For the first time in 10 years the Miami Beach Police Department is changing their hiring practices and may soon require new recruits to have a four-year college degree and be at least 21.
In a letter sent to Mayor Philip Levine and the city commission Monday, City Manager Jimmy Morales laid out the new hiring practices.
Under the changes, the minimum age will raise from 19 to 21, and a high school education will no longer be enough for a candidate.
The new policies will allow the "ability to attract and hire a more diverse pool of potential police officers" and "the potential to employ individuals who are more mature as a result of their age," Morales wrote.
A candidate who doesn't have a college degree but has three years of military experience with an honorable discharge will also qualify.
Police chief Dan Oates and the personnel board unanimously passed the new policy, which will be considered by the commission.
In addition, the department is hiring a 10-person class of candidates with no prior police experience, which also hasn't been done in a decade. For the past 10 years, the department has hired only trained and certified officers, mostly from other agencies in Florida.
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While the practice has saved the department money, there have been challenges in retraining the officers, Morales wrote.
"The disadvantage has been that these officers come from other agencies that have varying policing models, approaches, training and cultures than what may be required or most suitable for Miami Beach," Morales wrote. "While the majority of these officers have performed well, there have been some breakdowns and performance failures that have led to serious discipline, terminations and embarrassment to the department."
The department has faced several scandals in the past few years. In 2011, an officer who was legally drunk on duty took a woman on a joyride on an ATV on the beach and ran over two people, badly injuring them.
In August 2013, a teen graffiti artist died after he was shot with a Taser during a police foot chase. The death prompted changes to how Miami Beach officers are allowed to use their Tasers.
And earlier this year, it was revealed that more than a dozen Miami Beach Police officers used their official email accounts to send racist and pornographic emails.
