LTC 020-2006 North Beach Police Substation
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MIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC # 020-2006
LETTER TO COMMISSION
FROM:
Mayor David Dermer and Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager \--r
January 23, 2006 U
TO:
DATE:
SUBJECT: NORTH BEACH POLICE SUBSTATION
Attached please find a letter which has been sent to a number of residents that have
communicated with my office about the North Beach Police Substation on Indian Creek
Drive.
As stated in the attached resident letter, there has been no decision made on a change in
the North Beach Police Substation. If any action is to be taken on the substation, it will be
with the full knowledge and participation of the members of the City Commission.
The North Beach Police Substation is obviously a sensitive issue in the North Beach
community; however its function is not well understood.
Much of the correspondence that has been received in my office equates the North Beach
Police Substation with a police patrol presence in the North Beach area. The North Beach
Police Substation has no direct relationship to the numbers of police officers or their
effectiveness in the North Beach area.
There is also a misconception about the actual operational function of the substation that is
referenced in the communication to my office. In its original concept, the Police Substation
may have been intended to provide a variety of services to the community; however over
time the inefficiency and impractical nature of delivering services remotely has changed the
substation to more of a drop in facility for police officers in the North Beach area.
If you have any questions on the substation, please feel free to contact me and in any event
you receive further inquiries from residents, please feel free to forward or utilize the attached
letter on the substation.
JMG\RCM\sam
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MIAMI BEACH
city of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, www.miamibeachfl.gov
Jorge M. Gonzalez
City Manager's Office
rei: 305.673.7010, Fax: 305.673.7782
January 13, 2006
Dear Resident:
The Office of the City Manager has received a number of letters and emails relative to the North
Beach Police Substation on Indian Creek Drive.
Much of the correspondence has assumed that a decision has already been made to close the
North Beach Police Substation. While a number of concepts relative to the substation have been,
and are being discussed, no decision to close or to relocate the police substation has been made
at this time.
The City Administration is very sensitive to the level of police services which are provided to our
community. We fully recognize this is an important service and one which our citizens take very
seriously. Please be assured that any of the ideas that may be discussed will in no way
negatively impact the level of police service provided in the North Beach area.
Unfortunately, much of the correspondence makes a direct correlation between police presence
and police officers assigned to the North Beach area with maintenance of the substation on
Indian Creek Drive. There is no such correlation and in fact operationally the City much prefers to
have police officers actively patrolling the community rather than spending time in the substation.
There also seems to be a misconception on how the substation functions and how it affects the
level of police services available to the community. While at its creation, the substation was
intended to provide a variety of services. Over time, the extraordinary inefficiency and impractical
nature of delivering services at a secondary location has diminished the role of the substation to a
point where officers utilize it as a place to perform paperwork and/or take appropriate breaks from
their patrol schedule. There is not a great deal of direct service provision that is actually
undertaken at the police substation at this point in time. As the City improves its computer
capabilities within the Police Department, there will be less and less need for police officers to
have a fixed point to utilize for office space in order to complete paperwork.
Any decisions relative to the North Beach Police Substation will be based upon as clear a factual
analysis as is possible with full attention paid to any advantages or disadvantages of a decision.
Again, please be assured that no decision to close the North Beach Police Substation has been
made and any decision in this matter will be made after appropriate consultation with members of
the City Commission and the community.
Sincerely,
J;lJ~on~;~-~~
City Manager
JMG\RCM\sam
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We are committed to providing excellen! public ser,lice and safety to all who live, work, and pla'y' in our vibrant, tropical, historic community',