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 It
has been just about 60 days since my appointment as Chief of Police
for the Village of Pinecrest. I have met many interesting people and
learned a great deal about the Village and its police department. I
have quickly come to the conclusion that the vast majority of our
residents are proud to call Pinecrest home and that they are protected
by a talented, committed and professional group of police department
employees who work hard to serve them to the best of their abilities.
I have been welcomed personally to Pinecrest by a
great number of residents and department staff. One resident
underscored this sentiment with a heartfelt, "Thank you for
coming to our community." This outpouring of support is most
sincerely appreciated and has made the transition to my new position
much, much easier. Thank you one and all.
At this point, I have individually interviewed all of
our full-time employees to get their sincere assessment of our agency
and practices. A great deal of insight has been gained through this
time-consuming, but invaluable process. Additionally, as many of you
know, prior to my arrival several departmental issues became the focus
of public debate. Those issues that could be immediately resolved have
been addressed. Those which are longer term in nature, are in the
process of being addressed. Needless to say, I and the entire
department are committed to improving and serving the community as
well as possible.
There have been some changes lately which should be of
interest to our residents. First, we have recently acquired a canine,
Aik (pronounced Ike). Aik is a 22-month-old German Shepherd, born and
trained in Holland, who has an excellent disposition. But, make no
mistake, he is all business and quite impressive when called upon to
display his K-9 abilities! Officer Donald Kimbler, a
two-and-a-half-year department veteran, was selected as Aik's handler
from the six officers who expressed interest in this assignment.
Officer Kimbler and Aik are scheduled for extensive training starting
in mid-March and they should be hitting the streets and making public
appearances by some time in late June or early July.
We have recently learned that green striping on white
cars is reserved by state statute for county sheriff vehicles.
Therefore, to avoid any confusion with cars from Miami-Dade county,
which is the local sheriff, it is necessary to change our color scheme
to beige cars with green and gold stripping. You can expect to start
seeing this change in the very near future.
I am pleased to report that our 1999 index offenses
(serious crimes) have decreased 7.4 percent from 1998 levels.
Interestingly, burglary offenses were down even more, 12.1 percent.
Though pleased with these results, the department remains committed to
making Pinecrest the safest community possible. Anyone interested in
reviewing the entire 1999 crime report is welcome to stop by the
department and pick up a copy.
Because the Tribune has offered me the opportunity to
write a column, I will, from time to time, be providing information of
interest to our residents. Though it will be at irregular intervals, I
hope to use this means to communicate with our citizens.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me should
you wish to discuss any matter of concern or make a suggestion on how
we can more effectively serve and protect our community.
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