LTC 149-2009 Middle District Residential Burglariesm MIAMIBEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC #149-2009 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager
DATE: June 5, 2009
SUBJECT: Middle District Residential Burglaries
Since March of 2009, there have been a number of residential burglaries occurring in the
Middle District, specifically in the area of Dade Boulevard north to 63 Street, and from
Pinetree Drive west to North Bay Road. The majority of these burglaries have taken place
while the owners or renters were away from their homes, including some that were away for
a brief period of time. The perpetrator or perpetrator(s) have been able to gain unlawful entry
through windows and glass sliding French style doors in the rear of the residences. Once
inside a residence, the targeted property has been primarily jewelry.
In response to this crime trend, the Miami Beach Police Department (MBPD) began
deploying both uniform patrol and investigative resources at peak times and locations where
these crimes were taking place. As additional intelligence was received, the MBPD
progressively increased the deployment of resources. During this ongoing enforcement
initiative in the middle District, several an-ests and investigative stops were made for Burglary
and Loitering and Prowling. Even though one arrest in particular was made for multiple
residential burglaries, it soon became clear that the primary target responsible for the
majority of these burglaries was and may still be active.
In an effort to keep residents informed, a tremendous amount of outreach has taken place to
partner with the Middle District residents to raise awareness and report any suspicious
activity to the Police Department. Neighborhood Resource Officers (NRO's) have met with
affected Homeowner Associations and distributed flyers, as well as batch emails, to
residents and other concerned persons. Middle District NRO Bruce Songdahl, along with
members of the Patrol Command Staff, have met with the Alton Road, Lagorce Pinetree and
the Middle North Bay Road Homeowner Associations in addition to the Collins Park
Neighborhood Association. At each of these meetings, those in attendance have been
made fully aware of this burglary trend, provided with recommended crime prevention
techniques in an effort to "target harden" residences, and requested to share the information
provided with others in their neighborhoods. Residents at these meetings were also
encouraged to take advantage of the security surveys provided by the MBPD's NROs.
Investigative personnel have been working closely with other law enforcement agencies to
identify the perpetrator(s) responsible. It is significant to note that there appears to be similar
types of residential burglaries occurring in the City of Coral Gables, where the perpetrator(s)
may be one in the same. All of the burglaries have been processed by the Crime Scene
Squad and evidence of value has been impounded. Latent fingerprints have been lifted
LTC -Middle District Residential Burglaries
June 5, 2009
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from some of the crime scenes and submitted for comparison with the Automated
Fingerprint Information System. In all instances, area canvasses were conducted by either
the responding officer(s) or detective(s). In addition, area pawn shops and second hand
dealers are being monitored for the stolen property, to compare against any of the property
taken from the burglaries in question. As a result of these efforts, strong investigative leads
have been developed, which should ultimately lead to the apprehension of the involved
perpetrator(s).
The MBPD remains fully committed to these crime interventions and will continue to dedicate
all of the necessary resources to this crime trend until those responsible are apprehended.
JMG/CN/MG
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