For the past three years, the Miami Beach Police Department (MBPD) operated under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Miami-Dade County School Police (MDCSP) to provide officers for the six public schools in the City of Miami Beach. In parallel, MDCPS worked to increase their numbers to staff those six Miami Beach schools. For the 2021-2022 school year, MDCSP has indicated they are able to meet this responsibility, and one MDCSP Officer will be permanently assigned to each of the six public schools on Miami Beach.
The Department realizes the value of developing and maintaining relationships between community police officers and students. For this reason, MBPD has also created the School Liaison Officers program as a means to enhance the positive impact police officers can have on student life. This program will therefore dedicate three full time MBPD School Liaison Officers to our schools in addition to the six MDCSP Officers already present.
The School Liaison Officers will work closely with the individual school’s police officers, teachers, students, administration, and PTAs, and will create programming regarding concerns that police officers are uniquely qualified to address. Topics will include (but not be limited to):
- Calling 911
- Substance Abuse
- Gun Safety
- Road Safety
- Internet Safety
- Crime Prevention
- Health and Wellness
- Bullying
- Peer Pressure
The first weeks of school can prove challenging due to traffic pattern changes as parents and buses drop-off and pick-up children and with children walking or riding bicycles to school. To ensure the safety of everyone and to maintain the flow the traffic in and around the school zones, the MBPD's Community Affairs Unit - to include Neighborhood Resource Officers, Beat Officers, School Liaison Officers, Crossing Guards and Patrol Units - will deploy as necessary to assist all schools during their first two weeks.