Want to get involved?
BSO's COP Program is a volunteer group sponsored by the sheriff's office that uses a simple approach to safeguarding neighborhoods through residents' involvement. COP volunteers are local residents who help BSO fight crime by patrolling their community, looking out for suspicious activity or potential hazards and offering assistance to local residents. For more information please contact
Berthill_Thomas@sheriff.org.
Senior Services
TRIAD is a partnership between the Broward Sheriff's Office, the Broward County Chiefs of Police and the Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons (AARP) and older/retired leadership in the area. This partnership works together to reduce the criminal victimization of senior citizens and enhances the delivery of law enforcement services to Broward County's elderly population. TRIAD provides the opportunity for the exchange of information between law enforcement and senior citizens.
Youth Services
The Police Athletic League (PAL) provides youth an opportunity to stay out of trouble by participating in sports and other activities after school or during the summer. The activities are structured to attract all youth regardless of their previous athletic abilities. PAL's goal is to provide them with activities that build character and self-esteem, foster positive relationships, enhance self-awareness and promote good citizenship. For more information please contact
Elias_Guadalupe@sheriff.org.
Parents, teachers and law enforcement professionals are constantly seeking ways to expose teenagers to positive values and role models. The Law Enforcement Explorers Program at the Broward Sheriff's Office is a successful example of how adult intervention can instill responsibility, leadership, teamwork and self-reliance. For more information please contact
Prenella_McGee@sheriff.org.
For young men and women considering a career in fire rescue and emergency services, the Cadet Program at BSO affords practical training and experience through education, community involvement and public service. Primarily geared to high school students, fire rescue cadets are introduced to firefighting and rescue techniques through a regimented course of instruction based on teamwork and responsibility. For more information please contact
Frank_Correggio@sheriff.org.
Broward County's Juvenile Firesetter Prevention and Intervention Programs provide specialized fire safety education for children ages 2-17 and target at-risk children and teens with an interest in or a history of starting fires, initiating bomb threats, creating destructive incendiary devices or pulling fire alarms. By offering fire safety education instruction and community outreach presentations, the program helps reduce incidents of injury, property loss and death. Please contact 954-831-8210 for more information about Broward County's Firesetter Prevention and Intervention Program.
Special Units
Homeless Outreach Team
The Homeless Outreach Team is designed to promote ending the cycle of homelessness by helping individuals who are experiencing homelessness recapture and regain their lives. By design, the Homeless Outreach Team, with at least one specialist located in every BSO district, educates deputies to conduct a needs assessment of individuals who are experiencing homelessness.
Through this assessment, deputies identify the social services needed and assist these individuals with accessing our county's social services continuum of care. For more information please contact
Marcus_Hall@sheriff.org.
Crisis Intervention Team
The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program is a community-based program that partners with mental health consumers, their families and the mental health social services community. BSO CIT is designed to improve the way deputies respond to people experiencing mental health crises. Highly-trained deputies are certified as CIT members after they have completed comprehensive specialized training, based on the proven Memphis Model, on how to respond to and deescalate a mental health crisis.
CIT deputies utilize their training and experience to provide effective crisis intervention and reduce violent physical confrontations. The goal is to provide mental health consumers effective care through intervention and to provide diversion opportunities from the criminal justice system to appropriate mental health treatment centers. For more information please contact
Marcus_Hall@sheriff.org.