Miami Dade County seeks a cure for localized crime

As the fourth largest school district in the state of Florida, Miami Dade County held a bulk of crime incidents reported on school grounds.

During the 2012-2013 school year, Miami Dade schools were host to the most battery, breaking and entering incidents, robberies, trespassing and vandalism incidents in the state. That year, 68 percent of Miami Dade’s total breaking and entering incidents and 46 percent of all reported vandalism crimes took place in Dade County schools. In addition, 35 percent of robbery cases, 28 percent of reported fighting and 21 percent of in school tobacco usage also took place in Miami Dade public schools.

Dade county also found itself at a high crime rank with incidents involving personal property theft and motor vehicle theft, reporting 37 percent of the cases in Florida for that school year. Of the schools involved, Palmetto had the fifth most incidents that year.

“As security monitors we move around a lot on a daily basis. Once kids know we’re set in a specific place, they won’t try to vandalize property. We also check bathrooms every period to make sure no one is skipping in there or defacing the bathrooms,” security guard Donny Martin said.

On the county level, safety measures have increased since the stabbing incident at Miami Killian Senior High this past April. Dade county school police officers now conduct random metal detector checks and schools across the area have installed supplementary surveillance cameras. The police staff in Dade county consists of over 100 officers who are trained in crisis intervention and remain as on campus safety resources to students.

“I think it is a very good thing that we have reliable school security who roam the halls,” senior Melanie Smith said. “No one really knows when something bad will happen, so it is reassuring to know that we have constant back up.”