Definitions; ss. 943.045-943.08.

F.S. 943.045

in effect

The following words and phrases as used in ss. 943.045-943.08 shall have the following meanings: (1) “Adjudicated guilty” means that a person has been found guilty and that the court has not withheld an adjudication of guilt. (2) “Administration of criminal justice” means performing functions of detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial release, posttrial release, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision, or rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal offenders by governmental agencies. The administration of criminal justice includes criminal identification activities and the collection, processing, storage, and dissemination of criminal justice information by governmental agencies. (3) “Biometric” refers to impressions, reproductions, or representations of human physical characteristics, such as DNA, fingerprints, palm prints, footprints, retina and iris images, voice patterns, and facial images, such as booking and driver license photographs, that, when measured and analyzed, can be used for identification purposes. (4) “Comparable ordinance violation” means a violation of an ordinance having all the essential elements of a statutory misdemeanor or felony. (5) “Criminal history information” means information collected by criminal justice agencies on persons, which information consists of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, informations, or other formal criminal charges and the disposition thereof. The term does not include identification information, such as biometric records, if the information does not indicate involvement of the person in the criminal justice system. (6) “Criminal history record” means any nonjudicial record maintained by a criminal justice agency containing criminal history information. (7) “Criminal intelligence information” means information collected by a criminal justice agency with respect to an identifiable person or group in an effort to anticipate, prevent, or monitor possible criminal activity. (8) “Criminal intelligence information system” means a system, including the equipment, facilities, procedures, agreements, and organizations thereof, for the collection, processing, preservation, or dissemination of criminal intelligence information. (9) “Criminal investigative information” means information about an identifiable person or group compiled by a criminal justice agency in the course of conducting a criminal investigation of a specific criminal act or omission, including, but not limited to, information derived from laboratory tests, reports of investigators, informants, or any type of surveillance. (10) “Criminal investigative information system” means a system, including the equipment, facilities, procedures, agreements, and organizations thereof, for the collection, processing, preservation, or dissemination of criminal investigative information. (11) “Criminal justice agency” means: (a) A court. (b) The department. (c) The Department of Juvenile Justice. (d) The protective investigations component of the Department of Children and Families, which investigates the crimes of abuse and neglect. (e) Any other governmental agency or subunit thereof that performs the administration of criminal justice pursuant to a statute or rule of court and that allocates a substantial part of its annual budget to the administration of criminal justice. (f) The investigations component of the Department of Financial Services which investigates the crimes of fraud and official misconduct in all public assistance given to residents of this state or provided to others by this state. (12) “Criminal justice information” means information on individuals collected or disseminated as a result of arrest, detention, or the initiation of a criminal proceeding by criminal justice agencies, including arrest record information, correctional and release information, criminal history record information, conviction record information, offender registration information, identification record information, and wanted persons record information. The term does not include statistical or analytical records or reports in which individuals are not identified and from which their identities are not ascertainable. The term does not include criminal intelligence information or criminal investigative information. (13) “Criminal justice information system” means a system, including the equipment, facilities, procedures, agreements, and organizations thereof, for the collection, processing, preservation, or dissemination of criminal justice information. (14) “Disposition” means details relating to the termination of an individual criminal defendant’s relationship with a criminal justice agency, including information disclosing that the law enforcement agency has elected not to refer a matter to a prosecutor or that a prosecutor has elected not to commence criminal proceedings, that a court has dealt with the individual, or that the individual has been incarcerated, paroled, pardoned, released, or granted clemency. Dispositions include, but are not limited to, acquittals, dismissals, pleas, convictions, adjudications, youthful offender determinations, determinations of mental capacity, placements in intervention programs, pardons, probations, paroles, and releases from correctional institutions. (15) “Disseminate” means to transmit information, whether orally or in writing. (16) “Expunction of a criminal history record” means the court-ordered physical destruction or obliteration of a record or portion of a record by any criminal justice agency having custody thereof, or as prescribed by the court issuing the order, except that criminal history records in the custody of the department must be retained in all cases for purposes of evaluating subsequent requests by the subject of the record for sealing or expunction, or for purposes of recreating the record in the event an order to expunge is vacated by a court of competent jurisdiction. (17) “Record” means any and all documents, writings, computer memory, and microfilm, and any other form in which facts are memorialized, irrespective of whether such record is an official record, public record, or admissible record or is merely a copy thereof. (18) “Research or statistical project” means any program, project, or component the purpose of which is to develop, measure, evaluate, or otherwise advance the state of knowledge in a particular area. The term does not include intelligence, investigative, or other information-gathering activities in which information is obtained for purposes directly related to enforcement of the criminal laws. (19) “Sealing of a criminal history record” means the preservation of a record under such circumstances that it is secure and inaccessible to any person not having a legal right of access to the record or the information contained and preserved therein.

Source: FL Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/Chapter943/AllFetched: 7/8/2026