FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Broward County commissioners held a workshop on Tuesday as they consider whether to start an in-house airport police agency in lieu of the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
BSO has patrolled Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport since 1996. Several Florida airports, including those in Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Myers, have in-house police departments.
A company contracted by the county tells commissioners that airports that have their own departments have more control over day to day operations and it is financially feasible, but many more studies need to be done.
“No one is criticizing the job they’re doing,” Broward Mayor Mark Bogen said. “What we want to do is (ask), ‘Can we save money?’ ‘Can we have better control of the money and provide the public with the same security that they deserve?’”
Bogen said BSO’s budget at the airport is bloated.
Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony took to social media after reviewing the report.
“I’m not going to jump out and make any statement or opinion, so everybody take a deep breath,” he said in a video. “It’s about what is academically sound ― to make a safe decision where you don’t compromise public safety.”
The county has also floated removing the fire department from Tony’s purview and returning it to commissioners.
Regarding FLL policing, Bogen said, “The sheriff understands this is about cost and he actually said on his Instagram, kudos to us, the Broward (commission), for doing our due diligence.”
“So we’re doing our due diligence,” he said.
Besides policing the airport and Port Everglades, most of BSO’s patrol work is done in cities that choose to contract with it, unlike most large Florida sheriff’s offices, which have heavily-populated unincorporated areas to patrol by default.
Two cities have recently moved away from BSO: Pembroke Park launched a police department in 2022, while Deerfield Beach leaders recently voted to reinstate their police and fire departments, which were folded into BSO in 1990 and 2011, respectively.
Prior to Tony’s tenure, BSO lost two other policing contracts: Lauderhill restarted its own police department in 1994 and Southwest Ranches switched from BSO to contracting with the Davie Police Department in 2014. In the interim, several cities disbanded their police forces in favor of BSO.
That includes Pompano Beach, where officials are still mulling whether to bring back its own police department, which was disbanded in favor of BSO in 1999. It still has an in-house fire department.
The idea to replace BSO at FLL is not new: An audit a few years back also recommended starting an in-house police force.
The conversations remain in their early stages.
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