The Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO) is a public safety organization responsible for law enforcement and fire protection duties within Broward County, Florida. The head of the organization is Sheriff Scott Israel. Deputy Sheriffs of the BSO are delegated their law enforcement authority by the sheriff of Broward County. BSO is one of the largest fully accredited Sheriff's offices in the United States.
Composition
Broward County Sheriff's Office responds to criticism - Sheriff Scott Israel's office is facing questions on its conduct during the Parkland school shooting. The Broward County Sheriff's Office pushes back against questions about deputies' conduct...
The Sheriff's Office is composed of 5,800 employees, including approximately 2,800 certified deputies and approximately 600 firefighters. The BSO budget is approximately $700 million annually.
30-year veteran South Florida police officer and former North Bay Village Police Chief Scott Israel, a Democrat, was elected as Sheriff by a 53% - 47% vote in 2012, defeating incumbent Sheriff Al Lamberti, a Republican.
Law enforcement
Currently BSO provides law enforcement services to all of the county's unincorporated areas, and the following municipalities and government facilities under contract:
BSO law enforcement efforts use many specially trained deputies and units designed to provide maximum response efficiency in a variety of customary and unusual situations. Specialized BSO units include:
Rank structure
Aviation unit vehicle fleet
The Broward County Sheriffs Office currently operates three American Eurocopters for search and rescue (SAR), criminal apprehensions, missing persons, aerial surveillance, and deputy funeral service flyovers.
Helicopters:
- Eurocopter AS320
- Eurocopter EC130
- Eurocopter EC135
Communications
The Communications Division of Broward Sheriff's Office is responsible for 911 emergency call-taking, dispatch, and teletype services for all of Broward County. BSO operates Broward County's consolidated regional E-911 communications system, which launched on October 1, 2013. BSO employs over 600 emergency operators and dispatchers in the consolidated regional E-911 communications system, who work from three regional PSAP call centers (Coconut Creek, Sunrise, and Pembroke Pines).
Controversies and Criticisms
During the 2018 school shooting in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Broward County Sheriff's Office Deputy Scot Peterson who was a school resource officer (SRO) at the scene of the shooting failed to enter the school to confront the gunman. Instead, he remained outside the building and waited for four minutes while the shooting was going on for six minutes, and thus violated the active shooter situation protocol requiring officers at the scene to immediately engage the attackers rather than wait for backup such as SWAT units. Allegedly, Coral Springs officers who arrived at the scene of the shooting "found another three Broward County Sheriff's deputies cowering behind their vehicles".
Detention and community control
The Broward Sheriff's Office operates the 12th largest local jail system in the United States (5,300 beds), and the second largest to have earned national accreditation from both the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections (CAC) and American Correctional Association (ACA). The Department of Detention and Community Programs oversees all jail facility operations and community-based offender programs within Broward County.
The BSO jail system consists of four detention facilities (Main Jail, Joseph Conte Detention Facility, Paul Rein Detention Facility, and North Broward Bureau Detention Facility) that are responsible for holding persons awaiting trial, or serving sentences of less than one year. In addition to running the detention facilities, the Department of Community Control is responsible for running the county's probation and reintegration services for criminal offenders. The Department of Community Control also runs the county's in-custody health care, and mental health care programs.
Annually, approximately 44,177 inmates crossing every ethnic, age and socioeconomic group are booked into BSO's jail for crimes ranging from civil infractions to murder. The average daily population at all jail facilities, including work release inmates, exceeds 4,600 and is expected to rise each year. The department's Transportation Bureau moves nearly 180,000 inmates annually between facilities, to and from court appointments, and to and from state prison. Many inmates arrive with drug or alcohol addictions, mental health problems, or both, requiring BSO to administer a range of medical and rehabilitative programs.
Special units like the Emergency Response Team and Security Threat Group-assist detention facility staff in maintaining a secure and productive environment for inmates and facility personnel.
BSO puts non-violent criminals to work in its inmate work program, which saves Broward County taxpayers more than $1.2 million annually in labor costs related to neighborhood and community-wide improvement projects.
Fire, rescue and emergency services
History
In 1982 Broward County Emergency Medical Services merged with Broward County Fire Protection Division, to form what in 1991 would become Broward County Fire Rescue which was a fire-rescue agency providing fire and EMS services to Unincorporated Broward County. During the 1990s Port Everglades Public Safety and the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport fire departments joined with Broward County Fire Rescue.
In October 2003, control of Broward County Fire Rescue was transferred to the Broward Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Ken Jenne from the Broward County Board of County Commissioners. The name of the organization was then changed to the Broward Sheriff’s Office Department of Fire Rescue & Emergency Services.
Prior to being taken over by BSO, Broward County Fire Rescue was being considered for elimination, since at the time the majority of their fire stations were serving unincorporated areas of Broward County. Today, BSO DFRE has become a largely contracted fire-service agency with 15 of their 21 fire stations being located in contracted municipalities.
Fire prevention and education
In addition to providing fire suppression and EMS services, the Fire Marshal's Office provides fire inspection services to all areas served by the department. The Fire Marshal's office conducts origin and cause investigations of all fires, and routinely relies on the assistance of the Florida State Fire Marshal's Office, and BSO Department of Law Enforcement for assistance with incendiary fires and arson cases. The Fire Marshal's Office also conducts public education for the county as well operating the countywide juvenile firesetters program.
Operations
BSO operates five battalions in 22 different locations throughout the county and includes 17 engines, 7 aerials, 1 Industrial fire truck, 3 aircraft fire-rescue crash trucks, 3 MEDEVAC helicopters, 23 ALS transport units and a cross-staffed brush truck, chemical fire suppression truck and foam tanker.
With more than 700 professional and highly trained operations, support and administrative personnel, the department provides fire suppression, fire protection, emergency medical services and educational programs for most unincorporated areas of Broward County and to the municipalities of Weston, Pembroke Park, Cooper City, Lauderdale Lakes, Dania Beach and Deerfield Beach through contract agreements. Additionally, the department serves Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and Port Everglades.
Fire Rescue also administers the Hazardous Materials, Air Rescue, Everglades Rescue and the Technical Rescue teams, each addressing unique and frequently complex and dangerous public safety situations. These teams operate countywide.
Twenty-two stations for fire suppression and Advanced Life Support medical rescue operate in various locations in the county, fifteen as engine companies and five as aerial companies. There is also an Air Rescue station located at the Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport. The BSO stations follow the Broward County Uniform Station Numbering system.
Senior command staff
Sheriff Israel's highest-level Senior Command consists of the following individuals:
Domestic violence prevention
Broward County Sheriff's Office works in partnership with Women in Distress (WID) to prevent domestic violence. WID is a nationally accredited, state-certified, full service domestic violence center in Broward County. Its mission is to provide victims of domestic violence with safe shelter, crisis intervention and resources, and to educate the community in order to Stop Abuse For Everyone (SAFE) through intervention, education and advocacy.
Explorer program
The Law Enforcement Explorers Program at the Broward Sheriff's Office is a program that works with teens and young adults (14â€"21 years of age) by allowing them to interact with law enforcement and other community advisors in a serious, regimented atmosphere where the students can demonstrate their personal initiative. The program offers young adults the opportunity to learn and experience lawful citizenship as they participate side-by-side with certified BSO deputies in ongoing training and community service projects. To qualify for membership, candidates must be at least 14 years of age (and under 21), must achieve and maintain satisfactory school grades and must make a conscientious effort to stay out of trouble. Candidates under 18 years of age must have the approval and cooperation of a parent or guardian.
Media
The Broward County Sheriff's Office was featured prominently in the first season of COPS in 1989. Other reality TV shows which featured BSO included Police Women of Broward County (2009â€"11) and Unleashed: K9 Broward County (2011).
See also
- List of U.S. state and local law enforcement agencies
- County sheriff (Florida)
- Nick Navarro
References
External links
- Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) Official Website
- Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel's official Facebook page