In a series of recent articles in several local newspapers, Council member Barry Blaxberg has leveled a list of accusations against the Village Manager the Pinecrest police department and me. I would like to respond, point by point, so residents may determine if Blaxberg's accusations are fair and accurate.

Accusation #1: Blaxberg has accused the Pinecrest police department and the Manager of "falsifying crime statistics", "deceiving residents about crime" and hiding "a number of crimes which are not reported to the public".

Response: How are crime statistics obtained? When a police officer arrives at a crime scene, he or she investigates and then prepares a handwritten report stating what the officer believes has occurred. This report states the exact category of the crime and the statute number of the crime. Then the sergeant on the shift reviews the report, and sends it to the recording clerk to be inputted into the crime-tracking computer program.

The only time a crime is reclassified is if the alleged crime, after investigation, turns out to be different than the police officer perceived. For example, an officer arrives at a home and discovers a car with a broken window; no one is home to give a report. The officer does not know whether something was taken from the car and therefor classifies the crime as vandalism. Later, the homeowner advises that a briefcase was taken from the car ­ the crime is then reclassified as burglary ­ auto or theft.

All Part I crime reports (homicide, manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, auto theft, larceny and arson) are referred to our detectives, Joe Shepard and Carlos Villanueva, for further investigation. At this point in the preparation of the crime report, a minimum of three five sworn officers have been involved in preparing and reviewing the crime report and a trail of documents and computer records have been created. No data has yet gone to the Chief or the Manager at this point.

In order to change the handwritten report, someone must use paper whiteout on a colored paper report to cover over the first classification and hand write a new classification OR a detective, after investigation, must write a supplemental report changing the classification. Both the original report and the supplemental report are public records.

Given how reports are created and data is inputted into the computer program, which occurs long before any crime data is reported to the Manager, the Chief or the Village Council, it is hard to understand how or why our officers would falsify crime reports.

Falsifying crime statistics is a crime. Thus, Blaxberg should have some concrete basis for making this serious accusation, although he did not reveal the basis in his article or interviews. In order to resolve this, I have referred Blaxberg's accusation to the State's Attorneys office for independent review and they have commenced an investigation. I will publicly report the findings as soon as they are ready.

Accusation #2. Blaxberg has alleged that we have the "highest turnover of any municipal police department" and that we can't fully staff our department due to our bad reputation in the police community.

Response: Our police department is budgeted this year for 43 officers; we have fluctuated this year between 39 and 43 sworn officers. Today we have 41 officers, with two more joining next week. Our two most recent hires are officers who have left other law enforcement jobs in order to join us. In the 3 years since incorporation, we have had a low of 35 and a high of 43 sworn officers. Prior to incorporation, Metro-Dade advised us that our area had the services of 11 police officers.

In its first year of operation, the Key Biscayne police department had a 50% turnover; our turnover was about 30%, in the first two years. We have experienced no difficulty attracting applicants for our positions and we have a steady flow of qualified applicants. However, we have adopted very strict criteria for hiring: only non-smokers who must pass a long series of tests, physical and psychological, as well as detailed interviews. We want officers who are well qualified and dedicated to their job, and it takes time to test and interview.

As far as relations with other agencies, our detectives attend a monthly meeting of all agencies in South Dade at the Marriott Hotel, which includes Metro Dade, Kendall Region, Homestead, South Miami and Coral Gables police departments. Information about crime trends is shared amongst professionals at these meetings. Our detectives also attend the robbery task force meetings, which are inter-agency. Our detectives have attended both of these task forces since our department began operating in June 1997, and have given and received valuable information through this exchange.

We have a good applicant flow to our police department, are generally well staffed and maintain as safe a community as one can find in this dense, urban environment.

Accusation #3: Blaxberg has alleged that "happy face news articles about

crime statistics have lulled people into a false sense of security."

Response: In the March 1999 issue of this newspaper, on the front page, I reported the 1998 Part I crime statistics for Pinecrest. My report detailed the actual crimes committed in Pinecrest in 1998, by category. This front-page article clearly showed that Pinecrest experienced 1 homicide, 28 robberies, 149 burglaries, 26 aggravated assaults, 90 auto thefts, 755 larcenies and 1 arson in 1998. Yes, I was "happy" that our crime rate was lower than that of Coral Gables or South Miami, but I also put the real facts on the front page and told everyone that these crimes actually occurred in Pinecrest.

What crime statistic information is available? Each Council member receives, every single month, a detailed crime report, prior to Council meetings. This report has a breakdown of every crime committed in Pinecrest in the prior month, in the same month last year, in the 12 months year to date, and the 12 months year to date last year.

This crime report shows every Part I crime and every other kind of crime, in more than 20 categories. The crime report tells Council members how many hours of police training occurred each month, how many miles of patrol, any crime trends and other useful information. It is one of the first documents I read when I get the Council meeting package, and I always call the Manager immediately to discuss anything I see in the report, such as increases in certain categories or crimes.

It is the responsibility of each Council member to read their Council package before the meeting and be prepared to ask questions and raise concerns. Blaxberg may believe that "happy faces" have misled residents, but he has always been free to publish the crime statistics in his column, if he felt such information would help residents be vigilant.

I wish everyone a Happy, Healthy Holiday and New Year and I give thanks for the blessing of family and friends which make life so joyous.

Please contact me at evelyngreer@greerco.com  or at 305-854-8989.