Q: I wonder if anyone at the Sun Sentinel would ever consider writing an article about the lack of police presence on local communities’ roads. I live on West Camino Real in Boca Raton, which is supposed to be patrolled by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department but there is NEVER an officer on patrol. Also, I frequently use I-95 from Palmetto Park Road in Boca Raton to Cypress Creek Road in Fort Lauderdale and darned if I ever see a Broward County Sheriff on I-95. I know when an aggressive driver sees a Sheriff’s car driving in traffic they will slow down in speed and also stop tailgating! I’m sure other readers and drivers would love to know why! — Barbara Woodward, Boca Raton
A: Barbara, there are few things more stressful than driving on I-95, better known as “Die-95.” The highway has become an almost lawless zone of unrestrained speeding, daily traffic tie-ups and disturbing incidents of road rage.
So many people have moved to South Florida, especially since the pandemic, and lane additions and other repairs can never keep up with the quantity of cars on our roads each day. At the same time, there’s a nationwide shortage of law enforcement officers, and we in Florida are experiencing the fallout like the rest of the country.
“Most of the agencies are short-staffed,” John Kazanjian, president of the Florida Police Benevolent Association, told me. “All around the country, including the state of Florida, agencies have a difficult time hiring police officers. There are numerous reasons why.”
Kazanjian cited riots after the murder of George Floyd in 2020 that he said made officers feel unappreciated; he also cited concerns about COVID-19 and an abundance of retirements in recent years.
“Who wants to go to work every day wearing body armor, cameras and being criticized for doing your job?” he said. “A lot of people don’t want to work like that with those conditions. Also, the pay and benefits are really important and some cities, counties and towns just don’t get it. They don’t want to pay their police and eventually they leave to go to some other agency for better benefits.”
The South Florida Sun Sentinel explored the topic of lack of police presence on I-95 in 2020 and found there were fewer Florida Highway Patrol troopers policing the highway than 20 years prior. Reporters also found troopers had written 38% fewer tickets over five years, while crashes jumped 41%.
FHP officials did not respond to my questions this week. So I checked FHP’s “Crash and Citation Reports & Statistics” database to find the latest traffic citation numbers from the agency. I found troopers citing fewer drivers over the past couple of years even while our population continues to expand.
FHP officers wrote 46,449 citations in Palm Beach County in 2021 for violations such as DUI, careless driving, running red lights, improper passing and improper lane changes, but the number fell to 42,358 in 2022. And in Broward, they wrote 30,067 citations in 2021 but only 21,536 in 2022.
As for Camino Real in Boca Raton, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Teri Barbera said officers patrol the unincorporated section west of Military Trail all the time. She sent over these statistics as proof: Since March 1, there have been “2,583 directed patrols by deputies, 66 traffic stops, 35 citations, 34 warnings, 42 traffic crashes worked (majority at the intersections of Camino Real / Powerline / Military) and one narcotics arrest.”
Barbera said directed patrols are “self-initiated activity by a deputy or community service aide meant to deter crime and provide safety by being highly visible and/or attentive to a specific area.” So it sounds like the deputies are out there, but maybe not at the same time you are.
Got a question about life in South Florida? Send to AskLois@sunsentinel.com.