By: Emmanuel Genao
Miami is not one of the safest cities in Florida or even in the country, and after interviewing people around the community it became clear that many are affected by Crime.

The city has a crime index of 6. This means that the city is only safer than 6 percent of other cities throughout the U.S. With Miami being such a populace city with so many tourists coming in and out, it is no surprise that crime is a major problem that residents face.

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Pedro Pena a resident of Miami says “the city should have more police officers on duty and more surveillance.” More officers to patrol the streets seems like a great idea to stop the spread of crime, but with Miami going through so many financial troubles, the reality is some cops may have to be laid off, making it harder for an already struggling police department.

Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Gimenez is looking for ways to cut cost for the city and is hoping to cut over 200 million dollars of the county’s budget. Some of those cuts may come from the police department.  90 officers were set to be laid off by this November, but for now the layoffs will not happen as the Miami-Dade police Union and Miami-Dade County are in negotiations to come to an agreement to prevent the layoffs.

Kenia Reyes, an officer and spokesperson for the City of Miami police says “Sometimes crime is down but there is no real way to gauge that.” The chances of becoming a victim of a violent crime in Miami are 1 in 19. That is still lower than Florida overall with chances at 1 in 24. Violent crimes include murder with about 60 occurring per year, rape with about 40 occurring per year, robbery with about 2,400 accruing per year and assault with about 3,000 occurring per year. Reyes goes on to say “There are no specific programs to prevent crime, that would be impossible, but we continuously give out tips to prevent it.”

Aside from violent crimes, Miami also has a large rate or Property crime. This includes burglary with over 4,000 a year occurring, theft with over 13,500 occurring and Vehicle theft with over 3,600 occurring per year. Pena says, “I’ve been robbed three times in my own parking.” He goes on to say “My brother’s house was robbed and they took just about everything.”

Robberies don’t only occur in the home. They can happen anywhere you might find yourself. Dianne Neria another resident from of Miami said, “I left my purse in the car to pick up my children in school. They broke my window and stole my purse. The police were called and 2 hours later they found my purse in a hospital parking lot.”Some people don’t feel safe in their neighborhoods. Janelle Joseph a resident of a Miami suburb says she doesn’t always feel safe where she lives. “I hear about all the things that have happened to my neighbors, and it scares me a lot. People get robbed here and sometimes even mugged,” she said. “I try to keep my family safe, I don’t go out at night alone and I put an alarm system. Anything to keep my family safe,” she said.

Crimes with vehicles are also a big issue in Miami. Crime involving vehicles can include drunken driving, theft and red light infractions. The city has taken steps to try and prevent some of these crimes by installing red light camera. Some may argue that the red light cameras cause more trouble than they prevent.

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“Nancy Burgos, a resident of Miami, has an issue with all of the red light cameras that have popped up in the city. She says “people see a camera and stop all of a sudden in the middle of the road and start driving in reverse.” This seems to be a problem for a lot of people, since the issue often shows up in many local news cast. She goes on to say “They either hit you because they drive in reverse or stop too abruptly.

Ricardo Montalvo of the Florida Department of Transportation says “I don’t think the cameras help to prevent crime. I think they were installed to make the city money.” It seems that people in fear of breaking the law actually end up causing more trouble. Montalvo says, “I feel the people who have gotten tickets before are aware of the camera and slam on the breaks in fear of getting another, and cause more accidents.
The crime in Miami has no hint of going away anytime soon. The best thing to do is be informed and try to be as safe as possible.