MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – There have been a lot of questions over the last few months about crime in Miami Beach, especially on South Beach, which is why an important meeting was held to discuss what the Miami Beach commission can do to curb it.
Just recently, Miami Beach witnessed the senseless murder of Dustin Wakefield, a tourist eating with his family when a man, who says he was high on mushrooms, came up, shot, and killed him.
There have also been unusual issues during spring break, with people out on the streets fighting and frustrating a lot of residents living there.
Furthermore, there was also the recent Miami Beach Police-involved incident, when five officers were charged with battery after the rough arrests of two men back in July.
Video showed officers kicking one man in the head and punching the other in the face, among other things because, allegedly, one of the men hit an officer with a scooter.
This is why officials met onThursday to discuss their options for fixing these issues.
Some of the things discussed were increasing the visibility of police, pushing for more aggressive prosecution of people who are arrested, and even exploring their options for appealing when charges are dropped against those people.
Miami Beach Commissioner Steven Meiner sponsored two of the items they discussed at the meeting.
“Talking to anybody in law enforcement has always been the key. A high level of visibility and police officers out on the street interacting with the community,” says Meiner. “We have a very good police force, but we need to do it more. We can do it better and have that level of visibility that people know they’re not going to come here and violate our laws.”
Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez even spoke with commissioners about how the county can help.