The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is a state-wide investigative law enforcement agency within the state of Florida. The department formally coordinates eight boards, councils, and commissions. FDLE's duties, responsibilities, and procedures are mandated through Chapter 943, Florida Statutes, and Chapter 11, Florida Administrative Code. FDLE is headed by a commissioner (executive director) who reports to the Florida Cabinet, which is composed of the governor, the attorney general, the chief financial officer, and the commissioner of agriculture. The commissioner is appointed to his position by the governor and cabinet and confirmed by the Florida Senate. The department is headquartered in Tallahassee, the state capital, and has close to 2,000 employees statewide. The department maintains seven regional operations centers, 12 field offices, and seven crime laboratories. Overview FDLE's five "program areas" are: Executive Direction and Business Support Program, Criminal Investigations and Forensic Science Program, Florida Capitol Police Program, Criminal Justice Information Program, and Criminal Justice Professionalism Program. The FDLE has earned accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors / Laboratory Accreditation Board, and the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation. FDLE Special Agents handle a wide variety of crimes and assist local police and sheriff's offices with limited resources, to include, homicide, public official misconduct, police misconduct, as well as major drug trafficking crimes. They also provide security for the governor of Florida and his or her family. FDLE is the State of Florida's investigative arm. They are considered more of a state police than Florida's highway patrol, which specializes in traffic enforcement and vehicle-related homicide. History In 1967, the Florida Legislature merged the duties and responsibilities of several state criminal justice organizations to create the Bureau of Law Enforcement. Bringing together the resources of the Florida Sheriffs Bureau, the State Narcotics Bureau, and the law enforcement activities of the Anti-Bookie Squad of the Florida Attorney General's Office, the original Bureau of Law Enforcement had 94 positions and a $1.5 million budget for its first year of operation. The bureau was headed by a commissioner who reported to a board composed of the Governor of Florida, specified members of the Cabinet, two sheriffs, and one chief of police. The agency had five divisions: Administration, Intelligence and Investigation, Technical Services, Administrative Intelligence, and Planning and Research. As a result of Florida governmental restructuring in July 1969, the bureau became the Florida