BSO employment

[noahyc]

Hi everyone,

I am going to be graduating college soon with a BA in Journalism and a minor in Criminal Justice and I came across the BSO website.

It looks like a pretty impressive agency and appears to be rather progressive. I am interested in pursuing graduate school and would be flexible about leaving the area (I live in NJ now) for a good law enforcement job.

Does anyone know anything about BSO? Advancement? Working conditions? Crime in the jurisdiction? Special Units? Do they encourage education in the ranks?

Any info would be very helpful.

Thanks all

[Jethro1984]

Don't know anything about them but would like to look myself. I'm trying to get to Florida. Are you talking about Broward or Brevard?

[noahyc]

I mean Broward County Sheriff.

Thanks

[ftlaudcop]

better off searching the topic,

the office of SHERIFF is political, every aspect..............

one of the better things, job protection, you do not serve at his pleasure.

last but not least......if i can't say nothing nice....i won't say anything.

[C.I.HOG]

Hi everyone,

I am going to be graduating college soon with a BA in Journalism and a minor in Criminal Justice and I came across the BSO website.

It looks like a pretty impressive agency and appears to be rather progressive. I am interested in pursuing graduate school and would be flexible about leaving the area (I live in NJ now) for a good law enforcement job.

Does anyone know anything about BSO? Advancement? Working conditions? Crime in the jurisdiction? Special Units? Do they encourage education in the ranks?

Any info would be very helpful.

Thanks all

Hey Noahyc, It's not so bad, allot of great people to work for and with. Benefits and retirement package is great. Pay could always be better. There are 12 districts that we cover as of today. Many specialized units from aviation, underwater recovery, port detail, and airport detail. If you are good and the higher ups like you there will be room for advancement. like other countys Crime is bad in some areas and decent in others. They will pay you a little more if you have a degree and they do pay for your education after you pass your probationary period.

[BunkoBuster]

I spent 36+ years with law enforcement in So Florida, the last 31 with BSO in Fort Lauderdale. Guess what, it had it's ups and downs, but it's all about what you make it. If you have the "yes" attitude, it appears you have, you should do just fine. Get ready for a large metropolitian area with the crime, Moderate temperatures high 80's to high 90's, high humidity 90-100% May through September, rude people to deal with, and lotsa "road rage." But you probably have had all of that in NJ so it should be a piece of cake for you. Housing market prices are falling, insurance (both home and car) are high, property taxes are high, rent is high, but with your education, and a little sweat you should be OK. Stay Safe, Stay Alert, Stay Alive!
"It's a dog eat dog world out there. Thank God I'm wearing my Milkbone underwear and kevlar vest!

[Tunaboy91]

BSO is currently on a hiring freeze due to the property tax issue. However, if you call them they wont admit it. They will just say that they are not currently processing new applications. I know that Fort Lauderdale is actively hiring.

[ftlaudcop]

bso is hiring, they have 5 jails to operate and are always hiring

[JTShooter]

bso is hiring, they have 5 jails to operate and are always hiring

The BSO recruiter stated that they are accepting applications for every position, but due to the high number of apps they have for LE Deputy, they are not processing them immediately. They woman I spoke to said that if you submit an application for LE, it'll take about 2 weeks before they get to look at it. They're just backed up, they're still hiring. Of course she took her time to tell me that if I applied for corrections, there'd be no wait. :rolleyes:

As far as the property tax issue, I don't think BSO will be effected as much as the city departments. BSO gets it's funding not only from the state but from the cities that they have contracts with. Sure they'll take a hit like everyone else, but not as large as FLPD, or Hollywood, or Sunrise, or any of the others... just my .02cents....

[ftlaudcop]

the boss k.j. was told to cut 10 million from the budget,
more dirt as it develops......:eek:

[Tunaboy91]

The BSO recruiter stated that they are accepting applications for every position, but due to the high number of apps they have for LE Deputy, they are not processing them immediately. They woman I spoke to said that if you submit an application for LE, it'll take about 2 weeks before they get to look at it. They're just backed up, they're still hiring. Of course she took her time to tell me that if I applied for corrections, there'd be no wait. :rolleyes:

As far as the property tax issue, I don't think BSO will be effected as much as the city departments. BSO gets it's funding not only from the state but from the cities that they have contracts with. Sure they'll take a hit like everyone else, but not as large as FLPD, or Hollywood, or Sunrise, or any of the others... just my .02cents....

This cities that rent BSO deputies will also have to shrink their budgets and the number of officers that they rent. BSO will be effected. Cities that have money in reserves such as FLPD (40 million) will not need to shrink the staff size.

[JTShooter]

This cities that rent BSO deputies will also have to shrink their budgets and the number of officers that they rent. BSO will be effected. Cities that have money in reserves such as FLPD (40 million) will not need to shrink the staff size.

Hmm, but will the city manager allow them to use that money to add more officers?

I know BSO will be effected, but it won't be as big of a deal as it will be for other departments. Am I wrong in believing that BSO has a larger budget then, say, Sunrise?

Last I saw BSO has something close to a $700 million dollar operating budget, as compared to FLPD with a budget of around $70 million. So which would be more drastic? $10 million from BSO or $10 million or even $5 million from FLPD?

That's what I'm talking about.

[Tunaboy91]

Hmm, but will the city manager allow them to use that money to add more officers?

I know BSO will be effected, but it won't be as big of a deal as it will be for other departments. Am I wrong in believing that BSO has a larger budget then, say, Sunrise?

Last I saw BSO has something close to a $700 million dollar operating budget, as compared to FLPD with a budget of around $70 million. So which would be more drastic? $10 million from BSO or $10 million or even $5 million from FLPD?

That's what I'm talking about.

BSO has 700 million dollar budget to run LEO, Jail, Fire, Courts, etc. it is all relative. Lauderdale and Sunrise are just running the PD's with that money.

[C.I.HOG]

Ftlaudcop is right on. Bootcamp program, 2 units at the stockade, truancy program are to be shutdown. Mounted patrol, dui task force and counter terrorism task for to be reduced. Originally reduction was for 4.3 million dolars but then upped to 10 milliondollars. This is hot off the presses I saw the Jenne email that was sent to the staff. I do believe this is a scare tactic. No matter how much money there is in the budget, BSO is always runs out of money before the end of the year.

[ftlaudcop]

Sheriff to cut crime-prevention programs as Broward faces new property tax law

By Scott Wyman
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted June 26 2007


The Broward Sheriff's Office will shut down longtime programs to prevent crime and keep first-time offenders from returning to the jail as part of the cutbacks the county must make to pay for state-ordered property tax relief.

Despite a $16.9 million cut in spending laid out Monday, Sheriff Ken Jenne will not have to reduce the number of deputies on patrol or lay off any of his current 6,000-member force. Jenne told county commissioners, though, that the effect would be severe on his decade-long effort to focus on stopping crime before it happens.



LocalLinks

Under the tax relief plan Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law, the Broward County government must trim $95 million from the $1 billion it collects in property taxes.

County commissioners met with the sheriff, property appraiser and elections supervisor Monday to spread out the cuts, which should save the average Broward homeowner $134 this fall.

A military-style boot camp program will end. Special units that focus on kids who skip school and people who drive drunk will be disbanded. A program that provides a second chance to children who are caught starting fires would be curtailed as well.

"I have a core responsibility to this community, and that is to investigate crime, arrest people and keep them in jail as long as a judge tells me," Jenne said in detailing his cuts. "I tried to preserve that and look for things that are important but not necessarily part of that core mission."

The sweep of the cuts surprised commissioners, but Jenne told them it was the least painful way to target programs. Commissioners had hoped the sheriff would share the cost-cutting pain equally with other county agencies, but Jenne told them he could not cut the full $22 million they wanted from the $450 million he spends on regional services without affecting deputies on the street.

Although Crist had urged local officials to leave law enforcement alone, Jenne and county commissioners said that was not possible because the Sheriff's Office makes up so much of the county operations funded by property taxes.

"The Legislature in its infinite wisdom vowed that property taxes would drop like a rock and services would not be affected," Commissioner Ilene Lieberman said. "Welcome to the real world. That may happen in Harry Potter, but it doesn't happen in government."

Jenne will close the 76-bed boot camp program that was started a decade ago mainly for nonviolent, first-time offenders. Compared with the average jail population, 12 percent fewer of the inmates who go through that program return to crime.

Regular road patrols would have to pick up the work currently carried out by the eight-person specialized DUI unit and the 10-person school truancy unit. Those cuts combined save about $1.8 million.

Jenne also will cut $700,000 from the FireSetters program, likely ensuring its end. FireSetters has been around for nearly 15 years and has counseled almost 3,300 children ages 2 to 17 who have been caught setting fires.

Other cuts in the Sheriff's Office will include keeping patrol cars longer to save $1.3 million on vehicle purchases, cutting the administrative staff by six to save $700,000, cutting three jobs in the counter-terrorism unit to save $280,000 and delaying the opening of a new jail to save $5 million in operating costs. The environmental crimes unit will be shut down, while the mounted patrol and organized crime units will be scaled back.

In addition to Jenne, Property Appraiser Lori Parrish cut $900,000 from her budget and Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes cut $2 million. Neither will lay people off, but Snipes will reduce the number of early voting sites and will not send out a sample ballot for the presidential preference primary in January.

The commission is now within $6 million of the required $95 million cut and will finish the work when it returns from its summer break in mid-August. One possible target to make up the remaining money is the living-wage ordinance. The ordinance requires the county and anyone who does business with it to pay wages that are 10 percent above the federal poverty level. Budget officials said the cost on one contract to provide transportation to the handicapped is $5 million, and some commissioners vowed Monday to roll back the rules.

Also on Monday, park officials laid out $3 million in fee increases that are being eyed to make up part of the cut. Weekend admission fees would increase from $1 to $1.50, while camping rates would increase from $30 to $35 per day.

Commissioners held out the possibility of reducing the hours that libraries and parks are open. Library administrators laid out a plan to save up to $2.9 million by closing the main library at 6 p.m. weekdays and adjusting hours at 22 other library branches.