LTC 062-2004 Police Department's Surveillance of Hip-hop Artists CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Manager
Letterto Commission No. 062-2004
To.'
From:
Subject:
Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez ~ .. //'
City Manager /I ~
Police Department's'Surveillance of Hip-hop Artists
Date: March 18, 2004
This Letter to the Commission is to advise the Mayor and City Commission of the Police
Department's policy regarding surveillance procedures.
Recently, several local~ and national media have reported that the Miami Beach Police
Department engages in "... stake outs," and are "secretly watching.., surveilling" hip-hop
artists and industry moguls.2
Unequivocally, the City along with our Police Department have gone on the record
articulating that while we have openly conducted major events planning initiatives, the
Police Department does not surveil, stake out, nor photograph hip-hop artists that perform,
visit, or reside in our City.
As an internationally and state accredited police service3, our Police Department complies
with strict guidelines that ensure the legality and integrity of its intelligence function. This
includes safeguards for ensuring information collected is limited to criminal conduct and
relates to activities that present a threat to the community.4 Specifically, activities
undertaken by the Police Department in the intelligence effort avoid the indiscriminate
collection or distribution of information,s
Finally, as it relates to photographic and video surveillance, the Police Department's
Strategic Investigations Unit adheres to procedures that prohibit the type of surveillance
purported in the media,s Chief De Lucca and I are available should you require any further
information on this matter.
j MG\DD:RM:CP:JM:HDC~;)
F:,~OLI\TECHSERV'~POUCIES~COM_MEMO~'O04 LTCs~.-lip-hop artists suweillance 2004 LTC.doc
~ The Miami Herald, 'Police secre#y watching hip-hop arSsts,' by Nicole White and Evelyn McDonnell,
March 9, 2004.
2 The Miami Herald, 'Police tracking ofrappers raises legal questions," by Jay Weaver, Mamh 15. 2004.
3 Commission on Accreditation for Law Enfomement Agencies; Commission for Florida Law Enforcement
Accreditation.
4 Standard 51.1.1, Criminal Intelligence, Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
~ Id., at commentary.
6 Miami Beach Police Department Strategic Investigations Unit, Collection of Intelligence Date Direc~ve
4.3, subsection A.3.