The Lauderhill Police Department presented crime statistics and new public-safety and neighborhood maintenance initiatives during the Sept. 29 commission meeting, reporting reductions in several felony categories while outlining stepped-up enforcement and community engagement.

The numbers: comparing fiscal-year periods ending in 2024 and 2025 (to mid-September), the department reported declines in auto thefts (down about 40%), residential burglaries (down roughly 21%) and business burglaries (down about 59%). Homicides were recorded at five for the most recent period compared with 15 in a prior period; vehicle and property-related categories showed mixed results. The department also reported a 65% increase in traffic citations written (8,796 in the most recent comparison period) and an overall reduction in part-1 crimes by about 22% year-over-year for the same window.

Police approach and programs:
- Real-time crime center access, license-plate readers and a street-enforcement team will be used to target hot spots and repeat offenders.
- Community-facing programming includes “coffee with a cop” events, a visibility initiative using cruiser lights, and ongoing youth engagement and mentorship programs.
- Police urged residents to report incidents and to use neighborhood apps and Ring cameras to provide leads; several commissioners stressed the need to improve positive media coverage of the department’s work.

Parks and Public Works:
- Parks Director Scott Newton described about 1,500 youth participants in sports programs and roughly 500 in non-sports programming; the department emphasized youth skill-building, swim safety and background checks for volunteers.
- Public Works Director Mark Sleddy said five new hires were added in the past 30 days with additional hires planned; 80% of city irrigation was repaired and crews are being deployed as “street teams” to patrol major corridors, clean bus stops and maintain medians and parks.

What commissioners requested: More proactive public relations to highlight positive police work, continued coordination between departments to address lighting, tree-trimming and sidewalk repairs, and follow-up reports on staffing and the planned neighborhood-enrichment team.

The department said it will continue targeted enforcement, community outreach and partnership-driven maintenance to address both perception and measured crime trends.