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File Ref. #132 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I , I I I (! (A:lt.lt r1t€ tl:F If 13Z-R&,.u-, ~ 1'19'1 IJ]J- ACCOMPLISHMENTS MIAMI BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT 1998 RICHARD R. BARRETO CHIEF OF POLICE etbll/~ fiLE bF#/32-Ptf'(,t4''1 SI;/9f9 :2 "r ).- Ie Illr~ II) If IV I() IL 111(: I~ ~, II A\ ~\ II 113 I~ A\ Ie III II) I~ IV A\ ll2lr ~, I~ N lr DEDICATED To COMMUNITY SERVICE 1100 WASHINGTON AVENL:E + MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139 CHIEF'S OFFICE (305) 673.7925 (F,,~x) 673-7065 GENERAL ORDER NO. 05-98 June 3, 1998 FROM: All Personnel. To Be Announced At All Roll Calls For Four (4) Consecutive Days And Posted On The Bulletin Boards For A Period Of Thirty (30) Days. Richard Barre~~0. Chief of Police " TO: SUBJECT: STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR HOMELESS ASSISTANCE EFFECTIVE: Immediately I. BACKGROUND A. Historically, there has been confusion and a lack of understanding between the homeless population and the law enforcement community. We are attempting to address this issue by providing specific direction to officers and assistance to individuals as part of our function. Our department has enlisted the cooperation of the Douglas Gardens Homeless Assistance Outreach Team. The Homeless Outreach Team is a mobile team of two persons who work with the homeless on the streets, helping them to access services and place them into housing. They communicate with the homeless on a daily basis, trying to develop trusting relationships so the homeless will take advantage of the services available to them. The Miami Beach Police Department and the Douglas Gardens Homeless Outreach Team have agreed to work together to attempt to resolve some of the issues unique to the homeless population. B. PSCU will maintain all the necessary information on the Douglas Gardens Homeless Assistance Outreach Team, including but not limited to, their work schedule and contact information. PSCU will also maintain a list of the available shelters and their contact information. C. This general order will enable the Miami Beach Police Department to enforce the -1- 1':: 7 laws which protect our community, while at the same time, demonstrate we are sensitive to the needs and rights of our homeless population. This general order will create the protocol we must follow when dealing with homeless persons. This protocol is based upon case law resulting from POTTINGER vs CITY OF MIAMI, a 1988 case which was recently resolved. II. DEFINITIONS A. Homeless Person is an individual who 'lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night- time residence and has a primary night-time residence that is (a) a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations; (b) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intending to be institutionalized; or (c) a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings. Officers are allowed to make reasonable inquiries to make this determination. B. Public Property includes all property owned by any governmental entity (federal, state or local). "Public property" shall not include property which has become subject to a leasehold interest, management agreement or other possessory interest of a nongovernmental lessee, licensee or manager, which is operated as a private business. A public park shall always be public property within the meaning of this definition. C. Exempt Public Property- The following are "exempt public properties" (1) City of Miami Beach, City Hall; (2) City of Miami Beach Fire Stations; (3) City of Miami Beach Police Stations; and (4) the Theater of Performing Arts. A homeless persons' presence in the interior of an "exempt public property" is not a trespass within the meaning of "Life Sustaining Conduct Misdemeanors" where the homeless person's activities are reasonably related to the governmental activities normally performed within these physical structures. D. Life-sustaining conduct misdemeanor/ordinance violation are those which a homeless individual commits by the mere fact that he/she is without shelter, and must conduct life-sustaining activities, i.e. sleeping, sitting, congregating in public. Examples of 'life-sustaining' misdemeanors/ordinance violations applicable to Miami Beach are: Being in the Park after Hours (MB Code Section 25-17.1), Urinating in Public (MB Code Section 25-33.1), Littering (FSS403.314), Trespass on Public Property (FSS 810.09[1]), Exposure of Sexual Organs (when bathing for example) (FSS800.03). These life- sustaining violations do not prevent any officer from making an immediate arrest under 800.04FSS entitled "Lewd, lascivious or indecent assault or act upon or in the presence of a child", if probable cause exists. III. GENERAL PROCEDURES: A. A law enforcement officer always has the right to approach any individual, including a -2- homeless person, to alleviate any suspicions the officer may have about the individual, and determine that no criminal activity is occurring. B. A law enforcement officer may approach a homeless person who has not been observed engaging in any criminal conduct, to advise him/her about the Homeless Outreach Team, and the services they provide. All contact information (names, work schedule, phone and beeper number) on the Homeless Outreach Team, along with information on available shelters, is maintained in PSCU. The homeless person may or may not accept the advice, or he/she may even leave the area prior to the arrival of the Outreach Team. C. When an officer comes into contact with a homeless person who he/she reasonably believes meets the criteria for 'involuntary examination' (Baker Act), the officer needs to follow our standard procedures for dealing with Baker Acts. IV. PROCEDURES FOR LIFE-SUSTAINING MISDEMEANORSI ORDINANCE VIOLA TIONS A. When an officer encounters a homeless person committing a "Life-sustaining" misdemeanor/ordinance violation, the officer should first contact PSCU to ascertain whether the Homeless Outreach Team is available and/or if there are any shelters available. If there is an available shelter, the officer will offer the shelter to the homeless person in lieu of being arrested. If the Outreach Team is available, they will transport. If they are not available and there are no other options, the officer shall provide transportation to the shelter. The officer will complete a Field Interrogation Card, documenting the facts of the incident and write "Homeless" (for record keeping purposes only) at the top of the card. The FIC must be turned in to the Records Unit at the end of the officer's shift. B. When an officer has probable cause to arrest for a "Life-sustaining" misdemeanor or ordinance violation and the officer has determined there is available shelter and the homeless person refuses to go, the officer may arrest the homeless person. The officer needs to document on the A form, the probable cause for the arrest, the offer of shelter, the name of the shelter and the refusal by the homeless person to accept the shelter. The officer should write "Homeless" (for record keeping purposes only) at the top of the arrest report. C. When an officer has probable cause to arrest a homeless person for a life-sustaining misdemeanor or ordinance violation and the individual chooses to go to a shelter, the officer should not effect an arrest if there are no shelters available. The officer should complete a Field Interrogation Card, documenting the incident and write that a shelter is not available and "Homeless" (for record keeping purposes only) on the top of the FIC. V. PROCEDURES FOR ALL OTHER VIOLATIONS OF LAW: -3- A. Officers encountering homeless person(s) committing misdemeanor(s) or ordinance violation(s) which are not deemed to be "life-sustaining", may arrest the homeless person(s) if there is probable cause, regardless of whether or not a shelter is available. If there is an available shelter, the officer can refer the individual to the shelter in lieu of arrest. The incident shall be documented on an FI card and write 'Homeless' (for record keeping purposes only) on the top of the card. Examples of misdemeanor/ordinance violations which are not classified as 'life-sustaining' are: Disorderly Conduct (FSS877.03), Possession/Consumption of Alcohol/Open Containers (MB Code Section 25-33.2), Aggressive Panhandling (Dade County Code Section 21-31.4), L & P (FSS 856.021), Trespass on Private Property(FSS 810.08[1]), etc. B. Officers with probable cause to believe that a homeless person has committed, or is committing a felony, should follow standard arrest procedures. VI. PROPERTY A. Police Officers shall respect the personal property of all homeless persons. Officers shall follow existing policies for taking custody of personal property. Officers shall not destroy any personal property known to belong to a homeless person, or readily identifiable as property of a homeless person unless it is contaminated or otherwise poses a health hazard to an officer or to members of the public. Officers are not responsible for taking custody of mattresses. 1. The disposition of personal property shall never prevent an officer from effecting an arrest. However, officers should undertake the following safeguards to preserve the personal property of the homeless person, to the extent feasible: a. Always attempt to secure personal items such as identification, medicines, eyeglasses and other small items of importance identified by the homeless person, in accordance with the police department's existing procedures. c. The arresting officer shall ensure that large or bulky items (which are not contaminated or otherwise pose a health hazard to the officer or to members of the public), are not abandoned at the point of arrest. Bulky items such as numerous articles of clothing may be listed on the property receipt as miscellaneous clothes. However, the homeless individual must sign the property receipt, documenting the miscellaneous clothes, to eliminate the possibility of a discrepancy when the property is retrieved. RB/JS/MWD/GT/MMS F:\POLl\TECHSERV\POLlCIES\G_ ORDERS\GO#05-98. WPD Cc: Chief Barreto A/Chief Scarberry A/Chief Diaz Major Robbins Major Schneider Major L1uy -4- Major De Lucca Capt. Conwell Capt. Press Capt. Mazer Capt. Tollefsen Capt. Weschler Capt. Garabedian Capt. Pizzo Capt. Alamo Det. Boza Cmdr. Zaworski Cmdr. Frame Cmdr. Bellamy Internal Affairs Training Unit Property Unit P.S.C.U. Records Court Liaison Office Lt. Lynda Veski, FOP Planning and Research Bulletin Boards John Babcock, Records Manager Martha Diaz, Police Legal Richard Bender, Exec. Assist., Labor Relations -5- Ie Illr "" II) It= IV II) IL IIIL I~ ~, II A\~' II 113 I~ A\ IL III II) I~ IV A\ II:? lr ~, I~ ~ lr DEDICATED To COMMUNITY SERVICE 1100 WASHINGTON AVENUE + MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139 CHIEF'S OFFICE (305) 673.7925 (FAX) 673.7065 MEETING NOTICE TO: Richard Barreto, Police Chief Murray Dubbin, City Attorney Dennis Ward, FOP President Citizen Committee Members as Listed Below DATE: February 2,1999 SUBJECT: POLICE/CITIZEN RELATIONS COMMITTEE DATE: TUESDAY, FEB. 16, 1999, 6:00 P.M. MIAMI BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT/1st FLOOR COMMUNITY ROOM This is to remind you that the Police/Citizen Relations Committee will be meeting on FEBRUARY 16,1999, at 6:00 p.m., at the Miami Beach Police Department, 1100 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida, in the 1st FLOOR COMMUNITY ROOM. The Agenda for the meeting is as follows: 1) Approval of minutes of Jan. 19, 1998 meeting (not submitted.) 2) Discussion of FY 99/00 budget. 3) Other new business. NOTE: Please bring this meeting notice and any backup material with you--no copies will be available for hand- out at the meeting. :js a,,'COMM-MEMOI-96/PPS-COMMDRM/PCROI19.99M cc: Robert Parcher, City Clerk via FAX #673-7254 Nannette Rodriguez, Public Information Officer via FAX# 673-7229 (for public notice & advertising meeting) Citizen Committee Members: Sidney Goldin Michael Finesilver Steven Kozlowski Robert Yaffe Aliza Brenner Brad Fleet Lou Thomann Myles Cypen Spencer Eig Cynthia Jacobs Stanley Worton Bernice Martinez Attachments THIS NOTICE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE CONSENT BY THE CITY FOR THE INTRODUCTION OR ADMISSION OF OTHERWISE INADMISSIBLE OR IRRELEVANT EVIDENCE, NOR DOES IT AUTHORIZE CHALLENGES OR APPEALS NOT OTHERWISE ALLOWED BY LAW IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990, PERSONS NEEDING THIS MATERIAL IN AN ACCESSIBLE FORMAT OR A SPECIAL ACCOMMODATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCEEDING SHOULD CALL (305) 673-7000, EXTENSION 6511 OR 6512 NO LATER THAN THREE DAYS PRIOR TO THE PROCEEDING" IF HEARING IMPAIRED, TELEPHONE THE FLORIDA RELAY SERVICE NUMBERS, (800) 955-8771 (TOO) OR (800) 955.8770 (VOICE) FOR ASSISTANCE IF A PERSON DECIDES TO APPEAL ANY DECISION MADE BY THE COMMITTEE WITH RESPECT TO ANY MATTER CONSIDERED AT THIS MEETING OR HEARING, HE WILL NEED A RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS, AND FOR SUCH PURPOSE, HE MAY NEED TO ENSURE THAT A VERBATIM RECORD OF THE PROCEEDING IS MADE, WHICH RECORD INCLUDES THE TESTIMONY AND EVIDENCE UPON WHICH THE APPEAL IS TO BE BASED" FLORIDA STATUTES 286,,0105 3J/djO S, ;"" ..,.; O~:L fll "". ~ -..J I~J I~ ~ 03/\/"