Broward sheriff warns: Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti, sworn in Tuesday, said future budget cuts might have to come at the expense of public safety.
By David Smiley
The Miami Herald
MIAMI, Fla. — Jails are overcrowded. Brazen and violent crimes are on the rise. And another round of budget cuts threaten to force law enforcement agencies to do more with less.
Enter Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti, who on Tuesday was sworn in as the man elected to tackle those issues as the county’s top cop.
Surrounded by bagpipers, colleagues and family in the lobby of The Faith Center in Sunrise, Lamberti said that among his priorities will be dealing with a shrinking budget and staff at a time when violent crime is escalating.
Lamberti, a 31-year BSO veteran who was appointed in 2007, has dealt with cuts before. Last year, Lamberti was forced to trim about $33 million from the budget, though on Tuesday he said he did so without affecting public safety.
But Lamberti said that with a 2009 budget expected to fall about $14 million short of the agency’s 2008 budget, he could find key priorities on the chopping block.
“Any future budget cuts could impact public safety,” he said.
That could be problematic for Lamberti’s goals, such as dealing with a court order to prevent jail overcrowding in Broward County and curbing escalating gun violence. Lamberti has been vocal about a recent uptick in violent crime that he believes has become more brazen and senseless over the past few years.
Murders in Broward last year declined, while they are up 8 percent in Miami-Dade, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. But robbery was up 13 percent over the last three years in Broward, and up 11 percent in Miami-Dade.
Lamberti, 54, is also grappling with trying to make an arrest in the high-profile, unsolved 2007 slaying of BSO Sgt. Chris Reyka.
But for at least an hour Tuesday, Lamberti and thousands of spectators focused on the new sheriff’s accomplishments, noting that for the first time in the agency’s 93-year history, a jail deputy rose through the ranks to become an elected sheriff.
Lamberti was appointed sheriff by Gov. Charlie Crist in 2007 after former Sheriff Ken Jenne was convicted on federal corruption charges. Then last November, Lamberti successfully campaigned to hold office, narrowly beating Democratic opponent Scott Israel in a county where registered Democrats heavily outnumber Republicans.
“There’s no such thing as a Republican sheriff and no such thing as a Democratic sheriff,” former Broward Sheriff Bob Butterworth said during a speech Tuesday. “There is only sheriff.”
Now, that title belongs to Lamberti. “Today is a culmination of a career,” said Lamberti, who worked his way to the top from a beginning as a detention deputy. “But it’s a beginning as well.”
Lamberti has been elected to one of the most powerful political posts in Broward. He oversees BSO’s 6,300 employees and an organization that provides law enforcement and/or fire rescue for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and the 14 municipalities that have either hired BSO or merged their police departments into the sheriff’s office.
On Tuesday, Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco, mayor of Tamarac, said she is concerned about what possible cuts could mean for her city’s safety. But she’s confident that the sheriff would do everything in his power to keep enough boots on the street.
“My No. 1 priority as mayor is to protect our residents,” Flansbaum-Talabisco said. “I believe that [BSO has] done an excellent job.”
Miami Herald staff writer Adam H. Beasley contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 The Miami Herald