LTC 177-2017 Analysis of Arrests of Homeless Persons in FY 2015-16MIAMIBEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC # 177 -2017
LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Philip Levine and Member . of the City! ommission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: April 4, 2017
SUBJECT: Analysis of Arrests of Homeless ersons in FY 2015/16
The purpose of this Letter to Commission is to provide the Mayor and Commission with a
statistical analysis regarding the arrests of people who self - identified as homeless in FY
2015/16.
The Police Department provided the Office of Housing and Community Services with the data of
all arrests made in FY 2015/16 of people who self- identified as homeless at the time of their
arrest by Miami Beach officers. The arrest data was then compared to the Client Management
Information System (CIMS), the client database managed by the Homeless Outreach Team.
The Police made 1,645 arrests in FY 2015/16 of 872 unique individuals who self - identified as
homeless at the time of their arrest (an average of 1.88 arrests per person). Of these, 312
unique individuals accounted for 64.74% (1,065) of all arrests analyzed. Drilling further into the
data, 63 of these people were arrested five or more times last fiscal year alone.
The 10 individuals with the most multiple arrests last fiscal year accounted for 122 of the 1,645
arrests or 12.2 arrests on average per person. Below, please find an analysis of these
individuals with an overlay of their homeless services. Please note that all 10 of these
individuals were offered homeless services by Outreach staff during the fiscal year. Two
had been relocated to other jurisdictions via the City's family reunification services in prior years
but subsequently returned to our City.
Ranking # of Arrests # of Contacts by
FY 15/16
1
1
3
4
5
5
7
8
8
8
15
15
14
13
12
12
11
10
10
10
HOT
7
3
12
14
20
1
1
1
8
9
Received HOT
Services
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Date
Relocated
12/1/2010
4/14/2009
Date of First
HOT Contact
12/2/2014
12/9/2014
11/5/2014
8/26/2011
5/3/2010
7/14/2016
4/14/2009
1/19/2016
8/13/2015
7/27/2015
Arrest and Homelessness Data
April4, 2017
Page 2 of 2
All but two individuals had been documented as homeless prior to their arrests and had been
offered shelter prior to their arrests in FY 15/16. All 10 of the individuals noted above have been
arrested for alcohol- related crimes such as public intoxication or drinking in public. A review of
their arrest histories show a variety of crimes as noted below:
Ranking Misdemeanor Misdemeanor Felony Property Felony Violent
Personal Crimes Property Crimes2 Crimes3 Crimes4
1
•
•
•
1
•
•
•
•
3
•
•
•
4
•
•
•
5
•
•
5
•
•
•
7
•
•
8
•
8
•
8
•
•
•
1 — Includes Trespass, Trespass After Warning, Cannabis Possession, Panhandling, Public Intoxication, Urinating in Public,
Disorderly Conduct, Shopping Cart Possession, Indecent Exposure
2 — Includes Criminal Mischief, Resisting Arrest, Petit Theft
3 Includes Grand Theft, Robbery
4 — Includes Strong Arm Robbery, Battery, Assault of Safety Personnel, Aggravated Battery
It should be further noted that seven of these 10 most frequently- arrested individuals in FY
15/16 have been re- arrested this current fiscal year. The most frequently arrested person from
last year has been arrested eight times thus far this fiscal year.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Chief Dan Oates or Maria Ruiz, Director,
Office of Housing and Community Services.
JLM/KGB/MLR