29people get those scholarships and then take, you know, some subject that's not necessarily
14:34lighting the world on fire when they get out.
14:37So, we said, well, wait a minute.
14:38If you're going to do higher ed, why not do something similar for the academy?
14:44And so, that's been something that's been really supportive, that shows our support,
14:49and we're proud of that, and we want people to know it's a noble cause, and that's why
14:53we've done more in the high schools, so that the students will be able to learn from the
14:59perspective of folks who are both working for sheriff's departments and police departments.
15:03Some of these kids may have stigmas about law enforcement, and then when they get in and
15:08they see that people are very dedicated, they're working hard, it does change their viewpoint,
15:15and it really broadens their horizons.
15:16And I do think some of these kids will gravitate to wanting to serve in law enforcement.
15:22You know, it's interesting with these kids.
15:24I mean, my kids are younger, so we've got a rising third grader, second grader, rising kindergartener,
15:28but, like, when you take them to things and they experience it, you know, they become
15:33so much more interested in doing it, whether than me just telling you, oh, this is the way
15:38it is, this is the way it is.
15:39No, when you get to go see for yourself, people really get energized, and they want to be able
15:44to do it.
15:45So, I'm proud that we've been able to do that.
15:47And we've also done salary increases for our state law enforcement.
15:53So, for our seasoned veterans, they're getting a 15% increase on top of the overall increase
16:00that they did for all state employees this year.
16:03And you look at some of our guys, like our highway patrol, they were at the southern border
16:07under Biden to help with the border invasion.
16:10They've been on the front lines of the illegal immigration operations.
16:15Obviously, they deal with a lot of people violating our laws on the roadways.
16:19So, this was the least that can be done.
16:21But, you know, just like I said on that policy, there were folks that wanted to really have
16:26more California-style policies in Florida.
16:29I had to fight to continue the bonus.
16:31I don't think there's a single sheriff in this state that doesn't think our $5,000 bonus
16:36program has been valuable.
16:38I haven't had anyone tell me to get rid of it.
16:40I think a lot of people want to see it continue.
16:42And it's not just for sheriff's departments.
16:44It's police departments and state agencies.
16:46I know that the state law enforcement, everyone was supportive of these law enforcement pay
16:52increases.
16:53But, you know, initially, the Florida House of Representatives defunded our law enforcement
16:59bonus program that you guys have all used.
17:02They defunded any increase for state law enforcement.
17:06And, in fact, they even defunded key aspects of the Florida Highway Patrol.
17:11Now, I work with the Florida Senate, you know, we landed the plane and we got it done.
17:15But you have to ask yourself, why would you be defunding, try to defund something that
17:22has clearly worked, that has had universal support from the people that are actually on
17:27the ground doing this?
17:28Why would you deny pay increases to people who are clearly underpaid?
17:32We need to, just for recruiting and retention purposes, we need to do it.
17:36But we also need to do it, say, job well done, to say, you know what, you were out there going
17:42above and beyond what you signed up for when you went to the southern border or when you're
17:46out there helping enforce laws against illegal immigration.
17:49So how is it that we're even in that situation?
17:52So I just say, we're a law and order state.
17:54We've put our money where our mouth is.
17:56But what we were able to do, we had to fight tooth and nail to be able to deliver continued
18:02results for you.
18:03And I just think that it shouldn't have even come to that.
18:06Why wouldn't we all agree on saying that we're all on the team here and want to do
18:11it?
18:11So keep watching on some of this stuff, because I think that there's a difference in rhetoric
18:18and then actions.
18:20And anyone's going to come up here, say they're for law enforcement, what are your actions showing
18:24me?
18:25And if your actions are to try to cut out very successful initiatives, then that tells me
18:32all I need to know.
18:33Now, we've got some key issues that are percolating now.
18:37And our sheriffs have done more than any other sheriffs in the state and any other state, and
18:43maybe even all 49 states combined when it comes to enforcing our laws against illegal immigration.
18:51And we called on both our state and local agencies to be on the team on this.
18:56And I understand it's not necessarily the core mission.
19:01Ideally, we would have a federal government that just takes care of this, right?
19:05And we wouldn't even have to – maybe you get someone in a jail, and then you just turn
19:09them over.
19:09You don't have to worry about it.
19:10That would be ideal in terms of how I think this is supposed to work.
19:14But we're coming off a period, particularly the last four years, where we had massive, massive
19:19infusion across the southern border.
19:21We've had persistent problems for many, many decades.
19:25And it was the fact that if you're going to reassert the sovereignty of the country, if you're
19:29going to restore the rule of law, and if you're going to make sure that illegal immigration is,
19:35in fact, illegal, you weren't going to be able to do that with just DHS resources alone,
19:41particularly at the start of the Trump administration, after four years of the agency really wilting,
19:47particularly interior enforcement.
19:49So we did legislation.
19:51Everyone's got to be on board.
19:53You've got to do best efforts to help assist with that.
19:56We now have these 287G agreements, which are task force model, where we're going in.
20:02And we're – and I think, you know, Grady Judd was – when we did our update the other day,
20:08you know, he pointed out, we're – we're apprehending faster than DHS can – can hold
20:14in process.
20:15And so the – the results in Florida and the efforts in Florida have been so far above and
20:21beyond any other state in the country.
20:24And it really – we're pointed to as the model for what DHS wants to see all around the United
20:30States of America.
20:31And so that was part of the reason why under – under my leadership with the Division of
20:36Emergency Management, we set up this processing site at the Dade Collier Airport in the Everglades
20:43to be able to have a place where illegals could go, get them processed, and then literally there's
20:50a runway, and they can be flown out immediately.
20:54And it's interesting because, you know, you hear this different stuff.
20:56You know, the people that are going to the Alligator Alcatraz are illegally in the country.
21:02They've all already been given a final order of removal.
21:06So people talk about due process, this and that.
21:10And obviously, you know, there's some process.
21:12I mean, if you do have a right to be here, then – then that should matter.
21:16There should be some way to – to ensure that you are here illegally before they send you,
21:21for sure.
21:21But these guys have already gone through that.
21:23So they have that.
21:24So if you have an order to be removed, what is the possible objection to the federal government
21:32enforcing that removal order?
21:34Now, I know under Biden, all that was just a suggestion, right?
21:38You come across the border.
21:39They give you a notice to appear three years into the future.
21:42Not much of a deterrent when you do that.
21:44And if you did have a final order of removal, they were not sending ICE or DHS, you know,
21:49after folks.
21:50But that's what you're dealing with here.
21:52And so if you don't believe that someone under a final – and we have probably 50,000
21:57to 80,000 just in the state of Florida that already are under the final orders of removal.
22:02They've gone through, and that's what's happened.
22:05If you don't think those folks should be sent back, then you basically just want an open border.
22:11If you're going to say that having been ordered to be removed through the process we have,
22:16that that shouldn't amount to anything, I would ask, well, then why would a U.S. citizen
22:22have to follow an order to pay more taxes by the IRS?
22:25Why would a U.S. citizen have to follow orders that they don't like that are issued under federal law?
22:32It's almost like people want to give special privileges to people that are here illegally and that have already had this final order of removal.
22:42So those flights out of that airport have begun.
22:46We're monitoring the cadence of those.
22:48We do have the ability to increase capacity, and I'm willing to do that, not just there but also at our site in Camp Blanding.
22:55But what I want is, you know, obviously I hope DHS just, you know, right sizes and can take it.
23:02But until then, what I want to be, you know, it's not our responsibility to just hold people indefinitely.
23:08Our job is to help the processing and deportation.
23:12So these should be short-term.
23:14You go through whatever you need to go through to get the I's dotted and the T's crossed,
23:19and then they're on a plane, and then they're out.
23:22So they've deported over 100 from there, and they've had 300 or 400 more that have flown out of there
23:28and are either have been deported or are waiting deporting from other places in the United States.
23:34You know, it's just like, I mean, you guys know it's like a hub and spoke, right?
23:38You know, you have airlines that will feed into one place.
23:40Well, we may have 100 illegals that are ready to be sent, but they may be from six or seven different countries.
23:47So they have places in, like, Louisiana where they can fly into,
23:52and then they basically segregate people based on the country that the next flights are going to, and they do it.
23:57So there's a process that DHS use it.
23:59That's not something we're involved with.
24:00I mean, that's their responsibility, and they're doing it.
24:03But I really believe if we can get a good cadence going, you know, not only is that going to be beneficial for Florida,
24:09but I also think it's going to serve as a huge deterrent for people to want to come illegally in the first place,
24:16or people that may be here illegally violating the law will be able to maybe make a different decision.
24:22And we do offer, both the federal government and even us at Alligator Alcatraz, we offer an ability to simply fly home.
24:30You've got to be escorted and you've got to ensure that you're doing it,
24:32but you can do that, and you can short-circuit any process that you have to go through if you want to do it.
24:39So this is something that's going to be able to increase numbers.
24:43We're ready to flex, to expand, to Blanding if we need to.
24:48I'm not going to do it unless the cadence is there because I want to make sure that we're getting it done.
24:53But Florida has been the leader in this, and I know the White House has called on other states to mimic what Florida is doing.
25:00I don't know, some states may not want to, some states may want to, but it's not necessarily easy to do.
25:08Sometimes people think things we do in Florida, oh yeah, you can rebuild the bridge in three days.
25:13Yeah, that's easy. You can do this, you can do that.
25:15No, and honestly, it takes a lot of ingenuity. It takes a lot of manpower.
25:18We've got a lot of great people that are working on this.
25:21You wouldn't have the strong task force presence without the sheriffs and a lot of our police chiefs.
25:26So we really appreciate it. I can tell you the people, the state, appreciate the attention to this matter because I think it's like we've been dealing with this for decades.
25:37Are we going to solve the problem or are we not going to solve the problem?
25:40And if we can't solve it now, then when are we ever going to solve it?
25:44And the state of Florida has been leading the way on that.
25:46I also appreciate what the sheriffs have done to recognize you guys see more than anybody does in the communities because you're going out.
25:58You can get called to one place and then you see all this other stuff that's happening.
26:03And you see some of the same behavioral patterns.
26:07You see some of the same social problems.
26:09And you see that, I think, in a way that's more real than what some bureaucrats sitting in an office in Tallahassee or Washington, D.C. could ever appreciate.
26:18And so our insight in the state of Florida is ultimately a lot of these social problems cannot be solved by government bureaucracies.
26:28And the way to be able to help people who have fallen on hard times, who have mental health problems, who have drug abuse problems, who have a whole host of different problems, is not for government to be a solution, but for government to link folks to great resources that are in our communities.
26:46And that includes our churches.
26:48That includes charities.
26:49That includes businesses that want to be supportive, even individual volunteers.
26:54And so Hope Florida has been the umbrella that has linked folks in need for this.
27:00And we've been able to get over 30,000 people off government dependence.
27:06I think it's like, you know, 75, 80 percent of the folks that have been placed in employment have been able to get increased wages on this.
27:15And you've got moms with young kids.
27:17There's a whole host of things.
27:18But the more people have the resources throughout their communities and people that show interest in them, and they get on their feet, two feet, the much better it's going to be for them to be able to be successful.
27:31And that means less problems for law enforcement, and I think it means stronger communities.
27:36So having those liaisons in your office I think is going to pay big dividends.
27:40We're constantly doing more to be able to enlist more and more support from resources exterior to government.
27:48And then the final point I'll make, and I think that there is so much that we, you know, can't necessarily predict, but this rise of artificial intelligence is going to have huge implications for our society.
28:02Now, I'm not one who thinks that, you know, we should just turn over our society to a handful of big tech companies.
28:08I think there needs to be guardrails.
28:10I think there needs to be some rules of the road.
28:12You know, they actually passed a provision in the U.S. House of Representatives to eliminate the authority of states to touch AI for the next 10 years.
28:23I think that was a gross violation of the Tenth Amendment.
28:25I don't think it was something that ultimately would have been good policy.
28:29The U.S. Senate killed that, so it didn't end up getting into law.
28:34And think about we did the bill.
28:36We were in Jacksonville.
28:37I signed the bill about, you know, they were doing a, using AI, taking a young woman's likeness and putting it in pornography.
28:47And it's like, you know, people think it's real.
28:50And what does that do to somebody?
28:52So we put safeguards in.
28:54We put an ability for the victim to fight back.
28:57That would have been illegal for us to do, you know, had that provision passed.
29:00So I think there's going to be a lot of things that come down the pike, but don't have any illusions.
29:07People are going to use AI to scam, to cheat, to steal, to harm people.
29:15And I think we're going to have to come to grips.
29:17I mean, we're going to be working on a policy for Florida, and it may require some legislation to be able to provide adequate protections for folks.
29:26But you're going to have potentially a lot of upheavals just in the job market.
29:31I mean, you have folks that graduate college.
29:33They go in for more entry-level stuff.
29:36Maybe it's more kind of grunt work.
29:38AI is replacing some of those jobs.
29:42So what's that going to do to the job market?
29:44And interestingly, you know, we were told for so many years, well, you've got to learn to code.
29:50You know, some of these jobs, it may end up being the opposite.
29:53And we've really stressed in Florida vocational education, acquiring skills to be skilled labor, because that is really, really necessary.
30:02And, you know, manufacturing, you know, we've added, I think, 50,000, 60,000 manufacturing jobs since I've been governor.
30:09We've added manufacturing businesses.
30:11But, you know, one of the impediments to further growth is they need more trained, skilled workers to be in these jobs.
30:18So I think those jobs, but when you have some of these more white-collar, kind of low-level, you know,
30:24it may be that those are the jobs that are going to be on the chopping block first.
30:28And that's just going to create a lot of issues.
30:30So we're thinking very deeply about it.
30:33I think it's going so quickly that sometimes it's hard to keep up.
30:38But I will tell you, AI is incredibly flawed as well.
30:43It does spit out nonsense, because what this is doing, it's like a supercomputer that scans all these data sets and then gives you an answer.
30:51Well, if the data sets are garbage, it's garbage in, garbage out.
30:56And so when they're spewing some of the stuff that's totally wrong, it's not that the computer messed up, per se.
31:03It's just that the underlying data was wrong.
31:06And so the result ends up being incorrect.
31:08So who is controlling the data sets?
31:11Who's controlling the under?
31:12You think some people may have an agenda behind that at some point?
31:16Yeah, you can bet your bottom dollar they would.
31:18That's human nature.
31:19So how are you able to make sure that technology in our society enhances the human experience but doesn't supplant the human experience?
31:33There's an old saying, I think, therefore I am.
31:37It's kind of like the core of humanity is to be able to think for yourself.
31:43And what AI is proposing is to relieve us humans of the ability to even do that.
31:50You know, kids growing up, are they going to even have to write a paper or can they just plug something into AI?
31:55What are you going to do on, you know, any time you need something?
31:59Do you actually read for yourself or do you just jump it in?
32:02So it's going to create a lot of huge implications for our society.
32:07I do think that there are some that just say, you know what, we just need to turn it over to the tech overlords and pray for the best.
32:15That is not going to happen in Florida.
32:18That can't happen in Florida.
32:20I don't think it would work to do that in the state of Florida.
32:24But it is going to create major, major issues for our law enforcement because there's going to be so many ways where this can be used in ways that are very harmful to people.
32:35And, look, you know, I try to be honest about this stuff.
32:38Like, you look at some of the things like social media technology, there's obviously good to it, but there's also a lot of bad to it.
32:45And you've got to look at that and you've got to be honest about it.
32:48Now, we've done some stuff to try to help parents with their kids on social media, and there's other things that we're looking at doing there too.
32:56But you can't look at AI and say, oh, this is going to be a boon and that there's no drawbacks.
33:02There are huge, huge ramifications, huge potential negative implications, and some major, major drawbacks in terms of how we operate as a society.
33:14And at the end of the day, how I conceive of my job is I just go back to why the country was founded, we're endowed by our creator with inalienable rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
33:27And so government's role is to protect the rights that we already possess and to provide for every American, but in our case Floridian, an open field and fair chance for their talents to flourish and for them to realize their dreams.
33:42And anything that helps that is something that I'm going to embrace.
33:47If there's things that are contrary to that, then I'm going to be in my position fighting to make sure that folks are still able to realize the dream here in the state of Florida.
34:00So there's going to be other issues other than that, but I do think that's a big one.
34:04And we have an open door.
34:06As you guys see different things that are happening with AI and some of the other technology, technological innovations, if you have any type of advice on how to approach it from a state level, we're all ears.
34:19Because this is going to be a really important issue that we're going to tackle in the ensuing months.
34:24But until then, keep up the great work.
34:27We're very, very fortunate to have a great cadre of sheriffs.
34:31We're very fortunate that you're upholding the culture of Florida to be a law and order state.
34:38As much as it's important to have policy and the financial support and, you know, you make your job more difficult if you didn't have it, you can have the best policy.
34:46If you don't have folks that are hard chargers, that are putting themselves on the line to be able to support their fellow residents and their communities, then it ain't going to amount to very much.
34:57So you guys have stepped up, you guys have answered the call, and our 50-year low crime rate is a testament to that.
35:04And I know, unlike some states, I know the people of Florida are genuinely appreciative for your service and for your sacrifice, and I'm one of them.
35:13God bless you all.