WELCOME MESSAGE

From the Broward County Crime Commission - James DePelisi, President

The Broward County Crime Commission welcomes you to its web site.  The Crime Commission hopes that you find this site both informative and helpful.  The compilation of information herein was done with one intent and common goal .... to keep our communities, neighborhoods, schools and business districts …..  safe from crime.   This site serves as an invaluable resource of information about the Crime Commission, its history, and its effort to assist law enforcement, the criminal justice system and the Broward County citizens at large.  

Now more than ever, timely, accurate and relevant criminal justice information is vital to Broward County, the state of the Florida, and to the nation. The Crime Commission website serves as an information conduit between criminal justice agencies and the citizens we serve in Broward County.

Established in 1976, the Broward County Crime Commission is comprised of a select group of leading criminal justice officials, private business leaders, and state and local government leaders, whose express purpose is to deter crime in the community.  In this regard, the Crime Commission supports all public safety and criminal justice protocols that best represent and protect the citizenry of Broward County. 

The Crime Commission feels that its pertinence in 2012 is more relevant now than ever before in its 36 year history.  Due to an accumulation of crucial concerns over the past 12 years, never before in the history of the United States, have Americans had to deal with such a large composition of life uncertainties.  

The increased amount of natural disasters, compounded with the ongoing threat of terrorism, along with the onslaught of cyber crime (associated with both identity theft and child predators), have brought a whole assortment of different criminal challenges to the forefront.   Moreover, due to an ever evolving electronic and wireless communication age, the amount of Cross Border crime has significantly increased, making opposing criminals more astute, more aloof and more inconspicuous than ever before.  This requires law enforcement agencies to be more vigilant in intelligence gathering, as well as having stronger interagency logistical coordination. 

Furthermore, a distressed economy brought on by the country’s worst ever mortgage crisis, has affected crime in several facets:  1) Law enforcement budgets at all levels of government have suffered significant budget cuts.  In many cases, law enforcement agencies are asked to do more with less.  2) Due to a suspect economy, the criminal element has suffered set backs with traditional schemes, thereby reinventing itself to spawn and commit different crimes, as a “sign of the times” of the current economy.  Thus, law enforcement agencies, who are working with less money than before, can certainly find it more and more challenging to fight crime.

The list of problems above were not adherent issues, as little as 15 years ago.  Thus, law enforcement, the criminal justice system and the law abiding community have had to transcend themselves to stay one step ahead of the ancillary forces that sometimes work to the advantage of the criminal.     

The Crime Commission prides itself as being a statesman in Broward County, possessing   a strong pulse on these issues.  It is continuously working to conduct studies and initiate platforms that can better deter crime.  Hence, the Crime Commission serves as both an advocate and facilitator in assisting law enforcement agencies at every level, from local municipalities to federal agencies, in sharing information, ideas and procedures.  More than ever before, the Crime Commission is a voice for reform, a proponent of positive change and a resource in which the community can rely upon.

From the Crime Commission’s perspective, the public cannot be too lax about the potential risks brought on by the different elements of Crime.  The objective of the Crime Commission is to carefully monitor crime rates and statistics, and apply thought processes from the brightest minds associated with the Criminal Justice system, in properly informing the general public of all the issues at hand, in an attempt to thwart the relentless efforts that crime imposes.   

In this regard, the Crime Commission has several programs to address such issues at hand, as well as ongoing concerns of society, which include but are not limited to:

 1. Hurricane Contractor and Vendor Fraud

 2. Identity Theft Awareness and Prevention

 3. Child Predator Awareness

 4. Counter Terrorism Awareness

 5. Public Security

 6. Police Personnel Recruitment

 7. Criminal Justice Inter-Agency Think Tank Meetings

 8. The Broward County Crime Commission’s Best Practices Program
 
 9. Law Enforcement Economics and Finance

 10. Criminal Justice Training and Continuing Education

 11. Criminal Justice Academic Education

 12. Criminal Justice Family Support Groups

 13. Anti-Gang Initiatives

 14. Child and Juvenile Advocacy Programs

 15. Anti-Narcotic Programs:  Drug Abuse and Illicit Narcotics Trafficking
 
 16. The Broward County Crime Commission Public Safety Technology     Incubator

 17. Scientific Research in Criminology, Criminal Justice      and Law Enforcement

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