Thursday, November 4, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
South Miami: More Efficient and Prepared Individuals in all Positions in Order to Reduce Crime
By DIEGO PARRA/NELSON HERNANDEZ
In a survey conducted by students from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Florida International University, residents in South Miami listed crime as their main concern. With such a high instance of crime in such a small population, these concerns have made their way to the upper levels of the city government.
Neighborhood Scout, a website that provides crime statistics from cities across the country, indicates that South Miami has a crime index of three, which means that 97 percent of the cities in the United States have a lower crime rate per capita than the City of South Miami (only taking reported crime into consideration).
Crime statistics show rising instances of burglary, auto theft, as well as drug-related crimes. The increase in the number of homicides from 0 in 2008 to 6 in 2010 is attributed to an increased presence of drug traffickers and dealers in the area.
For Mayor Philip K. Stoddard, who was elected last February after campaigning for one month, the situation is unacceptable. Stoddard says crime is rising visibly, but statistics don’t show the complete spectrum.
“Crime is not being reported properly because people are afraid of reprisal,” Stoddard said.
Stoddard says that there are three types of offenses that are hardly being reported, including general property crimes, narcotics trade and white collar crime. Problems started under former Chief of Police Robert Richardson.
Now, after a lengthy search process, another former police chief, Orlando Martinez de Castro, is taking back the position he vacated in 2003.
“New police chief Martinez de Castro is going to bring back effective law enforcement to the city and I think he is going to bring back honor to the police force and responsible conduct,” Stoddard said.
Stoddard says the rise in crime is not just an issue of law enforcement. He believes that corruption in the commission is also part of the problem.
Commissioner Velma Palmer said the recent appointment of Hector Mirabile as the new city manager on October 8th was unacceptable. She said the process was “dirty,” since she did not have sufficient time to review the qualifications as presented and she was omitted from the selection process.
Commissioner Palmer says the state attorney was supposed to tally the results for the election by using a consulting firm (the Mercer Group). Instead, the commission never sent those results and went ahead to tally them themselves. She said that this was just bad politics and decided not to be part of the process by not attending to any of the meetings.
"The process was tainted from the beginning," Palmer said.
Mirablie reacted to Palmer’s criticism by making clear that the background check performed was extensive.
“I’ve been checked by municipal, local, state and federal governments, so I feel that it was done properly,” Mirabile said.
Commissioner Brian D. Beasley responded to Commissioner Palmer's comments by pointing out Mirabile's credentials.
"Hector Mirabile is a retired military who served for 30 years. He also has been a police officer for more than 25 years and he has been working for the city for more than 30 years," Beasley said.
Mirabile has his hands full with the number of crimes in 2009 totaling 1,024, a very high number for a population of only 10,939 inhabitants. There is also an increase in homicides, attributed to the rising narcotics trade. It is an issue both the city manager and mayor acknowledge and say is being addressed.
The city’s complex population, coupled with the rising tide of drug violence and in-fighting among commissioners and the revolving-door selection process has given way only recently to a restructuring and solidifying of staff.
Mirabile’s agenda includes increasing police enforcement and enlarging the availability of social programs in order to mitigate the problems. He also said that by partnering with adjacent cities, it will be possible to reduce the city’s crime exposure.
Stoddard also said that a large part of his agenda is to make sure that by providing better, more efficient, and prepared individuals in all positions; the city will enhance its infrastructure and function better across the board.
In a survey conducted by students from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Florida International University, residents in South Miami listed crime as their main concern. With such a high instance of crime in such a small population, these concerns have made their way to the upper levels of the city government.
Neighborhood Scout, a website that provides crime statistics from cities across the country, indicates that South Miami has a crime index of three, which means that 97 percent of the cities in the United States have a lower crime rate per capita than the City of South Miami (only taking reported crime into consideration).
Crime statistics show rising instances of burglary, auto theft, as well as drug-related crimes. The increase in the number of homicides from 0 in 2008 to 6 in 2010 is attributed to an increased presence of drug traffickers and dealers in the area.
For Mayor Philip K. Stoddard, who was elected last February after campaigning for one month, the situation is unacceptable. Stoddard says crime is rising visibly, but statistics don’t show the complete spectrum.
“Crime is not being reported properly because people are afraid of reprisal,” Stoddard said.
Stoddard says that there are three types of offenses that are hardly being reported, including general property crimes, narcotics trade and white collar crime. Problems started under former Chief of Police Robert Richardson.
Now, after a lengthy search process, another former police chief, Orlando Martinez de Castro, is taking back the position he vacated in 2003.
“New police chief Martinez de Castro is going to bring back effective law enforcement to the city and I think he is going to bring back honor to the police force and responsible conduct,” Stoddard said.
Stoddard says the rise in crime is not just an issue of law enforcement. He believes that corruption in the commission is also part of the problem.
Commissioner Velma Palmer said the recent appointment of Hector Mirabile as the new city manager on October 8th was unacceptable. She said the process was “dirty,” since she did not have sufficient time to review the qualifications as presented and she was omitted from the selection process.
Commissioner Palmer says the state attorney was supposed to tally the results for the election by using a consulting firm (the Mercer Group). Instead, the commission never sent those results and went ahead to tally them themselves. She said that this was just bad politics and decided not to be part of the process by not attending to any of the meetings.
"The process was tainted from the beginning," Palmer said.
Mirablie reacted to Palmer’s criticism by making clear that the background check performed was extensive.
“I’ve been checked by municipal, local, state and federal governments, so I feel that it was done properly,” Mirabile said.
Commissioner Brian D. Beasley responded to Commissioner Palmer's comments by pointing out Mirabile's credentials.
"Hector Mirabile is a retired military who served for 30 years. He also has been a police officer for more than 25 years and he has been working for the city for more than 30 years," Beasley said.
Mirabile has his hands full with the number of crimes in 2009 totaling 1,024, a very high number for a population of only 10,939 inhabitants. There is also an increase in homicides, attributed to the rising narcotics trade. It is an issue both the city manager and mayor acknowledge and say is being addressed.
The city’s complex population, coupled with the rising tide of drug violence and in-fighting among commissioners and the revolving-door selection process has given way only recently to a restructuring and solidifying of staff.
Mirabile’s agenda includes increasing police enforcement and enlarging the availability of social programs in order to mitigate the problems. He also said that by partnering with adjacent cities, it will be possible to reduce the city’s crime exposure.
Stoddard also said that a large part of his agenda is to make sure that by providing better, more efficient, and prepared individuals in all positions; the city will enhance its infrastructure and function better across the board.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
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