At the January 31, 2024 City Commission meeting, at the request of Commissioner David Suarez, the Mayor and City Commission approved a Resolution (C7 AC) directing the Miami Beach Police Department (“MBPD”) to return to the February 21, 2024 City Commission meeting to present a comprehensive recommendation and plan for addressing the full-time staffing needs for the upcoming Real-Time Intelligence Center ("RTIC") project.

The item was discussed at the February 21, 2024 City Commission meeting and referred to the April 19, 2024 Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee (“FERC”) meeting for further discussion. The item was not reached.

The temporary Real-Time Intelligence Center (RTIC) has been actively operational since November 2023. The Department appointed the first Real-Time Crime Specialists in January 2024 and a second specialist is currently being recruited. A bid waiver for the acquisition of the technical equipment for the RTIC was approved by the City Commission in January 2024 and is now in the process of being procured and purchased.

The members of the Technical Operations and Crime Analysis Unit developed an initial Concept of Operation based on the operational needs of MBPD in alignment with best practices among the many site visits to various agencies by the Technical Operations team and the empirical research conducted by the Crime Analysis Supervisor.

In preparation for the FY 2025 budget development process and pursuant to Commission direction, the Department has evaluated staffing options and is recommending a phased approach to fully staffing the RTIC. Phase One includes existing positions already in the budget for 2024 resulting in no immediate budget impact. Phases Two contemplates a proportional expansion of coverage to a second shift. In addition to the civilian operational and analytical staff, the Department also recommends each shift be led by a sworn Sergeant as well as one Police Lieutenant to function as the Unit Commander and supervise all three (3) RTIC Sergeants and administrative functions of the Unit. These sworn positions have the greatest budget impact and can be scaled proportionally as each Phase of growth is implemented.

Phase One – the Department recommends beginning with the currently funded positions of Real Time Crime Specialist. Currently, MBPD has funding for two (2) Real Time Crime Specialists and would benefit from additional funding to recruit four (4) more specialists. These will be the primary operators of the RTIC as daily operations scale up. The Department will assign the personnel to work a modified days/afternoons schedule covering the most active time periods for police calls for service as the first phase of RTIC staffing, most likely on an 11:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. schedule (based on a 10-hour/4-day schedule). This may be augmented from time to time by sworn personnel on light or restricted duty until they are cleared for full duty. The reasoning for a phased approach originates in the extensive research conducted by Technical Operations and the Crime Analysis Units. They reported a common theme among the crime centers that were studied which centered around the idea that flexibility is required as the crime center develops.

Phase Two - Adding a second shift of four (4) Real Time Crime Specialists. This allows expanded hours of operation to mirror the days/afternoons Patrol Division Shifts. The Department believes this is the ideal staffing level to maintain as they evaluate and analyze operational results. This level of staffing allows the Department to cover the most active times of day and have enough personnel to cover special events with overtime on a 24-hour basis as necessary. In addition, it aligns RTIC Operators with existing Patrol shifts. The Department recommends RTIC Operators attend Patrol Roll Calls in an effort to position them as an integrated part of the team. This daily collaboration among patrol officers and RTIC operators provides an opportunity to discuss strategies and techniques that are working and those that are not, as well as keeps the RTIC Operators informed of operational priorities by Patrol shift commanders.

The Department is recommending each RTIC shift be led by a Police Sergeant who would supervise daily operations and fill-in as necessary. A Police Lieutenant is recommended as the Unit Commander to supervise the RTIC Sergeant and perform the administrative functions of the Unit as needed.

Budget allocations should contemplate continuing education for RTIC staff including membership in the National Real Time Crime Center Association ("NRTCCA") and attendance at expositions, trade shows, training conferences and/or conventions where staff can expand their knowledge and awareness of cutting-edge technology and best practices.

This phased staffing plan is provided entirely as a recommendation for consideration by the Committee and the Mayor and Commission and will require funding discussions as part of the Fiscal Year 2025 budget process. Any portion may be considered independent of the others and is designed to be scaled by the shift and with the possibility to stop expanding after any phase if it looks like optimum performance has been reached.

The Administration is recommending a phased staffing approach with fiscal impacts considered during the FY 2025 budgetary process. The proposed staffing approach includes strategies to ensure full-time coverage to support the efficient monitoring and operation of the Real-Time Intelligence Center.