MIAMI – Jorge Colina has been appointed as the new chief of the Miami Police Department by city manager Emilio Gonzalez.
Colina will be sworn in Jan. 26.
"Chief Rodolfo Llanes highly recommended Jorge Colina as his successor. The fact that he served as Assistant Police Chief in all the divisions makes him extremely qualified and well-rounded to lead the Miami Police Department," Gonzalez said in a statement.
Colina began his law enforcement career in the Miami Police Department in 1990.
He has earned multiple awards and over 100 commendations during his 27 years of service and has served in numerous executive positions, including neighborhood commander of the Coconut Grove NET area, commander of Tactical Operations and commander of Internal Affairs Section.
He was appointed assistant chief of police in 2015.
Colina said his top priority will be cracking down on gun violence.
"When you live in a place as beautiful as Miami, you shouldn't be afraid to go outside, and I want to help change that," Colina said.
Colina hopes to also increase transparency among the police department and the community and utilize community partnerships.
"My style is a hands-on approach," he said. "I don't want to be in the office. I know I'm not going to have a choice a lot of the time, but ideally, the more often that I am able to be outside of the office with the officers on the street and interacting with the community, building those relationships to leverage into, the more success. That's going to be my intent."