With the holiday activities, the Doral And Sweetwater Police Departments Are Increasing The Security In Our Area
The recommendation of both Police Departments to our residents and visitors is to use your common sense and stay alert at all times.
By: Edda Pujadas
Dolphin Mall is one of the most popular shopping centers in Miami, due to the fact that it houses more than 250 outlet stores, together with restaurants and entertainment centers, and this is the reason for which now that the Holiday activities are starting, it is necessary to reinforce the safety measures around it.
It is for this reason that the Sweetwater Police Department is increasing its presence in this shopping mall and in the areas around it, at the same time that they are creating preventive operations that allow them to control the security in the area. It is important to mention that Dolphin Mall belongs to the City of Sweetwater.
Sweetwater Police Chief Placido Diaz announced that the department is allocating more uniformed and under-covered police officers and they are working together with the security service of Dolphin Mall. “Let’s remember that this is one of the most congested destinations in this season,” he states.
Dolphin Mall is the second-largest shopping mall in Miami Dade, with a total commercial area of one million four hundred square feet. It receives more than thirty-six million people a year, which makes it evident that keeping it safe is a challenge that the Sweetwater Police Department has.
According to the website: https://backgroundchecks.org, the safest city in Florida is Sweetwater due to its low rate in violent crimes. They are well below the national average; this is mainly due to the fact that they have a very high proportion of employees and police officers compared to the number of residents.
“Every day that goes by we make our best effort to keep this first place, therefore the holiday season is a big challenge for our officers. We not only reinforce our job, we also try to create conscience in the people about the importance to be careful and care for one-self as the first step,” stated Diaz.
The Director of the Sweetwater Police Department highlights the importance of actions so simple as not leaving visible objects inside the vehicle, to properly close the cars and in the case that you notice something or someone suspicious or a person that does not belong or shows an attitude out of the ordinary, to report it to the closest security officer.
When an emergency situation arises in a congested area, Diaz recommends walking away of the area immediately. “There are people that act recklessly and instead of leaving the area they want to know what is going on and stay, and this is a mistake. The most important thing to do is to walk away from danger, search the assistance of a police officer and follow his instructions.”
Diaz emphasized that this increase in security around Dolphin Mall is also deployed around Sweetwater because around Christmas the number of visitors also increases. This operative will remain in effect until January 2020 because after the holidays the season of “returns” is equally congested, commercially speaking.
If you want to contact the Sweetwater Police Department you can call them at 305-552-9900, visit them through their webpage at https://www.cityofsweetwater.fl.gov/police.htm or follow them in social media.
IN DORAL
Miami International Mall is the largest shopping mall in the City of Doral with a total area of one million square feet. Among the anchor and prestigious stores it houses, there are Macy’s, JC Penney and Kohls. It also houses a very important number of stores and restaurants that draw in average some twelve million visitors per year.
It is logical that during the holiday season, this shopping mall also increases the number of visitors that it brings. For this reason, the Doral Police Department also increases its security actions. “We increase the surveillance, both in the number of uniformed officers, under-cover agents, and in police cars,” states Rey Valdes, Public Information Officer for this institution.
“Doral is a very hectic city during the Christmas season, now we not only have the International Mall but also City Place and Downtown Doral, and we also receive a lot of visitors that come from abroad to visit their families and spend the time with them during this season,” explains Valdes.
Because of this, the Doral police officers not only reinforce the security in commercial and residential areas, but they also instruct the community about the preventative actions that are necessary at all times. They regularly visit different neighborhood HOAs and Condos around our city and they have campaigns through social media.
When asked about what to do during an emergency in a busy area such as a commercial space, Valdes was very clear when he stated that the most important thing is to run and get away from danger. “If you cannot escape, hide and as a last resort defend yourself, but it is always vital to run away and search for police help.”
If you want to get in touch with the Doral Police Department you can call 305.593.6699 or visit their website: https://www.cityofdoral.com/police/ and follow them via social media.