Update: Demos Fed Up With Sheriff’s Blunders
BY BUDDY NEVINS
I’ve watched Sheriff Scott Israel stumble from one misstep to another during his first eight months in office.
Within hours of his taking office, Israel allowed former Sheriff Ken Jenne to tour the sheriff’s HQ. This is a guy who went to prison.
Then Israel stacked the ranks of his new employees with political hacks that helped on his campaign.
Don’t forget the six-figure luxury cruise Israel took with his family and then valued it at the price of a Carnival vacation.
Those are all stunning political slip-ups that many novice city commissioners would have avoided.
Scott Israel with three campaign supporters he hired — (from left to right) Democratic activists Lisa Castillo and Ann Zucker, Israel and Pembroke Pines Commissioner Angelo Castillo (from Facebook)
But Israel’s budget request that may have been his biggest blunder yet.
First he asked for a $94 million increase. It was a total miscalculation of the political winds.
When the commission understandably balked at such a huge increase, Israel cut his request overnight. Now its up roughly $31 million.
Slicing that much off the originally request didn’t give commissioners must confidence in the sheriff’s money management. So when Israel showed up at the County Commission on Tuesday to justify any increase, commissioners were justifiably hostile.
They were even more unsympathetic when they discovered Israel wanted to use a big chunk of the money to give an extra 2 percent pay hike to deputies.
They were angry about another portion of the increase being used to hire more employees with resumes heavy on the politics and light on law enforcement experience.
The commissioners ignored his threats of layoffs.
Israel clearly didn’t like being questioned in public. He was all elbows and bluster.
“Am I someone who supports public safety?” Commissioner Chip LaMarca asked rhetorically.
“I don’t think you support it as much as you think you support it,” Israel fired back, according to Brittany Wallman at the Sun-Sentinel.
And with that little exchange, Israel can say “goodbye” to any chance of appealing his budget to the state Cabinet.
Is the Republican state Cabinet going to entertain any request from the sheriff who questioned the public safety credentials of the commission’s only Republican, LaMarca?
Just one more political misstep from the sheriff.
Israel clearly needs to regain his support on the county commission and other members of the Democratic political establishment. Oh, Ds won’t admit it publically, but Israel has been a major disappointment since he tossed out the GOP Sheriff Al Lamberti last November.
Sheriffs Have History Of Problems With Commission
After I posted this I got messages and a call from the sheriff’s supporters. They rightfully pointed out that the commissioners and many Ds have never gotten along with the sheriff.
Ron Cochran, a Democrat, wasn’t in office more than a month or two in the early 1990s when commissioners began a move to privatize his jails. He beat back the effort.
Commissioners also had many public differences with Jenne, a Democrat. And, of course, they openly feuded with Lamberti and Nick Navarro, another Republican.
Another source said: “In the end, they all got re-elected despite the so-called ‘insiders’ opposing them.” one source said.
One e-mail started like this:
The Demos you refer to were never for Scott Israel to begin with. All were for Scott Rothstein’s Sheriff- Al ( 70 IQ)Lamberti. The Demos in Broward couldn’t get u wet in a rain storm. Voters care about CRIME– which is DOWN. They care about high profile gun busts. No voter cares about this insidey shit.
However, the insiders can make trouble for Israel.
Not a week goes by that one Democratic insider doesn’t complain about Israel to me….and that includes county commissioners.
They tell me, Israel’s gaffes are an embarrassment. His budget was unprofessional.
Time For An Appointed Sheriff?
Israel conduct in less than a year has convinced some Democratic insiders to back changing from an elected to an appointed sheriff. That alone indicates how much good will among his fellow Ds that Israel has squandered.
Despite all the shenanigans and alleged illegalities of Lamberti, commissioners felt moving against a Republican would look like party politics. They have no such qualms about moving against Israel because he is one of them — a Democrat.
Creating an appointed sheriff would take a charter amendment being passed the commission. Then approval by voters in a referendum.
Is it time for Broward to consider the system that every other large city and Miami-Dade uses – an appointive chief law enforcement officer?
I don’t know the answer.
I do know that Israel is one more big blunder away from kicking off that debate.
August 22nd, 2013 at 11:10 am
While LaMarca may be an “R” he was a McCollum guy, Gov Scott has never fogoten this fact. Add to this, as you previously reported, his Aide runs a pro Charlie Crist website.
Has LaMarca ever brought anything back to Broward via his connections to the Gov? No.
People in the know, especially those close to the Gov know that Chip is, was and will always be a Crist guy.
Chip is also a Lamberti guy, do you think the Gov is not aware about the friendship with Crist and Lamberti?
Last I checked the Sheriff has Bill Rubin as his lobbyist, I would gamble on Rubin getting a lot more done with the Gov and Cabinet than LaMarca on his best day.
I think the Gov would find it quite amusing to stick it to the Broward Democratic County Commission and give the money to the Sheriff as to put public safety over petty politics.
August 22nd, 2013 at 11:17 am
Remember, Israel was a long-time Republican who switched parties after he was passed over for appointment to the vacant Sheriff’s job in 2007.
Also, you left out Israel hiring lobbyist Jorge Forte (who was recently indicted a federal corruption sting) for a job a job few think that he was qualified for.
August 22nd, 2013 at 11:54 am
There are many BSO insiders who are not political and say that Sheriff Israel is a welcomed change because he is not about business as usual. Perhaps the dems mentioned here are tied to the status quo. That staff respects that Israel was not afraid to fight for the resources BSO needed unlike his predecessor who was very unpopular at the office. This sheriff appears to be taking the agency in a very different direction so say mist people who are actually doing the job at BSO. Change in any high profile place is never easy so judging too quickly should be avoided even if there have been missteps along the learning curve.
August 22nd, 2013 at 12:12 pm
Israel is so stupid and his general counsel is an dbag that tweets about LaMarca all day… If Ron’s last name was “Gunzberg”, he’d be low level hack attorney doing traffic ticket defense.
August 22nd, 2013 at 12:36 pm
Maybe you should have been at the Broward County DEC meeting this week where Israel received a standing ovation, and produced some impressive crime statistics that reflected a marked reduction in crime since he has taken office.
August 22nd, 2013 at 12:39 pm
The last thing Broward County needs is another Department of Government that is not accountable to the voters.
August 22nd, 2013 at 12:46 pm
Don’t see the County Commission deciding to ever try to abolish Sheriff as a constitutional officer. Bad politics because:
(1) It would force them to take on all the constitutionals … as they would greedily make a grab for control of all four … sheriff, supervisor, property appraiser, and clerk of courts;
AND
(2) Sheriff Israel would certainly launch a well-funded PAC with his political operatives to oppose the charter question. The attacks by the PAC would viciously tar the County Commission as the home of the “culture of corruption” with TV ads featuring Eggelletion, Wasserman Rubin, Cowan, Poitier, etc., Ritter with her “gifts” she took from the Chaits, Lieberman who took immunity in exchange for her testimony … and tying all of them to the current crew on the commission. Would the public really want to put the foxes in charge of guarding the hen house? Making the Sheriff an appointed position that reports to the county commission would be giving the commissioners “get out of jail free” cards. The public would never buy the move. And the negative ratings of every commissioner would fall into the toilet.
August 22nd, 2013 at 2:23 pm
Wow Seth – crime mysteriously dropped in seven or so months. Either coincidence or the result of ongoing programs – the same BSO officers on the street didn’t suddenly start enforcing the law. Most likely “produced” impressive crime statistics.
August 22nd, 2013 at 2:32 pm
Just curious – are any of these complaining Democrats among those who supported Sheriff Israel EITHER time he ran for office? Just over a year ago, Democrat insiders thought Louie Granteed had a lot of support, which turned out to be only from them and he received just over 30% of the vote in the Democratic primary.
I’m glad to hear he was well received at the DEC meeting because that was actually not ever the case during his campaigns. I can tell you another place he’d receive a standing ovation today: from the men and women who make up the agency, where morale has never been higher.
August 22nd, 2013 at 3:18 pm
I wonder how many of these posters are members o the police union,,,, in todays milieu an 8 percent rise is something else, 2 percent more than the contract calls for will we like Detroit someday……
August 22nd, 2013 at 3:33 pm
Crime is down in Broward. The Sheriff is doing a good job. I don’t understand why the County Commissioners are giving him such a hard time. It sounds to me that some Democrats that supported Lamberti are still upset about him losing the election are trying to cause problems.
August 22nd, 2013 at 3:36 pm
BSO announced last week they’ve seen the lowest crime rates in the last 6 months than they have in the past 9 years!! So 6 months in office, and Israel has already surpassed his predecessor. We have 9.1% less rape, murder, theft…overall violent crime decreased 12.3%!! So you’re going to just brush that off? That’s the real news here. Under Israel’s leadership, BSO is making the streets safer.That’s not business as usual and that’s not political corruption. That’s hiring the right people to get the job done. The proof is in the stats.
August 22nd, 2013 at 3:43 pm
How many Broward County officials have been arrested for corruption in the past five years? I count nearly 10! Sheriff Isreal seem to be good guy that is actually doing his job. Crime is down. Tired of political hacks spreading rumors and bs.
August 22nd, 2013 at 3:47 pm
I guess Judy Stern and her flunkies count as local demos now. It’s obvious that she’s still bitter that she lost the Sheriff’s race in 2008 for Israel, then backed loser Lamberti last year.
As long as that puppet Wexler still moves her mouth every time Judy Stern moves her hand, the Sheriff can be assured that she’s one D on the county commission that will never support him.
Not to mention that greedy used car salesman who tried to convince the gay community in Wilton Manors that Lamberti was “one of us,” whatever that means.
Or those Hollywood activists that thought Louie the Cheetah Granteed was anything other than a Lamberti plant.
I guess you can scrounge the bottom of several barrels to find democrats that hate the sheriff.
August 22nd, 2013 at 4:00 pm
Who cares what these political insiders think? Crime is DOWN. That needs to be the focus.
August 22nd, 2013 at 4:09 pm
I can’t believe some of these people like Jonathan and others.
Crime is down. That’s all we should worry about.
What about filling his payroll with over $1 million of employees only hired because they worked on his campaign? Angelo Castillo and his wife, Amy Rose and her husband, Ron Gunzburger, Ann Zucker, Roger Stone flunkies. What about replacing these nothings with real cops?
August 22nd, 2013 at 4:11 pm
Who says crime is down? The sheriff. Doesn’t he have a vested interest to report crime is down right before he wants the county commission’s money? Self reported statistics are worthless.
August 22nd, 2013 at 4:32 pm
Crime was way down during the powertrac era too.
Barbara Sharief who was Scott’s most staunch supporter on the campaign trail said he was acting like a “teenager with a credit card”
August 22nd, 2013 at 4:42 pm
What I glean from this hatchet job of reporting and commentary is that the so-called missteps of the sheriff have reduced the crime in the county. Good job Israel. Have the rest of you Lamberti loving whiners considered that your vehemence brings down the Esprit de corps at BSO, diminishes the respect of the community for the department and actually makes Broward a more dangerous place to live?
August 22nd, 2013 at 4:45 pm
Remember what happened last time a Democrat Sheriff, who happens to be a “friend” of this sheriff, made crime “go down”
August 22nd, 2013 at 5:01 pm
Where is the poll to prove the assertion that the “demos are fed up?” No evidence, no proof whatsoever is cited. Citizens who know the crime rate has gone down (not conspiracists who think the statistics are faked) feel the sheriff has done quite well during the first leg of his service. There are so many real problems facing Broward that should be discussed that it seems like a waste of time to chastise an operation and a leader who are doing good for the community. By the way, if you are going to heap on Scott Israel for asking the county for more money, you might also do the same for every single sheriff in Florida all of whom are requesting more money in the next budget cycle. In case anybody didn’t notice, gas prices have shot up and those who expect the various sheriff’s departments to eat that cost and still provide the same level of service are loony.
August 22nd, 2013 at 5:03 pm
Haggling over budget dollars comes with the territory. As for Democrats who say they’re disappointed with Sheriff Israel, they are the Democrats who supported Al Lamberti.
August 22nd, 2013 at 5:12 pm
$94 million wow I didn’t know Marty Kiar had so many family members that “Always wanted to be police officers”.
August 22nd, 2013 at 5:16 pm
Let’s face it, the few democrats mentioned never supported Israel to begin with. I’ll bet Israel requested that budget increase to keep veteran officers on the job and maybe get them a tiny raise. You can’t blame him for that. BSO is a huge organization and the complexities of running it can hardly be the sport of pompous armchair critics.
August 22nd, 2013 at 5:34 pm
Public safety in Broward County got a boost since Sheriff Scott Israel took office. There is more of a decrease in crime in the first six months of 2013 under Sheriff Israel than in the first six months of 2012.
August 22nd, 2013 at 5:54 pm
All I care about is that crime is down in Broward country and I believe Scott Israel is the reason. He was voted into office by registered Broward County voters. Why is buddy questioning the people who put him in office. The people of Broward have spoken, and they have chosen Israel to lead the police department, so back off Buddy and let him lead.
August 22nd, 2013 at 5:58 pm
Crime is down the first six months of 2013 under Sheriff Israel compared to the first six months of 2012 under ex-Sheriff Al Lamberti. That’s what voters care about! They don’t care about what these political hacks think. Safety…..#1 concern.
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2013/08/15/sheriffs-office-reports-drop-in-crime-for-first-half-of-year/
August 22nd, 2013 at 6:35 pm
Looks like BSO’s “Community Outreach” is busy trolling this article.
Crime was way down during Powertrac…
Greg Page former commander of Weston during the powertrac era and principle architect of book cooking scandal is now a major.
Donn Peterson who Wanda DeMarzo caught cooking the books when he was a Sgt is a Major
Kevin Tyrie is a Colonel .. a District Chief during the Powertrac Era…
Wanna know how crime went down? look who is counting the crime!
August 22nd, 2013 at 6:38 pm
Anyone who attends the commission meetings in Dania Beach knows that K. Granville stands up, smiles, then the mayor (Walter Duke) smiles, Granville says he has nothing to report, Duke smiles, Granville leaves. What about the outboard motor thefts, what about theft from homes in “west” Dania? What about mysterious people putting duffel bags into cars pulling off Griffin Road into a parking lot near the airport? What about a stalker still active in SE Dania? Communication between Dania Beach residents and BSO is suppressed under Israel. However, mayor Duke loves BSO. No truth, great image.
August 22nd, 2013 at 7:33 pm
Everyone I have been talking to in the Dem Party still feels Lou Granteed was a much better choice for Sheriff than Israel will ever be. There is a major ground swell to make sure Lou is on the ballot in 2016. He will again have my support and many others that will openly work his campaign.
August 22nd, 2013 at 9:57 pm
Curious how many of these emails came from inside BSO, a certain house with a garden in Ft Lauderdale and another in Pembroke Pines where a lot of discussions must happen.
August 22nd, 2013 at 10:02 pm
I can’t believe what people are writing here. First off, I am a Tamarac Democrat for over twenty years. I voted for Israel, in both elections. I understand that crime is down, and I am grateful for that. But I am not naive enough to think that one man takes office, and criminals are scared of him so they decide to get a 9 to 5. What did superman israel do to make someone say, “shit, now that we have a new sheriff, I better not rape someone!” I don’t think that any change in leadership can be given credit for all good things, or bad things that happen on their watch, especially when taking a sample size as small as a few months. I give those stats as much credit as I do when Fox says that gas prices have doubled since Obama got elected.
But the big issue here is whether or not he is corrupt. Just because someone is doing a good job statistically doesn’t mean that we are forced to overlook any transgressions a leader may have. If Obama is doing a good job, but smoking crack with hookers and beating his wife, I would hope that people would say that it is time for a change in leadership.
I am not saying that Israel is corrupt, but I do not like many of the choices he has made so far. I believe we need to keep a close eye on how he conducts business and himself, and that the media has a job to report it.
I for one, as of right now, wish I had my vote for sheriff back. I hope that over the next few years that he can change my mind!
August 23rd, 2013 at 12:35 am
Scott Israel is not the only sheriff to employ advanced techniques in this country but presiding over one of the largest police organizations in existence, his efforts are very important. Broward’s methods and practices can often be a paradigm by which other departments emulate. Last week the Sentinel published the new crime statistics and we are all very proud of Sheriff Israel for accomplishing so much in such a short while.
August 23rd, 2013 at 7:57 am
How totally transparent this website has become. As if everyone reading it was a total idiot. As if we didn’t realize the game that is being played here. Buddy, time to start from scratch. Your forum has been rotted out from within.
August 23rd, 2013 at 9:20 am
Along with the sun rising in the east, it is equally predictable that the Broward County Commission and the Broward County Sheriff will, annually, publicly haggle over his budget.
The Sheriff will scream public safety and the Commissioners will cry poverty.
I have asked more than one Commissioner why they even want the Sheriff under their budget? They have no control over BSO spending.
His budget may suggest how he will spend it but it is not legally binding since the Sheriff is a Constitutional officer who can do what he wants with it as long as he does not violate State law.
The solution is simple. Get the legislature to give the Sheriff his own taxing district. He can set his own millage and raise as much money as the cap allows. Let him have his own line on the tax bill. He can then go justify it to the voters.
BSO is an albatross on the County Commission. They need to dump it.
August 23rd, 2013 at 9:31 am
I am not sure how one can cook the statistics on violent crime as many have asserted in the comments to this article. Maybe someone can enlighten me, cause I assume that when violent crime occurs it is reported and recorded, and is not a reflection of a lack of policing.
Quantifiable data is preferable over allegations or assertions.
August 23rd, 2013 at 9:47 am
Hey Louie, spending your retirement blogging?
There’s no major groundswell, there’s not the slightest support for you to run. You didn’t even win Hollywood last time, and wasted all that money buying folks like Percy who can’t deliver 5 votes. But you should go for it, you’d be the only lifelong “Democrat” in the race again, right? Don’t ever let facts and verified government records stand in the way of a good story.
August 23rd, 2013 at 10:54 am
Let the new sheriff do his job. All I care about is the reduction of crime in my area and apparently that is what is happening. Scott Israel seems like a good sheriff. I voted for him so we could root out some of the corruption of the Lamberti administration. So far I am very pleased with the job the sheriff is doing and his new initiatives.
August 23rd, 2013 at 10:59 am
If you actually think crime is down, then you are a sheep. Crime is not down at all, the arrests are down. There is more disgruntled deputies than there has ever been. Deputies do not want to make arrests at all. They don’t want to write tickets, they are doing the minimum to get by. Pull up the statistics for arrests from last year and then this year. Arrest are the only thing that is lower, not crime. When deputies were making 10-15 arrest a month to 0, stats will drop…. It is just a play on numbers… The Sheriff had to go to the commission with something! He could not go there and say he is wasting all his money on his friends who political paybacks. Statictics was all he could come up with that and layoffs.
August 23rd, 2013 at 11:01 am
This story seems very one sided. What happened to balanced journalism. I guess that is why Buddy is not employed with a real news outlet. This is a hit job, probably because Buddy was “friendly” with the previous sheriff, who lost to Israel. It’s smells of revenge. The only think that should matter is that the crime statistics report a decrease in crime – and they do, since Israel took office.
August 23rd, 2013 at 1:42 pm
@ Seth Platt
It works this way (actually it was outlined by Wanda DeMarzo in 04)
Command pressures cops… No crime in your zone or else…
Cop responds to crime… Say a robbery but its street people
Cop changes call to a “service call” or information and there is no report … Ta Da crime goes down…
Now lets say there were 20 cars broken into in one night… the cop on scene (or more likely the supervisor) say they were all related and makes the 20 care burglaries just one even though there were 20 victims…
Or lets say there is a burglary… the cop shows up and says yeah “you know when your insurance company hears about this they are going to raise your rates” “we aren’t going to catch the guy anyway, are you sure you want a report?”
That’s how the books are cooked… they are also “reclassified” once the officer originally reports it…
So there you go… How crime can miraculously drop..
As Mark Twain said.. There are lies, damn lies and statistics
August 23rd, 2013 at 2:06 pm
Yes, the new Sheriff is becoming an embarrassment to his Party supporters. Not the supporters who are now double dipping or taking home six figure incomes as a campaign reward. They continue to support him and categorize the blunders as simple mistakes. Maybe we can coin them “phony scandals” for the sake of consistency. To think that a Democrat stacked County Commission appointing a Sheriff would improve the situation is absurd. The uninformed comment about a Rothstein-Lamberti friendship should know what law firm Ken Jenne went to work for only a couple weeks after he got out of prison. Hmmm ! Now he probably has a key to the Public Safety building back door. We need a Non-Partisan Sheriff’s election like Palm Beach County. That way neither side of the isle is beholding and the Candidate can be voted on by the Public based on a proven record, not a D or an R next to the name. The job is public safety, not selective partisanship as we now have with Scott Israel. Rewarding cronies with taxpayer money. Keep digging.
August 23rd, 2013 at 2:08 pm
Here’s a way to save money. Stop allowing the dozens and dozens of BSO deputies who live in Wellington, Loxahatchee, Royal Palm Beach and Port St. Lucie to take their police cruisers home every night and on weekends. Those tires, those hoses, those belts, all that wear and tear, not to mention the mileage on the car and the insurance concerns every time one has a fender bender while off duty. Some of ya’ll even take your cruiser to the Home Depot and Lowes at 441 and Southern Boulevard on the weekends while you do your personal shopping. Since when does being a police officer mean that one gets a company car. One that they use on personal time. It’s bullshit. Stand up to the union Sheriff and say enough already.
August 23rd, 2013 at 7:16 pm
FROM BUDDY:
There has been a lot of comments about crime stats here.
As far as crime stats go, here are some stories from newspapers:
* Sheriff Ken Jenne:
“Broward County experienced a 6.45 percent drop in its crime rate from 1996 to 1997. Palm Beach County’s rate rose slightly, by 3.33 percent, boosted by car thefts and larceny crimes such as shoplifting. Miami-Dade’s crime rate rose by a half percent.
Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne attributed the drop to community policing and increased accountability.
‘We’ve had programs like the Citizens’ Police Academy and the COPS program, and they’re beginning to show that they work,’ Jenne said.” – Sun-Sentinel, 1997.
* Sheriff Ken Jenne:
“STATE CRIME RATE AT 28-YEAR LOW – BROWARD COUNTY FIGURES FELL TWICE AS SHARPLY, ACCORDING TO AGENCY STATISTICS” – Sun-Sentinel, April 24, 2001
* Sheriff Al Lamberti:
“STATE’S CRIME RATE LOWEST IN 40 YEARS – BROWARD, PALM BEACH COUNTIES REFLECT DOWNWARD TREND” –Sun-Sentinel, April 27, 2011
*Sheriff Scott Israel:
“COUNTY CRIME DRIPS; STATE RATE LOWEST IN 42 YEARS” – Sun-Sentinel, May 17, 2013
Note the last headline was two months before Scott Israel’s most recent announcement about a crime rate drop. A cynical guy like me might believe that he made the announcement, which was largely already addressed in the media, to switch the debate from all the bad publicity he was receiving.
It worked. Look at the comments accompanying this story.
The crime went down across the state, which had the lowest crime in 42 years. Can you totally credit Scott Israel?
Reading the headlines and stories I reproduced above, I have to ask readers who have lived in Broward awhile. Do you feel safer today than you did in 1997?
August 23rd, 2013 at 7:30 pm
I think the “boat trip” was a bad idea. I saw the interview w/ Mike Putney(cha10) which the Sheriff came across like don’t hate me because I went on a 35million dollar boat which if you took it out would cost you 190grand for the week, while I paid 1500 bucks. He will definitely get hit w/ an Ethics violation. If it was no big deal then why did he get so mad at Channel 10′ Bob Norman?. This alone will come back to haunt him. My suggestion-take it easy w/ the poltical appointments. Also get out there and introduce yourself to the common folk(like me). Go to diners etc on the weekends and just say hi to the residents. Trust me it will work..
August 23rd, 2013 at 8:43 pm
History lesson: in all of Broward history, not one Democratic elected sheriff has EVER been defeated for reelection. The Democratic incumbent to lose was an appointee who served only a short time. Bottom line: Israel isn’t going anywhere.
And, Buddy, yes I feel safer. Much safer. Crime is almost non-existent in my non-gated neighborhood. Wasn’t like that 20 years ago.
August 24th, 2013 at 9:57 am
Why does a guy who takes out a huge loan and does not pay it back, forcing the lender to foreclose, get to vote on any important budget issues?
Deadbeat Chip Lamarca needs to go. He is an embarrassment to himself, the Republican Party, and this County.
This tubby clown rides around town in a leased Jag acting like he is a bigshot success. What a joke. Enjoy it now Chip. Come next year, you are gone.
August 24th, 2013 at 10:18 am
@Watching the race, I don’t see how that would works quite the same for violent crimes.
August 24th, 2013 at 12:17 pm
The board of county commissioners may not decrease the salary of the sheriff during consecutive terms of office of the sheriff. Any sheriff having responsibility for managing a full-time jail shall receive an additional ten percent added to the base salary listed in this section.
August 24th, 2013 at 12:26 pm
The Broward Commission better get on the same page as the new sheriff. People are much more concerned about prevention of crime than anything the commissioners do. If they don’t pass the sheriffs budget, the they should be removed from office. Much of it is motivated by politics, but the residents of Browards are going to be the ones who get hurt, due to more crime within the community.
August 24th, 2013 at 1:29 pm
@ Seth
The crimes are comsidered part 1 and part 2 crimes.
The FBI defines each term they are not defined by State Statute.
“Violent” crime is actually Part 1 crimes that include murder, rape, arson, Agg Assault, burglary, robbery, theft, and auto theft.
So property crimes are included in Part 1 crimes.
So that’s how the “game” is played … The old chief from Boca was fired for cooking the books too.
It’s a rather common occurence when you focus on statistics. Results based policing has been an utter failure no matter where it’s been tried.
There is no way to stop a person who out of anger, passion, or hatred from committing a violent crime against another…
The other part 1 crimes can’t be prevented you can target harden to keep the crimes out of your jurisdiction but that moves crime, not prevent it.
There has to be real discussions about crime, race, and socio- economic issues.
Why is there more crime on Sistrunk Blvd than Bayview Drive?
Don’t say drugs… I’ve worked narcotics… The difference is Bayview has Kilos the hood has ounces.
August 24th, 2013 at 5:31 pm
@ Watching The Race,
You are obviously a very well-informed and credible observer, making valuable and thoughtful contributions here. Thanks!
Although stopping violent rage may be infeasible, limiting the damage is still possible. An enraged person with a shotgun will do much less harm than a similarly enraged person with access to automatic assault rifles and full body armor.
August 24th, 2013 at 8:05 pm
I love how Michael Colapietro, professional blogger, ex yahoo blogger, fantasyland story writer and now new Community affairs specialist for BSO has that much free time to enter dozens of aliases and comments on Buddy’s blog, in order to defend Sheriff Israel. Totally Comical. You think Buddy, a veteran reporter doesn’t realize this ? haha, such a amateur.
August 24th, 2013 at 8:59 pm
stats can be massaged
all gov’t entities do it – whether joblessness, unemployment filings, crime stats, tests scores of students, etc. the answer is vigilance – not vigilante, but keeping eyes and ears open in your neighborhood
but if the disparity between “Haves” and “have Nots” continues, what do we expect? look at 2010 Census, and compare to 200 census for Broward
BIG DIFFERENCE
the neighborhoods are not the same – wherther East Pompano beach, East Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood or Coral Spings
only Weston and Parkland held their own
nothing against a rich diverse cultural melting pot, right? but when some have more than others, and the lacking see no way to a path to “have”, and absentee parenting, absentee parents, ambivalent parenting, and disengaged parenting, well ‘they will raise themselves’
I heard that when they were ‘explaining’ the OK City 3 killing the Australian college student there palying baseball, and the beating to death of the WWII veteran in Spokane
Just young boys that are bored, no direction, no guidance, raising themselves to be the Future of Amarica and the future of our neighborhoods
kust ignore it – it won’t get better, won’t fix itself but the L&O sherrif cn massage the crime stats and pretend Broward is safe
August 25th, 2013 at 9:42 am
The Sheriff has a Viper squad focused on catching the 6% of violent criminals responsible for 66% of all violent crimes. Get them and most of your violent crime goes away. That seems very intelligent and you have to wonder why it had not been going on before.
The Sheriff believes that incarcerating every kid caught with a joint or who robs a soda can from a gas station is not a smart way to do business. He does not want to arrest them the first time they get caught doing something stupid. Through his civil citation program he is giving first time misdemeanor youth offenders a second chance. He is giving them an alternative to living life with a criminal record. If they complete a rigorous 6 month program and complete all their work, the charge goes away. No record. Stats are that less than 5% of them ever commit a crime again. Those that get arrested? 55% of them commit crimes again.
That is the smart and compassionate way to do it.
The Sheriff does not believe that homeless people should be incarcerated as much as helped out and up from their situation. The homeless are people with problems not problem people he says. The cost to society to incarcerate a homeless person is much more than to serve them properly in a social service setting. He is moving in that direction so that we can show the homeless some compassion while saving money.
The community that BSO serves has become too disconnected with the agency itself, and on a house by house, street by street, city by city basis, community outreach staff for the first time are linking police officers in uniform with BSO on a strategic, policy and community basis. These links help everybody understand the community better and that linkage will reduce crime. It is already reducing crime by making BSO more responsive to the needs of the people it serves. Call it all the names you want. This is smart business that will save lives and lower crime. The people of the communities served love having someone who doesn’t wear a badge that they can also talk to about their concerns.
Morale at BSO is sky high. With this Sheriff, you can ride in the elevator with him which was prohibited this time one year ago. You will get a hello and a handshake from the sheriff when he sees you. You do not have to stand at attention when he or his management team enter a room. We treat people with respect and do not allow goon squads of supervisors to mistreat people. We gave staff the uniforms they needed because it’s more important that they be comfortable than making them look like bellhops.
The Sheriff’s budget which a lot of people do not understand is built around supporting those principles and rebuilding a fleet and IT department that, well, are substandard by any meaningful comparison. The agency, administratively, has been very poorly run for the last number of years. Horribly run which explains why Lamberti didn’t want Israel to have an on-site transition. He did not want the community to know how messed up that agency was administratively until well after the new Sheriff was in place.
Has the new administration at BSO done everything perfectly? No. Is the direction they are going very different than what it has been in the past, yes. Is it a better direction, arguably it is. Can we judge the impact of all these efforts, not yet. But for sure BSO seems to be moving in a direction that wants to be better than it was before.
Crime stats during Israel’s short time in office indicate that crime in Broward is down. You can argue or excuse that any way you want, but the numbers speak for themselves.
Good advice is to be patient and continue watching carefully.
August 25th, 2013 at 11:30 am
Israel is an embarrassment. Low class, unprofessional and not much upstairs. Add to that an arrogance and sense of entitlement, whether it involves his free (heavily subsidized) cruises, his political appointments (hacks and cronies) or his clumsy, ignorant approach to the budget process. One look at this guy and you can’t help but ask, “How in the hell did he become Sheriff?” Lamberti was no bargain…but Israel is a total joke!
August 25th, 2013 at 12:32 pm
@ real deal
Really the viper unit?
It was called the work group under Jenne
Regional Anti-crime under Lamberti
The original SET under Navarro …
Please save the rhetoric… It’s the same repackaged BS…
It is good police work to know who your bad guys are and keep track of them…
August 25th, 2013 at 12:49 pm
Incarcerating ANY person caught with a joint, an ounce, or even “square grouper” is not a smart thing to do. Just legalize and regulate marijuana (like alcohol) and be done with it. Al Capone types disappeared when alcohol was legalized and regulated, and many “gangstas” will do the same when marijuana is legalized. Then legalize and regulate prostitution (Nevada did this decades ago and prostitution is legal there today), and wave goodbye to the “pimps” too. Sensible government produces better results and a happier society.
August 25th, 2013 at 7:15 pm
Hey! You Democrats keep drinking that Scott Israel KoolAid!
Crime stats are down throughout the entire state and the entire US. In fact they are down more state wide than they are in Broward County. If you compare the drop in Broward County to the drop in the entire state, Broward County is actually up in crime! Check it out for yourself! By the time most of you Dems realize how big of a fraud Israel is, it will be too late. When they lead him out of the PBS in handcuffs like they did with Ken Jenne for cooking the stats your party will look as stupid as it did back then with Jenne!
What some of you dumba$$ Dems fail to understand is that some of the top political Dems in the County like the Commissioners and Buddy understand their party and the future of elections in the county. We’re all better off with the Commission than the Sheriff! At least the Commissioners are trying to be bipartisan and watch our money! I being a Rep. support them fully! They are not like you dumba$$e$ and just spout off at the mouth about how great Israel’s crime stats are!
Just remember the next you get robbed and a deputy reclassifies your robbery as a misc. incident or a simple vandalism to make Israel’s crime stats look good, you’ll deserve it! Once the criminals realize what’s going on in Broward County, crime WILL RISE!!!
Keep drinking the Israel KoolAid!
August 25th, 2013 at 7:35 pm
@ Real Deal,
You either have stars in your eyes or are just spouting the Party line.
BSO morale was up just after the election because the rank and file thought they were getting the “Real Deal”. Now, the scales have fallen from their eyes as they see that Israel is in way over his head.
Israel, IMO, has 6 to 12 months to smarten up, grow into the job and turn up some positive news or he will lose the respect of most deputies. The disappointment with Israel, while not widely spoken, is palpable.
August 26th, 2013 at 3:52 pm
Here is a quick course in crime and crime reduction. There can be no great confidence in crime stats with one exception—homicide.
The police can’t easily cook the books on that number.
That is especially the case in Broward County where, as the comments on this blog make clear, the residue of the Jenne Administraton and his Power Trac scam destroyed any public confidence in the numbers.
The fact that Israel has embraced Jenne puts that cloud of him. I am sorry that he can’t see that.
Beginning in the 1990’s this country began to experience a completely unexpected drop in crime. I say unexpected because in the 1980’s all we heard about were the “Super Predators” that were going to wreak havoc on America in the 1990s. It never happened and get tough politicians of every stripe took credit for the drop.
It now turns out that their impact was minimal and that includes everyone from Rudy Guiliani to Bill Clinton.
The two things that then and now continue to reduce crime are prime examples of The Law of Unintended Results.
The first is Roe v Wade which eliminated millions of unwanted kids. Spend four minutes with this video for a clear understanding of that issue by the authors of bestseller Freakonomics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk6gOeggViw.
The second major factor in crime reduction was the elimination of leaded gasoline which was causing major brain damage. An excellent article that endorses this theory appeared in the conservative magazine Forbes. It’s worth reading. http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2013/01/03/how-lead-caused-americas-violent-crime-epidemic/
Certainly Israel’s targeting career criminals makes sense. What I would like to see is if non-BSO cities like Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood did or did not have a similar drop.
It’s hard to believe that his strategy started working on day one. But then again, with Ken Jenne at your side, anything is possible.
FROM BUDDY:
For a guy who preaches scientific proof, how can you buy into the half-baked theory that lead in the atmosphere was a significant cause of crime? I’m not saying it isn’t true. I’m saying it has been far from proved. The author of the article even says it isn’t proved. Note: The article you cite comes from that most esteemed of scientific journals, Mother Jones.
Broward County never had a major lead problem. The air in South Florida, because of the sea breeze, is cleaner than in many major metropolitan areas. If you are saying that the poor have lead paint in their homes, I would say that crime infects poor communities because the residents are poor. And there are no fewer poor in Broward than in previous years.
You can take any number of things and find a correlation between the decline in crime rates. There is less smoking now, so it is obviously the decline in smoking which affected crime. How about the decline in Twinkie sales (Remember the Twinkie defense?)? Or the end of the Ren and Stimpy cartoon show, which obviously led a lot of young people to lives of crime? Correlations are a favorite of the media and a tool used by publicity seeking researchers to get attention. They are most times not the product of scientific proof. Just wishful thinking and faith.
August 26th, 2013 at 8:32 pm
Things are becoming very clear now. Sam Field’s problems arise from all the leaded gas fumes he breathed in all his life. He probably ate a ton of leaded paint chips as a kid, too. If only his mother could have done an amniocentesis she would have discovered that her unborn son was challenged and she could have aborted him. Now, unfortunately, he has been inflicted upon society.
August 26th, 2013 at 11:40 pm
Just saw the Bob Norman piece on WPLG about public service parasites Angelo Castillo and his wife Lisa. Angelo makes $155,000 for BSO as its supposed “Director of Finance.” His wife hauls in another $115,000. For roughly three times the salary of a BSO deputy, Angelo feels it’s okay to roll in after 10 a.m. and check out before 4 p.m. It’s basically a part time job but Angelo claims to be burning the midnight oil and calling Israel in the middle of the night on job-related issues. Yeah…right! Way to go Scott…you’ve really distinguished yourself with your appointees (hacks)!
August 27th, 2013 at 11:24 am
Some of us are old enough to remember Ed Stack setting up Herbie Burke at that dive on federal Highway. Just when we thought it could get no worse, along came Navarro.
August 27th, 2013 at 4:16 pm
The morale at BSO has never, ever been as low as it is right now. Not because employees dislike the Sheriff, but rather they are embarrassed by all of his missteps. The dozens of messages posted on this site about how proud they are that crime is down are straight from the PSB. How do I know? Conrad Ericson “aka” Harrison-Stone’s Boy, told me so. This Sheriff will NOT last, no matter how many inept Community Activists he hires on the taxpayers dime. For the sake of the citizens and employees, I hope this Sheriff is given the same silver handcuffs as his mentor, Jenne.
August 27th, 2013 at 6:40 pm
J Herbert Burke set himself up at that cultural center of Fort Lauderdale. I wish we had men like Navarro and Butterworth back. Butterworth is just another party hack now but back then was a pretty good sheriff.
FROM BUDDY:
J. Herbert Burke? Burke is the former county commissioner and Republican congressman best known for being arrested drunk and disorderly in 1978 in the Centerfold Club, a strip joint near the airport. The story inspired inspired Carl Hiaasen’s novel Strip Tease.
What does Burke have to do with the sheriff?
August 27th, 2013 at 9:38 pm
Navarro was the scum of the earth. Good riddance to that jackass. He embarrassed Broward County on the national news, then 2 Live Crew pulverized his ass in court.
August 27th, 2013 at 10:07 pm
What does Burke have to do with the sheriff?
Nothing. I was just answering Duke’s post above. Burke was the architect of his own (political) demise, Stack had nothing to do with it. I could not remember the name of the place, thanks Buddy, for reminding me.
August 28th, 2013 at 1:47 pm
The point of my comment was that since the late 60’s, Broward County has had some pretty shady folks as sheriff. Not all, but many. Ed Stack wanted Herbert Burke’s congressional seat. He got wind that Burke was hanging out at the Centerfold Club. It didn’t take long for Burke to get arrested at the club and then Stack won the race against him for congress. My uncle, former Hollywood PD Lieutenant and former BSO employee Robert Milligan was a candidate against Stack in a race for sheriff in the early 70’s. It was well known at the time that Stack had a penchant for getting dirt on people and trying to use it to his political advantage. He had a clean reputation in the public eye. Behind closed doors, he fought real dirty. I was only a kid when this was all going on, but I remember it well. I remember one night in particular when my Uncle was talking to a very prominent local businessman who at that time owned what seemed likeost of Davie. He was getting upset with Stack and gave my uncle permission to put up campaign signs on several of his properties. Stack did not like it. My uncle was not intimidated and he had some goods on Stack. Stack knew it and refused twice to debate my uncle on local television. My uncle did not win the election and ended up being killed in the line of duty in 1978. There is a bronze statue of him in the lobby at BSO headquarters.
August 31st, 2013 at 7:39 pm
The sheriff could save some serious dollars if the deputies communicated more with residents. As soon as Israel took over, the deputies stopped talking with residents in Dania Beach. The community activists seems to be an unneeded layer of bureaucracy. Let the deputies talk. They know how. They did just a few months ago.
September 3rd, 2013 at 11:55 pm
morale was high when Israel came in. but the love affair is over, in the jail, there is no plan to certify techs who want to become certified dod. there is little or no enforcement of rules.and our beloved union is still blaming lamberti 8 months later.