By Carma Henry
Sheriff Gregory Tony, Monthly Message
As part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and accountability, the Broward Sheriff’s Office has published the 2021-22 Annual Report detailing how we protect and serve the community. In its pages, you will find the facts, from the crime-fighting statistics specific to your city to the bold agency-wide initiatives benefitting residents and visitors in Broward County.
As you will see, our organization continues to strive for excellence in all we do. I want to highlight some of the many accomplishments in this comprehensive report.
Our Aviation Unit is flying high. The team flew nearly 3,000 missions, assisting in 1,000 arrests, recovering 236 vehicles and locating 17 missing or endangered persons. Their outstanding efforts resulted in well-deserved recognition, as the unit was selected as BSO’s 2021 Unit of the Year. They also won the 2022 Leadership in Police Aviation Award from the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
On the ground, our school resource officers (SROs) continued refining the skills required to protect our children. As our schools’ front-line defense, these deputies completed rigorous active killer preparedness training alongside command personnel to effectively manage a critical incident. BSO will continue integrating real-life scenarios into our training regimen to ensure we are always ready and prepared for any situation.
Our dedication to fighting crime through education, mentorship and community service continued to pay off. Our Neighborhood Support Team, comprised of sworn and civilian staff, led cultural diversity discussions, provided vital assistance to our seniors and veterans and taught residents about their rights when interacting with our first responders, amongst other essential public safety initiatives. In December 2021, the Florida Crime Prevention Association recognized the team as the Outstanding Crime Prevention Unit of the Year.
Other notable endeavors include our Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport district participating in a FEMA full-scale exercise to further enhance our readiness; our Department of Fire Rescue and Emergency Services Training Unit being honored as our 2021 Unit of the Year for planning, coordinating and conducting training for our more than 850 fire rescue employees; and the BSO Department of Detention hiring additional mental health specialists to support the mental well-being of our inmate population.
These are just a few examples, but there is so much more to learn from this report. Take the time to dive into all the details to better understand how your tax dollars are being spent to protect and serve Broward County. Every action we take is made with you, the resident, in mind. BSO is as much your sheriff’s office as ours, and this report was created so you can see exactly how we work for you. Visit https://www.sheriff.org/SheriffTony/Pages/Home.aspx to read the full report and learn more about the many innovative programs at BSO.
