Seeing more cops in Miami Beach than usual? You’re not crazy. Here’s why
Miami Beach will be seeing a lot more red and blue lights Saturday night, as the city’s police department saturates the Entertainment District with police.
At around 7 p.m., Miami Beach police initiated Operation Safe Streets, a new initiative to address street level crime.
“This is a back to basics police work operation where we are addressing the myriad quality of life issues that our residents and visitors have brought to our attention,” Capt. Daniel Morgalo said in a video announcing the start of the operation, which he is leading.
On foot, bicycle and cruiser, more police staff are hitting the pavement.
Uniformed and undercover officers, code enforcement and the homeless resource unit are a few of the divisions Miami Beach police have set-up in the Entertainment District to address the issues of citizens, Miami Beach spokesperson Ernesto Rodriguez said.
“The ultimate goal isn’t necessarily arrests, but high visibility,” Rodriguez said. “Our main thing is to make sure everyone is safe.”
As of 9 p.m., 11 arrests have been made and a man and woman have been placed in a homeless shelter for the night. While police could not say what all the arrests were for, three are narcotics related and occurred in the area of Ninth Street and Collins Avenue.
There is no set end time for the operation, so it could last well into the night.
Several other operations like this can be expected over the next few months, Rodriguez said. No specific dates are set, but they can be expected to happen on different days and times.
Police aren’t sure yet if other districts and neighborhoods in Miami Beach will be getting the same type of operation, as “other parts of the city have different needs.”
This story was originally published November 16, 2019 at 8:33 PM.
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