Summer 2017
• Two or more members who possess good operational tactics • Two or more members who possess the ability to conduct effective interviews/interrogations as well as the ability to cultivate cooperating defendants and/or confidential informants
• Two or more members who possess knowledge in covert investigations, surveillance, and technical equipment
The department knew it would be difficult to find candidates who possessed all of the characteristics listed above so thorough interviews were conducted with candidates in an effort to select officers who came as close as possible to the targeted skill sets. Through this process, the police department assembled a strong group of high achievers who were eager to prove their worth.
Method of Operations/Tactics The official mandate of the BEAR Unit is to apprehend burglars and reduce the number of burglaries through the ag- gressive investigation and enforcement of burglary and burglary related crimes. There are a n umber of methods that can be employed to achieve this objective. The newly formed BEAR Unit focused on three broad categories; peo- ple, places and things. Although this is not an all-inclusive list, it provides the reader with an overview of the unit’s in- vestigative process and tactics.
A) People. A small percentage of criminals commit a large percent of crime, so know who your criminals are! The BEAR Unit identified and collected intelligence on as many burglars as possible who resided in and around the community. The unit learned where known burglars resided, their method of operation and whom they associated with. It is not uncommon for known burglars to rotate in and out of the revolving door of the Broward County Criminal Justice Sys- tem so unit members kept track of when known burglars were in or out of jail.
The department authored and mailed “cooperation letters” to every person arrested for burglary over the last two years. Under the guise of asking them to cooperate with their cases; our department put known burglars on notice that the Coral Springs Police Department had an aggressive burglary unit that was looking for them. Every future arrestee for burglary and loitering and prowling received the “cooperation letter” as they were being booked. The Coral Springs Police Department let it be known that the department was serious about preventing burglaries and catching burglars. Soon the word got out and this tactic proved effective as evidenced by a recorded phone call between a suspect arrest- ed by the department’s BEAR Unit and his friend. During this call, the friend tells the jailed suspect “You don’t ever go in that district” and “you don’t never go in that neighborhood boy.” The word was out that the BEAR was on the hunt.
B) Places. The BEAR Unit looked at both places that were being burglarized as well as places that were trafficking in stolen property. Unit members worked closely with crime analysts to determine current crime trends and identify “hot spots” for burglary and burglary related activity. By utilizing “hot spot” mapping our department identified likely targets for criminal activity. This helped the de- partment deploy resources more efficiently and in- crease the likelihood of success.
As the recession hit, and gold prices spiked, second- hand gold dealers began to spring up throughout Broward County. These dealers conducted extensive advertising, offering to purchase gold and jewelry. In- telligence gathered from arrestees indicated that sev- eral of these businesses were frequented by burglars wishing to move stolen property. Often, these busi- nesses took in jewelry and melted it down almost im- mediately, making it difficult to recover stolen items.
Department members worked with second-hand dealers and pawn shops in and around the City of Coral Springs to make sure the second-hand dealers and pawn shops were in compliance with state reporting regulations. The Coral
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