LTC 279-2024 Miami Beach Police Department's Public Safety Specialists UpdateMIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
LTC# LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Honorable Mayor Steven Meiner and Members of the City Commission
Rickele wIiams, Interim ciy Mana@er {1/
July 8, 2024
Miami Beach Police Department's Public Safety Specialists Update
The purpose of this Letter to Commission (L TC) is to provide an update on the progress and status
of the Miami Beach Police Department's ("MBPD") recently hired Public Safety Specialists
("PSSs"). This L TC is provided pursuant to the request stemming from the June 28, 2024 meeting
of the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee ("FERC") for an update, via L TC, on the PSS
deployment.
Seven (7) additional Public Safety Specialists have been recruited and subsequently hired by the
Miami Beach Police Department to assist with vehicular traffic control at critical streets and
intersections throughout the City of Miami Beach as well as to provide services to the community
to include report writing, parking enforcement, and traffic crash investigations, among others. The
PSSs began a formal in-house 10-week training program in late April 2024 carried out by the
MBPD's Patrol Division Field Training Unit to certify the trainees in their various duties which
culminated in a swearing in ceremony on June 27, 2024.
Following their graduation from the in-house academy, the PSSs will remain on probation until the
completion of a seven (7)-week field training program that is broken down into four (4) phases:
• Phase I - two (2) weeks where the PSS rides with and shadows a Field Training Officer ("FTO");
• Phase II - two (2) weeks where the PSS continues to ride with a FTO and will need to
demonstrate the ability to retain knowledge and begin to apply it in the field;
• Phase Ill - two (2) weeks where the PSS will need to demonstrate proficiency in the
performance of the job; and
• Phase IV - one (1) week where the PSS is observed (visually evaluated) by his or her assigned
FTO to determine the capacity and ability to operate on their own.
During Field Training, PSSs will be divided up and assigned throughout the city. Two (2) PSSs
will begin patrolling activities throughout the RDA, three (3) will begin in South Beach, and three
(3) in Mid-Beach. Throughout the program, they will be assessed on criteria related to
human/interpersonal skills, professional appearance, attitude, knowledge, and overall
performance. Upon the successful completion of their field training, the PSSs will be ready to work
independently and assigned to areas of the city that have been identified as requiring additional
resources.
The seven (7) PSSs will eventually be joined in the field by three (3) additional PSSs who have
recently been hired and began their in-house academy training on July 1, 2024. They are slated
to begin an FTO program in September and work independently before the end of the year
contingent on the successful completion of the program requirements. Their participation will
expand the Police Department's PSS cadre from five (5) to fifteen (15) members.
RW/WJ/cmrp
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