Historically, the first 100 days has been used as a benchmark to measure the success of an administration. I entered into office without any time to prepare, but with no illusions about what we needed to achieve.  As Sheriff, I am fixing systemic problems that negatively affected both the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) and our community. With the assistance and support of the fine men and women of this agency, our elected public officials and our community partners, we are well on our way to reaching our goals and building a team that our community can count on.

In the first 100 days, we have:

• Promoted more than 141 personnel, creating the most diversified executive command staff in BSO’s history. Half of all promotions have been female, including Nichole Anderson, who was named BSO’s first female colonel.

• Initiated plans and developed comprehensive architecture designs for the development of a $30 million state-of-the-art regional training center, which will provide the necessary level of training to address today’s public safety challenges.

• Designed new comprehensive training programs and reallocated funds to sufficiently increase our instructor training cadre to meet the training needs of our organization.

• Forged federal partnership agreements with the FBI, FEMA and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) training divisions. The training contract agreements developed with DHS will create 25 BSO nationally certified Active Shooter and Basic Tactical Medical Instructors. Further, our partnership with the FBI Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) program will train all 25 of these nationally certified instructors.

• Developed the Office of Emergency Management and appointed a director to oversee the department.

• Implemented BSO joint Incident Command System (ICS) and training curriculum that is supported by FEMA.  ICS is designed to enable effective and efficient domestic incident management by integrating a combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures and communications operating within a common organizational structure.

• Established the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) to allow for real-time monitoring and analysis of important investigative information during a critical incident, including direct access to video surveillance systems and monitoring close to 10,000 cameras in all Broward County schools.

• Acquired a $2.2 million grant for further development of the Guardian Program and necessary equipment to support the program.

• Started producing an Active Shooter Training Video for Broward County Public Schools.

• Ramped up our recruitment efforts – and created the Bureau of Recruiting and Retention – to find and keep the most qualified people to serve the Broward County community.

• Increased our Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) by 150 trained deputies and firefighters. This specialized training helps law enforcement identify and more effectively engage an individual suffering from a mental health crisis.

• Created the BSO Legacy Program, which is designed to provide scholarships to police and fire Explorers, internship opportunities, sponsorships to academies and continuing education for those interested in a career in public safety.

• Reallocated roughly $1 million into Community Service Outreach programs that are held accountable.

• Expanded the Law Enforcement Trust Fund (LETF) to ensure qualified organizations receive a fair opportunity to compete for funds and that the money is distributed equitably to the most deserving organizations.

While there is much more work to be done, I can confidently say we are better equipped, trained and prepared as a public safety agency than we were three months ago. On to the next 100 days – and beyond.

Service Equals Reward

Sheriff Gregory Tony