
	North Miami Beach Citizens Patrol

"Safeguarding Our Businesses"
By Thomas A. Carney
Crime Prevention Unit Supervisor
North Miami Beach Police Department

Whenever a crime is perpetrated against a local business, its employees or its patrons, the negative effects that result can be devastating. Research shows that many of these crimes can be prevented if business management and/or its employees have received proper training on how to reduce their risk of victimization.

Larger businesses or corporations may have the luxury of an in-house security department that in most cases provide this type of training to their staff and employees. Unfortunately, this may not always be the case especially with the "mom and pop" type of stores currently in operation.

In an effort to reduce crime against our businesses, the North Miami Beach Police Department in cooperation with our local " Business Council" has designed a program that is offered to our business community, free of charge. This program is called the North Miami Beach Police Departments "Business Safeguard" program.

The first stage of the program requires the participation of our volunteer members of our "Citizens Mobile Patrol". The Citizens Mobile Patrol was instituted in our department in 1981. The members routinely patrol our city as the "eyes and ears" of the department and report any suspicious activity or persons immediately to the police. Our program has been very successful from both a community and police standpoint. We now use the members of this program in our "Business Safeguard" program. The members receive training by our Crime Prevention Unit in modern Crime Prevention and CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) techniques. After successful completion of our crime prevention training, our volunteers then have the ability to conduct routine security surveys of most of the small businesses throughout our city.

The second stage of the program comes into play during the patrolling of our city by the newly trained volunteers. The volunteers pro-actively approach a local business and offer a basic security survey of their property. The volunteers are in approved uniforms and carry "Crime Prevention Volunteer" identification issued by the department. If the business is agreeable, the volunteers review both the physical security aspects of the premises along with any security policies and procedures that may currently exist.

Some of the topics covered in our survey are:

Ensuring that the street address numbers are visible on the building exterior in case emergency personnel are trying to locate the address.
Ensuring that all after hour emergency contact information is on file with the police department in the event of an emergency.
Exterior Doors and Frames
Exteriors Door Locks.
Exterior Windows and Protective Coverings
Exterior Security Lighting.
Trimming the Trees and Shrubs.
Fencing or Perimeter Access Control.
Roof Access.
Natural Surveillance.
Cash Register Placement.
Key Control Policies.
Cash Handling Policies.
Alarms
CCTV
Exterior Debris.
Basic Robbery Handling Training.
Basic Burglary Handling Training.

Upon completion of this survey, they volunteers review their findings with a store representative. If the business meets our "acceptable standards" and agrees to practice these standards in the future, the business is awarded a North Miami Beach Police Department "Business Safeguard Award" sticker for the current year. Note: We have ensured that the sticker clearly states that "This establishment has been inspected by the North Miami Beach Police Department and has agreed to practice acceptable security and safety standards that have been recommended by the Crime Prevention Unit". By being specific in the wording we use on our stickers, we in no way certify or guarantee the business is in any way safe. The sticker states the business only agrees to practice the acceptable standards that we have recommended.

If after conducting the survey we feel the business lacks the majority of the acceptable standards, we discuss possible remedies and agree to return at a later date for a re-inspection. We do not award a "Business Safeguard" sticker at this time. We also use this opportunity to distribute crime prevention literature that is relevant to the business and offer formal training in a variety of crime prevention techniques to the management or employees of the business by our Crime Prevention Unit Specialists.

Upon re-inspection of the business, if the business has met our acceptable standards, the business is then awarded the "Business Safeguard" sticker". Also, by dating the stickers by year, we then are given the opportunity to return to the business the following year for a re-inspection. If the business continues to meet our acceptable standards, we award a new sticker each year.

Our program is well received by our business community. They feel our "Business Safeguard Award" is good for their business and for their customers. They look forward to our re-inspection the following year. This program also gives the volunteers the opportunity to feel they are contributing to the betterment of the community and at the same time, they save the department money by volunteering their time to a worthy cause.

If you have any questions about our "Business Safeguard" program". Please contact us at (305) 948-2955

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