POMPANO BEACH, FL—In an enormous six-week operation, federal law enforcement agencies worked with the Broward Sheriff's Office to arrest 132 criminals and seize 38 guns in connection to skyrocketing crime rates in northwest Pompano Beach.
The name of the game? "Operation Trigger Lock".
"As I went through these arrests line item by line item, and reading what my investigators had encountered, I'm delighted that we didn't have to kill somebody out here. These are some very bad violent individuals, armed to the teeth, at times have more firepower than we do," Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said at a Wednesday press conference.
Due to rising violent and drug crimes in northwest Pompano Beach—considered to be the most unsafe area of the city—the Broward Sheriff's Office partnered with the FBI, the DEA, Homeland Security, and the ATF to kick off Operation Trigger Lock in mid-April, which led to 14 search warrants being executed, NBC Miami reported.
By the end of the operation in late May, 132 people were arrested—including three known gang members—38 firearms seized—including AK-47s, AR-15s, and high-powered glocks with 30-round magazines—and drug recoveries of cocaine, alpha PVP, oxycodone, and heroin.
"We're not done, although this operation has been completed, we will continue to have a high tempo in the northwest part of Pompano and...continue to move forward with taking the worst of the worst off the streets," Tony added.
The number of violent crime victims per 1,000 residents in Pompano Beach is nearly double that of the Florida average, and according to Neighborhood Scout, between a 1 and 100 rating—where 100 is reserved for the safest cities—Pompano Beach ranks at 11.
This means it is safer than just 11% of U.S. cities.
Crime Grade reports similarly dismal safety levels for the South Florida city, bestowing a "D+" rating as its overall crime grade. The site explains that residents generally consider the south side to be "safer" than the northwest areas, which boasts that any given resident has a 1 in 21 chance of becoming a crime victim.
