24 Jul Miami Dade Police Department Stakeholder Analysis

Stakeholder Analysis: Miami-Dade Police Department

Describing your Organization (Robert)

The Miami-Dade police department is tasked with providing essential police services throughout the unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Miami Lakes, Palmetto Bay, and Cutlet Bay. The police department is decentralized, and patrols over eight districts, including assisting in any major events brought into Miami. They are specialized in multiple areas of expertise, including airport security, seaport, and maritime security, skilled in motorcycles and bomb disposal, and have an entire SWAT team. The crime investigators work hand and hand with other law enforcement agencies, including local state and federal departments (Miami-Dade, n.d.). Miami-Dade’s mission is to promote a safe and secure environment, free from crime and the fear of crime, while maintaining order and practicing the core values of integrity, respect, service, and fairness for all its citizens. Police officers who make up the force include various races, genders, and age groups, with 2,988 sworn officers and 1,561 non-sworn officers, allowing its officers to interact and build bonds with the various ethnic groups and age ranges of its citizens (Miami-Dade, n.d.). 

Identifying Key Stakeholders

Within all police departments and law enforcement agencies, there are internal and external stakeholders. As with the Miami-Dade police department, the internal stakeholders make up most of the department, including areas of the judicial system, beginning with the police officers themselves. Internally, all those involved with enforcing the law, both before and after arrest, make up internal stakeholders, including judges, attorneys, parole and probation officers, correctional staff, and everyone else involved with processing the criminal. Whereas the external stakeholders make up those not involved with the internal workings of the police department, they have a large part of how they operate and function. These stakeholders include politicians, elected officials within the city and state, and most importantly, citizens. Every citizen within the Miami area can be impacted by how the police operate and perform their duties, including businesses, schools, and society. The categories of stakeholders would include:

• The customers, who are the citizens they represent 

• Government officials & Political Parties 

• Current police officers and prospective recruits 

• Local communities and the general public

• All adversary groups or special interest groups 

• Media

Stakeholder Interest and Concerns

The interests of the internal stakeholders share the same philosophy and mission statement of the Miami-Dade police department, beginning with its officers. Each officer goes through vigorous training and education to learn the values that make an effective police officer before taking the oath to uphold the department’s values. Once an individual is arrested and processed in the system, those other roles take over and ensure the law is followed and given fairly to each person. Beginning with the judge and the prosecuting attorneys for the case, and once convicted, the correctional officers or the assigned parole or probation officers. The internal stakeholders all share an interest in protecting the community and the citizens residing there while enforcing the law and ensuring each person is treated fairly. External stakeholders may have different views and interests within the department, beginning with elected officials and politicians. Everyone is supposed to be working to serve their community’s best interest; however, that is not always the case as power and corruption tend to seep into the process. Elected officials have a vested interest in police agencies mainly because they rely on them to win over the public’s opinion. These individuals’ policies directly impact officers’ ability to do their job and can ultimately cost them their life. Politicians do not focus on the everyday needs of communities; their role is to create policies and laws that help their citizens, but at times can do the opposite. Another external stakeholder is the media, which has a vested interest in law enforcement due to the high ratings certain situations can bring to their network. 

Stakeholder Claims

Claims of internal stakeholders begin with its officers and their demand for enforcing the law and having the department’s support. In situations such as the DRNC, officers are placed in dangerous and often difficult situations that require quick thinking and assistance from others. Ensuring the assistance is there to help, and there are trained individuals to assist when needed is a direct claim from officers. The extent to which these claims should be met is high, and the department must realize this in preparation for events such as the DRNC, which involve multiple agencies and skill sets to overcome successfully. Denying these claims from its officers can put them in dangerous situations. They may cause harm or even death to its officers, ultimately jeopardizing the community’s safety. External stakeholders such as the media can significantly influence its viewers and how they view a situation involving police. Considering how police deal with the media and what information is produced to them can produce a different outcome to situations that may arise at the DRNC. For example, withholding certain information allows the media to paint a narrative that may sometimes be false. However, on the other hand, police may withhold information pertinent to the case. Miami-Dade must be cautious with how they deal with the media and allow their media relations to handle these situations. 

Stakeholder Importance

The importance of every officer in the Miami-Dade police department is the highest priority and the focus of its department. The officers deserve to be adequately trained in handling any situation, along with the proper tools to perform their jobs. Without the officers, the communities within Miami would be lawless, and the safety of its citizens would be unknown. Policymakers and elected officials also play an essential role in the department, as they write and produce the laws that govern how officers operate. The two stakeholders are equally important but play completely different roles in their duties and how they do their jobs.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths of the organization include the training and tools given to each of its officers, along with the commitment of the department and leadership to improve each officer and how they respond and interact within the community. Police officers are responsible for their decisions; they produce, practical communication skills and have a high physical fitness level, allowing them to manage events such as the DRNC effectively. Secondly would be keeping up with crime trends and the threats that are faced with the upcoming event. The various groups that will arrive in protest of their organization will each bring different challenges, and Miami-Dade must rely on trends and data to be prepared. Opportunities exist by increasing the recruitment of those highly qualified individuals, including the recruitment of minorities and women. The increase in community partnerships allows officers to interact and develop relationships within the community. Lastly, departments can increase the amount of in-service training provided to their officers by making them more diverse and educated on the streets. The threats faced with Miami-Dade involve the misrepresentation of the media and how they interpret the situations that go on with its officers and budget concerns with how to recruit, hire, and train officers in an already very tight budget. 

Organizational Strategy

The best use of the strengths of the Miami-Dade police department is to continue to train its officers and utilize them in situations that fit their experience. The upcoming DRNC will involve multiple agencies working together in various fields of expertise; putting the best-trained officers in a situation where they will excel the most is the biggest strength. Budgeting issues and a very tight economy can restrict the department’s funds and how they allocate resources in the future. To minimize this weakness, a more effective approach will be put on how to cut costs safely and utilize the resources we already have to be the most effective. 

Policy

“Through collaborative efforts and partnerships, the Miami-Dade Police Department will protect the life, property, and constitutional rights with compassion and respect for all our citizens.”

Recommended Actions

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• Creating employee / public relations

• Strategic planning in events

• Leadership within the department

• Team culture

• Personal responsibility 

• Scenario planning

• Budget control

• Incident management