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July 1991
POLICE PRACTICES:
OPERATION STAR
Miami, Florida, attracts a significant number of tourists
each year. The climate of the city acts as a magnet to those
wanting to escape to a place known for its balmy weather,
sunshine, surf, and sand. In turn, these tourists have to offer
what every U.S. city needs--money. Without these tourist
dollars, Miami's economy suffers considerably. Therefore, the
city must remain attractive to vacationers. One way to ensure
this is to reduce the number of crimes committed against
tourists.
To protect visitors from the city's criminal element, the
Miami Police Department instituted Operation STAR (Safeguarding
Tourists Against Robberies). The department took this action
when it began to notice an upswing in robberies involving
tourists.
THE PROBLEM
Increasingly, vacationers and business travelers were
becoming the prey of criminals. Those committing crimes would
target people driving rental vehicles, knowing that the
occupants always carried money, cameras, or other valuables.
Also, since these victims were from out of town, they usually
were reluctant to return to be witnesses for the prosecution,
and the criminals realized this.
Criminals developed innovative approaches to their victims.
One method was to bump the rear of the victims vehicle with
their own. The victims, believing they were involved in a minor
accident, would exit their vehicle to assess the damage. When
they did this, the criminals, using force or at gunpoint, would
rob the victims of money, jewelry, and sometimes even the rented
car.
Another effective method was to pull alongside vehicles and
gesture or yell to the passengers that something was wrong.
When the occupants stopped to investigate, they would fall
victim to the robbery. Or, the criminals would simply drive
through areas of the city looking for people trying to read a
map. They would then approach the vehicle, as if they were
going to offer assistance. In most cases, however, they would
just open the door, drag the victims from the vehicle, and
commit the robbery.
THE SOLUTION
The department realized that it must take a proactive
approach to this problem. One idea that surfaced was to conduct
decoy operations within areas of the city that attracted large
tourist populations. This decoy operation was given the name
"Operation STAR."
To begin, two Operation STAR teams were formed. Each
consisted of a sergeant and seven officers, one of whom was
female. It was decided to use a female decoy officer to
increase the appearance of vulnerability.
The decoy would stop her rented vehicle in one of the
targeted areas and raise the hood to make it appear as a
disabled vehicle. Or, she would stop to use a pay phone and act
as if she was calling to get directions. At all times, the
other officers, riding in an undercover vehicle, kept the decoy
under surveillance, including the use of a video camera. A
video tape showing what transpired during the robberies was
especially useful for prosecution.
GOOD SAMARITANS
Oftentimes, people from the area offered to assist the
female decoy officer. On one occasion, a vehicle with three
occupants drove past the decoy vehicle and noticed the lone
female. They circled the block and parked their vehicle nearby.
One suspect stayed in the car with the engine running, while the
other two approached the decoy officer. As they began to walk
toward the decoy, a tow truck operator stopped to help the
would-be victim and refused to leave, even though the decoy did
not want his help. Seeing this, the two suspects then walked
back to the car and departed the area.
USE OF THE MEDIA
The department decided to conduct a media blitz of
Operation STAR to deter criminal activity. News personnel from
a local television station were invited to ride with the STAR
teams and video tape what transpired. Because of the wide
publicity, criminals became wary of tourists, not knowing if
they were really visitors or the decoy team in action.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The Operation STAR teams enlisted the help of the
department's Career Criminal Detail to monitor suspects as they
were processed through the criminal justice system. Some of the
offenders had several previous arrests, mostly for robbery.
This fact resulted in many remaining in custody with increased
bonds and facing longer sentences upon conviction.
CONCLUSION
Operation STAR continues to shine in Miami. During the
initial operation, the city realized a 12-percent reduction in
robberies. In fact, August and September 1990, the first 2
months of Operation STAR, showed the lowest number of robberies
reported for any month during the entire fiscal year.
Because of the success of Operation STAR, the department
formed a new detail that will work only decoy operations,
although using different scenarios. Hopefully, tourists will
realize that the police department is working to make their
visits to Miami enjoyable by ensuring that they are crime-free.
_______________
Commander M. Frank Shonberger, Crime Scene Investigation
Unit, and Sgt. Bradford Swink, Supervisor of the Robbery Detail,
Miami, Florida, Police Department, provided the information for
this column.