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SIERRA ONE
The newsletter of the Chief of Police

From Chief Bruce G. Roberts

Volume II, Number II
February 2003

This message is intended to share our accomplishments with the Fort Lauderdale community. In the process, it is hoped that our friends and neighbors will continue to appreciate and support our efforts. As we have done in the past, we would like to take this opportunity to highlight our achievements. In addition, it is important to note that we are a diverse group of women, men, sworn officers and civilians. Working in a partnership with our residents, political leadership, businesses and associations, I have no doubt that we will continue to succeed in providing a better quality of life for all parties.

As in years past, one of the most important goals was to continue to reduce the crime rate, and therefore increase the quality of life in the City of Fort Lauderdale for its residents and visitors.

The Patrol Division proudly remains in the forefront of delivering primary police services twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Supported by our other specialized enforcement divisions and civilian staff, our joint efforts this year has resulted in an 8% crime reduction compared to 2001.

In a comparison of data in four geographic areas, Fort Lauderdale is proud to have the highest reduction of Part I Crimes nearly every year from 1994 through June 2002.
	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
National	-1.1%	-0.9%	-2.8%	-2.4%	-5.4%	-7.0%	-0.2%	2.00%	1.2%
Region	-0.9%	-0.5%	1.1%	-2.0%	-4.7%	-4.0%	-0.10.%	1.9%	0.6%
State	0.8%	-5.2%	-1.0%	-1.3%	-3.6%	-8.9%	-2.9%	1.7%	0.7%
Fort Laud	7.8%	-9.9%	1.8%	-18.9%	-11.6%	-21.6%	-10.7%	-1.57%	-1.1%
Comparative 2002 data is only for the first six months of the year.

The continuing crime rate reduction is the result of hard work and dedication of the men and women of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department working hand in hand with the members of the community. Many of the programs, such as Compstat, which was initiated by the Police Department, continue to take hold and become a part of crime prevention that continues to lead to crime reduction.

Programs such as C.A.T. (Combat Auto Theft), Truancy Patrol Program, Citizens Police Academy along with Citizens on Patrol, Crime Watch and Bicycle Registration, just to name a few, have all contributed to the working relationship between the police and the community. Many of these programs have been copied or modified by many other police departments not only locally but nationwide.

Over the years we have seen a steady increase in our citizen/resident satisfaction survey. Since 1996 when the first survey resulted in a 64% positive rating, the City of Fort Lauderdale Police Department has strived to increase this number. This year we are proud to announce that our satisfaction survey has reached above 92%.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department continues to be the only municipal police department in Broward County to have an open, public Citizens Review Board (CRB) to review cases involving Internal Affairs investigations.

The highly successful Community Police Academy (CPA) continues to graduate members. In 2002 there were 2 academies graduating 80 students, bringing the grand total to 18 academies graduating over 730 students. Additionally, a pilot “Teen Police Academy” was held at Fort Lauderdale High School involving 25 students. Highly successful, a second academy was held with more classes planned.

Community involvement helped secure $276,915.00 in state funding to assist in training and teaching Haitian culture and awareness. Literature on the program is available in both Creole and English.

We continue to work with the homeless through the Homeless Outreach Program. To date, there have been 2,787 outreach contacts and 1,357 outreach placements.

We secured $100,000.00 in Federal funding to provide education at several local middle and high schools about the dangers of gangs through the GREAT (Gang Resistance Education And Training) Program. We currently have 11 School Resource Officers assigned to high schools, middle and elementary schools throughout the community.

The One Stop Shop Narcotics Line (954-828-5661) gives citizens a direct, confidential phone link to narcotics detectives so that drug activity and concerns can be dealt with quickly and confidentially.

The Community Support Division (CSD) has continued to work closely with homeowners and civic associations. Officers routinely attend association meetings and many are available through direct cell phone contact. Additionally, the staff of CSD continues to offer a range of free courses to businesses and residents. Upcoming course topics include Landlord/Tenant training and Escape School, teaching parents and children about child abductions.

And once again the City of Fort Lauderdale was in the national spotlight with the annual Fort Lauderdale Air and Sea Show, Salute to the Military. This event, according to promoters, brings in excess of 3 million visitors to the Fort Lauderdale beach area over the first weekend in May. And once again this massive event went off without any major incidents gaining praise not only from our local community but also from high-ranking members of the United States Military. This event occurs along with over 100 other special events that take place in the City.

In 2002, the City of Fort Lauderdale Police Department received CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement) Recognition. This international organization has recognized the Fort Lauderdale Police Department as achieving accreditation and maintaining standards that provide the community with better-trained and prepared police officers.

Traffic enforcement was enhanced with the forming of a Traffic Unit designed specifically to deal with the ever-increasing amount of vehicle traffic throughout the City of Fort Lauderdale. In the year 2002, traffic officers wrote over 19,000 traffic citations, handled 100 traffic complaints, and worked with the Department of Transportation to help re-design 10 different problematic intersections within the City. Additionally, every school within the City has a traffic officer assigned to it to aid in the unique traffic problems that occur at each individual school.

Our canine (K-9) unit was nationally recognized for their highly successful Operation F.I.D.O. (Focused Intelligence Development Operation) targeting auto theft. This operation utilized K-9 Officers along with members of the Auto Theft Division. The operation ran for a two-month period resulting in the recovery of 45 stolen vehicles (three were taken in car-jacking) and the arrests of 46 suspects. The estimated value of the vehicles recovered was $394,200.00.

Narcotics and Bomb Detection Canine Officers also had a productive year. Currently we have 7 drug dogs and 2 bomb dogs. The drug dogs conducted 1,011 searches and made 135 arrests seizing $298,000.00 in U.S. currency. The bomb dogs conducted 36 searches.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department has become a very active partner in the war on terrorism and Homeland Security. Along with the Department being a member of the State Domestic Terrorism Task Force, we also have detectives assigned to the F.B.I. Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and I.N.S. These Detectives work with local, state and federal agencies where they share and gather information on Homeland Security. We have implemented a comprehensive data base system to aid in investigations at every law enforcement level. Dive team members have participated in underwater dives along with the US Customs Service as part of a joint operation searching vessels to keep Port Everglades safe. Additionally, all officers are currently being trained in Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) as part of Department initiated training.

We have started to purchase WMD Chemical/Biological suits for every member of the Department in the event of a chemical or biological attack or accident. These suits will cover Level A, B and, protection along with air packs, gloves and shields. This purchase includes the outfitting of SWAT Team members with tactical Level B suits in the event of an attack or armed suspect(s) involved in the incident. All of these suits were purchased with grant monies totaling over $179,000.00 leaving no cost to the taxpayers of Fort Lauderdale.

Additional Local Law Enforcement Block Grants enabled the Department to purchase a new bomb robot and bomb suit, complete with state of the art wireless communications. This grant money saved the citizens and taxpayers of the City of Fort Lauderdale $109,000.00 (total cost) in the purchase of this equipment.

All of these programs, projects, special events and activities occurred with officers handling 169,600 calls for service, including responding to over 27,000 alarms, 10,000 motor vehicle crashes, writing over 60,000 citations, and making over 13,000 arrests. Operations conducted over 70 action plans this past year compared to just 6 two years ago.

Members of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department Recruitment Team were very busy in 2002, visiting over 100 venues looking to recruit qualified applicants for the Police Department. The venues included everything from special events in the City and County to job fairs locally and nationally, military bases, and colleges. Their hard work has paid off with only 11 sworn vacancies in the Police Department at this time. The vacancies are 2% of our budgeted 514 positions. This percentage has been lower than most other local departments. Nationally, some larger departments are as high as 12%. We anticipate having no vacancies in the very near future.

Background Investigations processed over 3,000 applications hiring 48 qualified applicants. These investigators have the enormous task of processing applicants to see that only the best are hired by the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. We feel that they have succeeded!

We currently have nineteen members of our Department in the Military Reserves, seven of those have been activated and are currently serving our country. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families.

And in 2002, the City Parking Enforcement Division was put under the direction of the Police Department, increasing our civilian staff by 18.

Recently, the City of Fort Lauderdale received the results of an Organizational Climate Survey conducted by the ETC Institute. The Police Department was included in this citywide employee/department survey with the following results:

• 85% rated the Police Department as a good place to work
• 83% would recommend the Police Department to family or friends as a good place to work
• 71% were satisfied with their current employment
• 30% stated that the quality of the work place had become worse over the past year
• 87% thought the City is a good place to work

Although the results were higher than other departments within the City, some of the results raised concerns. With this in mind, members of the Department’s staff, along with leadership from Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 31, met in an effort to establish a process to address these concerns.

The Department has begun to establish three committees to address the eight core issues (Work Environment, Communication, Compensation/Benefits, Strategic Direction, Reward/Recognition, Professional Development, Resources and Views of Managers). The committees are made up of members of all ranks, both sworn and civilian positions within the Department. These committees will address their areas and present their findings to the Executive Committee for appropriate action.

It is the hope that in working together, we can continue to work toward the common goal of making the Fort Lauderdale Police Department an even better place to work.

All members of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department will be undertaking forty-hour block training over the next year. This training will replace the State mandated 40 hours of training that would normally take place over a four-year period. With this combined training, officers will be able to concentrate their efforts in a weeklong training setting each year. This will help to maintain a well-trained Police Department and concentrate on current training issues.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department is continuing to place an emphasis on new technology in crime fighting. Over the past years, computer systems have been upgraded and the jail booking system has become digital. In 2002, the “Live Scan system” went on-line. Prisoners are finger and palm printed; the prints are then entered into Live Scan. The system then communicates with the A.F.I.S. (Automated Fingerprint Identification System) and compares the arrestee’s prints with local, state and national data banks to see if the arrestee is wanted on any outstanding warrants. Within 3-5 minutes the booking officers are notified of the results.

The C.E.R.T (Computer Evidence Recovery Team) Team has also begun investigating computer crime and recovering evidence from seized computers. This highly trained team is able to recover evidence thought deleted or hidden by suspects in their computer data banks. Not only is this team recovering evidence for the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, but also being used by other local and federal law enforcement agencies in their investigations. Members of the C.E.R.T. Team were also sworn in as Special Deputy U.S. Marshals to assist them in their investigations.

And finally, the installation and issuing of laptop computers continues. There are 150 in use to date, with another 89 to be issued early this year. This will bring the total to 239 being used in the Patrol Division.

The City of Fort Lauderdale continued to grow in 2002 with the annexation of Melrose Park and Riverland Isles. And as the City continued to grow, so did the Police Department with additional 13-budgeted police officers and 3 Public Service Aides for these areas. Officers worked in conjunction with the Broward Sheriffs Office, which previously patrolled these areas to offer a smooth, safe transition in which there was no loss of services or protection.

By joining the City of Fort Lauderdale, 12,500 new residents and businesses can be assured of the finest in police services, and we welcome them to our Fort Lauderdale family.

Many of the members of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department were recognized for their dedication and for performing above and beyond the call of duty. These recognitions came from within the Department, other law enforcement agencies, businesses, citizens and visitors. Here are just a few of the officers recognized in the past year:

• Detective Rich Love was awarded the L.E.A.C.H. (Law Enforcement Against Child Harm) Officer of the Year for his investigations of child pornography and child exploitation over the Internet.
• Detective Chuck Morrow was awarded the Broward Crime Stoppers Detective of the Year for making the most arrests of wanted fugitives in Broward County. Detective Morrow, along with Detective John Curry, was also sworn in as a U.S. Marshal to aid in the apprehension of fugitives throughout the county.
• Officer Michael Dietz and Detective John Loges were both recognized by the Fort Lauderdale City Commission for their meritorious service in the military. Colonel Michael Dietz and Sergeant First Class John Loges, both with the Army Reserves, were called to active duty in 2002.
• Officers Sam Bryant and Robert Norvis were awarded the honor of being Officers of the Year by the State of Florida Fraternal Order of Police. Governor Jeb Bush presented these officers this award for their actions involving an armed subject who was stopped for a traffic violation. The suspect exited his vehicle, produced a handgun and began firing at the officers. Both officers were struck, but were able to return fire striking the suspect several times. The suspect died as a result of his wounds, Officers Bryant and Norvis recovered and returned to active duty.

The greatest recognition of all comes from this community to all members of the Department as previously mentioned in the citizen satisfaction survey.

In closing, I would like to thank all the members of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, both sworn and civilian. Without their dedication to duty and their caring for this community and its’ people, none of these accomplishments would be possible.

The world that we live in was forever changed on September 11, 2001, and along with that so was police work. In the year 2002, the basics remained the same; dedication to service and to our community. But we as a Police Department must now more than ever be diligent in our work. Information is shared between local, state and federal agencies now more than ever. New dangers exist in the way of Weapons of Mass Destruction, and what was once unusual may now be a real threat. We must continue to strive to keep our community just that, a family living and working together as one.

We will continue to strive to make this City safer through enforcement and crime prevention. How? We will do it just as we have for the past several years, through community policing problem solving.

We will continue to work with and listen to our employees to make an even better working environment. We will continue to listen to our residents and businesses so that we will continue to meet their needs and make the City of Fort Lauderdale an even better place to live and work.

Above all, we will continue our successes while strictly adhering to our mission statement and doing the right thing, the right way, at the right time for the right reason.

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