KENDALL, Fla. – Miami-Dade Police are putting safety measures into place with a crime initiative that they announced Friday, but it wasn’t just law enforcement that appeared at the press conference at Dadeland Mall.
Newly elected County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava began the conference stressing the importance of safety approaching the Thanksgiving holiday.
“The only way to secure all of our economy is to protect our health,” she said.
She provided safety tips, such as eating outdoors and wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Then it was time for the Miami-Dade police to talk about crime prevention and what they are planning on doing to deter spikes in crime that happen around the holidays.
“During this initiative, uniformed and undercover officers will conduct surveillance at high visibility patrol’s throughout our community,” Freddy Ramirez, director of Miami-Dade Police Department, said.
Ramirez stressed that efforts will be focused around major shopping centers.
“Unfortunately, this is a time of year when bad actors seek to commit crimes,” he said.
Law enforcement is advising the public to be vigilant and to be good neighbors and look out for one another
“Don’t be afraid to say something if you see something that does not seem right,” Captain Jaime Nunez of Miami-Dade Police Department’s Homeland Security Bureau said.
Ramirez had a message for the bad guys.
“This is not the time to be taking advantage of people when we’re fighting a pandemic and a lot of people are suffering.”
He wrapped things up with a warning to potential grinches looking to ruin people’s holidays. “Think of the children right now that they’re hoping to have some sort of normal holidays. The kids who can’t even go to school and for people to come and try to take advantage, we’re not gonna tolerate that. We will be out here working together to assure that does not happen,” Ramirez said.
Police remind shoppers to lock their vehicles and keep valuables hidden to not tempt thieves with items left out in the open.