Spotlight
Kimberly Caruso: New Police Commander for Downtown
Born, raised, and educated in Miami, Commander Caruso has always had a strong love for her community. Though she has been with the Police Department since early in her life, she affirms, still loves it as much as the day she started.
Before her assignment to Downtown, Commander Caruso spent close to a year in charge of policing the Edgewater neighborhood. “She is personable,” an Edgewater community leader observed, “but tough. We can all agree that is a winning combination for law enforcement.”
Her area of expertise is Traffic Enforcement and Crash Investigations, for which she is well respected throughout South Florida. A useful skill to have coming to Downtown Miami, a place known to have not few traffic related issues. For example, observed James Torres, President of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance, DNA, “turning our streets into parking lots for shared-rides and food and other deliveries. Another dangerous issue is speeding up and down Biscayne Boulevard and Second Avenue, despite the fact that many families with children and seniors live along these arteries. It is not unusual for cars to exceed 40 miles per hour going through the Wolfson Campus of MDC.”
An introductory breakfast
The Downtown Neighbors Alliance invited Commander Caruso and Downtown News for an introductory conversation over coffee. One issue discussed is the continuation of the beat-officer program that Chief of Police Many Morales and Commander Regueira instituted. Downtown residents and small businesses asked for the presence of uniformed police officers walking the streets. The presence of uniformed police officers not only has been a potent crime deterrent, but it also helps officers become part of the community.
Commander Caruso agreed on the importance of beat officers, and community relations, in maintaining an open line of communication. “We have many residents in the area, and we want to participate in community events that bring the growing downtown population together. We want to work with the local businesses. I am more of a door to door talk to people…”
James Torres: Have you thought about meeting with small businesses? See what their ideas are, their concerns?
Commander Caruso: We can definitely work on that over the next month or two. Their concerns are different from residents’ and must be taken into account.
James Torres: I have always said local businesses are an intricate part of the community. We want to keep revenue dollars here in Downtown, and by sharing with residents which businesses are here — business that residents might not be aware of — and what they have to offer, we can help keep residents from crossing the bridge to Brickell or going to Edgewater.
Commander Caruso: You can’t isolate residents from other stakeholders. In January, when the COVID numbers went up, we did a wellness event in Margaret Pace Park (Edgewater), and invited local businesses so residents got to know the officers. That’s something we can do here as well.
Downtown News: Some business owners have complained to us that when they call to report an incident, their calls go unanswered, or police officers take hours to come.
Commander Caruso: I have not talked to them. I am not sure where the disconnect is… But if there is a disconnection, that’s a Communications Department issue. But I must say that whenever a call is entered an officer is going to respond. Also, I can tell you from history that people say, oh, I called, but there is no record of a call for services at all. Again, I don’t know if there is a disconnect or people are simply not calling. An officer has the responsibility to respond. Now, it’s not going to be answered the moment the call is received because officers have to prioritize the level of the emergency. If the officers are busy in the area, and Downtown is a big area, they can’t respond immediately if it’s not an emergency.
Downtown News: A prevalent issue in Downtown, both for residents and small businesses, is related to the homeless population. Many homeless individuals have mental problems. Taking that into consideration, sometimes it’s hard to dismiss an incident simply as a nuisance instead of an emergency. Entering a restaurant to ask customers for money, for example, can easily escalate into aggressive behavior.
Commander Caruso: Homelessness is a very complex issue. We can’t criminalize people just because they are homeless, and there are laws we must observe. Pottinger very much has dictated policing the homeless…
James Torres: Let’s get some clarification here, when a call for help comes, does it go to the Resource Officers assigned to Downtown?
Commander Caruso: The Neighborhood Resource Officer is support personnel, he or she is really an after-the-fact support not an emergency contact. If residents or businesses have an issue that needs immediate response, they need to call the emergency number, 911. I get emergency calls sometimes, and I tell people, you need to hang up and call 911. We are here to follow up. If you had a problem with something that happened yesterday, we will follow up. Again, it’s a matter of priority. If there is a violent crime or accident, that’s going to take precedence over a legitimate but not immediate complaint. If it’s a non-violent issue, it’s going to get a lower classification versus an incident where there is violence involved. A burglary in progress is going to trump a regular disturbance call. In other words, reggaeton playing too loud in a boat is no match to a burglary in progress, unless the loud music is the background for a violent crime.
James Torres: What do you see as the most pressing law enforcement issues in downtown?
Commander Caruso: Looking at the scope of what we had in the past, Biscayne Boulevard is an issue. Traffic, and noise abatement. The doughnuts that were happening in the past. Homeless issues. Breaking into garages and stealing bikes, motorcycles… Domestic violence.
Commander Caruso has been on the Downtown beat for only one week. The answer might change after two months on the job. For now, the President of the Neighbors Alliance, DNA, summarized the brief talk into a warm: Commander, welcome to our Downtown neighborhood! And reminded the public to call whenever they witness an incident. “Our Police Department needs statistics to make more resources available. Keeping our streets safe is the responsibility of residents too.”
