Title XLVII, Criminal Procedure and Corrections

(1) Notwithstanding s. 944.17, the department may contract with county or municipal facilities for the purpose of housing inmates committed to the department.(a) Notwithstanding ss. 944.17 and 944.1905, before transferring a state inmate to another facility as authorized under th…

The Department of Corrections shall classify inmates pursuant to an objective classification scheme. The initial inmate classification questionnaire and the inmate reclassification questionnaire must cover both aggravating and mitigating factors.(1) In scoring either the initial …

The following persons shall be authorized to visit at their pleasure all state correctional institutions: The Governor, all Cabinet members, members of the Legislature, judges of state courts, state attorneys, public defenders, and authorized representatives of the commission. No…

(1) This section may be cited as the “Corrections Equality Act.”(2) All regularly employed assistants, officers, and employees whose duties bring them into contact with the inmates of the institution shall be women as far as practicable.(3) Women inmates shall have access to prog…

(1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the “Tammy Jackson Healthy Pregnancies for Incarcerated Women Act.”(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:(a) “Correctional institution” means any facility under the authority of the department or the Department of Juvenil…

(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:(a) “Correctional facility” means any part of the correctional system, any county detention facility, juvenile detention center or residential facility, temporary holding center, or other criminal detention facility operated by o…

(1) The department is authorized to grant deductions from sentences in the form of gain-time in order to encourage satisfactory prisoner behavior, to provide incentive for prisoners to participate in productive activities, and to reward prisoners who perform outstanding deeds or …

All awards of administrative gain-time under 1s. 944.276 and provisional credits under 2s. 944.277 are hereby canceled for all inmates serving a sentence or combined sentences in the custody of the department, or serving a state sentence in the custody of another jurisdiction. Re…

(1) At any time, and upon its own motion or on motion of a party, a court may conduct an inquiry into whether any action or appeal brought by a prisoner was brought in good faith. A prisoner who is found by a court to have brought a frivolous or malicious suit, action, claim, pro…

(1) If a prisoner is convicted of escape, or if the clemency, conditional release as described in chapter 947, probation or community control as described in chapter 948, provisional release as described in 1s. 944.277, parole, or control release as described in s. 947.146 grante…

The department may declare that a prisoner who commits a violation of any law of the state or rule or regulation of the department or institution on or after January 1, 1996, and who is found guilty pursuant to s. 944.28(2), shall not be eligible to earn incentive gain-time for u…

In the interests of safety, security, and order of the state correctional system, the Department of Corrections shall immediately adopt rules governing and limiting access to weights and other weight training equipment by inmates within the state correctional system. It is the in…

(1) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a prisoner who has served his or her term or terms, less allowable gain-time deductions as provided by law, or who has attained his or her provisional release date shall, upon release, be placed under further supervision a…

(1) Upon conviction of a felony as defined in s. 10, Art. X of the State Constitution, the civil rights of the person convicted shall be suspended in Florida until such rights are restored by a full pardon, conditional pardon, or restoration of civil rights granted pursuant to s.…

(1) The inspector general shall be responsible for prison inspection and investigation, internal affairs investigations, and management reviews. The office of the inspector general shall be charged with the duty of inspecting the penal and correctional systems of the state.(2) Th…

Upon completing an inspection of a correctional institution the inspector shall make a full and complete report on such forms as shall be provided by the department. One copy of each report shall be filed with the department, one copy shall be sent to the officer in charge of the…

If any prison inspector shall fail to make a report of his or her findings, he or she shall be immediately discharged and shall not be again employed in such capacity. If any prison inspector shall knowingly make a false report of his or her findings, he or she shall be guilty of…

The department shall establish by rule an inmate grievance procedure that must conform to the Minimum Standards for Inmate Grievance Procedures as promulgated by the United States Department of Justice pursuant to 42 U.S.C. s. 1997e. The department’s office of general counsel sha…

(1)(a) An employee of the department is authorized to apply physical force upon an inmate only when and to the extent that it reasonably appears necessary:1. To defend himself or herself or another against such other imminent use of unlawful force;2. To prevent a person from esca…

Any agent, employee, or officer of the department having supervision over state inmates being worked under the provisions of law who willfully permits any prisoner to escape shall be guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 7…

No officer or employee of the department shall receive, directly or indirectly, from any prisoner or from anyone on behalf of such prisoner, any gift, reward, or any compensation whatsoever for his or her services or supplies other than that prescribed or authorized by law or the…

(1)(a) An officer or employee of the department may not receive any compensation whatsoever, directly or indirectly, for any act or service that she or he may do or perform for or on behalf of any officer or employee or agent, or employee of a contractor. An officer or employee o…

Any person who, without authority, interferes with or in any way interrupts the work of any prisoner under the custody of the department or who in any way interferes with the discipline or good conduct of any prisoner shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punisha…

Any prisoner confined in, or released on furlough from, any prison, jail, contractor-operated correctional facility, road camp, or other penal institution, whether operated by the state, a county, or a municipality, or operated under a contract with the state, a county, or a muni…

The warden of a state correctional institution may pay a reward in an amount not greater than $100 from institutional funds to each person who is directly responsible for the capture of an inmate who has escaped from the institution. The warden of the institution from which the i…

(1) If there is reasonable justification to believe that an offender has escaped from the custody of the department or has absconded from a rehabilitative community reentry program before the offender has satisfied his or her sentence or combined sentences, or if it is determined…

Any prisoner who holds as hostage any person within any correctional institution or anywhere while under the jurisdiction of the department, or who by force, or threat of force holds any person or persons against their will in defiance of official orders, shall be guilty of a fel…

Whoever instigates, contrives, willfully attempts to cause, assists, or conspires to cause any mutiny, riot, or strike in defiance of official orders, in any state correctional institution, shall be guilty of a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s.…

Whoever harbors, conceals, maintains, or assists, or gives any other aid to any prisoner after his or her escape from any state correctional institution, knowing that he or she is an escaped prisoner, shall be guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 7…

(1)(a) Except through regular channels as authorized by the officer in charge of the correctional institution, it is unlawful to introduce into or upon the grounds of any state correctional institution, or to take or attempt to take or send or attempt to send therefrom, any of th…

Sections 944.471-944.473 may be cited as the “Drug-Free Corrections Act of 1992.”History.—s. 18, ch. 92-310.

(1) FINDINGS.—The Legislature finds that:(a) Inmate substance abuse can cause a multitude of security and programmatic problems, including staff corruption, development of an unsafe and unproductive workplace, and the inability of inmate substance abusers to profit from vocationa…

(1) RULES AND PROCEDURES.—The department shall establish programs for random and reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol testing by urinalysis or other noninvasive procedure for inmates to effectively identify those inmates abusing drugs, alcohol, or both. The department shall also…

(1) This section may be cited as the “Addiction-Recovery Supervision Program Act.”(2)(a) Any offender released from a state correctional facility who is convicted of a crime committed on or after July 1, 2001, must be given addiction-recovery supervision if the offender has:1. A …

(1) It is the intent of the Legislature that the state correctional system provide a safe and secure environment for both inmates and staff. A healthy workforce is a productive workforce, and security of the state correctional system can best be provided by strong and healthy emp…

Whenever any prisoner is convicted under the provisions of ss. 944.44-944.47, the punishment of imprisonment imposed shall be served consecutively to any former sentence imposed upon any prisoner convicted hereunder.History.—s. 8, ch. 57-313; s. 96, ch. 2018-110.

(1) In recognition of the fact that many prisoners in the correctional system have sources of income and assets outside of the correctional system, which may include bank accounts, inheritances, real estate, social security payments, veteran’s payments, and other types of financi…

(1) A lien prior in dignity to all others shall exist in favor of the state upon royalties, commissions, proceeds of sale, or any other thing of value payable to or accruing to a convicted felon or a person on her or his behalf, including any person to whom the proceeds may be tr…

The Department of Corrections shall protect the financial interest of the state with respect to claims which the state may have against inmates in state institutions under its supervision and control and shall administer money and other property received for the personal benefit …

The Department of Legal Affairs shall be the legal adviser of the Department of Corrections.History.—s. 42, ch. 57-121; s. 18, ch. 61-530; ss. 11, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 63, ch. 77-120; s. 74, ch. 79-3.

When a treaty is in effect between the United States and a foreign country providing for the transfer of a convicted offender who is a citizen or national of a foreign country to the foreign country of which she or he is a citizen or national, the Governor or the Governor’s desig…

(1) The department is authorized to contract with private transport companies for the transportation of prisoners both within and beyond the limits of this state. Each prisoner shall be taken into custody by the transport company for the purpose of transportation and then deliver…

Before the release by parole, release by reason of gain-time allowances provided for in s. 944.291, or expiration of sentence of any inmate who has been diagnosed as having an intellectual disability as defined in s. 393.063, the Department of Corrections shall notify the Agency …

(1) Within 6 months before the release of an inmate from the custody of the Department of Corrections or a contractor-operated correctional facility by expiration of sentence under s. 944.275, any release program provided by law, or parole under chapter 947, or as soon as possibl…

(1) As used in this section, the term:(a) “Convicted” means there has been a determination of guilt as a result of a trial or the entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, regardless of whether adjudication is withheld. A conviction for a similar offense includes, but is not …

(1) As used in this section, the term:(a) “Change in status at an institution of higher education” has the same meaning as provided in s. 775.21.(b) “Conviction” means a determination of guilt which is the result of a trial or the entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, reg…