What to Know
- The city commission’s vote makes Miami Beach the first city to authorize officers at public schools within the county.
- The city will be fulling funding the coast for officers at the six schools in their area.
In the latest move aimed at keeping students safe, police officers will be stationed at all public schools in Miami Beach at the start of the new school year, the city announced Wednesday.
The city commission’s vote makes Miami Beach the first city to authorize officers at public schools within the county, according to a press release. It is currently unclear how many officers will be assigned to each school.
“It is our hope that dedicated law enforcement will be integrated into the fabric of the school community, and be a positive, reassuring force for our youth,” Mayor Dan Gelber said in a statement. “We look forward to protecting the sanctity of our local public schools through this partnership.”
The city will be fulling funding the coast for officers at the six schools in their area – South Pointe, North Beach and Biscayne Elementary, Feinberg Fisher K-8, Nautilus Middle and Miami Beach Senior High.
“School and student engagement with police departments facilitate problem-solving, crime prevention, and critical dialogue related to appropriate student behaviors and to campus security and safety,” said Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who attended the commission meeting.
“The partnership with the Miami Beach Police Department demonstrates our continued mission of providing a safe learning and teaching environment for students, teachers, and staff," Carvalho added.
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“We already spent $50 million in safety and security in Miami-Dade. So, $10 million basically reduces the liability but does not fully cover, so we depend on partnerships,” said Carvalho.
As part of the safe schools plan, Miami-Dade County public schools has hired 100 additional resource officers, limited entry points at schools, installed cameras, improved communications systems and hired additional mental health personnel, among other measures.
Carvalho hopes that other cities will follow Miami Beach’s lead and they will be able to reach agreements with other municipalities if there are police officers in every school in Miami-Dade before the beginning of the next school year.
