About Us
The Village incorporated in 1996, with one of the driving forces for incorporation being safety. Today, it is a fact that crime levels are lower than they have ever been and 66% lower than prior to incorporation. The Village achieved the goal of providing residents with a municipal police department that has significantly brought down crime rates through excellent community policing.
The Police Department was established soon after incorporation on June 16, 1997. The department’s size and responsiveness allows for a community-specifc response and “small-town” feel which has become a central element of its culture. In the beginning, the police department was located on the second floor of Suniland Plaza and had 27 employees. The police department has its own public safety answering point unit (911 dispatch center), which was established in 1999. In October 2004, it moved to the new Pinecrest Municipal Center which features modern security elements, holding cells, an emergency operations center, a 911 emergency communications center, and a highly accountable property and evidence system.
The police department has become a premier agency with triple accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation (CFA), and the Florida Telecommunications Accreditation Commission (FLA-TAC). The department is currently staffed by 51 sworn police personnel and 23 civilian support staff members. Well above the 13% national average, the department is comprised of 20% female officers - up from 7% at the department's inception. The department has specialized units such as a Crime Suppression Team, a Crime Prevention Unit, a Detective Bureau and a Motors Unit.
In July 2021, Chief Jason Cohen became the fourth Chief of the Pinecrest Police Department. Since becoming the top cop, Chief Cohen has made the well-being of officers a top priority by creating the Police Chaplain and Peer Support programs and developing the Community Resource Team to promote community engagement and inclusion through various community-based activities.