Florida’s State Troopers: Burnout, Low Pay, and Critically Low Staffing Levels Public Safety at Risk

As Florida’s population booms, the state’s troopers face mounting challenges with low pay, long hours, and critical staffing shortages.

Fla. News Network —It’s 2 a.m. on I-95, and a rookie Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) trooper is staring down a mangled SUV after a hit-and-run. Backup? Forty-five minutes away. Medical help? Even longer. This isn’t a scene from a dystopian thriller—it’s Tuesday night for Florida’s highway patrol. With the state’s population surging past 22 million, FHP’s 1,900 sworn officers are drowning in a perfect storm of staff shortages, brutal overtime, and pay that lags behind fast-food managers.

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