LTC 24-2002 CITY Of MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Manager
Letter to Commission No.
To:
From:
Subject:
Mayor David Dermer and Date: January 28, 2002
Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez ~ ,t'/~
City Manager ill~' (~
CLOSING OF THE MIAMI BEACH POLICE VICTIMS HELP CENTER
This Letter to the Commission is to advise you that the Miami Beach Police Department is
closing its Victims Help Center located at 6988 Indian Creek Drive.
The Victims Help Center has been closed, effective January 1, 2002, in order to
consolidate services into one location to better serve the community. Originally, grant
funds provided salaries for three advocates, and the City funded the salary for one
position. Grant funding was discontinued in 1998 and 1999 respectively, thus reducing the
number of advocates by half. The Department then consolidated the Unit within Police
Headquarters. Thus, because of the lack of personnel, the Help Center was only being
used for monthly motivational meetings.
The Victims Help Center opened in January 1997 and initially provided counseling services
to victims of domestic violence, along with transportation services to the State Attorney's
Office, protective shelters, and Legal Aid offices. The State's Attorneys Office and the
Legal Aid Society, in an effort to provide better service to our community, opened the
Domestic Violence Intake Unit in the old City Hall building, 1130 Washington Avenue.
In addition, services provided by the Police Department, such as criminal investigations,
counseling, and other forms of victim's assistance are available at the Police Department
Headquarters Building. This allows for "one stop assistance" available in one centralized
location. The Department provides transportation services to victims who reside in North
Beach, thus maintaining a high level of service to that community.
The Chief of Police and members of his staff attended two separate community meetings.
The first was on December 11,2001, with the North Beach Development Corporation. On
December 18, 2001, the second meeting was with the Miami Beach Police Citizens
Relations Committee. Chief DeLucca requested the closing be placed on the agenda so
that an explanation could be provided to our citizens, continuing our policy of
communication and customer service. Both organizations unanimously supported this
consolidation.
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns regarding this LTC.
J MG\\DD~M\RM\PS\CP\MMS
F:/cmgr/$all/Itc-02/closing of victims center. Itc.doc