HomeMy WebLinkAboutExhibitCITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA
INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM
TO
Johnny Martinez, P.E.
City Manager
Manu 1 Orosa
FROM` Chie of Police 1
March 12, 2013
DATE :
SUBJECT:
REFERENCES
FILE :
Miami Police Department Staffing
Levels
ENCLOSURES:
During the February 28, 2013 City Commission meeting Chairman Marc D. Sarnoff requested that
my Office build upon our existing research and inform the Commission about the Miami Police
Department's staffing level in terms of our sworn officers per 1,000 inhabitants and visitors.
Chairman Sarnoff also requested that we provide a recommendation as to how many sworn
members the Miami Police Department should employ. I present the following report for your
review.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
With a residential population of 406,385, the City of Miami is the 44t-largest municipality in the
United States. In comparing the City of Miami with cities of residential populations between
300,000 and 750,000 (the 62n' and le largest cities in the United States, respectively), the City of
Miami's Police Department is understaffed in several respects: its ratio of sworn officers per 1,000
inhabitants; its ratio of sworn officers per 1,000 inhabitants, workers, and visitors; and its staffing
level with regards to its violent crime (murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) rate. It is my
recommendation that as a short-term goal, the City of Miami Police Department's sworn budgeted
strength grow to 1,244 (i.e., 100 sworn members above our current budgeted strength) in order to
better address violent crime in the City. As an intermediate- to long-term goal, I recommend that
the Miami Police Department's sworn budgeted strength grow to 1,360.
ANALYSIS OF MIM[ POLICE DEPARTMENT STAFFING LEVELS
The Miami Police Department currently employs 1,067 sworn officers, a rate equal to 2.6 sworn
officers per 1,000 inhabitants. You may recall that using the methodology in the RAND
Corporation's study, Hidden in Plain Sight: What Cost -of -Crime Research Can Tell Us About
Investing in Police (2010), we could reasonably forecast a 2.8 percent Part I Crime decline in
Miami if we were to increase the Police Department's sworn strength by 100 officers (from 1,144
to 1,244).
When deciding how to adequately staff a police department, ratios of sworn personnel per 1,000
inhabitants only tell a partial story. In The Effect of Police on Crime: New Evidence from U.S.
Cities, 1960-2010 (2011), University of California - Berkeley researchers Aaron Chaffin and
Justin McCrary point out that American police departments with populations over 100,000
typically employ 1 sworn officer for every 4 violent crimes taking place annually within the city.
Johnny Martinez, P.E. Page 12
City Manager
Chaffin and McCrary also point out that the abovementioned police departments typically employ
1 sworn officer for every 24 property crimes taking place annually within the city. As it pertains to
our ability to handle property crimes, the Miami Police Department is adequately staffed, but we
are significantly understaffed in terms of our ability to properly address violent crime (See
"Findings" and "Recommendation" for more information.). According to Chaffin and McCrary's
methodology, violent crime is reduced by 4 percent, and property crime, by 2 percent for every 10
percent increase (and vice versa) in a police department's sworn force.
The City of Miami is the 44a'-largest City in the United States, in terms of residential population.
Daytime population, a figure which only takes into consideration the number of persons who live
and work within thecity limits, does not take into consideration visitors and tourists. According to
Forbes.com, Miami is the fifth most -visited metropolitan areain the United States, attracting 38.1
million visitors per year. Aside from our year-round attractions, professional sporting events, and
nightlife, the City of Miami attracts :massive crowds for events such as the Calle Ocho Festival and
the Ultra Music Festival, which draw close to a million persons and 170,000 persons, respectively.
While such events and attractions are staffed by "off -duty" police officers, the officers only work
the event itself, leaving the Miami Police Department's an -duty resources to provide police
services to those who visit our City as they commute to and from the event, stay in hotels within
our City limits, and enjoy other attractions within the City limits.
Taking the abovementioned data into consideration, 1 now provide the fallowing as a response to
Chairman Sarnoff's inquiry as to the number of sworn officers per 1,000 residents, workers, and
visitors in the City of Miami and a recommendation as to the number of sworn officers 1 believe
the City of Miami should employ.
METHODOLOGY
In order to compare the City of Miami Police Department's staffing needs with that of its peers,
i.e., police departments serving large American cities with residential populations between 300,000
and 750,000 (the 62nd and 18th largest cities in the United States, respectively), we analyzed the
following:
• Daytime population (residential population, minus residents working outside the city limits,
phis non -city residents working within the city limits),
• Violent crimes reported in 2011,
• Staffing ratios of sworn personnel per 1,000 inhabitants,
• Staffing ratios of sworn personnel per 1,000 in terms of daytime population,
• Staffing ratios of sworn personnel per 1,000 in terms of daytime population, plus 15
percent and plus 30 percent (in order to account for major events and the visitors those
events attract),
• The percent difference between the cities' residential and daytime populations, and
• Sworn officers employed by each agency the variance between the actual number of
officers employed and "adequate" sworn strength, as defined by the 1 officer for every 4
violent crimes.
Johnny Martinez, P.E. Page 13
City Manager
We also compared the City of Miami with the police departments of the 10 largest cities in the
United States, using the same methodology mentioned above.
Also, please note the following:
• The cities of Honolulu (HI), Las Vegas (NV), and Louisville (KY) were excluded from
the City of Miami's peer group because the cities are policed by large metropolitan police
forces, whose jurisdiction spans several cities.
• The City of Chicago (IL) was excluded from the comparison with the 10 largest cities in
the United States, since their violent crime reporting is not in compliance with federal
standards. The City of Jacksonville (FL), the 11t-largest city in the United States was
included in the "top ten."
FINDINGS
Daytime Population and Visitors to the City
Within our peer group of 42 cities, Miami's daytime population is 37.3 percent larger than our
residential population (557,815, versus 406,385). Only five other cities within the peer group
experience a larger increase from their residential to daytime populations (Washington, D.C., 71.8
percent; Atlanta, GA, 62.4 percent; Tampa, FL, 47.5 percent; Pittsburgh, PA, 41.3 percent; and
Boston, MA, 41.1 percent). Both Miami and Tampa employ 1.9 sworn officers per 1,000 persons
(daytime population). The other aforementioned cities employ between 2 and 3.6 sworn officers
per 1,000 persons (daytime population). Given Miami's status as a "most -visited" city and the
major events that we host (as mentioned earlier), it would not be unreasonable to assume that at
any given time, we could accommodate 83,000 to 166,000 visitors (increases beyond our daytime
populations of 15 percent and 30 percent, respectively). Under such conditions, the Miami Police
Department's sworn force per 1,000 inhabitants, workers, and visitors is reduced to 1.7 and 1.5,
respectively.
In comparing Miami to the 10 largest cities in the United States, the percentage differential
between Miami's residential and daytime populations of 37.3 percent is, by far, higher than the
percentage differential for the 10 largest cities.
Adequately Addressing Violent Crime
As mentioned above, Chaffin and McCrary's research demonstrates that American cities with
populations over 100,000 typically employ 1 sworn officer for every 4 violent crimes taking place
per annum within their respective city limits. It is in this regard that the Miami Police Department
is significantly understaffed. With 4,849 violent crimes reported in Miami in 2011, the Miami
Police Department is understaffed by 145 sworn officers, according to Chaffin and McCrary's
measure. The Miami Police Department would need to employ 1,212 sworn members in order to
meet the 4:1 ratio of violent crimes to sworn officers. We currently employ 1 sworn member per
4.54 violent crimes. In relation to our peer group, the Miami Police Department is in the bottom
quartile. If it is our goal to be in the top 50th percentile of our peer group, the Miami Police
Department would have to employ 1,360 sworn officers.
Johnny Martinez, P.E. Page 14
City Manager
Among the 10 largest cities in the United States, each employs a number of sworn officers that
exceeds the 4:1 ratio of violent crimes 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 34,542.
Within our peer group of 42 cities, the City of Miami's violent crime rate is the 9ta-highest, with
1,193 violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants and the 17th-highest among cities with residential
populations over 100,000. Among the 10 largest cities in the United States, only Philadelphia's
violent crime rate per 100,000 inhabitants exceeds Miami's.
RECOMMENDATION
As a short-term goal, I recommend that the City of Miami increase the Police Department's
budgeted sworn force from 1,144 to 1,244. As I stated in my December 20, 2012 memorandum,
the increase of 100 sworn members would come at a cost of $7.3 million in salary and fringe
benefits only. An increase of 100 sworn members would make the Miami Police Department the
first city in Florida with a residential population over 100,000 to staff its police department with
over 3 officers per 1,000 inhabitants. It would also bring Miami's violent crime to sworn officer
ratio to 3.9:1, and according to the RAND Corporation's methodology, lead to a 2,8 percent
decline in Part I Crimes.
As an intell iediate- to long-term goal, I recommend that City of Miami increase the Police
Department's budgeted sworn force to 1,360, which represents an increase of 216 to our current
budgeted sworn force. Such an increase would come at a cost of $15.8 million in salary and fringe
benefits only. An increase to 1,360 sworn officers would place Miami in the top 50th percentile in
terms of violent crime staffing within our peer group.
MO:ara
cc: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
Johnny Martinez, P.E. Page 15
City Manager
REt'ERENCES
Chalfin, A. & McCrary, J. (2011). The Effect of Police on Crime: New Evidence from U.S. Cities,
1960-2008. Retrieved from http://www.escholarship,org/uc/iteml9pcOr9hg
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2011). Crime in the United States [Data file]. Retrieved from
http://wvvw.f hi. gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u. s/201 l /crime-in-the-u. s.-2011
Forbes.com. (2010). America's Most -Visited Cities. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.coml
2010/04/28/tourism-new-york-lifestyle-travel-las-vegas-cities^slide 7.html
RAND Corporation. (2010). Cost of Crime Calculator [Data file]. Retrieved from
http://www.rand.org/jie/centers/quality-policing/cost-of-crime.html
RAND Corporation. (2010). Hidden in Plain Sight: What Cost -of -Crime Research Can Tell Us
About Investing in Police. Santa Monica, CA: Heaton, Paul.
United States Census Bureau. (2013). Daytime Population [Data file]. Retrieved from
hLtp://www.census.gov/hhes/commuting/data/daytimepop.html