HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 1986-02-25 MinutesCITY OF MIAMI
r
OF
FEET ING
HELD ON
FEBRUARY 25, 1986
(SPECIAL)
PREPARED BY THE OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
CITY HALL
MATTY HIRAI
City Clerk
MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING OF THE
CITY COMMISSION OF MIAMI, FLORIDA
On the 25th day of February, 1986, the City Commission of Miami,
Florida, met at the Miami Senior High School, 2450 S.W. 1st Street, Miami,
Florida in Special Session on Crime.
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Vice -Mayor Miller J.
Dawkins with the following members of the Commission found to be present:
ALSO PRESENT:
Vice -Mayor Miller J. Dawkins
Commissioner J. L. Plummer, Jr.
Cesar Odio, City Manager
Lucia Allen Dougherty, City Attorney
Matty Hirai, City Clerk
Walter J. Foeman
Mr. Dawkins: Ladies and gentlemen, we did tell you six o'clock. Those of us
who were here at 6 o'clock will not be penalized by those who are not here.
Therefore, as Vice -Mayor, I declare this meeting open and, according to the
agenda, we will have the invocation. We'll let the undertaker pray and then
we will pledge allegiance to the flag. Will you stand, please.
An invocation was delivered by Commissioner Plummer who then led those
present in a pledge of allegiance to the flag.
1. PUBLIC HEARING ON CRIME.
Mr. Dawkins: According to the agenda that I have, the third item is
"Appearance by Individuals and City Staff" and we are here to hear you. I
will dispense with that and item (A) under that says that individuals who have
previously stated that they want to be heard ... so I will start with the
first one here, Miss or Mrs. Alveta Fields.
Mrs. Alveta Fields: (OFF MIKE) Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Mayor Suarez,
Commissioners and my fellow Miamians. My name is Alveta Fields. I am the
chairperson for the Concerned Seniors of Dade, Incorporated. We come here
today to share with you some of our experiences. (INAUDIBLE) We this
as The difficulty is that the Concerned Seniors, which has a
membership of nearly 3,000 people, are happy to say through its concerted
efforts, and over a period of time working at it, that the Miami Police
Department has recently given to us a special newly -organized police detail.
This detail will be assigned to the five zone areas that are
by the senior citizens. We are very happy about that. The bad
news is that we waited too long for this to happen, that at one time we were
assured that none of the policemen that we asked for could be spared. In the
meantime the very people who were working on this committee was being mugged
and purse -snatched, and all kinds of similar things were being done to them.
This made us real mad. The good news is that these efforts made by the Police
Department were on immediately. Well, it for us that
some of the things that we ask for will happen. We can truthfully say that
the Police have started at this job very enthusiastically and they have gone
about implementing this program with much gusto. In fact, we are so happy
about it that tomorrow morning at 10:30 we have scheduled a press conference
at which we have invited City Manager Odio, Police Chief Dickson and the five
assigned policemen and especially Commissioner Dawkins who was instrumental in
giving this effort much push. We also would like to say to you that the bad
news about this is that the police cannot be able to do an effective job
unless some of the traditions that surround these government projects are
1
February 25, 1986
a
taken care of. It's not possible for them to do a thorough job when some of
the locks on the doors are not fixed. Some of the elderly people going to the
locker rooms to do their laundry and they're mugged Windows
are left broken. Fences are either pushed in and not repaired. These sort of
things call for an involvement of you who will be helping us to know and all
of the seniors of Miami who will also help us. Concerned Seniors are ready to
do the job. We did this job, but we don't want it to go in the
fact that the things that are needed to make it work won't be done.
Ms. Hirai: Mr. Vice -Mayor, three minutes are up, sir.
Mr. Dawkins: Miss, your ten minutes are up, thank you.
Mr. Plummer: Let me -, Mr. Vice -Mayor, it is my understanding that you are
living in government housing and I want you to know that we had - from HUD,
Mel Adams - and I am sending Mr. Mel Adams a copy out of the Miami Herald,
which I never take as gospel but I think it's somewhere near the truth. There
is an article in this paper of last week in which there is an absolute
responsibility of landlords to provide security for their buildings. There is
a case that was quoted in the article in which a criminal act was performed
against a lady that lived in an apartment and because they did not provide
adequate security this woman sued the landlord and collected because the
courts declared that they had such a responsibility. This Commission, last
year in its wisdom, allocated $250,000 if the county would match it and to
this point the county has not spent a dime. And I'm telling you that the full
responsibility of that housing is the landlord, who in your case is HUD, and I
for one, and Miller Dawkins are going to insist that HUD live up to its
obligation and provide adequate security because it is needed, it is a must,
and I'm going to see to it that if it needs embarrassing a few people that it
get done. (APPLAUSE)
Mr. Dawkins: Ladies and gentlemen, we do have other names and if you would
care to speak, if you register over here with the Clerk, we'll take your name.
In the interest of time, if you can, I'd appreciate it if you'd cut your time
to 5 minutes so that we can give everybody a chance to speak. I'd like to
acknowledge the presence of Representative Luis Morse (applause) who has
signed up to speak so we will be hearing the same thing here that he says in
Tallahassee. Thank you.
NOTE FOR THE RECORD: Mayor Suarez entered the meeting at 6:16 p.m.
Mayor Suarez: Thank you Commissioner Dawkins, Vice -Mayor Dawkins. I have to
tell you I had a small mishap. I'm not used to being late for any kind of
session of the Commission. I ran out of gas on 95 and some people would have
been surprised to see me pushing my car and my aide driving it into a gas
station and we're happy to be here, if a few minutes late, and I will be
briefed on the remarks made by Alveta Fields and catch up with that
commentary. Without further ado, I believe the next person testifying will be
Enrique Vega from the United Tenants Council.
Dr. Enrique Vega: Honorable Xavier Suarez - Mayor, Miller Dawkins - Vice -
Mayor, Commissioners J. L. Plummer, Joe Carollo and Rosario Kennedy. My name
is Enrique Vega, President of the United Tenants Council, oldest member of the
executive committee of Advisory Council which is
40,000 members of public housing, the legal representative of all members of
public housing. representative, Miami
member, and Miami member. It is an honor for me to be the
first speaker from the public today. Crime exists in all cities in different
degrees. Furthermore, what is crime Crime normally is
the result of opportunity, environment and lack of watch or security or
surveillance. We hear prevention of crime before it's too late to avoid it
and Burglary, purse snatching and dope can be prevented cheaper
than Calling security is hard work from the city
of Miami. Security measures response after the crime has
happened. the "Crime Capital of the Country." We
have security forces and is stamps out crime in all cases and under the
direction of our Mayor and our Commissioners and worthy City Manager, Mr.
Cesar Odio, and by also - I have to say this ...
2 February 25, 1986
Mayor Suarez: Dr. Vega, let me ask you a question that maybe gets us to the
heart of the problem. Have you moved further in the direction of trying to
get a location for any kind of a police presence at the senior center at
Robert King High or any of the adjoining towers, there?
Dr. Vega: Well, let me tell you that thanks to the efforts of the Mayor and
the Commissioners, we have got the presence of a police force that come in
every hour Then we have got a and also
more problems we had now - we have the police three or four times
a week - the police on horseback and it is really a very good method . Ten
days ago, two men and a woman were arrested, handcuffed by selling marijuana
to two tenants in the building North West 13th Avenue, in the
parking lot, and they were taken to the police station by a rule that once
more the judges would not put them in the street again, as usually they do.
Also, we this program has been the
idea of the police for several months. The previous
Commission did not approve that but thanks to this Commission, it was
approved. We requested 33,000. We got five, but it's working. We're getting
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - ten hours a day.
Mayor Suarez: Dr. Vega, one other question: that gate in the back of the
senior centers - has there been any progress to try to determine whether it
can be closed permanently so that there won't be any traffic in back?
Dr. Vega: Well, they closed it permanently because we got to get the
signatures. We are dealing with it. We also -
Mayor Suarez: I understand that someone from our Police Department was going
to study the traffic pattern.
Dr. Vega: They haven't studied that. What happened - they come to commit
purse -snatching in the elevators, they leave the engine running and
they escape through that gate that is open.
Here is Mr. Batz. He can talk to you also about
that -
Ms. Hirai: Excuse me -
Mr. Dawkins: Your time is up, sir.
Mayor Suarez: What we can do is get all your written remarks delivered to us.
We will absorb them and digest them and get back to you with any questions and
we appreciate your presence and your leadership in helping out with the cause
of controlling crime in senior centers. Thank you very much, Dr. Vega.
Dr. Vega: One thing that I would like to say -
Mayor Suarez: Yes.
Dr. Vega: We have proof that now will come to the point where
the Commission of the City of Miami wants them to be - that is, doing exactly
what we agreed to tell him.
Mayor Suarez: Thank you, Dr. Vega. I want to recognize the presence also of
State Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinan.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Both of them!
Mayor Suarez: Both of them - Senior and Junior. Mr. Batz.
Mr. Leonard Batz: Honorable Mayor and Chief Dickson. Ten years ago - I think
it was at the same function - you and I were together relative to the
"police whistle program". It was something unique - it was so well accepted
here in some of the senior centers that good old (INAUDIBLE COMMENTS AS OTHER
PEOPLE TALKING AT THE SAME TIME). We are thinking of a Saturday and Chief
Dickson and I about what they would do about a police station
I talked with Commissioner Plummer
and realized that we aren't going to have all
the money that we would like to have and I would rather see a community park,
if we had an officer there, and he would have to be if he would provide a
walkie talkie and give it to a narcotic agent, gie the walkie talkie to an
assistant director make it mandatory (INAUDIBLE)
3 February 25, 1986
I a
Mayor Suarez: Mr. Batz, let me ask you a question. Do you feel - in fact,
are you sure - that you've got enough volunteers to man these offices, or
mini -stations, or whatever we call them on a full-time, 24-hour a day basis
with no less than, let's say, two at any one time there?
Mr. Batz: You mean two people?
Mayor Suarez: Yes, two individuals.
Mr. Batz: Yes. However, they must be (INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: I understand that, sure.
Mr. Batz: Each of them would work at the most for 2 hours or 3 hours.
Mayor Suarez: You feel that's the maximum amount of time that they can stand
being on duty or on guard? Okay.
Mr. Batz: ..I wouldn't want them to be out in an area where they could be
injured, naturally (INAUDIBLE COMMENTS)
Mayor Suarez: Can you provide to this Commission, as soon as possible a list
with addresses and phone numbers and as much basic information as you possibly
can provide about the individuals - including police clearance - that would
indicate to us how many people would be willing to cooperate in this activity.
Mr. Batz: I would be happy to.
Mayor Suarez: That would help us enormously.
[ Mr. Batz: (INAUDIBLE) One of the things we've got to do first is clear
fthe rubbish and the trees, so they can't climb trees to get in and go murder
someone like they did That was a tragedy. but
if we clean up the trees and the shrubbery and the bushes in
the area between Little Haiti and Thank you.
Mayor Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Batz. We appreciate your cooperation in all
things affecting the Senior Centers. Do we have anyone from the Drug
Enforcement Administration present to testify? Would you state your name.
Mr. Kenneth Kennedy: My name is Kenneth Kennedy (COMPLETELY INAUDIBLE).
Mayor Suarez: Do you have any estimate of what percentage of the total drugs
that come into the United States - pick any one - come through Miami, as an
entry point, and if that percentage is going down or up?
Mr. Kennedy: (COMPLETELY INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: How would that compare to another yearly total?
Mr. Kennedy: In 1984 we seized 350,000 lbs (INAUDIBLE). I'd like to
bring out a couple of other things. In 1983 we 2,240 arrests for
drugs. (INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: Those were all drug -related arrests?
Mr. Kennedy: They were all drug related.
Mayor Suarez: Would they be all drug dealers or would there be some
consumers?
Mr. Kennedy: They would be all drug dealers. (INAUDIBLE) The D.E.A. would
have to prioritize ' Another thing I would like to bring out
is that here in the D.E.A. in Miamiwe have agents who are working with the
community who say working with Transition Incorporated
We have agents who Miami -Dade program and we
are sponsoring a lot with members of the professional sports
We have supplied to Miami P.D. both videos and handout
pamphlets for• the rooms and to the school resource rooms.
Cooperation we find with the Miami P.D. is excellent. We trained about 50
officers in the past two years. As a matter of fact, Chief, you wanted some
4
February 25, 1986
n
I
additional training
and I think that's available
a
a quick seminar
Mayor Suarez: Occasionally, you hear of people say that the City of Miami
Police Department does not have access to information that other law
enforcement agencies have and that they don't want to share with the City of
Miami Police Department. Is there any truth at all to that?
Mr. Kennedy: Not that I know of.
Mayor Suarez: You have the fullest, most complete cooperation with the City
of Miami and you share information. I know we have a good computer
capability, so -
Mr. Kennedy: There is also the computer set up that is the
combination (INAUDIBLE) A lot of people that don't know
(INAUDIBLE).
Mayor Suarez: Is there anything that this City Commission, or the City, can
do more than what we're doing in this area? Is there anything that the
federal government can do more than what it's doing - or the State, or the
F.D.L.E., or that any other branch of the State could do?
Mr. Kennedy: (INAUDIBLE) I think the whole thing goes back to
Mayor Suarez: To the what - I'm sorry?
Mr. Kennedy: To the family unit The only thing I'd like to talk
about is (INAUDIBLE) and there has to be a line of
communication open for the child and the adult once the child has
passed the seventh grade (INAUDIBLE) is still
that the child is fighting against his peer group The other thing
I'd like to say is open the line of communication between
the child and the parents and let that continue and that's one of the best
things we can do. Along the same lines we can show that there's a lot of
programs right now, especially with professional athletes. They're not all,
you know, abusive drug users want people to believe. There are a lot
of people that are trying - these are role models that the children need.
People in politics, police officers, people - role models of what the
children live up to. can do so much to relieve peer pressure.
Mr. Dawkins: What would be the procedure that you would suggest to this
Commission for us to obtain some of the confiscated drug money that the
federal government takes? Now, when the City police confiscate it it becomes
the property of the City of Miami. When the federal government confiscates
it - although they confiscate it within the City of Miami limits - we do not
have access to it and with the problem we've got fighting crime, how can we,
as a Commission apply, or talk to someone to obtain some of that money?
Mr. Kennedy: (INAUDIBLE RESPONSE)
Mr. Dawkins: But what about the money - ?
Mayor Suarez: I just want to ask if you know of that procedure ever being
used by the City to recover some of the contraband or the conveyance or the
vehicle in which the drugs were contained and which were seized by the federal
government in conjunction with state and city agencies?
Chief Clarence Dickson: (INAUDIBLE RESPONSE)
Mr. Dawkins: You guys are talking about cooperation. I'm talking about the
money where the dogs sniff if out with no cooperation between forces. I'm
talking about money that's come in on a ship and you find it. I'm not talking
about cooperation - I'm talking about the ton of money that comes in here that
either the coast guard finds - just luck up on - and the other agencies. It's
a ton of money and I'd like to know how we can - since we've got the problem
here, and the federal government is cutting out on all other kinds of money,
and we don't have money for these kind of things - how do we access into that
fund? That's all I'd like to know and I will not prolong it here. I'd like
to meet with you and you and I discuss it to see how we can do it, sir, if
that's all right with you.
5 February 25, 1986
A a
Mr. Kennedy: (INAUDIBLE)
Mr. Dawkins: Thank you, sir.
Mr. Kennedy: (INAUDIBLE)
Mr. Dawkins: Thank you very much, sir.
Mayor Suarez: I have one last question. I have a recurring nightmare of an
individual that comes into this community without a regular immigration
status - maybe as a visitor, a tourist, or maybe just sneaks into the area so
he has no standing whatsoever with Immigration - commits a crime related to
drugs and is arrested, charged, is out on bail and as he sees the case go
badly against him, leaves the country, comes back with a whole new identity -
also illegally, or also temporarily - and we seem to have a sort of an open
revolving door of people who are illegally here, in the first instance, are
able to come back with a whole new identity. Now, my question to you is, does
that happen, number one, as much as one would think, theoretically, and,
number two, is there any way, through Immigration, to curb that and to be able
to stop the flow of people that don't have the proper documentation and entry
in the falsification of documents so that we know it's the same person coming
back in again - other than stopping the system of bail, which is another
system that I wouldn't mind stopping for drug traffic.
NOTE FOR THE RECORD: Commissioner Kennedy entered the meeting at 6:40 p.m.
Mr. Kennedy: I think we agree on both points. As far as the documentation -
there are things right now which I don't want to discuss in an open forum
which we're using to alleviate the problem that you have just brought up. We
are working very closely with the State Department and Immigration. This is a
problem. As a matter of fact, there was a murder of an individual who had
worked with us out in Louisiana very recently and it was six illegal aliens
who, we believe, are responsible for that murder.
Mayor Suarez: And immigration is under the Justice Department, right?
Mr. Kennedy: They're under the Justice, that's correct.
Mayor Suarez: And they're fully cooperating ... ?
Mr. Kennedy: Yes, they are. Once again, the problems that we do have,
there's ... Drugs can be stopped coming into the United States, but, then you
don't want to have a "police state", right, so you have to - I don't know how
to say it, really - but you have to bend between our constitutional rights and
also the right of the citizen to be protected from dope.
Mayor Suarez: If you could change one thing in the Constitution, or in the
constitutional interpretation by the Supreme Court that would help you to
carry out your work, what would that be?
Mr. Kennedy: In legalese, I think you call it the in the
street out there. I think that where an officer has to -
Mayor Suarez: Where the initial evidence is illegally obtained but you
somehow from that lead to legally obtain evidence that that could be used
against the individual?
Mr. Kennedy: That's correct. I think that's the biggest obstacle that good
law enforcement has.
Mayor Suarez: What about elimination altogether of the exclusionary rule,
saying that illegally obtained evidence can be used against the individual?
Mr. Kennedy: Well, once again, I think the background - I'm not a lawyer -
Mayor Suarez: I know that's more far-reaching.
6
February 25, 1986
11
A
Mr. Kennedy: I have a degree in marketing, believe me! But I think the
problem you have with that is, once again, there is the potential for abuse
and we have to find the happy medium.
Mayor Suarez: Thank you, sir.
Mr. Kennedy: You're welcome.
Mayor Suarez: I want to state, on behalf of Commissioner Kennedy that there
was some confusion as to the beginning of this session and she understood it
to be at 6:30, but we're happy to have you. I have a feeling that sooner or
later we're going to lose some of the Commissioners. Tonight happens to be a
very busy evening for us. We have a gala dinner for a group of African
ambassadors and heads of consular missions and we're not going to take any
Commission action tonight. No Commissioner is required to stay the full
amount of time. I will be here as long as you want to, with some limitations,
and Chief and the City Manager and the rest of the staff - we won't stay
indefinitely - I'm really looking to close at about 9:00 p.m., but if you see
a Commissioner leave, believe me it is not because they are not interested.
They will get a full transcript of the proceedings and they will have an
opportunity to act accordingly. They do have conflicts tonight - in fact, I
have a conflict tonight. I'm just going to have to stick it out with you
tonight because of the importance of this meeting. Do we have Alan Lean here?
He's scheduled as the next speaker.
Mr. Plummer: (OFF MIKE) I was scheduled for this thing, this dinner at 7
o'clock. It's embarrassing for me that this is a City function and here our
Mayor (INAUDIBLE). I'd like to know who scheduled that dinner
for seven -
Mayor Suarez: I was surprised to see the invitation with out names on it and
I didn't even know about it.
Mr. Plummer: (OFF MIKE) I can't believe that here now part of us are going
to leave here and I am sure that his explanation to people they understand,
but somebody, in my estimation, has goofed tremendously and I'd like to know
who it was because I'm going to leave around seven o'clock I
hope Commissioner Dawkins will be but since we are the hosts of this
dinner
Mayor Suarez: I made a special effort to be with the Ambassadors yesterday
morning so that I could fulfil my obligations to them but I would have liked
to have been there tonight also.
Mr. Plummer: (off mike) Mr. Mayor I will stay until around
seven.
Mrs. Kennedy: (off mike) I will stay till later. I was ready to come here
at 6 and I was caught in the hallway and said: "wait, it's not until 6:30".
So I killed half an hour but I will stay here until later
Mr. Plummer: (inaudible comment off mike)
Mayor Suarez: Do we have Mr. Karlil in the audience? Oh, I'm sorry, go
ahead, sir.
Mr. Alan Lean: Good evening, Your Honor, the Mayor, Commissioners, Chief
Dickson. My name is Alan Lean and I live at 2850 S.W. 28th Terrace, Coconut
Grove. I've lived there for five years and I've lived in the Grove for nine
years and our neighborhood is in an area of transition and flux. We face the
Coconut Grove Metro station and, as a result of, I'd say, exceptionally zoned
land allowing for an eight -story office building, our neighborhood has gone
from residential to commercial and speculators have moved in and assembled
land for future commercial development - or at least that's my educated
guess - and as a result of that they've demolished single family houses and
what houses they have left remaining they are renting out and have allowed
them to become run down. So the neighborhood has a look of abandonment. What
vacant lots there are in the area are being allowed to - the vacant lots
themselves are being used for used car sales, advertisements of various types
and I don't know if there's a correlation between this look of abandonment and
the crime that affects our little townhouse community -
7 February 25, 1986
1
A
Mayor Suarez: How do you feel the correlation has gone? Has it gotten worse,
do you think, since the advent of commercialization?
Mr. Lean: Yes. It was spot zoning. The neighborhood had a study done in the
early seventies recommending that the area be residential. A previous
Commission said that it should be commercially zoned, but, nevertheless, this
spot zoning has created this state of flux and -
Mayor Suarez: You know, sometimes we hear the opposite argument - let me
interrupt you for a second - we hear the argument that by having more
commercial establishments and more commercial activity, as opposed to
residences where people are not there all day, that crime should be lessened
because it'll be that much more, you know, traffic of people. Is that not the
case - ?
Mr. Lean: I've heard that sociological reasoning used before but, in our
case, the offices haven't come. The people haven't been true developers and
they've held the land on a speculative basis and therefore have done nothing,
and all we are left with are lots that look like London, World War II, after
German bombing raids.
Mayor Suarez: Are you aware of the 27th Avenue rezoning proposal?
Mr. Lean: Yes, I am.
Mayor Suarez: Are you in favor, or - ?
Mr. Lean: I can't say I'm that knowledgeable about the total impact of it and
that's another problem, but not for here tonight. I don't think people on a
citizen -by -citizen basis get enough information about planning and zoning that
they can make reasonable assessments about what it is that affects them long-
term. So, let me continue here. As a result of this abandonment, I don't
know if there's any correlation, but in the last few months we've had two cars
stolen out of our driveway; we've had one break-in, and one car severely
vandalized and, thank God, no one in our little four -unit townhouse has been
hurt as a result of these events, but I can't help but think because of the
lack of police protection, the lack of code enforcement by the specific
agencies responsible for making sure that these lots are taken care of, not
allowed to be run down, not allowed to have used car sales take place from -
that these things have drawn people unnecessarily to the neighborhood. For
instance, over the Grove Arts Festival weekend, Braman Motors flew a hot air
balloon and, needless to say, that caused a lot of attention and attracted
eyes to our neighborhood and, as an aside, their $600 portable generating
device that produced the hot air for the balloon was stolen, anyway.
Mr. Dawkins: Can I ask you a question? When the balloon went up and the
attention was attracted to your neighborhood and you had crime, did crime go
down in the rest of Miami?
Mr. Lean: That's not the point.
Mr. Dawkins: It is the point! It is the point. You think that we should
take all the policemen and take them to your area because a balloon went up -
Mr. Lean: I didn't say that -
Mr. Dawkins: - and let the rest of the area suffer.
Mr. Lean: I didn't say that. Don't interrupt me.
Mr. Dawkins: We've got the whole ... Don't you interrupt. What the hell you
mean - don't interrupt?
Mr. Lean: I have the floor -
Mr. Dawkins: I'm talking and I asked you a question. Is this a dialogue or a
lecture?
Mr. Lean: I think you're ...
Mr. Dawkins: Is this a dialogue or a lecture?
8 February 25, 1986
a
Mr. Lean: I think you're lecturing ...
Mr. Dawkins: If it's a lecture I'll keep quiet. Okay, you go ahead.
Mr. Lean: Thank you. It's my opinion, Commissioner Dawkins - I don't profess
to be a sociology professor or have a Ph.D. in criminology. It's just my
opinion.
Mr. Dawkins: What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?
Mr. Lean: I don't know.
Mr. Dawkins: Okay.
Mayor Suarez: There does seem to be an interesting ... Go ahead,
Commissioner.
Mrs. Kennedy: I just wanted to ask you to give the address, please.
Mr. Lean: 2850 S.W. 28th Terrace. We're a 4-unit townhouse. We're called
Groveside Condominium, Inc.
Mr. Plummer: (OFF MIKE) Is that near Burger King?
Mr. Lean: Yes, sir.
Mr. Plummer: (OFF MIKE) You're on the south side or the north side of Dixie?
Mr. Lean: South - Grove side.
Mr. Plummer: (OFF MIKE) The Grove side.
Mr. Lean: Yes, sir.
Mr. Plummer: (OFF MIKE) Well, sir, this meeting was called about crime.
Mr. Lean: Well, we are being affected by crime.
Mr. Plummer: (OFF MIKE) And I've heard of trash in the street and we're here
to listen - and I hoped it would be the agenda for the evening - is that you
tell us about crime and what you feel could be done about that.
Mr. Lean: I was leading up to that.
Mayor Suarez: I actually led him astray a little bit on the issue of zoning
because you were implying a correlation between speculators moving in and
developing commercially and what effect that might have on abandoned
properties and crime. But go ahead, sir.
Ms. Hirai: Excuse me - five and a half minutes, Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Suarez: Make it quick, please. We've interrupted you so many times.
Mr. Lean: I just wanted to say we don't know our neighborhood policemen.
They don't know us. There is no sense of neighborhood and perhaps the
Commission can look into those items and perhaps the Commission can relate to
the citizens of Miami just how cost effective their police force is in
resolving crimes brought to their attention. Thank you very much. I
appreciated your time this evening.
Mayor Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Lean. Mr. Karlil? Mrs. Karlil?
Mr. Fred Karlil: Mr. Karlil.
Mayor Suarez: Go ahead.
Mr. Karlil: This thing's either too short or I'm too tall! Thank you, Mr.
Mayor.
Mayor Suarez: You might want to adjust that -
9 February 25, 1986
Mr. Karlil: It won't adjust - it's taped on, so if you can't hear me, I'll
sing out.
Mr. Plummer: (OFF MIKE) The City has a shortage of funds - we have a
shortage of mikes!
Mr. Karlil: Is that what it is?
Mrs. Kennedy: (OFF MIKE) (INAUDIBLE COMMENT)
Mr. Karlil: My name is Fred Karlil. I've lived in the city of Miami for some
51 years now.
Mayor Suarez: What general area - or at least your address, if you could?
Mr. Karlil: I live in the Morningside area and we've lived there since July
of 1949, so I'm not really a new kid on the block. I've seen the area go from
what at one time was a beautiful place to live - you were the envy of your
friends. Now when you call your friends and ask them to come over, they're
reluctant ... "what time do you want me to come?" They don't want to come
after dark. Their car may be stolen, their jewelry pulled, or something along
those lines. The area has gone absolutely to the garbage cans. The residents
there, Mr. Mayor, they're virtually in prison. They're living behind iron
bars.
Mayor Suarez: How about the closing of the streets out there? Has that
helped at all?
Mr. Karlil: That's not in our area, Mr. Mayor. That's in the Mead area.
That's up above us. The closing of the streets is not going to do a whole lot
because we have Morningside Park there. You've got a lot of traffic coming
through, back and forth.
Mayor Suarez: Which street in particular in Morningside?
Mr. Karlil: Morningside is at 55th Terrace. That's the main entrance. But
they come down 55th, 53rd - there is no 54th Street east of the Boulevard -
and, you know, it would be almost impossible. I don't think it would do a bit
of good. But, as I was saying, the residents there ... The criminals aren't
in jail. The people that live there are in jail. They have chain link
fences. They have steel mesh bolted on the inside of their windows. They
have iron bars on the outside of their windows. I have one neighbor who has
razor wire on an eight foot fence around his house. My God, man, they didn't
have that in Poland! And yet we live here. One family I know sleeps in
shifts. One sleeps, the other stays up. Now, stop and think about it - when
people are that afraid to lay down and go to sleep, there's something
terribly, terribly wrong. I personally have been burglarized, my home broken
into three times in the last 18 months. My truck's been stolen and stripped.
Numerous small thefts. If it's less than $100 you don't even worry about it
because it's a little thing. Thank God, my family and I haven't been hurt. I
know a lot of friends around that have been. I have one friend that's still
in hospital for the second mugging in the last ninety days.
Mayor Suarez: Have you felt, in the last, let's say, four or five months more
police presence in your area? Other people have reported to me that they feel
more police presence out there and that it has helped.
Mr. Karlil: No, Mr. Mayor, in the last four or five months, no. But in the
last three weeks, yes. It has been helped. This is a temporary thing -
they've moved a problem from my street - 55th Street - to 52nd Street. Then
they go down there and they move it to 57th Street. It's not gone - it just
shifts back and forth. You can see the same cars, the same people, the same
people walking the streets - it's just a block down or a block up. Like I
say, I've been broke into three times in the last 18 months, my truck's been
stolen, stripped. The loss to me and the insurance company has probably run
$10,000, Between that and the $7,000 I pay in taxes, it costs $17,000 for the
privilege of living in the area where you have to lock your doors and put dogs
in the yard. Again, there's something terribly, terribly wrong. This is not
right. Prostitution over there is wide open. I understand that the
prostitution, in itself, priority/wise, you have to put it behind burglary,
assault - but, in fact, they're all tied together. There's been numerous
instances the past couple of weeks of assaults. The last one was this morning
10 February 25, 1986
A a
at 10:30. I'm sure that perhaps the Chief of Police could speak on it - where
a man stopped at the corner of 52nd Street and Biscayne Boulevard. A young
lady of questionable character jumped into his car, took his money, and he
drove across the street, right across the Boulevard, into the fence.
Mayor Suarez: How's the prostitution situation? Worsening - ?
Mr. Karlil: It's horrendous. It's horrendous. The only thing I'll say
that's been done, Mr. Mayor -
Mayor Suarez: Let me tell you something on that very quickly -
Mr. Karlil: Just let me finish -
Mayor Suarez: Let me tell you something on that very quickly. The Chief has
suggested to the City Manager that maybe if we had some vans that would go up
and down the Boulevard in the areas which they frequent with television
cameras mounted on top taking pictures of the entire episode that that would
improve. Do you feel that that would help the area?
Mr. Karlil: Yes, I do. Anything would help. What it's amounted so far is
sort of an organized ...
Ms. Hirai: You're time is up, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Karlil: ... sort of an organized situation where a bunch of them in
business for themselves.
Mayor Suarez: Let me tell you that we are not only moving on that front, but
we're doing it, hopefully, by having donations to the City of the two vans in
questions so it will be at no cost to the taxpayers. Frankly, we don't have
any money in the budget for it, anyhow, so we have to do it that way and I
hope by the end of this session to be able to report to you fully on how far
we have progressed. I think that we are very close to getting the two vans
that we need. One would be on Biscayne Boulevard and the other on S.W. 8th
Street, and I think that's a great initiative on the part of the Chief and the
City Manager that we hope to be able to satisfy - again, without costing the
taxpayers.
Mr. Dawkins: I want all of you to understand that if you get two vans - one
for Little Havana and one north east - I want one in Coconut Grove, surveying
drugs. I want one in Liberty City, surveying drugs. You've got to understand
that this crime is citywide and I'm not going to sit up here and make no
promises to you that I'm going to give any area any more protection than the
other because, like you say, sir, you are right, as soon as they get hot on
the prostitutes on Biscayne Boulevard, they go to 17th Avenue. When we drive
them off of 17th Avenue, they go back to Biscayne Boulevard. And they are
citizens against crime - they didn't do anything to dry up drugs in Miami.
What they did was drive the buyers from Key Biscayne, from Coral Gables and
from all these areas to Coconut Grove and Liberty City. You can go out there
any day and see them purchasing drugs. So when we start talking about
tightening drugs and crime, let's talk about citywide, let's don't segregate
no areas.
Mr. Karlil: Commissioner Dawkins -
Mr. Dawkins: I was talking to the Mayor, sir.
Mr. Karlil: I'm sorry, I thought you were talking to me.
Mr. Dawkins: No, I'm with you a hundred percent. Anything that I can do,
because I live close to where you are and I don't even go to Morningside Park
for the same reason that you say. I don't even go over there because it's
unsafe. Now what I can do help - I don't mind doing what we have to do to
make it safe, but I can't make that area safe and leave the rest of the city
unsafe.
Mr. Odio: Mr. Mayor, may I add that we arrested 522 prostitutes in one month
on the Boulevard - and that's only one month -
Mr. Dawkins: How many of them had AIDS?
11
February 25, 1986
A
Mr. Odio: - the month of December. The problem is, we have a revolving door
situation with the Courts. The judges' priorities is not to keep these ladies
in prison so they are turning them loose the moment we ... we arrest them, we
process them and they are loose the next day out doing the same thing all over
again. And that's what we must put the emphasis on, that the judges must be
pressured to -
Mr. Dawkins: That's what he's saying, Mr. Manager, that the minute they get
out of jail they get right back up there plying their trade. And what he's
interested in is not us telling him that they're coming back, but stop them
from coming back. That's what he's trying to ask us to do.
(INAUDIBLE COMMENTS AND NOISES OFF MIKE)
Mayor Suarez: Let's follow an orderly process. Commissioner
Mr. Plummer: (INAUDIBLE) That's true. I want you to know
(INAUDIBLE COMMENTS) case here of prostitution. Many of those 542 arrests
were six and seven times arresting of the same individual. Mr. Karlil, I
would hope that there would somewhere be a realization In this city that we've
got a damn fine Police Department which is doing a good job under much too
harsh conditions. This Police Department, in my estimation are handicapped, I
think a great deal, by people who are arrested and who are put back on the
street the very next day, who go back out and don't care about anything except
going out and getting more money. I just hope that when we see cases of
simple things - stolen cars, houses being broken into - we realize that the
system we call "justice" - it takes six months, nine months, a year to go to
trial - that these people are out on the streets
(INAUDIBLE) establish three criteria to get bail: one, that they
here; two, that they would not be a detriment to the
society; and, three, that they were not already out on bail. These three are
no longer even being considered, or at least, the one pertaining to on going
bail. It is my understanding, and I might stand corrected, that 82% of the
part I crimes are people who have previously been arrested for other crimes
and yet we see these things dragging through a system called justice. It
takes six, nine, 12 months and it is wonder why that these things are drug out
and witnesses do not appear and finally the case is thrown out of court
because the witness doesn't appear. I say that the time has come that we have
got to make our so-called system of justice work. What good does it do for
our Police Department to go out and pick up the same guy that's out on four
bails already? He is a and a known Why do we let
him back out on the streets? There must be some point in which this system
could bring about so-called because all we are doing is being a
revolving door for a system that is Very quickly, I will
conclude. I recall an unfortunate episode in which a girl was run over about
a year ago. I wound up getting my leg broken in three places ...
Mr. Dawkins: Because you were running for reelection and you wanted your
picture in the paper!
Mr. Plummer: (INAUDIBLE)
in court on 9 days - nine.
tenth time I couldn't make ii
judge to sentence him because
imagine how many people could
nine different occasions on o;
we've got the same
and we know (INAUDIBLE)
I want to tell you that I had to appear
Let me tell you the ironic part of this. The
and the tenth time the guilty party asked the
he was tired of coming back to court. Can you
afford to give up their work and go to court on
e particular case? Very few. I would say that
a great job, the best job that you can
Mr. Dawkins: I think I'd like to add to what J.L. said that we realize that
crime is out of hand and since we are discussing Biscayne Boulevard, I will
tell you how we feel about it. It is dying for the lack of commerce. Ladies
who are not prostitutes would not go on Biscayne Boulevard to shop because
they do not want to be classified as prostitutes.
Mr. Karlil: I have a wife and a daughter, sir, and we live there. I know.
Mr. Dawkins: That's what I'm saying, see, and the other people - and it's
very difficult - and we want to do whatever we can to make it safe. I also
know that there are a lot of young people - as they're called, "Yuppies" - who
would like to move in the area but they, too, don't want their pocketbooks
snatched. They don't want to come home from work and find the house empty.
r' 12 February 25, 1986
0
So we're working on it as hard as we can and, with the help of the neighbors
who can call in and get the police out there, we may be able to - not maybe -
we got to be able to clean it up, sir. That's about all I can say.
Mr. Karlil: I hope this time isn't being charged to me because I went way
past my five minutes but, Commissioner Dawkins, I in no way implied that you
should move the law enforcement from one area to our area. I didn't say that.
I did not mean to imply it.
Mr. Dawkins: And if I implied that you did, I beg your pardon, because you
didn't, sir. But the Mayor said he was going to put one van here and one van
there. The Mayor said that, okay. You didn't say that.
Mr. Karlil: Well, maybe we need 20 vans.
Mr. Dawkins: That's what we need. I agree with you, sir.
Mayor Suarez: After we get two we'll look for four, six and eight, and the
deployment will be determined by the administration and it'll be at their
suggestion, really, that we'll place it.
Mr. Karlil: And neither did I mean to imply that the Chief of Police or his
staff was not out there working, doing the job. I've had them in my home, the
guys are trying, they're doing their best, their hands are tied in a lot of
cases but we've got to untie their hands. I hear that the judges turn them
loose, then I hear that Commission doesn't give them backing, then I hear the
judges say they don't make their cases good enough, and it's a round robin.
In the meantime, the people are out there getting hell beat out of them and
this is not right. That was my whole point that I was trying to make. It
wasn't a throw -off on the Chief, Police Department, you guys - all I'm saying
is by the time you get around the circle you're right back where you started.
Mr. Dawkins: Well, if we have 20 vans and it takes 20 vans on the north east
Miami one night, I have no problem with it and if we leave five up there and
take the 15 and go to another section of the city the next night- I'm with
you - whatever it takes to do it, let's get it done.
Mr. Karlil: Let them not know where they're coming from or when they're
coming and just hit them and hit them hard.
Mayor Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Karlil. We're going to move on. We'll take any
prepared remarks you'd like to give us and Commissioner Kennedy wants to make
some ...
Mrs. Kennedy: I'd just like to comment perhaps of the things we have to look
into are and guidelines. You and I taked in
Tallahassee lobbying for the things that we need, and I think this is one of
the issues that .... a whole lot of things could be solved if
guidelines, (INAUDIBLE).
Mayor Suarez: I know that some of the candidates for Governor have been
proposing that and I think it would be advisable to get a hold of their
specific proposals, if they have them, Madam City Attorney, and for us to
consider them and see to what extent they make sense to us and, maybe in the
form of a resolution to the legislature, ask for some tightening of that.
Thank you. Do we have Miss Irma Poin?
13 February 25, 1986
L
a
2. A. RESCHEDULE MEETING OF MARCH 13, TO MARCH 12, 1986.
B. DISCUSSION OF ZONING OF ADULT THEATERS.
Mayor Suarez: Before some Commissioners have to leave, I'm going to do
something totally unrelated to tonight's special Commission meeting on crime
and that is we're going to have another special Commission meeting, very
quickly called and very quickly completed. You will be surprised how quickly
it goes, assuming that we have agreement on this, and I must read to you the
resolution on it calling it. I Xavier L. Suarez, as duly elected Mayor of the
City of Miami, Florida pursuant to and consistent with the provisions of
Section 4-6 of the City Charter and Section 2-13 of the Code jof the City
Commission of the City of Miami, Florida for the consideration of City
business in the matter of public import, namely the rescheduling of the March
13, 1986 City Commission meeting. I would like to reschedule it.... is it for
the 12th? I understand that we have checked with all five Commissioners,
including Commissioner Carollo who is not here and I know that Commissioner
Plummer may have some problems that day but we have made an attempt to assure
that this is not a totally inconvenient day for you because I will be in
Panama on the 13th, is the main reason.
Mr. Dawkins: Mr. Mayor, may I take a point of special privilege - ? For the
individuals from the north east, may I read something out of the paper?
"Supreme Court gives City power in zoning of adult movie theaters. The
Supreme Court today gave community boards broad authority to use their zoning
powers to limit adult movie theaters to isolated areas. By a seven -two vote
the Court said the town of Renton, Washington did not violate freedom of
speech by restricting such theaters to an area described as an industrial
wasteland." So I think the City Attorney should look into that.
Mayor Suarez: I think it's an excellent idea, Commissioner, and for those of
you in the north east it should be welcome news. That Supreme Court opinion
I'm sure will be reviewed carefully by our City Attorney because I think that
could be in the form of an ordinance or change in our Zoning Code to restrict
them further. Is that the thrust of your idea?
Mr. Dawkins: Yes, Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Suarez: Can I just take a vote on changing the Commission meeting to
the 12th from the 13th?
Mr. Dawkins: I thought you had. Yes. So moved.
Mrs. Kennedy: Move.
Mr. Dawkins: Second.
Mayor Suarez: Call the roll, please.
The following resolution was introduced by Commissioner Kennedy, who
moved its adoption:
RESOLUTION NO. 86-150
A RESOLUTION RESCHEDULING THE REGULAR CITY COMMISSION
MEETING OF MARCH 13, 1986 AT 9:00 A.M. TO TAKE PLACE ON
MARCH 12, 1986, AT 9:00 A.M.
(Here follows body of resolution, omitted here
and on file in the Office of the City Clerk.)
Upon being seconded by Commissioner Dawkins, the resolution was passed
and adopted by the following vote-
P'•
fµjM
14 February 25, 1986
00 a
AYES: Commissioner Miller J. Dawkins
Commissioner Rosario Kennedy
Vice -Mayor J. L. Plummer, Jr.
Mayor Xavier L. Suarez
NOES: None.
ABSENT: Commissioner Joe Carollo
Mayor Suarez: That's an excellent idea, an excellent development and I think
that's the best thing to happen in the area and the issue not only of
prostitution, red light districts, movie theaters really plague an area and
they just get to be so many of them that the ruin the area totally and I am so
happy that Commissioner Dawkins pointed that out to us because we won't waste
any time to try to implement that in the City of Miami. At least that's my
feeling, and if that's his feeling - and I'm sure the rest of the
Commissioners agree.
Mr. Plummer: I apologize for having to leave but we have scheduled this thing
the City is sponsoring (INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: And the Commission meeting on the issue of rescheduling the
session for March 13th now stands adjourned. Thank you, Commissioner Plummer,
for staying as long as you were able to stay.
NOTE FOR THE RECORD: Commissioner Plummer left the meeting at 7:11 p.m.
3. CONTINUE PUBLIC HEARING ON CRIME.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mayor Suarez: We have now reopened the special session on the issue of crime.
Miss Irma Poin.
Miss Irma Poin: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, first of all, I would like
to emphasize the dates. One year ago, on February 22, 1985, I wrote a
petition letter to Mr. Rosencrantz, who was then the City of Miami Manager, to
bring to his attention the deplorable condition that exists in the area of
North West 18th Terrace and 20th Avenue where there is a 70-unit Dade County
project (HUD), infected with rats, garbage, trash, vandals, crime, robberies
and drug peddlers. After many months and many calls, we finally got the
different departments to take away the dozens of junk cars, garbage and trash
accumulated through the years, to instal lights in the parking lots of that
project, to provide garbage containers and clean up the area. The area looked
a lot better, temporarily. After a few months, the situation returned for
lack of.... (INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: That particular issue is not directly related so, please skip
that point and go on to the next one related to crime.
Miss Poin: (INAUDIBLE)
Ms. Hirai: Five minutes are up, Mr. Mayor.
Miss Poin: (INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: Thank you, ma'am, Miss Poin. We have a lot of fine police
officers here, including - I know we've had various Assistant Chiefs - Perry
Anderson was here, Alfredo Bared is here, Juan Fernandez is here - there's
Chief Perry Anderson, he's still with us. There's one person I think we ought
to give a special recognition and that is someone I believe was the last one
of our officers that was wounded in the line of action and that is Major Jerry
Green who's up there. I'm glad to see that you're okay, Major. (APPLAUSE)
Is Thelma Gibson here, or a representative from Thelma Gibson? Representative
Luis Morse I know you have to leave. Do you want to give your testimony in
place of Mrs. Gibson?
Representative Luis Morse: (INAUDIBLE).. ...in the Little Havana area; and
this is youth gangs. Youths gangs years ago ..... (INAUDIBLE)....
15 February 25, 1986
A
a
Mayor Suarez: Do you have any idea what the scope of the problem is? How
many youth gangs exist, either in the City or the County? I've heard the
figure of 42 in the County.
Rep. Morse: (off mike - inaudible)
Mayor Suarez: Do you have any idea how many of those would be in the City -
identified?
Rep. Morse: (off mike - inaudible)
Mayor Suarez: Any particular figure that you have in mind that you last
legislated for?
Rep. Morse: (off mike - inaudible)
Mayor Suarez: Let me ask the Chief the question because I met up the other
day with two undercover policemen from the City of Miami who told me that they
were basically a team assigned to infiltrate the youth gangs and then I was
told that that may be the only two that are so assigned by the City. Is that
correct, or do we have more people assigned to that detail.
Chief Dickson: (off mike - inaudible response)
Mayor Suarez: If you were able to get funding to have additional special
investigators that were infiltrating the youth gangs and trying to break them
up and use all the other known techniques, could you use - it's a question
that answers itself - the additional resource? Would that be a high priority,
would you say, Chief?
Chief Dickson: Yes, it is. (INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: As a further clarification - let me add that most of those
boxing programs are run on pretty much volunteer time by the police officers,
so it's the Police Department that has them.
Chief Dickson: There is some funding ..... (INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: I just want to give credit where credit is due, you know.
These fine officers that are doing that. I've seen the programs at work and
they're fantastic.
Rep. Morse: (off mike - inaudible)
Mayor Suarez: Representative, let me tell you one bit of very good news in
this connection, and to the Chief, too. I had a call and a visit. The call
was from Norman Braman and the visit was from Network Crisis Intervention
Officers from Philadelphia. They have a very successful program of dealing
with the most hardened youth gang members and the good news is that Mr. Braman
is disposed, if we'd like the program, to set up a similar program - or at
least to fund the setting up of a similar program in the City of Miami. He
himself would fund it out of his own pocket. If we're interested, Luis, and
if we can work with the efforts that you are making with the legislature,
maybe we can match up funds and put it all together into one package that can
really help our Police Department in this area. And, of course, we are also
trying as hard as we can to create employment programs for a lot of our young
adults. It's a little difficult to place in employment the hardened ones, you
know, the ones that Network Crisis Intervention deals with. That's why their
program is particularly important for our City because those are the kids that
have been in and out already of the criminal justice system, and those are
very difficult to place in employment.
Rep. Morse: (INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: You know, the other thing that I was
informed about in
this
particular experience of these officers that came from
Philadelphia was
that
the first phase of youth gangs is where they pretty much commit violent
acts
against each other and against the general community.
Then they realize
that
that doesn't have any particular merit and then they
go into the next
phase
which is when they organize as organized crime units
to make money and
then
they become the next link in the organized crime -
16
February 25,
1986
4
..j
..
014 a
Rep. Morse: (INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: Exactly. They go into drugs and so on and of course the place
to catch them is when they're simply into violent activities that -
Rep. Morse: (INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: When they are involved in the phase of territorial wars they
can be more managed than when once they're into organized crime - they get
much more sophisticated. Thank you, Representative Morse. I wish you good
luck in your efforts to get additional funding from Tallahassee. Ingrid Grau
from the Wynwood Elderly Center - are you here, Ingrid? Do we have someone
from the Office of Professional Compliance?
Mr. Julio Fanjul: Honorable Mayor, distinguished City Commissioners, City
Manager, Chief, the Office of Professional Compliance is the City's answer to
civilian review of the Police Department.
Ms. Hirai: Your name for the public record, please.
Mr. Fanjul: My name is Julio Fanjul. The function of the Office is unique in
that no other agency in the United States functions exactly the way we do.
Our Office was created as the result of a study which the City of Miami
Commission and the City of Miami Manager and panel an advisory council in 1979
to study civilian review across the nation. At that time there were two kinds
of processes in the civilian review mechanism - one which was the more
traditional approach, which was that of citizens' advisory committees which
consisted of reviewing complaints after their investigation. The second one
was that of civilians which conducted the investigations themselves which
usually had a legal background and were under the authority of the Chief of
Police. The findings of this advisory committee came in the form of the
recommendation of the Office of Professional Compliance. The function of the
Office of Professional Compliance is to monitor and, in a limited capacity, to
participate in the investigations conducted by the Internal Security Unit of
the Miami Police Department. Our functions are initiated at the time or the
conception of the complaint and are conducted all the way to the conclusion of
the findings of the investigations. A second function of our office is to
take the complaint process out to the community in that we have established 9
Community Outreach Centers which are Culmer Overtown Neighborhood Service
Center, the Latin Chamber of Commerce -
Mayor Suarez: Julio, let me ask you a question about these complaints. Are
they limited to complaints against the Police Department, or are you talking
about complaints against any employee in the City of Miami?
Mr. Fanjul: It's specifically limited to complaints against the City of Miami
Police Department and, that is, we only monitor four of the approximate 12
categories of types of complaint, and those are: excessive force, abusive
treatment, false arrest and harassment.
Mayor Suarez: How would you compare the functioning of your committee with an
independent review panel - or contrast it, if you want.
Mr. Fanjul: Well, the independent Review Panel reviews investigations upon
completion and they are made up of a civilian board. Our Office is made up of
representatives which are employees of the City of Miami, but conduct parallel
investigations alongside with internal affairs investigators. And those are
the big differences. The remaining centers are the Coconut Grove Human
Resource Centers, Liberty City Community Action Agency, New Horizons Community
Mental Health Center, Wynwood Neighborhood Service Center, Miami -Dade
Community College, the Bilingual Studies Campus and the Christian Community
Service Agency, the Little Havana Center. If an individual wishes to file a
complaint, they can either do so at the Internal Security Unit of the Police
Department or they can contact us either at our central office or one of the
nine established Community Outreach Centers. As I said before, we only handle
four types of classifications of the complaints lodged against police officers
which constitute about 30% of all of the complaints filed against the City of
Miami police officers. We also will monitor investigations of police
shootings.
17
i
February 25, 1986
A
L
Mayor Suarez: I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I know the kinds of questions
that people want to have answers to a lot of times and I know the
Commissioners do, too. If a person wants to file a complaint for a certain
police action, where do they go - physically, where do they go and what do
they do?
Mr. Fanjul: They can either go to the Internal Security Unit of the Miami
Police Department -
Mayor Suarez: Let's assume that they'd rather not go and go to your office.
Mr. Fanjul: They can contact us at any of the nine established Outreach
Centers or at our Office in the Police Department.
Mayor Suarez: Where are the Outreach Centers, more or less.
Mr. Fanjul: The Outreach Centers are geographically located throughout the
city. In the Little Havana area they consist of CAMACOL, the Miami -Dade
Community College at the Bilingual Studies and the Christian Community Service
Agencies. There's also the Edison West Little River Community Neighborhood -
Mayor Suarez: Any place where they can go at weekends or nights to file
these?
Mr. Fanjul: Not through our office. They can report to the City of Miami
police station and the complaints will be taken there. Pretty much, that is
the presentation.
Mayor Suarez: Appreciate it, Mr. Fanjul. Thank you for being here with us
today and for giving us this very important information. Do we have Admiral
Don Edsail for the Miami Citizens Against Crime, or any other representative
of the Miami Citizens Against Crime? Dr. Stokes.
Dr. Bill Stokes: Good evening, Mr. Mayor, Commissioners. It's a pleasure for
me to be here. For the record I'm Bill Stokes and I'm Chairman of the Miami
Citizens Against Crime. We're not here this evening to give any specific
recommendations. We're here to participate in this dialogue because we think
it's a very useful endeavor to try to get citizens and government to work
together to solve our crime problems. Crime is a serious problem. I'm sure
if you look at our recent survey of the electorate in which 9.1% said that
crime was our most critical problem. Thirty-eight percent said that drugs
were the primary cause of crime. I think there's some other figures that are
very critical also on crimes which were mentioned a few moments
ago. The incidents of crime in 1980 were 52,540. In 184 they were 51,893 -
almost the same as in 1980 and I think that's a significant figure. We
recognize that the Commission has done a great deal in recent years to try to
help law enforcement and the criminal justice system and we appreciate that,
but in spite of all our recent efforts any success we've had and we've had
successes - we're going to have to keep up the effort because I think we all
recognize the fact that people in this area deserve a quality of life with a
reduced level of crime. We also recognize that the criminal justice system is
more than just police. We recognize the total system and we intend to help
with that. Second, we recognize the financial elements which you are facing
and we're willing to work with you on some meaningful proposals to try
you. We also recognize the root causes that we're dealing
with which were mentioned a few moments ago by the Commissioner and we are
devoting time and energy with youth program now, looking at citizens' efforts
and also we're trying to address the drug prevention program and we're
certainly willing to look at some other programs. our real concern
about the leakage of drugs and crime and, as I'm sure you're well aware, we
recently -
Mayor Suarez: Have you heard, Doctor, that statistic or that estimate that
says that a third to a half of all the homicides in Dade County are related to
drug traffic or drug activities?
Dr. Stokes: I have seen some of the figures but I couldn't give you that
exactly. The Admiral may be able to because he has about as many figures on
this as figures on this as anyone I know.
Mayor Suarez: Has MCAC made any recommendations of chnages in the law or the
Constitution that could help us to stem the flow of drugs through our
community?
18 February 25, 1986
e��... a n...:.........:...--�_
014 a
Dr. Stokes: We've had a federal expert, you know, as I'm sure you're well
aware. We have federal, state and local committees in which we're trying to
work a special deal on account of legislation and one of the
things I would like to raise, Mr. Mayor, is that MCAC has not tried to come up
with MCAC proposals. What we are trying to do is work with professionals in
the field and try to work hand in hand supporting those efforts.
Mayor Suarez: Do you have any feel for whether the number of police officers
in the City of Miami is adequate in comparison to the population of Miami? I
know we're under the national norm - do you feel that that's a big problem or
are we close to the norm sufficiently that we have to do other things, or
what?
Dr.
Stokes:
(off
mike)
We think
that we
need
to make
that
thrust that
we've
been
going
over
for
about 4
years
and
that
is
that we've
been
Mr. Dawkins: But, Dr. Stokes, what data do you have to present to me that in
the areas where there are three policemen per hundred persons that crime is
less than it is here?
Dr. Stokes: It's very difficult, really, to say because sometimes when you
get more police officers you're going to be able to make more arrests and
you're of crime.
Mr. Dawkins: So,. really, the magic number of three per thousand is something
that may or may not work.
Dr. Stokes: Well, that's what we feel and while I'm not a professional in the
field -
Mr. Dawkins: Me either, me either - you know that.
Dr. Stokes: (INAUDIBLE COMMENTS)
Mr. Dawkins: But we both work in Miami Dade!
Dr. Stokes: Right, but from the professionals in the field
but in the kind of environment that we're in - metropolitan environment, heavy
population the professionals I've talked with in the field, that
seems to be a reasonable number.
Mr. Dawkins: Well, my feeling - and I'm not going to argue with the
professionals, but I'm tired of putting so much stress on arrests and nothing
on prevention. So what we need to start talking in terms of preventiveness
and not so much locking up after the fact, and if we can get some youth
programs like you and I have discussed, and like Representative Morse said,
and get some preventiveness, then I can look at if the third policeman we're
going to try to get is going to be a juvenile working with juvenile office - I
can understand that. But just to put another officer on the street to say
that we've got three officers per thousand, unless somebody comes up with
something that will guarantee me that if we add this extra policeman at
$90,000 a year, that we're going to get the results that you and I know we
need.
Dr. Stokes: I think that is our key to doing an outstanding job and I think
his troops are really working under some unusual stress and pressure. I think
they need all the help they can. You mentioned, Mr. Dawkins, earlier when one
of the people was speaking out from the center that we really need to look at
it, countywide, and We also need to look at it in terms
of every citizen who lives in the community participating whether it's family
or school or institutions or government, I think we all have to
work together and that's one of the reasons we're starting right now a drug
prevention program. I think some people have misunderstood it because it's a
very comprehensive program and one that has 9 objectives_ and 54
It's a really comprehensive program that's across the board
in all geographical areas in Dade County and if we can target that I think we
can have an impact on crime and that's what we're going to have to do right
now - this generation. We need everyone's help on that one.
19 February 25, 1986
Mr. Dawkins: And they couldn't have picked a better man because, as you know,
you did go to Downtown Campus and you made downtown come alive, so maybe by
putting your Citizens Against Crime in the County, you will use that same vim
and vigor to get it down in the County.
Dr. Stokes: Thank you.
Mayor Suarez: Thank you, Dr. Stokes, and to all the members of Miami Citizens
Against Crime for your efforts. Do we have either Captain Duca from the Coast
Guard or any other representative of the Coast Guard? Mr. Cristiano from the
Criminal Justice Council. Thanks for being with us. I know everyone's
interested in hearing a figure of how much money the Criminal Justice Council
parcels out every year for different law enforcement -related and criminal
justice -related activities, and you might want to give us that figure, if you
have that.
Mr. Leon Cristiano: (INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: How much?
Mr. Cristiano: (INAUDIBLE)
Mr. Dawkins: I can't hear you, sir. Speak in the mike, please.
Mr. Cristiano: For the last two and a half years the Dade Criminal Justice
Council has associated with the National Neighborhood
and the National Neighborhood Foot Patrol Center promotes community policing,
including mini police stations and I would like to invite members of the
Commission, members of the City of Miami, any community people who are
interested in mini police stations to attend the National Neighborhood Foot
Patrol Center to see whether mini police
stations (INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: Leon, let me ask you a question - a philosophical or a
practical or whatever you want to call it question Would you say that in a
major city in a major metropolitan area like Miami, with the density of people
that we've got, is it part of the national trend that for such an area we
would have foot patrols or not? What's the thinking, now, out in the
professional community - not that we necessarily follow what the professional
community thinks on these things, but it's interesting for us to know.
Mr. Cristiano: (INAUDIBLE) We have started a mini police
station
Mayor Suarez: Who mans those? Who are the people that take care of those.
Mr. Cristiano: (INAUDIBLE RESPONSE)
Mayor Suarez: Police officers. Any help from volunteers?
Mr. Cristiano: We're looking for volunteers ...(INAUDIBLE) and there are
different approaches you can take, there's nothing set about the way to do
things.
Mayor Suarez: This is a loaded question but how come you're involved in the
County but not the City? Why aren't you giving us some help, Leon?
Mr. Cristiano: That's why I'm here tonight
Mayor Suarez: Very good. Really, it concerns me that you are doing these
things in the County and that we're not, up till tonight, getting any input
from the Criminal Justice Council in these areas. Do we have any
representatives on the Council - the City of Miami? I know I just appointed
an alternate on my behalf but have we had any members on the Council?
Mr. Cristiano: I think Mr. Odio is on the Council, the City Manager
Mrs. Kennedy: Three out of how many?
Mr. Cristiano: I think we have 30 members right now, representing the County
If you'd like more information you can contact me at the
20
February 25, 1986
Criminal Justice Council. I can arrange for anyone's attendance at the
As I said, only air transportation is required.
Everything else is paid for.
Mayor Suarez: Will you come back to us - will the Criminal Justice Council do
an evaluation of Miami's needs and Miami's particular geographical layout and
other characteristics and determine whether foot patrols would be a good idea
in our city. Can we make that a formal request to the Criminal Justice
Council staff?
Mr. Cristiano: (off mike) You may, as a member of the council, you may.
Mayor Suarez: Will you convey that back to Dr. Silver and tell him that we'd
like his help in determining that because, really, frankly, we don't know - I
mean, I've spoken to the Chief about it and I know the Commissioners have,
about the ideas you hear being mentioned a lot during campaigns. You know,
foot patrols, foot patrols, and I just want to know if, in your estimation,
these work, particularly after you go to the seminar and you have more
information at your disposal - presumably on what works in other cities.
Mr. Cristiano: We can arrange something like that - no problem.
Mayor Suarez: We would appreciate that greatly.
Mr. Cristiano: Okay.
Mayor Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Cristiano. I skipped Bob Worsham of the Miami
Civic League and Commissioner Dawkins just nudged me about that. Bob, are you
still around? Would you please give us any testimony you'd like to give us.
Sorry I skipped you, there.
Mr. Bob Worsham: Good evening. I'd like to particularly thank the Mayor and
all the Commissioners for holding this meeting this evening. My name is Bob
Worsham. I represent the Miami Civic League and I probably will toss some
rather negative things but I hope it will be for a positive end.
Mayor Suarez: We're used to it!
Mr. Worsham: I attended a meeting last night in the Coconut Grove area and to
get into this meeting I had a gentleman that I didn't know and he came up - he
was very, very frustrated - and I had a lobby break where I was talking to an
Assistant City Manager. The man was so frustrated with what was going on
inside the meeting that he interrupted our discussion and my point on bringing
this out as an example is to say that I feel, from my visits around the city,
this typifies what some of the residents are doing and what they're feeling
about the crime problem. It is a serious problem and I again say thank you
very much for holding the meeting. I'm not sure what the end results will be.
I'm more optimistic with this administration - I feel it will probably be
considerably better. One of the things that I have brought from other
associations has been a credibility problem. That probably has a negative
note but you get into some of the homeowners' associations - they have a
burglary - a burglary to a man's home is his castle. Six months goes by with
good physical evidence, an initial investigation and no follow-up. I am
realizing that we have, in my opinion, one of the finest Police Departments in
the United States. You have well paid people. They have good gear, and I am
very, very proud to live in this area with such a good Police Department. I
question - and I have been questioned myself - concerning the past 5 years.
In the past five years it's been alleged to me that we've had approximately
45-48% increase in police personnel. It also has been alleged to me that the
budget increase has been very similar. In reviewing some of these - some
people have reviewed these facts for me and they come back and they're
advising me that the end result, productivity/wise, is down.
Mayor Suarez: How do you define productivity, there, Bob?
Mr. Worsham: Well, let's talk of Class I crimes - arrest. If you start out
three years ago, or four years ago, and you had a certain amount of officers
and you increased those officers 45%, you would reasonably assume that you
would have an increase in arrests, but if the arrest ratio has not increased -
Mayor Suarez: Unless everyone stops committing crimes proportionately to the
increased number of officers.
21 February 25, 1986
2
Mr. Worsham: Well, that's not the case. I certainly don't want to be
misunderstood. I've spent a lifetime in law enforcement, I have family in law
enforcement. I'm not trying to knock the Police Department. I am simply
saying that they all are not the finest and that there are problems and that
the productivity is not there that in our opinion should be there and I think
if we work together we can pinpoint some areas and eliminate some of those
negativism.
Mayor Suarez: What specific suggestions would you have to increase
productivity?
Mr. Worsham: Well, I'd like to ask the City Manager on those specific figures
as to the past 5 years as to what the increase in the Police Department was,
what kind of an increase in budget - and I'm talking of police personnel, not
civilian personnel. Also, compare that to your crime index as to your - you
can come up with an end result in comparing a budget personnel and the
productivity level.
Ms. Hirai: Time's up, Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Suarez: Your own background is police work, is it not, Bob?
Mr. Worsham: That's correct, sir. One other area that I keep having
mentioned - there is considerable discussion about substations, not mini -
stations. Mini -stations look good in some of the people's centers, like the
senior centers, but there's a lot of concern about spending many dollars in
certain areas of the city without reasonable justification.
Mayor Suarez: Now, does that refer to substations, once again, or to mini -
stations?
Mr. Worsham: Five, six million -dollar centers.
Mayor Suarez: Okay, now - that particular thing - whether you like it or
not - whether anyone likes it or not - was approved by the voters of the City
of Miami. The concept was: it was a proposal to have two substations created.
I believe the referendum that the voters voted on specified the areas that
r
they would be in and they would be in the form of substations. We
understand - and I certainly agree with you - that there might have been some
other ways of doing it at the time but they were not proposed to the voters,
they were not approved by the voters like substations were. We're pretty much
legally stuck with the substations and I know people's expectations are such
that they expect these substations to be on line so as long as that is the
status of the expression of public support and the law, we will make sure that
those substations get built as quickly as we possibly can get them because
that's what the people - the people have spoken on that issue. Bob, maybe if,
at the time - it's a little bit like Metrorail - we had been offered the
alternative of many mini -stations, maybe people would have gone for that, but
that alternative was not offered. Maybe the administration was shortsighted
on that particular point, but the fact is the people approved the bond issue
and approved the concept of substations and we will, presumably, have them on-
line as quickly as we can get them.
Mr. Worsham: Could I close with this, sir?
Mayor Suarez: Yes, go ahead.
Mr. Worsham: I'd like to ask of the Manager to provide us with the stats that
were used in justifying these stations - the substations. If we could have
that later.
Mayor Suarez: He can give you some idea right now.
Mr. Worsham: That's not necessary - at a later time so you can move on with
your meeting.
Mayor Suarez: It's okay. As long as we're on the issue people's attention
spans begin to -
Mr. Odio: I don't have all the information he asked, so I am just going to
reply to one item. Violent crime increased 2.4% - this is since 1980.
22
fir,
February 25, 1986
Arrests increased 9.4% for adults, but declined 8.3% for juveniles in the same
category, and in the property crime increased 15.1%. Arrests increased 17.9%
for adults but declined 1.5% for juveniles, so the statement he made prior to
the last part of what he said was wrong. And I wanted to correct that for the
record.
Mayor Suarez: One statement that you made, Bob, I thought was very
interesting because it had to do with files that are opened by the police
investigating a burglary - I believe you stated -
Mr. Worsham: That is correct.
Mayor Suarez: - and later you don't know if the investigation went anywhere
and what happened to it. Let me relate to you something that happened to me,
precisely on that issue, because it worries me and I want to ask the chief how
we determine that a file has been closed and what factors go into that. My
car was stolen once - living in the City of Miami - actually I've had two cars
stolen, but this one was stolen from my house, actually from a service
station - I couldn't find the car, the police was advised, obviously, and they
couldn't find the car. I spent 4 or 5 months chasing after every car that
looked mine because I had a feeling it was in Miami and I found it. And you
know what I did - I stole it back, which was a lot of fun, stealing your own
car back! I got it back, I found it in Coral Gables, I got it back into the
City of Miami, I found correspondence belonging to the person that presumably
was using the car. I gave all this information, first to the Coral Gables
police, who told me that, really, the City of Miami police should investigate
it because I lived in the City of Miami and because the car had been stolen
from the City of Miami. Then I called the City of Miami. Initially I was
told that, really, Coral Gables should investigate it because the car was
found in Coral Gables. The whole thing was a big mess. Finally, I convinced
the City of Miami police - and it was not under our fine new Chief, but
sometime ago - I don't even know what Chief we had at the time - but I finally
convinced them that the City of Miami should investigate it and I gave them
all the information that I'd found in the automobile as to who was using it.
The story that got back to me is that they had questioned these people, that
the people said that the car had been sold to the boyfriend to one of the
people who lived in the house by someone who didn't have any documentation for
the automobile and that that person was gone from the scene - as, usually, is
the explanation. And I asked the police officers at the time if they were
going to continue the investigation and they said they were. I never heard
back from anyone. I thought of filing a civil lawsuit against these people so
I could get them under oath and ask them about some of my belongings that were
in the car initially in the car when it was stolen and that were not there
when I got the car back, and I never filed it. But my question is, on a
burglary case like that, how does a file get closed or how is the citizen
advised that the investigation is not proceeding any more or that the police
have made a determination that the individual cannot be charged with a crime?
Do we simply have too many more serious crimes that we can't pursue
burglaries, or what's the story?
Chief Dickson: A burglary, sir, is not closed out unless or until we close it
out by arrest or some other legal means. There does exist, however, a need
for us to clear cases and some cases where we run into a dead end, there's
just no place else to take it after the necessary investigation.
Mayor Suarez: Is the file closed or is the citizen advised at that point that
the investigation has reached a dead end?
Chief Dickson: The citizen should receive notification that if there are any
new evidence in relation to the burglary - should any new evidence occur -
that they are to notify the detective who the case was assigned to. Cases are
not closed when they are in fact open because no arrest was made and no file
determination has come about as a result of the investigation.
Mayor Suarez: For how many years are cases kept open - burglary cases - I
presume it's not for ever.
Chief Dickson: Well, there is a time limit on how long a case can be existing
before so that we can't prosecute it any more, but the fact is we don't close
cases out where a felony has been committed - a burglary, in this case - and
if you come across any additional information, or suspects, or anything of
that sort call the detective who originally came out and spoke to you on the
23 February 25, 1986
R�
case. The detectives should leave their name and phone number with the people
who they talked to - or the victims, rather - so that's basically how we
handle that. We get about - I don't want to quote the number of burglaries we
had, but last year we had about 29,000 burglaries and you can imagine that if
we tried to realistically pursue every one of those burglaries without some
kind of system by which we can select the burglaries which we can, in fact, in
all probability solve, then we would end up not solving any burglaries by
stretching ourselves out trying to handle those that run into dead ends. So,
that's just where we are.
Mr. Worsham: Mr. Mayor, can I respond to that and then I'll get lost!
Mayor Suarez: Yes, and you might also tell us if you have any feel for this
whether the response time by the police when they are called to investigate a
crime that has been committed, or allegedly been committed, whether that has
improved lately or worsened - if you have any feel for that.
Mr. Worsham: I don't have any information on that, but in response to the
Chief, one of the areas we talked of earlier of credibility - this was in an
neighborhood where the Chief had been there and we had talked about "park and
ride", or "ride and park" and "walk through the neighborhood", and it turned
out that it was the neighborhood association's president's home. He's never
had any kind of follow-up and that's why there's a credibility problem. This
is not happening just in one homeowners' association area, it's happening in a
lot of them and this is not intended to be absolutely negative, but it is
negative, and it's aggravating a lot of people.
Mayor Suarez: Why don't you explain to the audience what "park and ride" or
"ride and park" - what that concept - how that works.
Mr. Worsham: For a patrol unit to go into a certain area in a neighborhood,
park the car, dismount from the car, take their radio and move around through
the area and to try to get closer to the people and do some prevention work.
Mayor Suarez: It's not a permanent foot patrol, but it's sort of part time
foot patrol and part time automobile patrol.
Chief Dickson: That's right.
Mayor Suarez: Chief, do we have any of that going on right now and, if so,
where and how often?
Chief Dickson: I recall where we have foot patrol, which we call "park and
walk", and it's a sort of a roving foot patrol.
Mayor Suarez: The only place I've ever seen any officers walking, frankly, is
either downtown or in Coconut Grove business district... or else chasing
after - and then they're not walking, they're running!
Chief Dickson: No, sir, we've had a roving foot patrol for more than two
years, now. Maybe two or three years.
Mayor Suarez: What areas of the city?
Chief Dickson: Wherever the request is made we go out and do a survey to find
out what the problem is. We, in fact, can and do institute a moving foot
patrol, but they are not stationary because we can't afford to put walking
beats in every area where people want them. But I definitely remember
visiting the house that you talked about, sir. I remember sitting down,
talking to you when I first became Chief of Police and I'll tell you now that
in fact you did receive follow-up on that. There were police officers
assigned to walk that area to do the things that I said - to get the tag
numbers from the cars, to ticket the illegally parked cars and also to be made
visible and I also said that usually when we do this it's during the daylight
hours when the burglaries are occurring and many people are working and don't
really see what we are doing. I do definitely clearly remember that, but the
problem is that we can't keep the police officers assigned to that particular
area on a roving, walking beat. Those officers are moved from one place to
another and as it was related to walking beats over, let's say, mobile
patrol - if we could afford walking beats, I would say right now where I stand
on that, that that would be a Utopia, if we could afford that.
24 February 25, 1986
Mayor Suarez: Chief, it's hard for this Commission, really, frankly, to
determine whether we can afford them until we know if they have been in place,
where they have been in place. Commissioner Dawkins, I think, and I have only
seen walking beats instituted lately. He mentioned the Edison Plaza area. I
have seen them in the downtown and Coconut Grove business district. I have
never seen them walking in Little Havana - no foot patrols ever - I have never
seen them on any of the main arteries- 17th, 27th, 22nd Avenues, S.W. 8th
Street -
Mr. Dawkins: Or Biscayne.
Mayor Suarez: And if they're there and I've missed them - or Biscayne
Boulevard, or the north east - if I've missed them, maybe I just didn't patrol
enough or didn't drive around the city. And if you're moving them from one
place to the other so quickly that we don't see them they're not being very
effective. Now, if it's a matter of resources, tell us it's a matter of
resources, but I haven't seen them. Maybe I'm blind, I don't know. Have you
seen them in your area, Bob?
Mr. Worsham: No, sir. Can I make this request and then - I'd like to make a
request of the City Manager to meet with the City Manager and the Mayor and
I'd like to review the past five years' figures that I discussed because we're
not in error. And, secondly, and finally, the gentleman's name is the Mayor
of Grove Park, Jim Ramsey. So if you want to follow that case, it might be
interesting. Thank you very much for your time. I appreciate the
opportunity.
Mayor Suarez: Thank you, Bob.
Mr. Odio: Mr. Mayor, as an aside, at the first meeting I ever had in the
Police Department I didn't know much about police work, but they began to give
me the terminology that we have in the Police Department and I told him
" " what does that mean? And the "park and ride", and one of the
things we have is that the committee needs to be informed of all the services
the Police Department is providing so that we can change that perception
because I didn't know we had people walking and we do have them. We have them
on 8th Street and I think the Chief could give you a list.
Mayor Suarez: We're on 8th Street. I want to check into it tonight. We're
on 8th Street, do we have people walking the streets on a foot patrol, because
I'm going to be there tonight and I'm going to take Dr. Alonso with me and
some of the other people. You tell me there's someone on a walking beat
tonight on S.W. 8th Street. I'm going to check them out - unless they go so
quickly that they - and we know we have a trailer there on Domino Park.
Chief Dickson: As I said, Domino Park is one of the areas in which there is a
walking beat. But I must reemphasize -
Mayor Suarez: And I haven't seen them walking there! I've seen them in the
trailer, but, I don't know.
Chief Dickson: Okay, Mr. Mayor, but let me say this, please -
Mayor Suarez: That's still better than not being around at all. Don't get me
wrong.
Chief Dickson: Well, let me say this. We have tried to supplement the
requests for walking beats, again, by what we call a "park and walk" program.
Now, in 1985, the year that just passed, donated to that program - "park and
walk" - we in fact donated some 3,797 hours of park and walk, meaning the
police officer, based on a projection of need, as requested by certain members
of the community in certain areas, that there were 3,797 hours of walking done
in places where walking beats -
Mayor Suarez: Chief, do they repeat the same walking beat from evening to
evening or from day to day, or do they change from one day to the next because
you don't see them in the same place?
Chief Dickson: No, they change from one day to the next.
„. Mayor Suarez: That's not really what we're talking about with walking beats.
We're talking about regular walking beats in a neighborhood.
,• 25 February 25, 1986
X
Chief Dickson: I'm talking about "park and walk" - something to supplement
the need for our walking beats.
Mayor Suarez: Right - that may be a clarification, if you're talking about
"park and walk" in one area in one day and a totally different area the next
day and a totally different area the next day and a totally different area the
day after that, the citizens are not going to see these people because they're
not going to get used to seeing them. They might think that they're walking
through the neighborhood simply investigating a particular crime, or
responding to a particular complaint. So it's not really what we're thinking
about and maybe that's a -
Chief Dickson: I think a little more explanation needs to be given about
this. This is very important, the effort that we are making in the area of
"park and walk" and I'm going to have Major Martinez explain the "park and
walk" and the areas - he's more current on the areas than I am.
Mayor Suarez: And give us as much detail, Major Martinez, on where exactly
people that leave this room tonight can find an officer walking, if anywhere.
Now, if tonight we don't have any, we don't have any, you know. Where can we
find them?
Major Walter Martinez: I'm in charge of the Special Police Unit. I have the
downtown foot officers. I also have the area of 8th Street and Flagler
Street. The Domino Park officer, at this time, is not walking because the
merchants in the area do not want him to walk. They want him at the Park. I
had him walking the beat, there. Every day on a daily basis -
Mayor Suarez: So far we know which ones are not walking. Now tell me which
ones are walking tonight.
Major Martinez: Not tonight. I work days. My people work during the days.
Mayor Suarez: Who can tell us about walks at nights, now? Because we can't
verify ... Okay, now, tell me during the day. Where are they walking
tomorrow if I go out driving at ten o'clock.
Major Martinez: Flagler and 12th you can see them walking. You can see them
walking in the area of 18th Avenue and S.W. 8th Street.
Mayor Suarez: Flagler and 12th tomorrow, about what time, Walter.
Major Martinez: Usually they take the thirteen around 5 p.m.
Mayor Suarez: For how long?
Major Martinez: For an hour. Rush hour.
Mayor Suarez: Okay, so we've got an hour from 5 to 6 p.m., maybe, tomorrow at
12th and Flagler.
Major Martinez: Right.
Mayor Suarez: Any others that you can tell us - any other walking beats?
Major Martinez: The area of 18th Avenue and 8th Street from 18 to 19 Avenue,
around the same time, and in the morning around 10 p.m. for an hour each time.
Mayor Suarez: Do you prepare a schedule in advance - anything that you can
provide us that we can check these out?
Major Martinez: Yes, sir. I can.
Mayor Suarez: Could you, please, because I would like to verify some of these
myself.
Major Martinez: Yes, sir.
Mayor Suarez: Or send someone from the staff, either one.
Major Martinez: First thing tomorrow morning.
26
February 25, 1986
Mayor Suarez: How many officers would you have at any one time walking the
streets of Miami?
Major Martinez: The streets of Miami I have twelve officers downtown -
Mayor Suarez: We know about those. A lot of officers downtown.
Major Martinez: Okay. Two in plain clothes. We also have two officers in
plain clothes that go to Decorators' Row. That's up in the area.
Mayor Suarez: That's right, they've requested those up there and, God knows,
they need them.
Chief Dickson: Coconut Grove.
Major Martinez: I have an average of four officers in Little Havana. They
take signal 13 to check out, to walk the area - Flagler and 12th, sometimes in
the area - depending what the problems are.
Mayor Suarez: Are we pretty much talking commercial districts, so far? Are
we pretty much talking about commercial districts?
Major Martinez: Yes.
Mayor Suarez: None in residential areas? We can't afford to have them in
residential areas, is that the reason?
Major Martinez: We just don't have the manpower available, sir.
Mayor Suarez: I just want people to know that. If we can't afford them, we
can't afford them.
Major Martinez: No manpower available.
Mayor Suarez: Can't fault you for that. Why do you choose commercial as
opposed to residential areas?
Major Martinez: The Special Police Unit's mission, when it was originated,
was to deploy their personnel in the business area and we have been doing so
since it's inception.
Mayor Suarez: What is that based on? Is there any reasoning for that? Is
that to prevent crime against commercial - ?
Major Martinez: Okay, many of the citizens have to go to these business areas
to shop and if I was a crook and I wanted to get someone with money I would go
to those business areas and I would get somebody to go in and out trying to
shop.
Mayor Suarez: That's the same reason we feel, by the way, for the information
of all who are here, that we feel that mini -stations would best be located in
commercial areas, not senior centers, although we'd like to place them there
if we can, too, but we like to have them in commercial areas because of what
you're stating. That's where the criminal is going to try to find the
citizen. Now, they also go to the homes, unfortunately, but it's impossible
for mini -stations or for police officers on walking beats to be throughout the
entire city at all times. There's just no way.
Major Martinez: The business areas are basically located in a small area so
it's easier for a police officer to patrol. Going into a residential area is
quite large and it is most difficult to be every place at once.
Mayor Suarez: So far we've never instituted walking beats in residential
areas?
Major Martinez: Not that I'm aware of.
Mayor Suarez: Everyone take note of that because if you don't like that
system and you prefer to have them in residential areas as opposed to
commercial areas you might want to let your Commissioners and the Mayor know.
Chief?
27
February 25, 1986
Chief Dickson: Mr. Mayor, I would like to emphasize the fact that as it
relates to walking beats we have to include our mounted people - the horses.
They are a form of walking beats which we have horses coverage in Liberty
City, the Boulevard -
Mayor Suarez: Where in Liberty City? I miss the horses every time, too.
Where are they?
Chief Dickson: Liberty City - that's the north end of the city bounded
between 7th Avenue back to 17th Avenue and 54th Street back to 7th.....
Mayor Suarez: What times of the day can we expect mounted police in those
areas?
Chief Dickson: The mounted patrol is there from, I believe, something like 9
till whatever - 6.30, something like that.
Mayor Suarez: And how many - how many police officers on horses?
Chief Dickson: As I was saying - the coverage, though, is Liberty City, the
Boulevard, Decorators' Row, Allapattah, Overtown, Downtown, Little Havana,
Coconut Grove and
Mayor Suarez: No, no. We're talking about mounted police, now.
Chief Dickson: Yes, mounted - that's what I'm talking about.
Mayor Suarez: Little Havana?
Chief Dickson: Yes.
Major Martinez: Yes, sir. I have two horses in Little Havana. I got one -
Mayor Suarez: Where do they go? I haven't seen any on S.W. 8th Street
lately, Walter.
Major Martinez: Sir, here is another problem that we've had of deployment.
We come to meetings and we're asked to do the impossible.
Mayor Suarez: More or less, where do they go? Jose Marti Park?
Major Martinez: Jose Marti Park. The horse on 8th Street I've had to deploy
half a day at Jose Marti Park and half a day at South West 8th Street. That's
the S.W. 8th Street horse.
Mayor Suarez: I have never, in ten and a half years of living in Miami, seen
a policeman on top of a horse in S.W. 8th Street. Maybe, except in a parade,
or something like that.
Major Martinez: I have citizens sitting right here, Mr. Suarez, who can tell
you about the horses. Mr. Rojas, have you ever seen a horse there?
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (off mike) Yes, sir.
Mayor Suarez: What times of the day?
Major Martinez: Okay. Anybody else?
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKERS: (off mike) Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (off mike) Today, they were at 18 and 8th and 19 and
8th
Mayor Suarez: Maybe I scare away the horses, I don't know!
f. Major Martinez: I also have one on 8th Street, on Flagler and they also
patrol.
Mayor Suarez: Would you also give us a schedule of the mounted police
officers patrolling so that we can verify it Chief - and Walter - and Major?
28
February 25, 1986
t
4ft 40
Chief Dickson: No problem.
Mayor Suarez: Thank you very much. We'll be chasing after horses all over
Little Havana, you'll see!
Mr. Dawkins: Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Suarez: Commissioner.
Mr. Dawkins: I have another city -sponsored thing to go to and I'd like to
thank the people for coming out and dialoguing with us and I would hope we get
a chance to do this again soon.
Mayor Suarez: Thank you, Commissioner, for being here and taking all the
input that we're receiving tonight. Rev. Thiele, I'm going to have to make
you wait just a couple of minutes, if I may and take a prior scheduled
speaker, Captain Duca; from the Coast Guard. Did I pronounce that right,
Captain?
NOTE FOR THE RECORD: Commissioner Dawkins left the meeting at 8.09 p.m.
----------------------------------------------- ------------------------
Admiral Pirelli: No, I'm Admiral Pirelli.
Mayor Suarez: Oh, we got the Admiral - wow! We never say no to admirals
around here!
Admiral Pirelli: I have some prepared notes here.
Mayor Suarez: If you'd like to come up and sit up here, Admiral, please go
ahead. Take the City Attorney's chair, there. She's not doing anything
lately! City Manager, that's even better!
Admiral Pirelli: Such an exalted position!
Mayor Suarez: Short-lived, sometimes, too!
Admiral Pirelli: Yes, perhaps mine is a little bit more stable. Mayor
Suarez, thank you very much for inviting the Coast Guard to come down and talk
about our relationship with the City of Miami. We're, of course, by federal
terms, a very small organization. There are only 38,000 of us in the whole
world.
Mayor Suarez: How many in south Florida - how many in greater Miami?
Admiral Pirelli: I have, in the states of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida
about 4,100 people. The majority are in Florida.
Mayor Suarez: So maybe a couple of thousand in Florida?
Admiral Pirelli: I have 1,000 in the City of Miami, or in the Miami environs.
Mayor Suarez: How many of those people would be directly involved, or whose
duties would be typically to try to interdict ships or any other kind of
conveyance with drug - involved in drug traffic?
Admiral Pirelli: Of the 4,000 people, about 3,000 are involved.
Mayor Suarez: That's the majority of your - ?
Admiral Pirelli: Oh, yes, very much so. But, you know, we're a multi-
missioned organization and all of our people are cross -trained. Of course the
mission that most people know us for is the search and rescue one and just
here in the south Florida area, in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale to Key West, we
have about 14,000 cases a year.
Mayor Suarez: Let me ask you a question. When I drive up one of those
causeways where you have the main facility in the Miami area - which causeway
is that?
I
29 February 25, 1986
Admiral Pirelli: It's out at - Base Miami Beach - it's just outside - at
Government Cut.
Mayor Suarez: Right. When you drive by there I see a grand total of maybe
three ships, there. Really a lot of times I only see two - pretty small ones
and a tiny little gun placed on top. Is that all we've got?
Admiral Pirelli: Oh, no - well, that's good news when you see so few in.
That means a lot of them are out at sea.
Mayor Suarez: That means they're out at sea.
Admiral Pirelli: Yes.
Mayor Suarez: How many - what's the total capability there for a total number
of vessels and what size vessels?
Admiral Pirelli: At Base Miami Beach?
Mayor Suarez: Right.
Admiral Pirelli: At the present time we have two 210 foot cutters that have
helicopter capable and that little gun you see up there is a three-inch gun.
That's a fairly good size.
Mayor Suarez: That can hurt you pretty good?
Admiral Pirelli: Yes.
Mayor Suarez: What other ships do we have? Do we have any other?
Admiral Pirelli: We have patrol boats - we have three 95-foot patrol boats
and now we have, as of last week, two 110-foot patrol boats - just brand new -
that are over 30-knot vessels.
Mayor Suarez: What about the speedsters? How do you chase after people who
are doing 40, 50 and 60 knots?
Admiral Pirelli: Well, of course, we try to do that tactically. What we try
and do is, instead of concentrating here on the arrival zone - or that is
along the Florida coast - that's a very, very difficult way to interdict. We
try to work outside -
Mayor Suarez: So you don't typically try to interdict them as they reach our
shores - you try to do it much farther out?
Admiral Pirelli: Well, we do it three ways. We do it, one, down off of the
Colombian coast, primarily, where I have ships down there all year round. We
try it in the choke points - Yucatan, the Windward Passage, the Mona Passage,
where they have to come through a restricted area of about 100 miles in width.
Mayor Suarez: Are there any legal restrictions to your right to stop a ship
and search it?
Admiral Pirelli: There are no legal restrictions for the United States Coast
Guard to stop any United States flag vessel anywhere on the high seas. That
comes about as a result of -
Mayor Suarez: Well, what about Colombian flag - or what is the typical
country - Liberian flag, or some place?
Admiral Pirelli: All right, let me tell you how that process works. If we
come upon a vessel of a foreign flag and it meets a profile that we're looking
for - you know, certain length, looks like the name's been written in three or
four times -
Mayor Suarez: Looks like what, I'm sorry?
Admiral Pirelli: The name has been changed three or four times, or that we
see contraband on deck, or that we have any other reason for being
suspicious - particularly if we have intelligence on that particular vessel -
we'll go alongside that vessel and ask them for their consent for us to board.
30 February 25, 1986
s
Mayor Suarez: Voluntary search.
Admiral Pirelli: Voluntary search. Many times they will give that to us. If
they don't give it to us then my people will radio to my headquarters. I go
to Washington, to our State Department, the State Department goes to the flag
state, the flag state either confirms or denies that that vessel is
registered -
Mayor Suarez: Meantime you trail the ship?
Admiral Pirelli: In the meantime we're trailing the ship and this sometimes
will take as short as three hours and sometimes it will take three days.
Mayor Suarez: Do they ever get away from you?
Admiral Pirelli:
too.
(INAUDIBLE) Oh, yes. And when they get away from us
country, which is something that we've been working on,
Mayor Suarez: Are you talking about 12 miles or 3 miles?
Admiral Pirelli: (INAUDIBLE) I'm talking about 3 miles. There's only one
territorial sea the United States recognizes - that's three miles. We have a
12-mile customs zone, that is, we can enforce U.S. Customs laws within the 12-
mile zone. We have a 200-mile economic zone where we can enforce our
fisheries, but basically there is only one territorial sea and that is the
three-mile sea. But, once the flag state confirms registry of the vessel then
we ask if we can board it. If they give us permission then we can go aboard
and if they won't stop I can use any type of force that I need. Many times,
the flag state that they are claiming will come back and deny that they are
registered in that country, in which case, they become stateless vessels and a
stateless vessel has no legal -
Mayor Suarez: No protection whatsoever.
Admiral Pirelli: (INAUDIBLE) No protection at all, in which case, with a
stateless vessel we can go ahead and use whatever force is necessary,
including disabling fire.
Mayor Suarez: Are there any nations that, right now, typically do not
cooperate when we seek permission to interdict their vessel?
Admiral Pirelli: (INAUDIBLE) No, there are none. Some nations, like the
United Kingdom, we have a reciprocal agreement so that we can board their
vessel. We have been getting in the last year extraordinary cooperation from
some of the countries in the Caribbean. Let me just take a couple of them,
for example, the one the closest to us - the Bahamas. It has only been just
exactly one year that there has been this cooperative attitude on behalf of
the government, to the point now that I can fly my airplane
airport, over the Bahamas without their permission.
Mayor Suarez: Is that a change in the last year?
Admiral Pirelli: (INAUDIBLE) That is a significant change in the last year.
Yes, sir. At this very moment as I talk to you, there are U.S. Coast Guard
cutters with Bahamian people on board in the territorial sea of the
Bahamian country. This is very, very significant in international law and the
Bahamians have also now given us permission that if we do see U.S. - flagged
vessels in Bahamian waters, permission to bring them here to be tried in our
courts. Now that is - I would use the word - astonishing. So that's the
cooperative effort that's going on with the Bahamas now. The country of
Colombia has given me the authority to overfly their country without prior
approval. The Republic of Haiti and the Dominican Republic both given us
overflight authority, not only for the Coast Guard, but for the Drug
Enforcement Administration and Customs to fly and we have to notify them after
the fact. So there is beginning to be, in the Caribbean basin, a cooperative
effort in the war on drugs.
Mayor Suarez: Is it having an effect?
31
February 25, 1986
:s i
^N /0�
Admiral Pirelli: Yes, it is having an effect. For example, Colombia, through
an operation that we have going on right now which involves, by the way, the
United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the Air Force, the Army,
the Marine Corps, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the State Department
and so on - a lot of federal agencies involved. But just within the last two
weeks the Colombian police, with our native coast guard ships blockaded the
coast. The Colombian police have destroyed 280 tons of marijuana and over the
weekend, U.S. Navy destroyer Elron actually seized three ships coming out of
Colombia with marijuana and cocaine. So, yes, we're having an impact. Are we
winning? Well, I don't know - that's judgmental. I would only say that we're
making progress. Now let me talk about inshore for a couple of moments.
Mayor Suarez: The problems are a lot greater inshore for legal reasons that
you can't stop and search any vehicle that you'd like to, any time that you'd
like to, I presume. Or do you mean inshore as the ships arrive?
Admiral Pirelli: (INAUDIBLE) Yes - our Customs waters compared to the sea.
And, again, the uniqueness of the Coast Guard - where the advantage is here -
is the cover of the armed forces and also - you see we have
a unique capability - so, and because the Coast Guard is not bound by the same
laws of search and seizure that the Chief is with vehicles on the land side -
it comes about as a result of the very first continental congress which gave
the Coast Guard that authority Supreme Court, so we
don't have to have suspicions. We can stop any U.S. flagged vessel in our
territorial seas -
Mayor Suarez: Where's the wording of that - do you remember? Is it in the
Constitution?
Admiral Pirelli: (INAUDIBLE) Yes, sir is the specific code
and it's been challenged in the court many times but the court rules that
because of the first Continental Congress also passed the Bill of Rights, they
certainly must have known what they were doing, giving the Coast Guard that
authority. So we have a tremendous advantage in that respect. Now we do work
very closely with Customs and we deal with the local Police Departments,
Metro -Dade, the Florida Marine Patrol and the many Sheriffs agencies up and
down our coast. As I mentioned earlier, it is a very, very difficult area to
try and stop cocaine and marijuana from coming in. Any of you who have ever
been out on the water over the weekend and tried to count how many hundreds of
boats , there's just no way you could stop them all. So, it is
still fairly easy to get cocaine - particularly cocaine, because it's small.
Mayor Suarez: There was a well -advertised effort and a task force created - I
remember the Vice President headed it - what exactly did they do? What are
they doing? What should we ask the Vice President by way of continued help,
or additional help in that regard?
Admiral Pirelli: Well, I head up the Vice President's Task Force here in
south Florida and I am responsible for coordinating the efforts of the federal
law enforcement agencies. What do they do I think the most significant thing
the Task Force has done has been to get the cooperation that the Department of
Defense has - not only in the resources of aircraft and.......
Mayor Suarez: When did that begin? I know the Department of Defense was very
hesitant to get involved in the effort. That was also fairly recent, wasn't
it?
Admiral Pirelli: That's when the Vice President's Task Force started in 1982.
Mayor Suarez: Three and a half years?
Admiral Pirelli: Yes, sir, and I think that's a point that should be made.
We're only three and a half years old and drugs have been around for over 25
years in any significant quantity. The trafficker really has a head start
particularly the infrastructure that he has, but the Task Force -
Mayor Suarez: To what extent did the Department of Defense actually give
resources to help in your work?
Admiral Pirelli: (off mike)
this very moment. I have
24 hours a day
Let me just give you an example I can take at
a federal program now Task Force
Coast Guard, Army, Navy,
32
February 25, 1986
Air Force and Marine Corps people around the clock. Their job is to take the
intelligence coming in from various organizations, including the Department of
Defense, and our national intelligence assets - take that information, to
correlate it with any resource - Navy resource or Coast Guard resource that is
in that particular part of the ocean and marry the two.
Mayor Suarez: So far we've got intelligence gathering and intelligence
cooperation, but what about actual resources in terms of vessels, ships,
planes, whatever? Are you getting those from the Department of Defense?
Admiral Pirelli:
naval ships under
aircraft flying
Oh, yes. I have at this very moment seven United States
my command and I have all throughout the day various
Mayor Suarez: Those did not exist prior to 1982?
Admiral Pirelli: They did not exist prior 1982, no, sir. There was a change
in the law - I'm sure you know this but perhaps others don't know -
prohibits the United States military being involved in law
enforcement activities in our country and I think it's a very good law. The
Coast Guard is not part, again because of our unique situation, we're not
covered by that. But that was part of the reluctance of the Department of -
Mayor Suarez: Well, neither does the Department of Defense, then.
Admiral Pirelli: Yes.
Mayor Suarez: It's not hindered by that, then?
Admiral Pirelli: Well, yes they are hindered, because they cannot be directly
involved with law enforcement activities. Let me explain.
Mayor Suarez: Outside territorial waters?
Admiral Pirelli: (OFF MIKE) It doesn't make any difference, if it's a U.S.
flag. Now, let's take the situation of a Navy frigate or a Navy destroyer, I
put a Coast Guard law enforcement detachment - 5 or 6 men - on that vessel
and, with the Coast Guard people on board, the Navy vessel is just acting as a
platform for the carrying of law enforcement officers. That is within the law
and legal. If we did not have those Coast Guard people on there, the Navy
would not be able to carry out missions. Now, when it comes to
intelligence gathering, as I was saying, all of this, all of the assets of
national intelligence , they are available to me and that came
about as a result of the Task Force. The Task Force was very, very
instrumental in getting a significant increase in the number of judges in
south Florida, and a number of Assistant U.S. Attorneys and was even
instrumental in getting a jail or two built here in south Florida. So there's
been a significant effort made by the feds. May I just mention one other
thing?
Mayor Suarez: Go ahead, please.
Admiral Pirelli: That the Coast Guard is very much involved with the City of
Miami and that's, again, in a law enforcement role, but it's the interception
or interdiction of migrants - illegal immigrants. That's a program that
started, you might recall, in October 1981. At that time it was estimated
that there were about 15,000 - primarily Haitians - coming into south Florida,
and almost totally into Miami - and it was in October of 1981 that the United
States entered into an agreement with the Republic of Haiti where they would
take back any Haitians who were attempting to migrate to the United States -
for economic reasons and not political -
Mayor Suarez: Have you seen - that's a very interesting point - have you seen
any change in the flow of immigrants from Haiti to the United States since the
toppling of the Duvalier regime?
Admiral Pirelli: We ran in 113 last night.
e
Mayor Suarez: Do you yet have a feel for the numbers - whether they will - ?
Admiral Pirelli: The numbers seem to be about the same at this point. I
could give you the numbers over the last couple of years and you'd see a
33 February 25, 1986
r.,
^1�
significant change. In 1982, we repatriated 363 people in one boat. In
1983 - 600 people in 35 boats. In 184 - 1,946 in 69 boats. In 1985 - 3,971
Haitians were returned in 73 boats and, in 1986, so far, 1,104 and 113 we got
last night, in 30 boats. There has not been what I would consider to be a
significant change, particularly since the Duvalier government's collapse.
There's another thing that's putting some pressures on us and that is the
Bahamian government has decided that 20-40,000 Haitians that are over there -
and nobody really knows how many there are - are going to be repatriated. On
Bimini, just this past week - in fact, last Thursday - there were 100 or so
Haitians who were arrested, rounded up and put in jail. Now, that could cause
the Haitians in the Bahamas in trying to move this way. As a result, I have
put more aircraft and I'll put more boats out -
Mayor Suarez: You might mention that to the head of the Task Force, or the
national head of the Task Force, the Vice President, because I mentioned that
to him a couple of weeks ago and he didn't seem to know anything about the
40,000 Haitians that were supposedly in the Bahamas, possibly headed this way.
Mrs. Kennedy: I heard last night that about seven percent are expected to go
back. Does that sound like a reasonable figure?
Admiral Pirelli: I don't know where that number really came from and I don't
know if it's reasonable or not. I do know that I meet fairly frequently with
the Minister for Internal Security in the Bahamas - in fact I'm going to meet
with him on Friday - and one of the topics we always discuss is the Haitians.
And what we would like to see is the Bahamians and the Haitians have an
agreement so that the Bahamians will return the Haitians to their homeland.
You see, it causes a tremendous drain on my resources. Now, it's a very
effective program if you look at it just from the standpoint that even a
percentage of these people that came into Miami were apprehended - you know,
$50 a day and 15,000 people - you're talking about a lot of money that would
have to be provided by the City, the State and Federal government.
Nevertheless, it's a tremendous strain on our resources. I have to have
aircraft flying continuously in the daytime down around the coast of Haiti,
down the Old Bahama Channel and I have at least one ship on station in the
Passage all the time and now, just recently, with the threat of the
Bahamian - the potential influx of Haitians from the Bahamas - I have had to
actually increase the number of patrols of ship and aircraft between here and
the outer islands, west around in the Bahamas. So those are ships and boats
that are not available now for the drug program.
Mrs. Kennedy: You brought up an interesting point. Very few people notice
that the Cubans are political refugees. The Haitians are really economic -
they came here for economic reasons - they're not political refugees, like the
rest.
Admiral Pirelli: That's right. It's a very significant difference that you
point out. Every single Haitian that we interdict at sea is interrogated by a
member of the Immigration & Naturalization Service. We have a creole -speaking
INS agents with us and they interview every single one and ask them that they
make a determination whether they're asking for political asylum or whether
they're asking for economic asylum. And I'll say this for the Haitian people,
they are as honest as can be. Even two weeks ago, when Jean-Claude was
getting ready to leave and we knew that there would be some Haitians who would
be leaving the country because they were seeking political asylum, we had not
one case with a Haitian that was interdicted used that excuse and I think they
could have used it very easily, particularly in those periods of time. But
it's very, very sad - these 113 Haitians were on a 30 foot boat - sometimes
there's 200-250 aboard a 40- foot just at desperation point. There's another
area, too, that maybe not quite as interesting but
the Coast Guard is also charged with port safety and security. But my role in
port safety is to ensure that the port facilities are up to standard insofar
as fire protection is concerned, insofar as markings, and also I work very,
very closely with and with the ship
owners, not only from the safety standpoint but from the licensing standpoint
and also for terrorism. We have contingency plans here in your city for
dealing with acts of terrorism. You know, the port of Miami is the largest
port in the world now for carrying passengers. There are two and a half
million people here go through the port and of course that would include
incidents in the Mediterranean
Environmental protection is another one of our job. We work very closely with
you people and the Miami River people. Some people say that's an impossible
34 February 25, 1986
job, but I think federal
And I just recently, in fact in the last two weeks,
requires now any vessel of a 100 gross tons
me 24 hours advance notice, because it was those
giving us problems on the river.
/�
laws
issued a regulation which
to give
small vessels that were
Mayor Suarez: Do the same interdiction laws apply to a ship or a vessel that
is seized and stopped in the river as stopped outside the river, in the bay.
Admiral Pirelli: Well, yes, the difference, of course, being the procedures
for arrest. Once they're in our territorial waters, they must comply with our
laws and would have to comply to their flag state....
Mayor Suarez: Okay, I understand that. It's actually, then, we have more
room, then, to maneuver and to stop them. We have more ability to stop them
than we do if they're outside territorial waters.
Admiral Pirelli: Of course, the beauty there is you also have the choice of
jurisdictions, too.
Mayor Suarez: It's still maritime jurisdiction, I mean it's still -
Admiral Pirelli: Still maritime -
Mayor Suarez: Still under your -
Admiral Pirelli: But we can go federal or we can go state rules or local
certainly. There was an operation last April which you may recall as "blue
lightning". That involved all of the local police and sheriffs' offices, plus
all the federal agencies that I mentioned and we did actually put up a
blockade here along the coast from Ft. Pierce down to Key West and then the
Coast Guard and the Drug Enforcement Administration - with the United States
Air Force - we did the same thing at Bahamas - it was short, a very expensive
operation, particularly in overtime for the folks not in uniform, but very
worth while and we seized over 5,000 lbs of coke from that 14 days and about
200,000 of marijuana. You see, more a more important point than that was the
first time that we'd ever worked together - that is state and local. It may
sound like a simple thing, but, believe me, it's not - it's very difficult.
Mrs. Kennedy: Mr. Mayor, I've really stretched my time. I think this meeting
is almost over and I think that the African Ambassadors will feel better if
they have a quorum over there, so, with that in mind -
Mayor Suarez: Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you Admiral. I think we ought
to give him a hand for showing up and giving us all this interesting
testimony. (APPLAUSE)
NOTE FOR THE RECORD: Commissioner Kennedy left the meeting at 8:35 p.m.
Mayor Suarez: We have one more regularly scheduled speaker - Reverend Thiele,
are you still with us? And then we're going to give you a shorter amount of
time for the ones that were not previously scheduled. I'm going to give you
two minutes, but, Reverend, take your full ten minutes. We're not too far
behind.
Rev. Karl Thiele: Mr. Mayor, Commissioner Kennedy, Manager Odio, Chief
Dickson and other officials. My name is Karl Thiele. I live at 5911 N.E. 6th
Avenue in the Morningside area. I'm Chairman of the Morningside Civic
Association and I come to you tc, beg, cajole and implore you, as the City
Commission and Mayor, to give the Chief of Police what he needs to fight
crime. And, secondly, to beg, cajole and implore you to do what should have
been done a long time ago in the city and county and that is what the Admiral
has just been talking about - getting some cooperation between the various
groups within the area to fight crime. Commissioner Dawkins said: "We know
crime is everywhere and it's out of hand". And somebody else has said we
don't have any money for it. I would like for the City Commission to make
crime fighting and prevention a priority and I don't think the Commission is
35 February 25, 1986
very serious about that and I want it to be. And so do the people in our
neighborhood. From any sort of indications that we have made within the
neighborhood about crime, burglaries, car robberies, etc., etc., the citizens
want something done. I pay $2,000, almost, in property taxes every year.
Some people think clergy are exempt from that. I'm not. And I'm willing to
spend another thousand to see to it that the people get something done within
this neighborhood and this city to fight crime. And I am willing to support
the police and I would like to see the Commission support the police in what
needs to be done. The second item is the cooperation and coordination that's
needed within this county and city. Commissioner Plummer said the police do a
good job but Commissioner Plummer is also saying that it blames the Justice
Department. I have been in meetings like this, again and again, where City
Commissioners blame judges and judges blame police and police blame etc.
Ms. Hirai: Time's up, Mr. Mayor.
Rev. Thiele: And what I would like to see is what the armed forces has set up
and get the Admiral in charge of it, if we have to, to get some cooperation
between the police, the city and county commissioners, the judges, the State
Attorney, the county and the community to do something about it and let's get
going on it. I don't know what we're waiting for. Everybody claims it's a
priority - let's do something about it. I have a brother-in-law and a sister-
in-law coming to town this weekend. I'm embarrassed to take them out of our
property on to Biscayne Boulevard for fear that they will see what I saw
yesterday morning - a hooker standing in the middle of the Boulevard waving
people down. I'm embarrassed to talk about it. I'm embarrassed to live in a
city like this. I am chagrined and disappointed. I know there are sins that
are worse than prostitution and there are sins that are worse than burglary
and some of them are the apathy that is showed by us as citizens and City
Commission to do something about a serious crime that everybody recognizes.
Mayor Suarez: Reverend, I agree with that. I also have to tell you, though,
that when you say that commissioners blame judges, I want to remind everyone:
we happen to live in one of the few states in the country, I believe from what -
I understand, that still elects judges, and it is the judges that are not
imposing penalties on those prostitutes that I think can be imposed under the
law and has created a situation where they're constantly back on the streets.
And I, for one, will carefully monitor, as I have in the past, but I'll try to
do it more so now that I'm Mayor, judges that do that. And if you will inform
me - and I'm going to ask the Police Department also to keep me informed
because I will oppose them publicly and I will say what they have done with
some of the cases of prostitution and I will oppose them and support an
opponent against them. Very seldom that a judge gets defeated here when he
runs for reelection, or she runs for reelection. It happened once in the last
election. It happened maybe once or twice in about ten years. But the fact
that it happened recently means that we can take umbrage on that and maybe we
can begin creating that situation where it happens more and more so that they
get our message very clearly. And I, for one, will involve myself in judicial
elections coming up, and I hope the rest of the citizens do, too.
Rev. Thiele: State Attorney, Janet Reno, has pledged and promised that she
would see to it that the judges do all within her power to see to it that the
judges prosecute to the full extent of the law. What is part of the problem -
one facet of the problem - is that the Police Department does not have enough
undercover people to get the solicitation arrests against the prostitutes.
The arrests that the City Manager, Odio was talking about, I assume, if we
break down those 522 arrests, that probably a third of them, or less, were for
solicitation which, if a judge gives the full extent of the law to such a
person, I understand the first offence is fifteen days, and the second,
thirty, and the third, sixty - or something like that. And I think judges are
living up to that and we need to support the Police Department so that they
have the proper personnel to be able to do the undercover work that needs to
be done to make it happen. And we'll -
Mayor Suarez: Never heard of that. With all due respect, I've never heard of
a person accused of prostitution getting fifteen days for a first offence from
a judge.
Rev. Thiele: Well, I may be in error there, but that's the kind of thing that
needs to be happening. It's not just arresting the prostitutes in order to
get them into jail overnight or to harass them.
36 February 25, 1986
n
Mayor Suarez: But, of course, the additional problem for the benefit of those
that are here with us tonight is that you have to, for a prostitution
conviction, you have to follow along with the prostitute to such a point that
it becomes ridiculous. I mean, you can't arrest them just for being out there
and being obviously involved in it. And that is because of the vagrancy laws
being shot down by the Supreme Court and this is the kind of thing that
citizens should be aware of - that we have to begin getting the message to
Washington and the message to those that might -
Rev. Thiele: It is our responsibility, Mr. Mayor. Let's us get together like
the armed forces have got together to fight drugs. Let's us, in the county,
state, the police, the judges, the City Commission and County Commission.
Let's us get together and fight it.
Mayor Suarez: Well, we have to fight it at every front, Reverend, and we're
doing our best with the idea of the vans and we'd like to do it also by
changing or amending the laws to the extent necessary to be able to
effectively arrest these people for being obviously doing what you said that
person was doing. Based on what you saw out there that person could not be
arrested. Could that person be arrested, Madam City Attorney, just for being
out in the middle of the street and looking like a prostitute? The answer is
"no", Reverend. That person cannot be arrested for that. That's the state
that we're in and that's what our citizens -
Rev. Thiele: My point is that if the city had the money to support the Police
Department and if the Commissioners give the Police Department the money, that
prostitute could have been arrested the night before by an undercover agent.
Mayor Suarez: What I'm saying is that the job is really made difficult by
some of these constitutional interpretations, that they have to follow along
with the person and be solicited and get involved in the actual exchange of
money and all that just to prove that someone is obviously soliciting when
they're constantly out there. You can tell they're doing it. You can tell
they're doing it. I can tell they're doing it
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (OFF MIKE - INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: And it's not enough to have them out there looking like
prostitutes and obviously acting like prostitutes, unfortunately, under the
law.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (OFF MIKE - INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: Yes, plus that.
Chief Dickson: I would just like to add quickly that
two weeks ago months ago and a lot people who
step out into the street and flag cars we will be able to make arrests.
related to that kind of activity. Well, they can no
longer do that.
Mayor Suarez: Was it the Supreme Court of the state of Florida? The Supreme
Court of the state of Florida shot down a law that said that we could stop
people who were obviously flagging down cars for purposes of prostitution.
Mr. Odio: that's why we came up with the idea of putting a
television camera in a truck, hoping that we would scare away the customers
and maybe they would move away from that area - they would move somewhere
else.
Mayor Suarez: What you saw out there, unfortunately, and sad as it seems, is
not illegal per se. We've got to go much beyond that before we can arrest and
convict someone and, of course, that's preposterous. That's my feeling,
Reverend, and we should do something about that, too, and we are moving in the
area of getting this truck and a camera and we're doing it without asking the
taxpayers for money because we know the condition that the budget is in and
that the administration is in. Let's quickly - the Chief has acceded to
making his own testimony last and I don't know that we can - maybe he didn't
exactly know what he was doing when he agreed to this! Really, we should
break up at nine. I'm going to extend this a few minutes and let the Chief
make his remarks at nine but I'm not going to extend him beyond 9 o'clock so
I'm going to take as many of these as I can and I'm saying them in the order
that they - Skip, did you, were you - ?
37 February 25, 1986
W
Mr. Melvin (Skip) Chavez: No, I wasn't scheduled -
Mayor Suarez: Were you scheduled?
Mr. Chavez: No, Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Suarez: Did you submit one of these to us?
Mr. Chavez: No, I didn't know it was required.
Mayor Suarez: Do you want to make a brief statement? I know you're from the
Chamber and a lot of other things in your activities.
Mr. Chavez: Yes, Mayor. Briefly, we've had a lot of information here -
Ms. Hirai: Your name for the public record, please.
Mr. Chavez: My name is Melvin Chavez. We've had a lot of information, here -
a lot of it between bureaucrats talking about statistics. I think that's
important because that's a reality. I think that - and picking up what the
Reverend was talking about - I think one of the things that's needed is for
all the police - I don't know how many policemen we have - over a thousand -
and there's three hundred and some odd thousand citizens plus other citizens
from Dade County and all of south Florida. I think an effort should be made
to inform the citizens on how they can participate in crime prevention and
some kind of crime alert so that they can respond to the proper authorities so
that they -
Mayor Suarez: Okay, I'm going to stop you right there because you just gave
me a very important idea that I want to ask the Chief about. How can people
become members of the crime prevention - not Crime Watch - I'm talking about
the sub -councils. Sub -councils have IDs. They are people who are expected to
cooperate with our Police Department. They're organized into nine areas of
the city and they are almost, what I'd like to see, which is something like
Coral Gables has - Citizen Patrols. They're almost as formal as that system
and I want to see how people can join.
Chief Dickson: Very simple, Mr. Mayor. Just call the Police Department. The
number is 579-6592 or 6492 and they will direct you to the place to go to
become a member of the sub -council that you belong to in the City of Miami.
It is a very good program for citizens to participate in crime prevention and
target hardening in crime watching.
Mayor Suarez: Approximately how many people belong to sub -councils, now,
throughout the city? A couple of hundred, maybe, at the most?
Chief Dickson: Well -
Mayor Suarez: We have nine.
Chief Dickson: There are nine - eleven sub -councils. We added two more.
Mayor Suarez: Eleven?
Chief Dickson: Eleven, yes.
Mr. Chavez: Chief, that's fine. What I'm trying to say is, whatever we have
in the budget, can the City of Miami, through the Police Department, through
the Mayor's Office, talk to the citizens, through our media, to tell them not
only about these councils but other ways that they can participate in a crime
alert.
Mayor Suarez: That's exactly what
we're doing tonight.
Exactly what we're
doing tonight.
Mr. Chavez: Yes, but we don't have
enough citizens here.
I'm saying -
Mayor Suarez: We certainly notified
them enough times on
the radio -
Mr. Chavez: No, I understand that,
Mr. Mayor.
x `
F
38
February 25, 1986
#�
Mayor Suarez: We sent out letters to every civic association that expressed
any interest.
Mr. Chavez: Through the media, radio, bilingually in whatever language. I
think those other thousands of citizens out there have to be brought in, in
whatever way - it would probably be the least expensive way.
Mayor Suarez: Well, next time we have one of these special sessions, I
guarantee you that we'll do a little bit better in getting attendance.
Mr. Chavez: Thank you.
Mayor Suarez: Otherwise we'll never have another one of these meetings!
Mayor Suarez: Let's go quickly through as many of these as we can get
through. I'm going to limit you to a minute for your remarks - Madam City
Clerk - so stick to a minute and be brief. If you have anything to tell us
that we have already stated, you have heard already, just to emphasize
something, we don't need to hear that. Please state something new that we've
not heard, if you at all can. Jenaro Perez from Miami Crime Prevention.
Mr. Jenaro Perez: Good evening. My name is Jenaro Perez, 120 S.W. 17th
Court. I have been a resident of the City of Miami for twenty years. I have
a question, Mayor. I know that the Miami Police Department is understaffed.
I have heard rumors that there will be some cuts from the police budget. That
is true? Because every day -
Mayor Suarez: Well, we may have some cuts that are forced upon us by the
federal general revenue sharing losses and possibly the Graham Bill
and some other legislation, but I don't think we intend to cut any of the
police budget - at least, in general terms. We might find that specific
personnel - particularly at the high staff positions - may or may not be
needed when someone quits and maybe doesn't have to be, or doesn't have to be
replaced when someone retires. But maybe the City Manager could answer that.
I don't think we have a proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning in
October of 1986 yet.
Mr. Odio: No, we don't. We're working on it. We are looking at the whole
Police Department as a whole - with the Police Chief. Nothing has been
concluded.
Ms. Hirai: Time's up, Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Suarez: I guarantee you, Mr. Perez, that it'll be very difficult to get
through the Commission any substantial cut in the budget of the Police
Department. I guarantee that. But then I'm one vote.
Mr. Odio: I wanted to say that we never will put in jeopardy the safety of
the citizens of Miami. Our priorities are crime fighting and that will not be
affected whatsoever. However, we have an obligation to look at every
department of the city to make sure we don't have any fat and inefficiencies
and we also have 165 police officers behind desks and we need to get them out
on the streets where they belong and put civilians in there and we're in the
process of doing that, too.
Mr. Perez: Mr. Odio, my point is that every day the citizens of Miami demand
more and more and more from our Police Department. I have been a member of
the Crime Prevention for many years. I have been working with them, day and
night -
Ms. Hirai: Time's up, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Perez: My point is this. We should improve our Police Department but if
then the resource that they need to fight crimes, not to reduce the resource.
Mr. Odio: We agree.
Mayor Suarez: I don't think we have any substantial disagreement. Thank you,
Jenaro. Dr. Leonel Alonso - and you don't even have to introduce yourself
because I'm giving the name out and I'm giving your address as 1441 S.W. 12th
Street. Thanks for being here.
39 February 25, 1986
r
Dr. Leonel Alonso: Thank you. I congratulate the Commission and the Mayor
for their effort to bring this kind of meeting to our neighborhood. We are
hoping that we will have another for the future and this is very important for
our community. I - because we have just one minute - I want to state that if
we want to cut very seriously the crime in Little Havana, we need to close the
Park of Domino. We are feeling ashamed of that place and this is a situation
that we need to really stop. There are no possibility to have a peaceful and
decent area street if we continue having the Park of Domino. We were having
several other things for bring today, but because the time, I think we better
stop. Thank you very much, and I congratulate you -
Mayor Suarez: Have you considered, Dr. Alonso, a change in the configuration
of Domino Park where dominoes will still be played there that would not
attract the undesirable elements?
Ms. Hirai: Time's up, Mr. Mayor.
Dr. Alonso: I discuss many times with the Manager, Cesar Odio, about this and
they are really wrong. Our point of view - there are too much possibility
that while we will have the Park of Domino we will have a lot of criminals
there, we will have vandalism, we have a dirty place and that's no good - and
we need to work together to close the Park of Domino. There's no question.
Mayor Suarez: Thank you for your testimony, Doctor. Quiterio Fernandez, 1759
S.W. 5th Street.
Mr. Quiterio Fernandez: I am a Cuban old man. I don't speak English well.
Mayor Suarez: You've done pretty well so far! Go ahead, Doctor.
Mr. Fernandez: (TRANSLATED BY DR. VEGA) He's thanking the Commission. We,
the tenants of Little Havana public housing, are thanking the Commission for
the contribution of the fence that has been erected. This helps, in part, to
avoid robberies. Here we have about one-third of the fence and this permits
the thieves to
Mayor Suarez: Dr. Vega, which fence is he talking about?
Dr. Vega: Two years ago it was in the budget of HUD -
Mayor Suarez: The Robert King High?
Dr. Vega: For thirty thousand dollars fence. Not Robert King High. Little
Havana. Then it started to be erected and the minority company went bankrupt
and the only thing that they had done at that time - it was budgeted in
$30,000 and this fence only had a foundation. Now, two years later, HUD has
put this fence within the budget of the $250,000 for $41,000 - the same that
was before for $30,000 - and they are thanking because you contributed half of
that amount.
Mayor Suarez: We don't get thanked very often, so we appreciate your coming
here to thank us.
Mr. Fernandez: (TRANSLATED BY DR. VEGA) Beside that and the building there
is a room very appropriated for a mini -station that is not occupied by
anybody. And the recreation room we have been verifying the election every
year. We have been well kept.
Dr. Vega: I would like to give a light - to mention to the Commissioners
something very important. There are a lot of young Marielitos that have
gone ... of the bad kind - that have gone there and made in front of the ladies,
immoral acts.
Mayor Suarez: Dr. Vega, we're going to cut you off at this point so that we
can hear from some of the other people as time is drawing short. Thank Mr.
Fernandez for us. Mr. Doug Mayer from 1790 S.W. 27th Avenue.
Mr. Doug Mayer: Yes, sir, I run a crime prevention program for senior adults
and we do crime prevention and victim assistance and what I wanted to talk
about was crime and the elderly here in Miami. It's an issue that I think a
lot of people here in this room are concerned about. In particular, I wanted
to point out to the Commission that seniors are more adversely affected by
e
crime than most of us here in this room. They're going to feel more
vulnerable to crime. They're going to fear it more. I think that if you talk
to a number of the seniors that are here they'll express this fear. They
already have, to a certain extent. That they have a much greater trauma
involved when they are a victim and that we need to be doing more in the City
in taking care of the needs of the seniors in terms of crime prevention and
victim assistance. We need more programs, like the ones that I run, and we
need to be trying to expand those kinds of services as much as possible. We
have some additional commitment from the City in terms of the "Cape" Program.
We have a good police office that's running that, but I'd like to see follow-
through on the commitment from the Chief of Police to give some additional
help to Officer Updegrose so that we can provide some additional assistance to
elderly crime victims.
Ms. Hirai: Time's up, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayer: Okay. Basically, that's what I had to say.
Mayor Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Mayer. Please don't run for Mayor because it
would be really bad to have you "Mayer for Mayor" type slogan, you know, could
really complicate life for me!
Mr. Mayer: Okay, I'll try not.
Mayor Suarez: Is Miriam Canas from the Community Action Agency here? I don't
see her. Lourdes Fernandez, 307 Fairlawn - 307 must be the district, Fairlawn
Elementary School - precinct, rather.
Mrs. Lourdes Fernandez: I live in the Flagami area, 601 N.W. 62nd Avenue.
307 was a mistake of my husband. I do not represent any group. I do not want
to represent a group. I could name a few but I do not want to. I want to
represent the common citizen of the Flagami area. We have, for many years, I
have lived in Miami for almost 39 years. My husband and I both have worked in
that area for over 25 years. We practically - I could say police our area.
We do not see police in the Flagami area. We do not need it at this time, but
we wish we could have something to prevent it from becoming what I hear many
of our areas in Miami have become. We want the Flagami area to be kept clean
for our children. My two children are here. They could tell you what they
have seen when they go to the Fairlawn branch of the library, right next door
to the Fairlawn branch of the library. They have seen prostitution. My
husband drops them off at the branch and they say: "Hey, Papi, be careful
where you go now!" I want to prevent it -
Mayor Suarez: What street, Mrs. Fernandez?
Mrs. Fernandez: Fairlawn branch library - I believe it's 69th Avenue/S.W. 8th
Street.
Mayor Suarez: On 8th Street, okay.
Mrs. Fernandez: Right. I live on -
Ms. Hirai: Time's up, Mr. Mayor.
Mrs. Fernandez: I'm sorry. I live on N.W. 7th Street. That is becoming very
seedy. The cars speeding like it was a highway. My children cannot play in
the front yard because I am scared. My children cannot go out at night
because I'm scared. I'm not scared as the people who live in other areas, but
I went by Coconut Grove Friday night and I saw six policemen in a three -block
area. I have not seen a policeman in my neighborhood unless I call them
because I need them. We need the presence of the police. You're doing a
great job, I'm sure, all of you that are there. You're doing a great job. I
don't blame you. You have more things to do everywhere else but I want to
prevent my area from becoming what others are.
Mayor Suarez: Thank you, Mrs. Fernandez. We're now going to hear from the
Chief and any other officers that he would like to give us information. I
want you to take note that we have carried out a public hearing for the last
approximately two hours and we have not allowed anyone from the city staff or
anyone from the Commission to take up your time. We have heard from the
citizens. We have tried to respond to you and do a little cross-examining,
but the whole idea is to hear from you. There are four or five people who
41 February 25, 1986
signed up to testify today. We were not able to get to you. I will read your
names. If you will contact the City Clerk at 579-6065 you will be able to
have a personal appearance before the Miami City Commission at our next
meeting that we can get you at. The names of the people who we did not get to
are Josephine Martina, 750 N.W. 13th Avenue, Victor H. Flomen, 15481 S.W. 81 -
that's outside the city but if you have something to tell us - I cannot read
the rest of that address. Jose Elio LaBarrieta 9682 Fontainebleau Boulevard -
that's also outside the city limits, but if you would like to speak to us, Mr.
LaBarrieta, just call the City Clerk.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (OFF MIKE - INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: Great, so if you want to, we'll get you at the next Commission
meeting. Antonio Pardinas, home is listed as 1067 N.E. 88th Street, business
as 6830 Biscayne Boulevard.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (OFF MIKE - INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: Did we get it right, sir? We've got two letters from - it's on
Biscayne? How far up north? (APPLAUSE) God bless you!
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (OFF MIKE - INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: Great! Now, we don't have any Commission approval of the
concept yet, but I can tell you that the City Manager and the Police Chief
have told me - at least preliminarily - that they want to try to implement the
concept.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (OFF MIKE - INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: Great! I appreciate it. We do have your letter, sir. I was
just informed by my chief aide on that and we really appreciate it because if
we don't get those offers we'll never be able to implement our plan. The only
other two people we didn't get to are Kathy Gargano at 580 N.E. 52nd Terrace -
are you still here? And David L. Perkins, a news reporter, address listed as
III N.W. 1st Street, second floor. Yes, ma'am.
Ms. Josefina Pardinas: (OFF MIKE) I'm Josefina Pardinas -
Mayor Suarez: Okay, would you call the City Clerk so we know -
Ms. Pardinas: Just a few words I wanted to thank you very much, Xavier
Suarez, (APPLAUSE) I say thank you very much the Chief Police (APPLAUSE)
(INAUDIBLE) I live in this place four months and when I
came real jungle, real jungle and I got out from Cuba
American. I never see nothing like where I live before and now
We can live here better than
Thank you very much.
Mayor Suarez: Thank you, ma'am. Chief, Chief Clarence Dickson.
Chief Dickson: I won't keep you here very long. What I have to say I'll try
to make it as short as possible but, obviously, there are some things I need
to say to bring you up to date and, first, I want to thank you for coming out
here tonight and the patience that you've shown and your contribution and the
recommendations that many of you have made and the fact that you are
interested enough to be here means a lot to the Police Department and to this
Commission and to the Mayor who called this meeting. I would like to get
right to the meat of the issue and to the essence of this issue. First I
would like to sort of bring you up to date a little bit on a very hard issue,
here. In 1985, calls for service went up over 29,000 over the year of 1984.
That means that we responded to 29,000 calls more than we did the year before
in 1984. We did this, I believe, because the citizens of Miami are simply
reporting more crime, as we have asked them to do, through the Crime Watch
programs, the Crime Prevention programs that we have initiated here and the
gentleman was referring to a few minutes ago that we should go out and we
should speak to citizens and tell them how to report crimes and how to
recognize a potential criminal situation when they see one. There's been a
great thrust in this area for the last three years in the Miami Police
Department and, in fact, I think it's working. I think Crime Watch is working
and, as a result of that we have 29,000 more calls for service that the police
had to respond to than we had in the past. That doesn't mean that there are
42 February 25, 1986
29,000 more crimes but 29,000 more have been reported because I believe you
have confidence in your Police Department that something will be done. In a
lot of cities they don't report crime because they don't think anything's
going to be done about it. Also, we talked about the courts. Dade County
Miami officers arrested something like 39,000 people on Part 1, Part 2 crimes.
That's 39,000 arrests on Part 1, Part 2 crimes. Only 14% of that 39,000
actually received any kind of sentencing. What happened to the other
percentage of those people? That's what I'm talking about when we say the
"revolving door" process and something should be done or got to be done about
the people that the police does, in fact, go out and arrest. It's not just
blowing smoke anal blowing smoke rings and wishful thinking. It's a reality
that we have to realize that we're going to have to deal with, one way or the
other. Now, there are programs that we have right now that will be going into
effect very soon and some are already into effect now. But I have a
recommendation, and I discussed this with the Manager, and here is what it is.
Obviously - I've said this over and over again - but, obviously, the court
systems and the Prosecutor's Office and Corrections and all the people who the
police have no control over - and the Judges - obviously, the priorities of
the citizens of the City of Miami are not the priorities of the Courts, the
Judges, the Prosecutor's Offices and Corrections, because what you're asking
the Police Department to do, we are in fact going out and we're doing that.
We are arresting prostitutes, for instance, and it wasn't just one month we
arrested 500 prostitutes, it was the month prior to and, following that, we
were called to a Town Hall meeting - similar to this one - and we were asked
"what are you doing about prostitutes?," Well, 500 arrests is a whole lot
that we're doing about prostitutes. That represents a tremendous amount of
work on the part of the Miami Police Department to try to do the thing that
you are asking us to do. But when we do that and no one else perceives this
as a priority and these people get no time because the jails are full, it's
not the judges' fault either, nor is it the prosecutors' fault, nor is it
Corrections. The fact of the matter is that the jail house is full and it
stays full and the judges reserve any empty space for real heavy, heinous
crimes. And a prostitution arrest is not considered as a real heavy time with
the courts. Loitering and prowling - when we get calls from you in reference
to loitering and prowling, when you know, and we know that the people who you
are calling us about is in fact about to snatch a purse, or hanging around a
corner to mug somebody and we use the loitering and prowling law to arrest
that person, we are, in fact - and you are, in fact - preventing a purse
snatch or a mugging. But the judges, of course, look at a loitering and
prowling as an harassment arrest because they got no record with these people.
That is a crime prevention enforcement oriented kind of arrest that another
gentleman referred to a few minutes ago that we should be doing. The problem
is that these kind of arrests that we use in order to reduce crime in the City
of Miami and these arrests that we use - enforcement that we use - to deal
with the deteriorating community fiber that the other gentleman talked about
just a minute ago about the hole in the ground and the trash in the yard and,
these kind of things, and the loitering that goes on around that, the
defecation and all those things in and around alleys and these kinds of things
that we make arrests on, no one take it serious except the police, because you
take it serious and you tell us that you want us to do something about it, and
the pressure is upon us to do it and, in fact, we go out and we try to do
those things that you want. So what is the answer for this? There are
several proposed answers for this. One is the mini -stations, which might
help. I think also that what would help would be a (APPLAUSE) - well, I think
also that one of the things that the Police Department needs to get the kind
of help that we need so that our effort and manpower is used - the way it's
used now - will amount to some good, is to establish in the City of Miami a
municipal court system and a municipal jail that will service the City of
Miami Police Department so that we will have somewhere to put these people and
keep them for a while when we are out there trying to accomplish your
priorities. If we had a municipal jail that serviced and provided jail space
for the people that we arrest so we will not be dependent upon the county, the
state or the federal system. We will be able to be masters of our own destiny
as far as quality arrests in the city to bring about the kind of peace that
you are asking us to bring about, so, therefore, with a municipal jail,
municipal judges who will consider your priorities as they relate to
prostitution, derelicts, panhandlers, sleeping on private property, drinking
on the street, cursing, all these things that are municipal ordinances that no
one else cares about except you. We can then begin to receive some quality
results based on the kind of quality arrests that you are asking us to go and
do. Otherwise, when we make these arrests right now - let's face it - no one
is taking it serious except you and your Police Department and your City
43
February 25, 1986
Fathers, and that's the end of that. No one else really cares. Now, how can
we do this? The Police Department have what we call a Law Enforcement Trust
Fund. I believe that we could build a jail - and this is how I talk - I'm a
humanitarian - I don't like to do folks wrong and I don't like to see people
go to jail and all this, but, folks, we do need a place to put these people.
And, through the Law Enforcement Trust Fund monies, without money coming out
of the taxpayer's pocket, through the money that we confiscate from drugs and
drug -related vehicles and things like that that we take, it goes into a fund
for the police to use for crime fighting purposes. Well, to put criminals
away for a while is a crime -fighting purpose. Maybe we can, in fact, look
into this. The Mayor - and I spoke to the Manager today, as I said - maybe we
can, in fact, build our own municipal jail, put our own judges there to take
care of our priorities for a change and the jail may very well be self-
sustaining because when they pay the fine that will go back into the system
and it still may not be a burden on the taxpayers. Now, that is one drastic -
that's not a small measure I'm talking about - that's a drastic measure that
I'm talking about now, but it can be done - I don't see why not, unless there
are some problems that I have not anticipated, nor the City Attorney who's
looking into this now. The other thing is the programs that we have going
which are of a preventive nature and since we talk to you very often, citizens
of the City of Miami, you should be aware of this one - that is, the
Communication Base program in the senior citizen centers. Now, it was
mentioned a few minutes ago that some city had a program of mini -stations in
some of the senior citizen centers that provided civilian volunteer help.
Well, actually, we are about to implement such a program now in the 28 centers
in the City of Miami - senior citizen centers. Those, for all practical
purposes, are, in fact - can be - called mini -stations because they provide
the same kind of service that was alluded to a few minutes ago by
Philadelphia. You will have, in the senior citizen centers, radio
communication directly with the Police Department. You will be able to talk
to us. You will not have to call the complaint room and wait and give your
name and all that sort of stuff. You'll be able to talk plain English to the
Police Department or speak plain Spanish to the Police Department and we'll
understand and ycu can say basically what you want to say to us and tell us
exactly what's going on locality. This is being put
together now and I would like to see this completed within the next three or
four months at least and that is something There'll be
a training program involved in this and you'll be able to report crimes
report crimes now. I will leave agenda
because we really don't have time to go into that.
Mayor Suarez: If you could at least give the people who are here some idea of
how you are feeling about this. I know that Officer Longuiera and yourself
have expressed support for the concept. In fact there is even at least one
map drawn of how they might fit in with the substations and complement the
main station downtown.
Chief Dickson: Okay. Joe, are you here? Very quickly speak about ten,
fifteen minutes -
Mayor Suarez: Forty-five seconds!
Chief Dickson: Very quickly, Joe, would just give them a quick rundown of the
mini -station where we are in the stage of planning.
Mayor Suarez: Let me just give you a recap, before you hear Officer
Longuiera. We have also told you tonight - and take note of the things that
we think we have accomplished to date. I have told you about the possibility
of having - the probability, really, of having - two vans donated to the city
that will be patrolling the areas where prostitution is most prevalent. And
this will go on-line very quickly if all goes well. I have told you about
monies that we're going to try to find for youth gang intervention and I will
later tell you about mini -station offers that we've got, so we're attacking
crime in all of its manifestations and I think we've made probably as much
progress in the area of storefront mini -stations as any other area.
Sgt. Joseph Longuiera: The Police Department has been looking at the mini-
station/substation issue that I know, personally, for at least five years.
Chief Dickson asked us to review this again recently and we are preparing a
report for the Chief on this issue. The concept of mini -stations must be
computed as part of the total plan to deliver police service to the community.
At the present time, the Miami police provides services from one central
44 February 25, 1986
single city facility downtown and a mini -station in Overtown. As part of the
1984 Miami Police Headquarters Crime Facility Fund Bond, we are developing
plans for the constructions of two substations, one each in Liberty City and
Little Havana. The city has many individual neighborhoods, each with their
own distinct characteristics, perceptions and needs. The residents
in these neighborhoods decide on police
presence and police community interaction to combat crime to cement personal
relations and trust in the Police Department. The Miami Police Department has
explored the viability of police mini -stations as an addition to
present service. Some of the facts that bear on the problem are: mini -
stations give us a pertinent police visibility and community relations are
favorably affected by neighborhood- located facilities. The two substations
that we are in the middle of planning toward will employ 160 personnel in
Liberty City and 221 personnel in Little Havana. These personnel will be
directly stationed in those substations in the communities. the
mini -station concept place emphasis on benefits which include approval for
achievement of the Miami police in a community. They provide a greater public
convenience and improve the citizen's perception of the quality of service
they receive. They provide both adults and juvenile members of the community
in informal interaction facilitating community involvement in participation
with the Police Department. It's no longer just a victim 1 police role. It's
a community and police role.
Mayor Suarez: Officer Longuiera, do you and the Chief foresee that it we get
the mini -station sites and if we get them implemented that - who would man
these? This is a concern of a lot of people. I know a lot of my fellow
Commissioners are concerned about the expenditure. Are we talking about
volunteers, public service aides? How are we going to try to - ?
Sgt. Longuiera: The Miami Police Department would like to recommend
establishing the mini -station facility itself, inside the building, with
citizen volunteers -
Mayor Suarez: Those would be like the ones at senior centers and stuff like
that.
Sgt. Longuiera: Yes, or we have identified up to eleven mainly business -
oriented strips that could utilize a mini -station.
Mayor Suarez: Where are those business strips - just so that people here can
have an idea where we would place these? And that's what we need. We need
the locations to be donated. We have approximately five offered sites, but we
need to f ind more and if you tell them where the strips are that we need to
find locations in that would be helpful.
Sgt. Longuiera: On N.E. Biscayne Boulevard from 51st to 79th Streets.
Mayor Suarez: We have the offer already on that one from Mr. Antonio Pardinas
and it's quite an interesting and beautiful site, actually, where I think it
will work out quite well.
Sgt. Longuiera: The Little River community, Little Haiti - along 54th Street,
the Miami Design District -
Mayor Suarez: We're working on that. I met with some of the representatives
and they're trying to get us a site that we can out there.
Sgt. Longuiera: Allapattah - the area of 17th Avenue and 36th Street, the
Wynwood neighborhood preferably close to Clemente Park -
Mayor Suarez: We've got an offer on - it's close enough to Allapattah - on
27th Avenue and 15th Street N.W. - Sergio Vidal Cairo, President Grand Realty,
Inc. of Florida.
Sgt. Longuiera: South Little River -
Mayor Suarez: Is it south Little River - N.W. 15th doesn't make it across the
river - on 27th Avenue? It's Portofino - it's immediately south of the river.
We'd like to get one north of the river, which is a little bit more needed.
Sgt. Longuiera: East Little Havana - either on 8th Street or Flagler Street,
east of 12th Avenue.
45 February 25, 1986
3,*
W
Mayor Suarez: Would you consider that even if we had the permanent -
temporary, permanent, whatever you call it - trailer at Domino Park? Or does
that take care of that need for the moment?
Sgt. Longuiera: That takes care of that need. Flagami - considered Flagami
because the downtown area. Mainly there we're looking to
Flagler Street and S.W. 8th Street, 42nd Avenue west of 57th. The black
Coconut Grove area - and Douglas and possibly the business Coconut
Grove area and possibly one downtown.
Mayor Suarez: We've got an offer of more than one site - two sites - from
Nathan Rock downtown - so that would take care of that. I wish that Thelma
Gibson had stayed around so we could tell her about Grand Avenue, underneath
there, so she could start shopping around for one. In that new project that
she's building I'm going to ask to see if she would be willing to allow a
mini -station to be located there.
Sgt. Longuiera: I believe they voted on something this week, one on Grand,
just east of Douglas, in Coconut Grove.
Mayor Suarez: Great. And we have the offer from the people in the Chamber
that use the Glass House in Coconut Grove - Peacock Park - I just don't know
that that's an ideal location because I don't think there's that much
happening around there in comparison to other places.
Sgt. Longuiera: The Police Department feels that the citizen participation of
volunteers is a key factor in this. We've spent a lot of time researching
Detroit Police Department. They have 55 mini -stations in Detroit and they're
adding five more. Every mini -station is staffed by civilian volunteers in the
structure. There's policemen that come in and out of the building all day
long and work that area on foot, but the people that sit there from nine in
the morning till nine in the evening are civilian volunteers which saves us
resources to put uniformed policemen on the street.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (OFF MIKE INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: In addition to all the mini stations that he has mentioned, the
City will have two substations, major substations - one will be located, we
just stated - is that the correct address - 10th Avenue/62nd Street. And the
other one at this point is going to be right around 22nd and Flagler. We also
have offers from the county to lend us their various centers; specifically,
Israel Milton wrote this letter to me offering 204 square feet at the Human
Resource Center on 3750 South Dixie Highway, which is fairly visible and
fairly close to commercial and residential areas that are affected. 160
square feet in Wynwood would be at the Maria de Jostas Wynwood Center, 2902
N.W. 2nd Avenue, which also a fairly critical area. Edison West Little River
Center at 150 N.W. 79th Street. I think that could be a pretty interesting
one - 240 square feet - so we've got those additional three offers from the
county to use for facilities.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (OFF MIKE INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: Well, we won't be able to put them on storefront mini -stations,
but people can be held there temporarily until they can be transported
downtown, surely.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (OFF MIKE INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: I have an offer here also from Dr. Maurice Fox for a site at
606 West Flagler Street. That's an interesting one, and I want to note all of
those and make sure we get them around with the exact addresses.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (OFF MIKE INAUDIBLE)
Mayor Suarez: The substations are - yes, we have problems with the idea, but
we, of course, work with the state in the holding and detaining of prisoners.
The substations work with the mini -stations. That's an interesting concept
that everyone should understand, and these are storefront type mini -stations.
They're not supposed to create any expense for the city. We have got an
offer - besides the space - of a major company in the City of Miami - Ryder
Corporation - to donate additional monies and resources and I plan to use that
46 February 25, 1986
to get the desks and the other equipment that we need in these storefront
mini -stations. Thank you, Officer Longuiera, for your work. I think the
people of Miami are very happy to see that you've moved so far along.
(APPLAUSE) Thank you, Chief Clarence Dickson, for your visibility, for your
interest, and I want to mention that we have other high-ranking officers that
I have not introduced: Assistant Chief Mahoney - you see him back there -
Colonel Zamora, who heads the Patrol Division of the entire Police
Department - did I say that wrong? Colonel Jim Berg, Major Boyd, Major Diaz -
did I leave any majors or colonels out? I had previously introduced some of
the other Assistant Chiefs who were here. All of these people are here
because they want to. They are not being paid. They're beyond the classified
positions so they don't get paid overtime, as I don't, but I just wanted to
thank all of you for your participation - Mr. City Manager, all of the staff
who are here (APPLAUSE) - and to tell you very briefly, because, again, we did
not make this one of those situations where we have the Mayor and the
Commissioners making all kinds of statements. We want all of you to know, as
Reverend Thiele said, that we will continue to fight crime and all of its
manifestations. We will push for police presence in our streets, with walking
beats, mounted police, whatever it takes so that criminals become more afraid
than we are, frankly, and begin to retreat in this war against crime that we
should have in Miami, will have in Miami. I will push, personally, and I know
the Commission will back me - I hope they will back me - for more support for
our police in terms of higher pay. They're without a contract - they've been
without a contract for how many months now?
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (OFF MIKE) Five months.
Mayor Suarez: We have the head of the Union, here, Ken Nelson. Five months
they've been without a contract. We will push for higher pay for the police,
as opposed to some of the other city employees whose jobs are not as strenuous
or as risky and not as important to our city. We will continue to push for
mini -stations. We have not given up the fight. I will personally guarantee
you my own personal involvement in any effort to stop crime, including going
out to the scene when you see something happening. You know that you can
reach me when sometimes you can't get hold of me, you can get a hole of Margo
Diaz. We will go to the scene of the crime and we will try to do something
about it personally. That's the extent to which we're committed to stopping
crime in our city. We're patrolling as much as we possibly can. I initiated
my own patrol the other night in the Coconut Grove area and I hope to do it in
other parts of the city, so criminals better be aware of our commitment to
this effort. And, finally - last, but not least - to changing the laws -
federal, constitutionally - whatever it takes so that we have support for our
police officers. It is not right, it is not fair that they go into court,
that they obtain evidence - particularly against drug dealers - evidence that
is obviously valid evidence, whether it was obtained with the right search
warrant or not, with the right informant, or whether the informant was
credible or not, the fact of the matter is they get real hard contraband, real
hard evidence and the court throws it out, and then turn around to these fine
officers and give them a hard time about it. They say you didn't follow
procedures - in some cases even chastise them, criticize them and insult them.
Any judge that does that - and I guarantee you this - I will personally oppose
his candidacy. I will endorse his opponent, as I have done in the past in the
case of one judge - and, believe me, it worked because he's no longer there.
And I hope that I have your support in the future for doing all of these
things. Thank you for attending here tonight.
47 February 25, 1986
ii � W
THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE CITY
COMMISSION, THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 9:35 P M.
ATTEST:
Matty Hirai
CITY CLERK
Walter J. Foeman
ASSISTANT CITY CLERK
Xavier L. Suarez
M A Y O R
48 February 25, 1986
T
I V Ph ��!lAMI
DOCUMENT
NDEX
MEETING DATE
FEBRUARY 25, 1986
°r.