Florida Administrative Code › 11 - DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT › 11B - Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission › Chapter 11B-27 - CERTIFICATION AND EMPLOYMENT OR APPOINTMENT › Section 11B-27.0011 - Moral Character

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) For the purpose of
				certification, employment, or appointment, pursuant to procedures established
				by paragraph  11B-27.002(1)(g) 
				and Rule  11B-27.00225, F.A.C., the
				employing agency is responsible for conducting a thorough background
				investigation to determine the moral character of an applicant, pursuant to
				Section  943.13(7),
				F.S.
(2) The unlawful use of any
				controlled substances pursuant to Rule
				11B-27.00225, F.A.C., by an
				applicant for certification, employment, or appointment, at any time proximate
				to the submission of application for certification, employment, or appointment,
				conclusively establishes that the applicant is not of good moral character
				pursuant to Section  943.13(7), F.S.
				The unlawful use of any controlled substances specified in Rule
				11B-27.00225, F.A.C., by an
				applicant may or may not conclusively establish that the applicant is not of
				good moral character pursuant to Section
				 943.13(7),
				F.S., depending upon the type of controlled substance used, the frequency of
				use, and the age of the applicant at the time of use. Nothing in this rule
				chapter is intended to restrict the requirements of Section
				 943.13(7),
				F.S., to controlled substance use only.
(3) Upon written request and submission of
				materials, the Commission shall evaluate the qualification of an applicant to
				determine compliance with "good moral character" pursuant to this rule section.
				Written materials submitted to the Commission upon request for reinstatement of
				certification shall include, if available, all prior Commission disciplinary
				records, agency disciplinary records, victim statement(s), or citizen input.
				The Notice of Petition for reinstatement shall be published in the Florida
				Administrative Register or in the jurisdiction of the petitioning
				agency.
(4) For the purposes of the
				Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission's implementation of any of
				the penalties specified in Section
				 943.1395(6) or
				(7), F.S., a certified officer's failure to
				maintain good moral character required by Section
				 943.13(7),
				F.S., is defined as:
(a) The perpetration by
				an officer of an act that would constitute any felony offense, whether
				criminally prosecuted or not.
(b)
				Except as otherwise provided in Section
				 943.13(4),
				F.S., a plea of guilty, an adjudication of guilt, or a verdict of guilty after
				a criminal trial for any of the following misdemeanor or criminal offenses,
				notwithstanding any suspension of sentence or withholding of adjudication, or
				the perpetration by an officer of an act that would constitute any of the
				following misdemeanor or criminal offenses whether criminally prosecuted or
				not:
1. Sections
				 316.193,
				 316.1939,
				 327.35,
				 365.16(1)(c),
				(d),
				 414.39,
				 499.03,
				 741.31,
				 784.011,
				 784.03,
				 784.047,
				 784.048,
				 784.05,
				 784.049(3)(a),
				 784.046(15),
				 790.01,
				 790.10,
				 790.15,
				 790.27,
				 794.027,
				 796.07,
				 800.02,
				 800.03,
				 806.101,
				 806.13,
				 810.08,
				 810.14,
				 812.014,
				 812.015,
				 812.14,
				 810.145,
				 817.235,
				 817.49,
				 817.563,
				 817.565,
				 817.61,
				 817.64,
				 827.04,
				 828.12,
				 831.30,
				 831.31(1)(b),
				 832.05,
				 836.12(2),
				 837.012,
				 837.05,
				 837.055,
				 837.06,
				 839.13,
				 839.20,
				 843.02,
				 843.03,
				 843.06,
				 843.085,
				 847.011,
				 856.021,
				 870.01,
				 893.13,
				 893.147,
				 901.36,
				 914.22,
				 934.03,
				 934.425,
				 944.35,
				 944.37,
				 944.39,
				 944.47, and
				 951.22, F.S.
2. Any principal, accessory, attempt,
				solicitation, or conspiracy, pursuant to Chapter 777, F.S., which had the crime
				been committed or completed would have been a felony offense; or
3. The perpetration of an act in any
				jurisdiction other than the State of Florida, which if committed in the State
				of Florida would constitute any offense listed in this rule section.
(c) The perpetration by an officer
				of acts or conduct that constitute the following offenses:
1. Excessive use of force, defined as a use
				of force on a person by any officer that is not justified under Section
				 776.05 or
				 776.07, F.S., or a use of force
				on an inmate or prisoner by any correctional officer that would not be
				authorized under Section
				 944.35(1)(a),
				F.S.
2. Misuse of official
				position, defined by Section
				 112.313(6),
				F.S.
3. Having an unprofessional
				relationship with an inmate, detainee, probationer or parolee, or community
				controllee. An unprofessional relationship is defined as:
a. Having written or oral communication with
				an inmate, detainee, probationer or parolee, or community controllee that is
				intended to facilitate conduct prohibited by this rule section; or
b. Engaging in physical contact not required
				in the performance of official duties, and is defined as kissing, fondling of
				the genital area, buttocks, or breasts, massaging or similar touching, holding
				hands, any other physical contact normally associated with the demonstration of
				affection or sexual misconduct as applied to all certifications, which is
				defined in Section  944.35(3),
				F.S.
c. Engaging in a romantic
				association with an inmate, detainee, probationer, parolee, or community
				controlee. "Romantic association" is defined as the exchange of telephone
				calls, pictures, letters, greeting cards, or any other form of oral or written
				communication, which expresses feelings or thoughts of affection or the desire
				to engage in a romantic relationship whether emotional or physical. This
				subsection shall not apply to an officer who is legally married to an inmate,
				detainee, probationer or parolee, or community controlee in the community, nor
				does it apply to any officer who has no knowledge, or reason to believe, that
				the person with whom the officer has engaged in a romantic association is an
				inmate, detainee, probationer or parolee, or community controlee.
4. Sexual harassment pursuant to
				and consistent with decisions interpreting
				29 C.F.R.
				1604.11, including unwelcome sexual advances,
				requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual
				nature, when the harassment involves physical contact or misuse of official
				position and when:
a. Submission to such
				conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an
				individual's employment; or
b.
				Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the
				basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; or
c. Such conduct has the purpose or effect of
				unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an
				intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.
5. Engaging in oral, anal, or vaginal
				penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another person or engaging
				in anal or vaginal penetration by any other object while on duty, or at any
				time the officer is acting under the color of authority as a
				Commission-certified criminal justice officer, and not done for a bona fide
				medical purpose or in the lawful performance of the officer's duty.
6. False statements during the employment
				application process.
7. Conduct
				that subverts or attempts to subvert the State Officer Certification
				Examination process pursuant to Rule
				 11B-30.009, F.A.C.
8. Conduct that subverts or attempts to
				subvert the Basic Abilities Test process pursuant to subsection
				 11B-35.0011(1),
				F.A.C.
9. Conduct that subverts or
				attempts to subvert the examination process for Commission-approved training at
				a Commission-certified training school or an employing agency promotional
				examination process which shall include the following:
a. Removing from the examination room any of
				the examination materials.
b.
				Reproducing or reconstructing any portion of the examination.
c. Aiding by any means in the reproduction of
				any portion of the examination.
d.
				Selling, distributing, buying, receiving, or having unauthorized possession of
				any portion of a past, current, or future examination.
e. Communication with any other examinee
				during the administration of the examination.
f. Copying answers from another examinee, or
				intentionally allowing one's answers to be copied by another examinee during
				the administration of the examination.
g. Having in one's possession during the
				administration of the examination, any books, notes, written or printed
				materials, or data of any kind, not supplied as part of, or required for, the
				test administration.
h. Falsifying
				or misrepresenting information required for admission to the
				examination.
i. Impersonating an
				examinee.
j. Having an impersonator
				take the examination on one's behalf.
k. Disrupting the test
				administration.
l. Revealing the
				test questions or other information that would compromise the integrity of the
				examination.
10. Any
				overt, conspicuous, or public act of a sexual or simulated sexual nature which
				is likely to be observed by others.
11. Any willful and offensive exposure or
				exhibition of his or her sexual organs in public or on the private premises of
				another or so near thereto as to likely be seen except in any place provided or
				set apart for that purpose.
12.
				Willful failure of the agency administrator to comply with Chapter 943, F.S.,
				as it pertains to the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission or
				Commission rules.
13. Intentional
				abuse of a Temporary Employment Authorization, pursuant to Section
				 943.131(1),
				F.S.
14. Misuse of Electronic
				Database. Willfully and knowingly accessing an electronic database within the
				trust of an officer, by using said database to access restricted information
				for an illegitimate or personal purpose with bad intent. Bad intent may be
				evidenced by:
a. A pattern of misuse that
				demonstrates improper accesses or violations.
b. If the violation occurred after the
				officer received agency or Commission discipline for improperly accessing a
				computer database, or after the officer received formal training on the
				database(s) that includes provisions on the improper use of said
				database(s).
c. The existence of a
				current or past non-amicable or otherwise contentious relationship between the
				officer and the subject of the query, or when the purpose of the query is to
				identify person(s) linked or associated to said relationship.
d. Pre-textual queries based on age, race,
				sex, gender, or other personal identifying characteristics.
e. Any additional action taken by the officer
				as a result of the information obtained from the query, for example, retaining,
				copying, or reproducing the information obtained from the query, or
				disseminating information not listed as confidential or exempt in Chapter 119,
				F.S., obtained as a result of the query.
15. Discriminatory Conduct:
a. The perpetration by the officer of either
				a course of conduct or a single egregious act that evidences discriminatory
				conduct based on race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age,
				handicap, or sexual orientation, which does not involve an expression of public
				concern, and which causes a clear and substantial belief in the mind of a
				reasonable person that the officer cannot perform the duties of office in a
				fair and impartial manner, with respect for the rights of others and laws of
				the state and nation; or
b.
				Knowingly, willfully, and actively participating in any activity committed with
				the intent to benefit, promote, or further the interests of a "hate group", as
				defined in Section  874.03(6),
				F.S.
c. For the purposes of this
				section, an expression of public concern shall mean an expression by an
				individual as a citizen that relates to any matter of political, social, or
				other concern of the community. Expressions of public concern are determined by
				the content, form, and context of the given act or course of conduct, viewed by
				the totality of the record.
(d) A certified officer's unlawful injection,
				ingestion, inhalation, or other introduction of any controlled substance, as
				defined in Section  893.03, F.S., into his or her
				body as evidenced by a drug test in accordance with Section
				 112.0455,
				 440.102 or
				 944.474, F.S.