Other Broward cities are weighing life after BSO

EXCLUSIVE

Deerfield Beach isn’t alone in reconsidering its reliance on the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) for police services. In recent years, several Broward municipalities have either ended their BSO contracts, extended them only temporarily while studying alternatives, or publicly discussed splitting over cost and control.

Pembroke Park has already made the jump. The town terminated its BSO contract and launched its own police department in 2022, a move local officials have recently defended during public back-and-forth with Sheriff Gregory Tony.

A broader pushback dates to 2021, when mayors and managers from BSO “contract cities” met to air grievances over rising costs, fiscal transparency, and limited local control—talks widely described as cities “considering heading for the exits.”

Pompano Beach—Deerfield’s largest neighbor and frequent partner on regional issues—has not fully recommitted long-term. This fall the City Commission approved only a one-year extension with BSO through September 2026 while the city conducts a formal study of creating its own police department. The short term nature of the deal keeps open options beyond BSO.

Regional ripples extend further. Recent coverage notes that other BSO cities, including Parkland, Cooper City and Weston, have delayed signing new long-term agreements as they evaluate costs and service models.

Deerfield officials have said a non-BSO path could allow stronger community policing at a better value. With Pompano Beach simultaneously studying its own department, a cooperative arrangement between the two cities—such as shared services or joint operations—has emerged as a plausible scenario that city leaders say could deliver improved service at a more reasonable cost for residents.