| | | | | | | | | TO: | Neighborhood and Quality of Life Committee Members |
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| FROM:
| Alina T. Hudak, City Manager
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| | DATE: | September 20, 2021
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| | SUBJECT: | DISCUSSION REGARDING THE UTILIZATION OF MOBILE ARREST-PROCESSING CENTERS TO DECREASE THE TIME POLICE OFFICERS SPEND AWAY FROM THEIR ASSIGNED AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY. |
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| | | | | | | | HISTORY:
| | Commissioner Steven Meiner placed a referral to the Neighborhood and Quality of Life Committee (NQLC) on the July 28, 2021 City Commission Meeting agenda to explore the use of Mobile Arrest-Processing Centers as a time-saving mechanism that, by allowing an officer to remain at his/her assigned area of responsibility, could increase the Miami Beach Police Department’s presence, visibility, and productivity. |
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| | | | | | | | ANALYSIS
| A Mobile Arrest-Processing Center is a vehicle that can mobilize to a scene of an arrest to carry out preliminary activities. The Mobile Center can carry out fingerprinting and the processing of evidence and documents on location and later transport a subject to a dedicated holding facility.
Considerations
While it is true that every arrest made requires an officer to spend a considerable amount of time carrying out the booking process at the Police Department and away from the streets, it is important to note that the proper processing of an arrest cannot remain in the area of initial detention due to security and safety concerns. The current environment and climate have made this even more difficult as officers must then also man security concerns outside of the vehicles to deter attacks and being overwhelmed by crowds. Therefore, policy usually dictates that arresting officers should place the arrestee immediately into a patrol vehicle or a prisoner van for transport \back to the Department holding facility. The use of a Mobile Arrest-Processing Center in a tourist and entertainment-driven city such as Miami Beach, therefore, while attractive in theory, could pose additional problems which could in turn increase the time spent on a given call.
Additionally, the custodial chain of evidence and prisoner property in field processing is a sensitive activity because the longer evidence is kept in the field, the more problematic it becomes to holding the chain of custody and accountability. As the Department is accredited through CALEA, it is bound by strict adherence to the standards established for the handling, receipt and storage of evidentiary property. All evidentiary property must be stored within designated, secure areas with access limited to authorized personnel. Security measures must be established for high value and sensitive items, such as monies, drugs and firearms, and evidentiary property must be sealed and stored individually without any chance of cross contamination.
A mobile room or command van, therefore, requires a very secure site that will accommodate the contraband and personal prisoner property with dedicated Property and Evidence Division personnel manning the station. This personal property must at some point be brought back to the main station so it can be processed and transported with the prisoner as they make it through the holding facility to the main jail. This in turn requires the use of additional personnel and officers to secure and process on location which could increase the overall processing time of any given arrest instead of decreasing it.
It should be noted that the Miami Beach Police Department currently uses a smaller mobile prisoner pickup that enables an arresting officer to release the prisoner for processing at the location of arrest when deemed appropriate and safe. The Department will focus on enhancing and ensuring that the Prisoner Van and personnel have the proper access to necessary platforms and the resources to complete basic property transactions on location when possible and appropriate. |
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| | | | | | | | CONCLUSION:
The Department is appreciative of the City’s and community’s support in increasing the efficiency of its daily operations with tools and resources. At this time, however, the Department does not feel that a mobile arrest processing center would increase officer time in the field and may, on the contrary, present new challenges to policing, especially within the Art Deco Cultural District and South Beach areas.
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| | | | | | | | | Is this a "Residents Right to Know" item, pursuant to City Code Section 2-14? | | Does this item utilize G.O. Bond Funds? | | | No | | No | |
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| | | | | | | | Strategic Connection
| | Neighborhoods - Prevent and solve crime for residents and visitors. |
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