| | | | | | | | | TO: | Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee Members |
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| FROM:
| Alina T. Hudak, City Manager
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| | DATE: | March 23, 2022
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| | SUBJECT: | DISCUSSION REGARDING THE UTILIZATION OF MOBILE ARREST-PROCESSING CENTERS TO DECREASE THETIME 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.
The item was discussed at the September 2021 NQLC and subsequently placed on the December 09, 2021, Commission Agenda as a second referral to NQLC. |
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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. It is suggested that a 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. Evidence collection occurs on scene; however, evidence processing occurs either in the Department’s Crime Scene lab or at the Miami-Dade lab. A detainee can only be transported by a sworn law enforcement officer and the Department uses civilian crime scene technicians, so the vehicle cannot be multi-purposed.
Considerations
The current environment and climate have made on-scene processing more difficult as every arrest requires time to properly document. When possible, the initial arrest affidavit can be completed on scene as to avoid the officer having to leave their assigned area and respond to the station to complete the necessary paperwork associated with that lawful arrest. At other times, and due to security and safety concerns for the officer and the arrestee, as well as to limit the chain of evidentiary custody and protect evidence from cross-contamination, the arrested parties should be immediately removed from the area of initial detention. Officers must also man increasing security concerns outside of their vehicles to deter any potential attacks and being overwhelmed by potentially unruly crowds which could in turn pose a threat to all the parties on scene and any recovered evidence. As such, having a mobile arrest and evidentiary processing vehicle would work against the officer’s ability to use discretion and move from the arrest location to a safer venue to complete the arrest process. Therefore, 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 concerns which could in turn increase the time spent on a given call.
Additionally, an increased emphasis is placed on the proper management of custodial chain of evidence and prisoner property infield processing. The longer evidence is kept in the field, the more problematic it becomes to holding the chain of custody and accountability. The chain of custody and removal of property and criminal paraphernalia at a crime scene is sensitive and specific in its handling and must be limited as required by law. 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 either secured for processing or, if not evidentiary, be 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 rather than decreasing it.
It should be noted that the Miami Beach Police Department currently uses mobile prisoner transport vehicles that enables an arresting officer to transport a detainee directly to the Department’s temporary holding facility or to TGK and safe. The prisoner van is currently deployed daily when staffing allows, and it is placed strategically in the busier parts of the city. In recent times the Department has deployed the prisoner van in the ADCD to deter the congregation of persons who might become involved in criminal behavior. The Department have had great success in the deployment of the Prisoner Transport Vehicle and will continue to evaluate its placement to better serve the officers on the road. This has also saved numerous work hours by having the Prisoner Transport Vehicle readily available for use. |
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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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