Florida Attorney General issued the following announcement on Sept. 8.
Attorney General Ashley Moody visited Miami to promote the Bigs in Blue mentorship program to retired Florida law enforcement officers. Bigs in Blue is a mentoring program, through Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, that connects youth with LEOs in communities throughout the nation. Attorney General Moody has partnered with BBBS over the past few years to promote the Bigs in Blue program in Florida. There are now 400 active matches with LEOs and children in the community through 46 agencies in the state. The program also paired more than 3,000 children with LEO mentors nationwide. The addition of retired LEOs will bolster both of these numbers.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “As a juvenile judge, I witnessed firsthand the transformative difference a prime role model can make in a child’s life, and I can think of no better role models for our youth than law enforcement officers who devote their careers to protecting and serving others.
“The amount of success the Bigs in Blue program has already had here in Florida is overwhelmingly positive. Now, thanks to our great retired LEOs, we are going to be able to pave the way for further success. With hundreds of opportunities for new mentor placements of retired officers and at-risk youth, we can continue to spread positive influence and build a Stronger, Safer Florida.”
In July 2019, Attorney General Moody announced a joint partnership with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and BBBS to encourage LEOs to join the Bigs in Blue mentorship program. Through the Governor’s Mentoring Initiative, a state employee can take off one hour per week as administrative leave for mentoring, tutoring, guest speaking or participating in an established mentoring program.
In December 2020, after the overwhelming success from the original partnership, Attorney General Moody began to push for federal, state and local LEOs to take initiative to work with kids within their communities. Attorney General Moody sent more than 300 letters statewide to sheriffs, police chiefs and federal agency heads to encourage participation in the Bigs in Blue program.
At the end of July, Bigs in Blue celebrated its two-year anniversary of the joint partnership with the Florida Attorney General’s Office, FDLE and FLHSMV. There are now 400 active matches with LEOs through 46 agencies in Florida—continuing the steady increase in participation since the partnership’s creation.
Original source can be found here.