HomeMy WebLinkAboutSubmittal-Commissioner SarnoffFrom: Marc Sarnoff [mailto:msarnoff@salawmiami.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2013 11:05 AM
To: Orosa, Manuel (Chief of Police); Martinez, Johnny; Regalado, Tomas (Mayor)
Cc: Westall, Lynn; 'armandoaguilarjr@miami-police.org'; Bravo, Alice; Cabrera, Luis; Nelson, Ron; Plasencia, William;
Goldberg, Daniel S.
Subject: FW: CBS4 Investigates: Miami -Dade Gun Violence
Chief:
I will be addressing your recommendations from the dais tomorrow, I would urge you to ask for a
midyear amendment to the Police budget to from the Commission authorization to immediately hire
50 certified police officers. You (understandably) have taken officers from other districts and placed
them in the North District, which has experienced significant shootings. This has resulted in diminished
police officers in other Districts (I am not arguing over minimum staffing I am saying strictly by
measuring what was there before is not what is/was there now).
Your March memorandum which surpasses your December memorandum very capably lays out that
Miami has the lowest staffing per thousand of any police department with a City of over 100,000
residents. In fact when considering Miami's swelling day time population the number of sworn officers
per 1,000 inhabitants is as low as 1.5 Police officers. (Bear in mind that New York employs 4.2,
Philadelphia 4.3, Baltimore 4.7, Atlanta 4 per thousand) It equally evidences that Miami staffing ratio
to violent crimeis 1 officer for every 24 violent crimes, when other comparable Cities in America with
populations over 100,000 show 1 officer for every 4 violent crimes (see: The Effect on Police on Crime:
New Evidence form the U.S. Cities, 1960 to 2010 [2011],-University of California Berkley researchers
Aaron Chaflin and Justin McRay). As you so capably stated: "Among the 10 largest Cities in the United
States, each employ a number of sworn officers that exceeds the 4:1 ratio of violent crime to sworn
officers. The City of New York police Department, for example would have to employ 12,802 officers in
order to meet the 4:1 ratio. Instead, they employ 34,452."[sic] ,
Your recommendation is to grow from 1,144 budgeted officers (which we have never met) to 1,360 or
net gain of 216 (only placing Miami in the 50th percentile of our peer group Cities) officers in order to
address the violent crime in Miami as you know I support this increase and have been calling for a net
increase of 300 officers. This intermediate increase in 50 officers would allow you to quickly ramp up
the department while you are employing your surge in the Northern District, shortening the reduction
in the other Districts. Even assuming that you were to stop the surge you would then be able to reduce
Part I (violent) Crimes as you so capably concluded. One part of the solution is not to solely rely upon
overtime for officers, as you know if you couple the officers OT with off duty we will have one
overstretched and overtired Department
Please review the CBS4 report it contains some interesting statistics on the who and where of violence.
I know that you love this City as much as I do, I simply want to see us progress for all and not risk any
regressions.
Please consider this before our meeting tomorrow morning.
Marc Sarnoff
The Chair City of Miami
Commissioner District 2
SUBMrrTEo UTO THE
PUBLIC RECO D FOR
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