BSO: Home Burglaries Way Up in Lauderdale Lakes
As we've reported on this blog, the city of Lauderdale Lakes is in the midst of a major budget crisis and owes the Broward Sheriff's Office "millions of dollars," according to BSO.
That means it's a bad time for BSO to have "fewer resources" in the city as residential burglaries are up 35% since the beginning of 2010.
BSO Spokesperson Jim Leljedal told me that as a result of the non-payment the agency has cut back on detectives and support staff in Lauderdale Lakes. That means there aren't as many BSO personnel to investigate crimes.
However, Leljedal said BSO still has the same amount of road patrol deputies in the city for safety purposes.
Earlier this week, BSO sent out a flyer to all residents in the city warning them of the increase in burglaries and to be on the lookout for suspicious activity.
One family that we will profile on TV 33 at 10 and CBS 4 at 11 tonight, told me the thieves stole electronics -- including all of their kids' video game systems. The thieves also took Christmas presents.
"We didn't even spend Christmas here because there was no reason to be thankful or happy," father Scott Roya said. "If it wasn't for our family members getting the kids gifts, they wouldn't have had no Christmas."
