The City of Fort Lauderdale Police Department is guided by a mission statement that invokes a strong partnership with the community. Its various divisions, departments, and bureaus strive to reduce crime and the fear of crime in our community.The Operations Bureau is the entity responsible for the physical 24-hour delivery of Police services throughout the three Police districts of the City. A total of 409 individuals comprise the Operations Bureau. In addition to the Assistant Chief and three district Commanders, there are seven shift captains, three support captains, 38 sergeants, 315 sworn officers, 42 public service aides and support staff.
The Bureau operates in a three-tier system:
The guidance and leadership of the Assistant Chief directs the Operations Bureau through the efforts of three District Commanders.
The second tier is made up of the District Commanders who are responsible for the delivery of Police services in three geographical districts composing the City of Fort Lauderdale.
Finally, the Operations Support Division, Reserves and Community Policing Initiative complete the operational makeup of the Bureau which are staffed in large by the Patrol Division.
District Details
District I:
District I is located primarily in the northern portion of the City, and includes the North Beach, areas north of Broward Boulevard to the City limits, the Executive Airport and the community surrounding the airport.This district has experienced a great deal of change during 1996 including the annexation of properties in the Uptown Area, with large redevelopment along the US-1 corridor, the continued successes in the Lake Ridge area with the Community Policing Initiative, and the relocation of the Air and Sea Show to Sunrise Blvd. and A1A.
The Executive Airport area continues to experience growth, and has been the site of several events during the past year including the Baltimore Orioles Spring Training, and the Pearl Jam Concert drawing over 25,000 people. An estimated 100,000 people are attracted to this area on a daily basis for business purposes in the uptown area.
District II:
This is the central district, encompassing the areas between the New River and the City limits at the borders of Wilton Manors and unincorporated Broward County. It also includes the downtown area.The district includes the Downtown Development Area, the Arts and Science District, Riverwalk, the Las Olas Boulevard area, and the Sistrunk Corridor. The Sistrunk Corridor continues to provide a significant entranceway to the City of Fort Lauderdale, and has experienced dramatic improvements during the past year.
The district is home to the City and County governments and realizes a daily increase of tens of thousands of people to this area. It is also home to the Performing Arts Center, the Discovery Center, and the site of the Aquarium, the Brickell Station entertainment area, and the newly developed Los Olas Riverfront entertainment district with its 23 theaters, restaurants and retail businesses.
District III:
Included in District III is the major portion of the Fort Lauderdale Beach, from Sunrise Blvd. south, and all points south of the New River, extending west to the City limits at US 441.During 1996, District III saw the expansion of the Community Policing Initiative into the Poinsettia Heights area. District III has also realized a great deal of redevelopment in the area of the Beach including the Beach Place Entertainment District, the Las Olas Boulevard, and the Davie Boulevard areas.
Fort Lauderdale Beach is the major tourist destination in Broward County and draws thousands of tourists from all over the world. As popularity of the Beach area increases, special events continue to gravitate to the area including the annual Air & Sea Show, the City's Fourth of July Spectacular, the Winterfest Boat Parade, the annual Beach Ball event. The Beach is also home of the world famous Hall of Fame Swimming complex, which features numerous events including international swimming and diving competitions. Large portions of District III are residential areas offering unique policing challenges in very diversified neighborhoods.
The Operations Patrol Division, is the division of street side uniformed officers who are most visible. As the largest division in the agency, it is divided among the three geographic districts, each commanded by a District Commander. District Commanders Directing the Operations Patrol Division
The District Commanders direct the officers of the Operations Patrol Division to provide the most basic of law enforcement tasks, as well as perform operations in maintaining a safe community including:
- - responding to all calls for service,
- - conducting preliminary investigations,
- - crime control and improvement of neighborhoods
- - action planning and coordination of multi-divisional law enforcement operations,
- - coordination of public safety at special events,
- - service delivery in response to action alerts, community concerns and problem areas
- - communicating Police activities and information of interest to civic groups, City government, and individuals actively involved in the community.
The number of officers allocated to each district is determined by a variety of factors including: number of calls for service, number of arrests, geographical barriers, crime factors, civic organizational boundaries, and special needs.
Based on the needs of the community, each district is allotted specific resources including shift captains, sergeants, uniformed patrol officers, motorcycle officers, and public service aids. Additionally, each district is supported by all other Divisions and Bureaus within the Police Department, in their efforts to provide the best possible service to the community.
In order to put the number of officers and their volume of work into perspective, we submit the following:
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department responds to approximately 200,000 calls for service. The Department also records over 17,000 arrests, while issuing over 60,000 traffic citations annually.
Some of the more notable special events the Patrol Division has provided public safety for include the Air and Sea Show, the Winterfest Boat Parade, the Sistrunk Festival and David Deal Playday. Some of the other events in which the Police Department is an essential element are the Oktoberfest, the Las Olas Art Festival, and the Promenade.
Reserves:
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department's Reserve Police Officer program allows citizens, with full-time occupations in various fields, to work as part-time officers with the agency. These individuals are fully certified part-time police officers with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and are empowered to make arrests, issue traffic citations, and investigate calls they may be dispatched to during their tour of duty.
