Here's what's on the record about Peregrine, the police data software Tampa City Council approved on October 15, and the state money around it. Every piece has a source listed below.
What Tampa approved. Council approved a Peregrine order form and a grant to pay for it. The first year is $595,000, due within 30 days of the November 1, 2026 effective date. The first term runs through January 31, 2028. Two option years at $475,000 each would bring the total to $1,545,000. Council member Hurtak was the only no vote, and council members Viera and Carlson were absent.
Where Tampa's money comes from. The $595,000 is a grant from the Office of the State Attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit, paid "from specific appropriation 897 of Chapter 2024-23," a line in the state budget. The Tampa Monitor reported that line is the Ybor City money: the Legislature funded $3 million "to implement a crime prevention initiative in and around Ybor City through community engagement."
The state immigration board. The Orlando Sentinel reported in July that Florida's State Board of Immigration Enforcement granted more than $16 million to more than two dozen local agencies to buy Peregrine software, out of a $250 million trust fund for immigration enforcement costs. The biggest grants the Sentinel listed were $1.8 million for the Osceola County Sheriff, $1.6 million for Miami-Dade, $1.4 million for Brevard County, $1.1 million for Escambia County and $1 million each for Sarasota and Lee counties. The Orange County Sheriff got $504,000 for a two-year contract. The Tampa Monitor reported that Osceola's application says the software "facilitates immigration enforcement by sharing local data with federal agencies." One caution on Osceola: an FDLE grant packet lists Osceola's Peregrine line at $536,500 a year inside a larger request, so the $1.8 million is the Sentinel's figure and may cover more than Peregrine.
The state budget. The Sentinel reported that FDLE asked the Legislature in January for $6 million "to continue the use of Peregrine for the state of Florida law enforcement partners." FDLE and the Department of Corrections signed a nonbinding agreement with Peregrine in April. Then the Legislature added $6 million to the budget for a technology company, picked through competitive bidding, to build a similar platform. The budget language doesn't name Peregrine. The Sentinel reported its wording mirrors FDLE's April agreement and its January request.
What TPD told Purchasing. In an August 4 memo, TPD wrote that "Peregrine has also been selected as the exclusive platform for Florida Department of Law Enforcement Criminal Justice grant funding to law enforcement agencies" and that it "soon will be the primary data-sharing platform across the State of Florida by law enforcement agencies."
Lobbying and political money. The Sentinel described Peregrine as a company "whose lobbyists have close ties to Gov. Ron DeSantis." It reported that Peregrine "made quick inroads into Florida's political machinery in the past two years" and hired the Tallahassee firm Capital City Consulting in late 2024. Florida Division of Elections records list five checks from Peregrine Technologies to CCC, a state political committee chaired by Ron LaFace, one of the firm's owners. They total $725,000: $100,000 on Feb. 11, 2025, $50,000 on Nov. 21, 2025, $75,000 on Jan. 7, 2026, $250,000 on Aug. 26, 2026 and $250,000 on Oct. 6, 2026. News stories in May and July reported $225,000, which was the total of the first three checks.
The Sentinel reported that the committee gave to Republican candidates and conservative committees, "including $50,000 to a DeSantis-controlled PAC, $150,000 to outgoing Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, $72,600 to incoming president Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, $57,500 to Senate appropriations chair Ed Hooper, R-Palm Harbor, and $50,000 to CFO Blaise Ingoglia." Closer to home, state records show CCC gave $10,000 to Hillsborough Together, a state political committee, on Oct. 1, 2026, listed as a "PAC contribution."