Safety & Security at the Eagle
Thank You for Helping to Keep Eagle Safe
With guidance from the Wilton Manors Police Department (WMPD), we recently added exit checks to our long-standing security efforts. For seven consecutive weekends, our team has conducted quick scans at the door—asking guests to unlock any phones they’re carrying and to pause for a brief check to ensure no extra devices are leaving the venue.
The result: reported thefts of phones and wallets dropped to zero during this period. Things still get lost, but now they’re getting found.
We extend a special thank-you to the Wilton Manors Police Department for their unwavering efforts to stop these thefts and for the guidance, help, and support they’ve provided to Eagle throughout this process.
On our first weekend of exit checks, we anticipated some individuals engaged in theft might react with surprise. We stationed discreet observers at each exit to note times and locations of unusual reactions. Using those notes, security footage and other data we believe our team later identified at least two suspected pickpockets. One of whom, based on our data, was present on the dates of nearly 90%- of reported thefts in recent months.
This progress is thanks to you and your patience, cooperation, and commitment to looking out for one another. After years of investing in training and technology, wrist-banding, wanding, searches, and countless hours of video review, your support made the difference. We heard an extraordinary number of “thank yous” for the added measures, and we appreciate every one of them.
To keep Eagle safe for everyone, we will continue exit checks indefinitely. Notice about this procedure is posted at each entrance and cooperation has been nearly universal. Guests who decline to comply with these brief, reasonable security measures—implemented to protect our community—will be required to wait for law enforcement to verify device ownership. Those individuals will not be permitted to re-enter the property. In limited cases, individuals who declined to comply have been banned and formally trespassed on the advice of law enforcement.
When we work together, we keep Wilton Manors safe for all of us—and for everyone who visits—because this proudly gay, welcoming city is a place where people can feel safe and celebrated, even when they may not feel that way everywhere.
And finally we want to thank our security team who have suffered the frustration of these criminals for years but never stopped trying their hardest to protect us all. Congratulations to each of you.
You keep up your vigilance and we're keeping our cell phone lockers free.
Questions? Ask any member of our security team, or visit the Safety & Security section of our website. And as always—if you see something, say something.
Safety & Security at the Eagle
Eagle Wilton Manors takes the safety and security of our guests and staff very seriously. Along with our regular customer service workshops, our security staff also participates annually in multiple paid trainings that include CPR and AED training, Naarcan, first aid and active shooter training to name a few topics. We encourage any staff member to complete the 10 week Wilton Manors Citizens Police Academy.
After safety, an issue we place a lot of focus on is the prevalence of pickpockets working on Wilton Drive. We have worked with WMPD very closely for some time, and continue to do so in an effort to catch these criminals and put an end to this problem for our guests. As a result, we are occasionally rewarded with the satisfaction of watching one of them take a ride in a Wilton Manors Police Cruiser
We also take many measures to simply keep them out of the Eagle altogether. It seems sometimes that no matter how solid we think a new strategy is or how much money we invest, the pickpockets find some way around it. From 2022 to 2024 we added nearly $100,000 to our security budget, primarily in an effort to address this problem.
Contrary to common practice, we have always been very open about pickpockets, announcing it to all customers via signage and often verbally at the front door. We have a lit neon sign that announces, “ACTIVE PICKPOCKETS.” We have posted photos of suspected pickpockets, often provided to us by WMPD, at our entrances.
It is our goal to provide a safe and secure environment for our guests without our efforts being intrusive or disruptive. You can help us by leaving your valuables at home or in a locker. If you must carry your phone, consider a security tether or other measure or at least keep it in a pocket that is more secure. If you believe you are a victim of a pickpocket at the Eagle, please complete our Lost and Found form on our website. It provides data that is helpful in our efforts to combat pick pockets. And of course, if you see something, say something. Our security is always a few steps away.
Lastly, our security team works very hard and is extremely diligent in their efforts to protect us, to protect you and to prepare for the unimaginable so that you can be free to enjoy your time with us at Eagle Wilton Manors and just “be you.” Please be understanding and cooperative with them and, if you are so inclined, please show them your appreciation on your way in and out.
For more information about Safety and Security at Eagle Wilton Manors please check our FAQ Page.
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Eagle Wilton Manors
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Rob Reimer Administrative Assistant
- August 21, 2025
- (954) 533-8248
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