By Corporal Brian Schnell Public Information Officer

Historically a poor national economy causes a rise in “property crimes”, crimes where the criminal can easily steal valuables in order to make a quick dollar.  Last November Officers and Supervisors assigned to the day shift, afternoon shift and midnight shift all independently prepared crime reports to present to the residents and city commission at a special city council meeting, a crime prevention work shop of sorts.  Not only did this workshop open the eyes of the civilians in attendance, but also one obvious fact was made perfectly clear to all of us.  Each officer, it was learned, is confronted with one element to almost every theft, burglary or other crime where valuables are lost.  They are almost always preventable. 

In most of these cases, the victims have carelessly left high ticket items (ie., laptops, blackberrys, cell-phones, i-Pods, etc.) inside their vehicle or pool side at a resort, allowing a criminal to easily steal them.  On one occasion, a visitor to a local hotel left an expensive camera on the beach, while he went for a swim.  When he returned, the camera was gone.  That victim did not call the police until his insurance company told him to make a police report.  When I asked why he failed to call the police, he said he was “embarrassed” because he “knew better” than to leave his property “laying around”.  He was embarrassed to tell an officer how careless he was.  Obviously, we all know better, but these careless acts still occur.

Over the holiday season (November and December) I stress the importance of being vigilant, and informing the police of any and all suspicious behavior.  Since the whole country is dealing with the current economic situation, I am encouraging everyone to be just as vigilant now.  Use common sense, and do not become a senseless victim.  A simple theory is this, if your car window gets smashed, but there is nothing to steal you only have to replace a window.  If the same window is broken and your expensive gadgets get stolen, your head ache is multiplied ten-fold. 

Criminals prefer the “easy opportunity, high reward” crime, so limiting their availability to these crimes will significantly reduce the chances of victimization.  The men and women of the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department will continue to work hard to keep this community safe, and crime free.  A strong partnership with you, the citizens, will let the criminal element know that this is not the place they should attempt to commit crimes. 

Fortunately, our community has not experienced a drastic increase in any crimes, and as long as we work together, we can keep it that way.  So please, take the extra few moments and remove valuables from your cars, or pick them up when you walk to the beach.  Theses simple tasks on your part, combined with the efforts of the Police Department will undoubtedly deter the criminals and keep victimization at a minimum in Sunny Isles Beach.