Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) Secretary Melanie S. Griffin was today joined by Senator Jonathan Martin, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Fort Myers Assistant Special Agent in Charge Tracy Maurer, and Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) Major Thomas Pikul in Fort Myers to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the DBPR Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco’s (ABT) Bureau of Law Enforcement.
“It is with great pride and gratitude that DBPR celebrates the 90th anniversary of ABT’s Bureau of Law Enforcement and recognizes the tireless service of our law enforcement officers,” said DBPR Secretary Melanie S. Griffin. “As the second oldest law enforcement agency in the state, ABT has led the way when it comes to protecting Florida residents and visitors.”
“Partnerships between agencies have never been more important than they are today and FDLE’s work with ABT allows our agents to tap into their expertise on a variety of crimes including economic and fraud investigations,” said FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass.“Congratulations on 90 years of keeping Florida safe.”
FDLE and ABT Law Enforcement have a strong partnership that includes collaboration on background checks and fingerprinting to ensure the integrity of licensees manufacturing, distributing and selling alcoholic beverages and tobacco in the state, as well as investigations to protect Floridians from human trafficking and fraudulent activity.
“The Florida Highway Patrol has appreciated the longstanding collaboration with ABT’s Bureau of Law Enforcement,” said FHP Colonel Gary Howze II. “Their ICARE program actively prevents and deters the underage use of alcoholic beverages, which reduces the number of impaired drivers on Florida’s roadways, saving untold lives each year. Congratulations on your 90th anniversary.”
The ABT Bureau of Law Enforcement collaborates with the Florida Highway Patrol to respond to car accidents involving alcohol, including when drivers are underage. Together, ABT, FHP and other state and local law enforcement partners administer the public safety initiative “ICARE,” which stands for Identifying Contributors to Alcohol Related Events, and ensures those who illegally provide alcohol to minors are held accountable under Florida law.
The Florida Legislature first created ABT in 1933, then known as the “Malt and Vinous Beverage Department.” It was joined two years later by the “State Beverage Department” to oversee the important business of regulating moonshine. Alcohol improperly made, a practice bad actors attempt to this day, can potentially have lethal effects or cause serious bodily injury. Throughout the decades, ABT officers have conducted undercover operations to detect and stop unlawful alcohol production as part of DBPR’s continued efforts to protect the public and enforce safe and responsible operation of alcoholic beverage sales.
ABT officers have also served as first responders and assisted recovery efforts for every hurricane that has impacted the state over the last 30+ years. This includes hurricanes Michael and Ian, where these brave officers provided security for businesses to protect them from potential looting and fulfilled additional missions to assist residents in the impacted areas during their time of greatest need.
Additionally, under the leadership of Governor DeSantis, DBPR provides statewide assistance to protect Americans from human trafficking. To combat this evolving crime, ABT Law Enforcement actively investigates the nexus between DBPR licensees and human trafficking. The Bureau has been a vital part of several federal human trafficking cases in recent months, identifying and saving hundreds of potential human trafficking victims.
In the past year alone, ABT Law Enforcement has:
- Planned and executed more than 9,800 stings;
- More than 5,600 for alcohol-related incidents,
- Nearly 4,000 for tobacco-related incidents, and
- Almost 250 for nicotine-related incidents.
- Identified nearly 60 violations for illegally selling alcohol without a license;
- Reported more than 280 violations for selling a tobacco product to a person under the age of 21; and
- Uncovered nearly 900 violations for the sale of alcohol to a person under 21.
To learn more about ABT’s Bureau of Law Enforcement, visit MyFloridaLicense.com.
