In this area of the state, the Lewis M. Lively Area Vocational-Technical Center in Tallahassee was one of the original locations certified to offer training to law enforcement agencies in a six-county region of the state. A Law Enforcement Department of one full-time person was established, and the first 200-hour basic recruit class started on October 1, 1968, in an existing classroom at the Vo-Tech Center.
In 1976, Lively Vo-Tech, with the assistance of the Governor's Office, the Leon County School Board, the Gadsden County Commission, Senator Pat Thomas of Quincy, and others, the property in Gadsden County was leased to the Leon County School Board for 99 years to be used for regional training.
Once plans for construction were approved, work on the original Administration Building of the Law Enforcement Training and Education Center began on March 31, 1976. In the subsequent years, the Academy added firearms ranges, driving ranges, an on-site cafeteria, a 64-bed housing facility, a man-made lake, and other improvements. In honor of the role played by Senator Pat Thomas, the Lively Law Enforcement Academy was renamed the Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Academy (PTLEA) in 1996.
July 1, 1999, the Florida Legislature transferred the ownership of the Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Academy from Lively Vo-Tech to the Tallahassee Community College (TCC).
In 2002, then-Governor Jeb Bush launched an effort to improve three areas of state law enforcement functions: telecommunications operations, use of state aircraft, and state law enforcement training. TCC submitted a white paper describing the potential benefits and cost savings that could be realized if state law enforcement training were to be consolidated at the Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Academy site. The proposal provided for complete control of the training by each agency but put the Academy in the role of achieving efficiencies by collocating resources used for training.
In 2007, the Academy partnered with the Tallahassee Fire Department to establish the Tallahassee Fire Academy (TFA). The TFA provides state-approved training to those seeking employment as a firefighter in the state of Florida.
Beginnings of the Florida Public Safety Institute
In 2009, the TCC District Board of Trustees recognized the growth at PTLEA and the changing nature of the programs offered. They approved the new name, Florida Public Safety Institute (FPSI), for the now almost 1,500-acre site in Gadsden County. The use of this "umbrella" name for the site permitted the PTLEA, as well as the other training academies located there, to coexist at a location that better described the range of professional programming offered.
Environmental Stewardship
The Florida Public Safety Institute ethic embodies responsible planning and management of environmental resources.
Forest Management
The Institute sits on almost 1,500 acres of rolling land in Gadsden County. In an effort to insure good stewardship of that land, the College has engaged a consultant firm that employs Certified Foresters and Certified Wildlife Biologists to develop and manage a forest management plan that comprehensively accounts for timber, wildlife, unique vegetative communities, aesthetics, future construction, and development plans, access, and buffering with surrounding property owners while producing positive cash flow through the careful, planned harvesting of planted timber over time.
Green Lodging
The Florida Green Lodging Program is a voluntary initiative of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that designates and recognizes lodging facilities that make a commitment to conserve and protect Florida’s natural resources. The Florida Public Safety Housing, Inc. (PSAH) operates a 200-room housing facility at the Institute to provide on-site participant housing in support of the Institute's various training programs. In an effort to reduce operating expenses while increasing the responsible management of public resources, the PSAH sought recognition as a "Green Lodging" facility from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
Lead Management on Shoot Ranges
The Institute has implemented a series of strategies to assess the impact and manage lead migration from shooting ranges. These strategies were shaped after a careful review of geologic maps to assess drinking water sources, hydrologic maps to assess drainage patterns on and surrounding shooting ranges, soil maps to assess soil properties that affect the migration lead in the soil, wetland maps to determine any potential impact of lead into wetlands, and topographic maps to determine site elevations, drainage, and dissipation on the property. The Institute actively monitors lead migration using three experimental ponds behind the earthen berms of its ranges. In addition, the Institute has implemented "clean" ranges where only lead-free, non-toxic ammunition is permitted for use by agency personnel using the ranges.
Contact Us
Florida Public Safety Institute
75 College Drive, Suite 203, Havana, FL 32333
Phone: (850) 201-7000 | Fax: (850) 201-7013
Dining Hall: (850) 201-7057
FPSI Store: (850) 201-7017