The Police Service Technician Program was initiated in 1987.  After extensive research into the program's formulation and approval for 20 budgeted positions, the hiring process began with over 400 initial applicants.  Each successful applicant completed the same extensive process used to hire law enforcement officers. 

In November 1987, 20 Police Service Technicians (PST) entered the Santa Fe Community College Institute of Public Safety and successfully completed a 290-hour training academy.  The graduates began their normal duties in a solo capacity after a nine week field training program.

The mission of this paraprofessional unit is to respond to calls for service in the field where it has been predetermined that the call is not in-progress and non-confrontational.  Examples of such incidents would be after-the-fact burglaries, vehicle crashes, and forgeries.  Proactive time is spent enforcing parking violations.  Each PST is trained as an evidence technician and attends advanced courses such as Traffic Homicide Investigation and Reconstruction.  PSTs handle many administrative tasks as well as public fingerprinting requests.

The PST program continues today and is an essential asset to the Department and the City of Gainesville.  The unit consists of 17 members, including three supervisors.  The hours of operation are split between three squads; working from 6:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., 8:30 a.m to 5:00 pm and 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The focus of the job responsibilities remain much the same but has expanded in areas as the times dictate. 

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