along through the community where many of the murders were taking place off
NW 19th Street. Police Chief Constance Stanley was commended for having a
great team, and they would continue to work together to see where they could
improve the City (video shown).
City Manager Giles-Smith called on Police Chief Stanley to speak on some of
the incidents that occurred in Lauderhill, as there appeared to be a plethora of
unpleasant activities occurring, including shootings, domestic violence, etc.
The City of Lauderhill was not alone in such occurrences, as they were
happening in other cities, but each resident of Lauderhill was concerned with
what was happening in their city.
Police Chief Stanley reviewed the number of homicides the City had in 2024
thus far, compared to the number in previous years. Since the beginning of
2024, six homicides occurred in Lauderhill, five gun-related, and one stabbing;
all the cases were still actively open, and there was a warrant for a suspect in
one of the cases. She said one case was a domestic violence matter. As her
department dealt with the homicides, they looked at the number of victims and
suspects who resided in Lauderhill, and, so far, the cases for 2024 showed
three victims resided in Lauderhill, and two suspects resided in Lauderhill.
In
2023, there was a total of 15 homicides; seven were closed by arrests, three of
cases were domestic related, four were investigated and were pending that
would lead to either an arrest, or being forwarded to the State Attorney’s Office;
for three cases all leads were exhausted. Eight of the 15 victims resided in the
City of Lauderhill, as did three suspects. In 2022, there were a total of 17
homicides, one involving multiple victims that resulted in 18 deaths; eight were
cleared by arrests, three were presented to the State Attorney’s Office for
stand-your-ground self-defense; four cases were domestic related; two were
cleared by exception, and for two of the cases all leads were exhausted, with
one case sent to the State Attorney’s Office. Eight victims resided in the City of
Lauderhill, as did five of the suspects. In 2021, there were 21 homicides, two
multiple victims, totaling 23 death; ten were closed by arrests, one cleared by
exception; one case was sent to the State Attorney’s Office for review, and it
appeared to be
exhausted, with three cases being domestic related.
the department used technology, and other resources, including
a
case of self-defense; in all five cases, all leads were
Chief Stanley explained
domestic
a
violence grant of $269,000.00 over a two-year period; the purpose of the grant
was to educate the community, both perpetrators and victims; they already
began the process, and they would be scheduling those sessions at various
parks throughout the City. There was a Cold Case, DNA, and Homicide and
Violent Crimes federal grant; the department was in communication with the
federal agency that provided the grant of $533,000.00, and it was awarded by
the Department of Justice (DOJ) over a three-year period; the grant would cover
a variety of things, including: DNA testing, and overtime to help close out cases.
She mentioned SoundThinking, formerly known as ShotSpotter, went live since
April of 2023, covering about 4.6 miles in the City of Lauderhill; she went over
the number of alerts since its inception, a total number of 837, with 86 in 2024;
many people did not call when they heard gunfire, so ShotSpotter alerted the
department, so officers could get to the crime location quicker, so they could,
possibly, save a life, and collect evidence. In five of the alerts, they were able to
collect shell casings at the scene, and with the City partnering with the Federal
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and Explosives (ATF), they were
able to solve five of the crimes. The City had license plate readers (LDR), a
total of 172 at 99 locations; she knew one of the neighboring cities spoke to a
