SURFSIDE, Fla. – Police in Surfside are looking into several suspicious incidents after residents said they believed a prowler was casing their homes.
On Saturday, a resident reported a frightening situation to police, telling them someone was in their backyard in the middle of the night.
Officers said the same suspect was checking out two homes.
“He came from that end all the way here and all the way to the window,” one resident is seen saying in police body camera footage obtained by Local 10.
Police say they are taking this very seriously.
“We are seeing in these individuals walking around, riding bikes or looking for bikes to steal, as well,” said Surfside Police Department Chief Henry Doce. “The good thing is that the commission has authorized me and approved to hire more officers, to get them staffed up, so we want to make sure we enhance our patrols and enhance our staffing.”
Six new officers will be hired, he said.
Currently, there are 30 officers in the department, and the difficulty of attracting good candidates is not just a Surfside issue.
“We can’t find good candidates because nobody wants to do this job anymore,” said Doce. “It’s very concerning because it could be a confrontation that could happen between a homeowner and a resident or between an officer and a subject. This is very concerning. We need to make sure we address this immediately.”
In the coming weeks, more officers are expected on the streets as the department hopes to prevent another situation like this one.