MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - The Mayor of Miami Beach proposed an ordinance Wednesday calling for a crackdown on crime, specifically in bars along the beach, in order to make the city safer for everyone, especially tourists.
Mayor Dan Gelber made the proposal at city hall to put uniformed off-duty Miami Beach Police officers in Ocean Drive bars that stay open past midnight in the entertainment district.
“We’re going to work on it over the next 30 days,” Gelber said.
Commissioners support the idea, but the issue will get taken up again in the next several weeks.
“I personally love the idea of the community policing more,” said Commissioner Michael Góngora.
“In my opinion, it’s needed to supplement the existing effort that’s there,” said Miami Beach Police Chief Richard Clements.
7News spoke with Gelber Tuesday night, asking how he’ll pay for the increased security at the bars.
“The bars will pay for it,” Gelber said. “Once you get into the wee hours, it feels like it’s just not as safe as it needs to be.”
When asked if people believe they can do as they please when they come to Miami Beach, whether they’re locals or from out of town, Gelber replied, “I think at times, especially late at night, there’s this confluence of, ‘This is a party, we’re gonna do stuff that we might not do at home.'”
In an email to Miami Beach residents, Gelber wrote that whenever crime happens in the city, tourists are usually the victims.
“Less than 2.5% of our residents were the victims of crimes last year,” he wrote.
“The reason most of the crimes are tourist is because there is 15 million visitors and only 92,000 residents,” Gelber said, “so any crime that happens in our city is more likely going to occur on that huge number of people. Virtually everyone who comes here and leaves comes without anything happening to them.”
Whether it’s problems in the streets or in the sand, Gelber said police are working to keep crime down beach-wide.
He said tourists who come to Miami Beach with money in their pocket, sometimes without knowing the language or their surroundings, can be targets.
“Don’t come to our city to do what you wouldn’t do in your own home,” Gelber said.
Representatives for business owners on Ocean Drive said they would prefer police presence to be only for a few days a week rather than seven days a week.
“Seven days a week? We calculated it out, it’s about $160,000 a year per officer,” said Ceci Velasco. “Too much money.”
They also propose that city officials do the same for other parts of the entertainment district, from Washington to Collins Avenue and other spots that attract big crowds late at night.
The proposal has been done before.
“The historical issue around off-duty is that it was, for the most part, suspended from the Ocean Drive area back in 2014 due to an incident that occurred there,” said Clements.
The incident involved a sergeant on detail that was seen chugging drinks, flashing a gun and vomiting while at Mangoes.
The sergeant was initially suspended but has since been reinstated.
The proposal will get taken up again in January, as bar owners figure out how they’ll pay for the services of off-duty officers.
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