098-1999 LTC
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
:ITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139
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L.T.C. No. 98-1999
LETTER TO COMMISSION
April 29, 1999
TO: Mayor Neisen o. Kasdin and
Members of the City C mmission
SUBJECT: ENFORCE
FROM: Sergio Rodriguez
City Manager
This Letter to the Commission is in response to a discussion that occurred during the April 14, 1999
Commission meeting, requesting a synopsis of police priorities for the South Beach area during the
peak hours of activity. Responding to calls for service city-wide is our number one priority. In 1998,
the Police Department responded to more than 148,000 calls for service. When a call for service is
received, it is categorized into one of nine levels of priority. Depending on the type of call, anywhere
from one to four police units are dispatched to respond. All calls are assigned by priority, based upon
availability of police units.
All officers are directed to perform the following functions when not responding to calls for service:
Traffic enforcement
Traffic enforcement is prioritized. Along with enforcing such traffic offenses as Driving
Under Influence, Speeding, Reckless or Careless Driving, etc., police officers look for these
other specific enforcement violations:
1. Window tint.
2. Excessive noise.
3. Careless driving (hydraulic lifts bouncing).
4. Passenger conduct.
5. Motorcycle license endorsement.
6. Driver license restrictions.
The police officers assigned to the Washington Avenue detail issue approximately one
hundred citations (100) each weekend.
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Curfew Violations
The Curfew Ordinance is strictly enforced. Twenty (20) to forty (40) underage violators are
detained each weekend. Twenty-three were picked up during the weekend of April 17th,
none of these violators were residents of the City of Miami Beach.
In 1998, the Miami Beach Police Department detained more than 1,200 juveniles found in
violation of the Miami-Dade County Curfew Ordinance. The Miami Beach Police
Department was responsible for more than 61 % of all juveniles detained for this violation
in Miami-Dade County.
Noise Complaints
In coordination with the Code Compliance Division, the Police Department provides
assistance and support for noise complaints. Noise complaints are received in the Police
Departments Public Safety Communications Unit and are routed to a Code Enforcement
Officer for response. A police officer will only respond at the request of a Code
Enforcement Officer, or if a Code Enforcement Officer is not available.
A noise complaint is a priority "7" for a police response. (See attached CAD Complaint
Types List, which shows the priority rating given to Calls for Service). Noise complaints are
not listed as they are a Code Compliance violation. However, it is in the Computer Aided
Dispatch System should a police response be required.
Primary enforcement of noise ordinance violations is by Code Enforcement Officers who
issue the violator a Notice of Code Violation. If a police officer is sent to a noise violation,
attempts are usually made to resolve the issue and lower the noise. A police response
however, is not immediate. Should the police be required to repeatedly respond or the
violator refuses to cooperate, arrest is the only enforcement tool available to the police.
Drinkin~ in Public
Drinking alcoholic beverages in public is a violation of City Ordinance. This Ordinance is
enforced with the intention of preventing additional disturbances and criminal activity.
Business locations that have alcohol beverage licenses for package sales only are closely
monitored to insure there are no sales of alcoholic beverages after 10:00 p.m. The
enforcement of this Ordinance has resulted in several arrests and five South Beach businesses
have been before the Nuisance Abatement Board and placed on probation.
Illeeal vendin~
Uniformed and plainclothes police officers routinely enforce violations of the Illegal
Vending Ordinance throughout the South Beach Area.
Order maintenance
Order maintenance is addressed by a uniform presence of nine (9) police officers assigned
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for routine patrol duties in the South Beach area. These officers are supplemented by
approximately 30 uniformed police officers on overtime or off-duty details. The Police
Department's Gang Unit works every weekend in plainclothes primarily in the South Beach
area.
In addition, other agencies assist our Police Department in the South Beach area. The first
is the county-wide Multi-Agency Gang Task Force (MAGTF) that is on South Beach a
minimum of once a month. The second is the county-wide Robbery Intervention Detail-
Enhancement (RID-E), which deploys plainclothes detectives on a weekly basis in South
Beach.
All City parks are patrolled for illegal activity, with special emphasis on South Pointe and
Flamingo Park.
Police officers are assigned to provide traffic direction and control on 5th Street and Ocean
Drive to facilitate the movement of traffic and deter excessive noise.
Miami Beach undercover detectives specifically target the area of 1500 block of Washington
Avenue for narcotics activity. These detectives made more than 300 narcotics arrests in this
area in 1998. Undercover detectives also conduct prostitution related investigations,
targeting the 1200 block of Collins
As you can see, the Police Department devotes an enormous amount of resources to the South Beach
area. By comparison, there are six (6) uniformed police officers assigned to routine patrol duties in
the Middle District and six (6) uniformed police officers assigned to routine patrol duties in the
North District during these same hours.
:~ire additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
F:\POLl\ TECHSER v\POLlCIES\COM _ MEMO\enforcement priorities-south beach.ltc. wpd
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Technical Services Division
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CAD - Complaint Types List
Complaint Type Description Priority # of Units
221P Auto Theft / In Progress 1 2
25S Alarm / Silent 1 2
25L Alarm / Listening 1 2
26JO Burglary / Just Occurred 1 2
271P Theft / In Progress 1 2
29JO Robbery / Just Occurred 1 2
,300 Shooting / Domestic 1 2
310 Homicide / Domestic 1 2
31 Homicide 1 2
53JO Abduction / Just Occurred 1 2
315 Emergency Assist Officer 1 4
317W Vehicle In Water 1 2
3171 Accident! Injury 1 1
317F Vehicle Fire 1 1
3181 Hit & Run / Injury 1 2
326 Burglary / In Progress 1 2
3291 Robbery / Injury 1 2
329 Robbery / In Progress 1 2
3301 Shooting / Injury 1 2
330 Shooting / In Progress 1 2
332 Batt / Asst / In Progress / Weapon / Serious Inj 1 2
3320 Batt / Asst / Domestic / Weapon / Serious Inj 1 2
3330 Sex Offense / In Prog I Just Occ I Domestic 1 2
2/26/993:20:15 PM Page 1 of 4
CAD - Complaint Types List
Complaint Type Description Priority # of Units
333 Sex Offense Iln Prog I Just Occ 1 2
3331 Sex Offense I Injury 1 2
344 Attempted Suicide Iln Prog 1 2
348 Explosion 1 2
349 Fire 1 2
3530 Abduction Iln Prog I Just Occ I Domestic 1 2
353 Abduction Iln Progress 1 2
DROWN Drowning 1 1
22JO Auto Theft / Just Occurred 2 2
25A Alarm / Audible 2 2
25 Alarm 2 2
27JO Theft I Just Occurred 2 2
281P Vandalism Iln Progress 2 2
330 Sex Offense I Domestic 2 1
33 Sex Offense 2 1
41C Construction Accident 2 2
44 Attempted Suicide line! Pills '2 2
44JO Attempted Suicide I Just Occurred 2 2
47 Bomb I Explosion Alert 2 2
48 Explosion 2 2
Traffic Stop Traffic Stop 2 1
15AOA A.O.A. 3 1
15 Asst I Routine 3 1
220 Auto Theft I Domestic 3 2
26 Burglary 3 1
26D Burglary / Domestic 3 1
2/26/993:20:15 PM
Page 2 of 4
CAD - Complaint Types List
Complaint Type Description Priority # of Units
29 Robbery 3 1
290 Robbery I Domestic 3 1
30 Shots Fired 3 2
370 Suspicious Vehicle I Occupied 3 2
38 Suspicious Person 3 2
41 Sick I Injured Person 3 1
541P Fraud Iln Progress 3 2
16 D.U.1. 4 1
320 Battery I Assualt I Domestic 4 1
340 Disturbance I Domestic 4 2
52 Narcotics Investigation 4 2
25V Alarm \ Vehicle 5 1
26B Burglary I Boat 5 1
32 Battery I Assualt 5 1
34 Disturbance 5 2
35 I ntoxicated Person 5 2
43 Baker Act 5 2
140 I nvestigation I Domestic 6 1
14 Investigation 6 1
18 Hit & Run 6 1
22R Stolen Auto I Recovered 6 1
22 Auto Theft 6 1
26A Burglary I Auto 6 1
270 Theft I Domestic 6 1
27 Theft 6 1
28 Vandalism 6 1
2/26/993:20:15 PM
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CAD - Complaint Types List
Complaint Type
28D
Description
Vandalism / Domestic
33L Lewd Conduct
36 Missing Person
37 Suspicious Vehicle
45 Death
53 Abduction
53D Abduction / Domestic
54 Fraud
55 Weapon Violation
21R Stolen Tag / Recovered
36R Missing Person / Recovered
28G Graffiti
13 Info / Detail
14V Vehicle Damage
20T Traffic Detail
20 Parking Complaint
21 Stolen Tag
RCC RCC Call
Iselect Police Complaint Types
,Sort by Priority
2/26/993:20:15 PM
Priority # of Units
6 1
6 1
6 1
6 1
6 1
6 1
6 1
6 1
6 2
7 1
7 1
8 1
9 1
9 1
9 1
9 1
9 1
9 1
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