SOUTH MIAMI – For the initial time, we are listening to from South Miami’s most recent police chief as he is sworn in on this Monday evening.
CBS News Miami’s Peter D’Oench spoke exclusively with 49-calendar year-aged South Miami Police Chief Reo Hatfield III, who experienced been Deputy Chief in Virginia Seashore, Virginia since September of 1997 and for 20 many years has been a commanding officer in the Naval Felony Investigations Service of the U.S. Navy Reserve and also served as corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1992 to 1996.
Hatfield mentioned, “It’s a prolonged-term goal of mine to be Law enforcement Chief particularly in South Florida and possessing to arrive here to South Miami and staying welcomed by our Metropolis Manager and Commissioners, it was vital to get off on the suitable foot.”
Hatfield will be in charge of 50 officers.
He claimed, “So, I assume at first what I want to do is to pay attention and master and direct. I want to learn and pay attention internally and externally with the local community. I believe it truly is important to fully grasp the lifestyle of the neighborhood.”
Hatfield succeeds Rene Landa, who experienced been law enforcement main due to the fact 2014. Like Landa, Hatfield suggests a single precedence is curbing motor vehicle burglaries.
“I assume it is vital to appear at violent crime being down here in South Miami,” he reported. “Then also seeking at vehicle larcenies. That is an difficulty nationwide and then firearms being taken out of vehicles that are burglarized.”
Hatfield reported, “I feel Chief Landa did an excellent job of local community policing and from what I am listening to from our community and the commission is that they want to see our officers out in the group as significantly as possible.”
D’Oench also spoke with South Miami residents and some of them say it is important for law enforcement to interact with the community.
Resident John Mickens stated “Just more involvement with the local community and giving again a lot more prospects for the little ones. Just doing the job with them and educating them very good morals and values. It will make a greater neighborhood when we are collectively as just one rather than individual.”
Hatfield reported a different precedence is wanting out for the mental wellbeing and properly-getting of his officers.
He explained “Officer wellness performs a extremely significant part in regulation enforcement. In the past, what we have observed is that officers shy away from getting proactive steps to deal with their mental and actual physical well being. It is very important to deal with officer wellness in this article in South Miami.”
A further resident, Franc Torres de Navarra, claimed some problems are related.
“Maintaining criminal offense down is vital,” he mentioned. “Holding officers delighted will hold the criminal offense reduced.”
Hatfield also explained “I believe what I would like to do is look at recruitment and retention and make certain our selecting exercise is as streamlined as it can be. I believe that it really is critical that we not only fill vacancies but we also have our officers out there in the neighborhood.”
He reported, “It’s been a whirlwind of exercise considering the fact that I have been below and I have not had a chance to converse with the former main about some of his priorities but I hope to do in the coming 7 days following the swearing-in ceremony about some of what his top rated priorities ended up and exactly where he thinks we should really be likely.”
