Miami Police report a falling crime rate, but community safety concerns persist following a spate of car break-ins, burglaries and a stabbing.
Despite a stabbing, a few burglaries, and a rash of car break-ins last month that have left some residents on edge, overall crime levels in Coconut Grove are down, according to Miami Police.
But that’s little consolation for Abdulrahman Sinno, a physician who lives on Overbrook Street in the North Grove.
Late last month he discovered his car had been broken into while parked overnight in his driveway. Nothing of value was taken so he didn’t bother calling police. Six months earlier a friend’s house a block away was burglarized.
“I can tell you as someone who lives there, it certainly doesn’t feel like [crime is down],” Sinno said on a Zoom call earlier this month between local residents worried about a perceived crime uptick and Daniel Kerr, the City of Miami police commander overseeing the area.

During the call, organized by the Coconut Grove Park Homeowners Association in response to neighborhood concerns, other residents spoke of similar car break-ins, as well as attempted ones – strangers pulling on car door handles – all caught by the home security cameras that have become ubiquitous throughout the Grove.
Such technology, Kerr noted, is a key contributor to a drop in property crime.
Through the first nine months of 2024 reported thefts throughout Coconut Grove are down about 12 percent, car break-ins down 35 percent and car theft down 40 percent, compared to a year earlier.
On the other hand, batteries – both felony and misdemeanor – were up 6.3% and 19% respectively. Burglaries remained steady, with 46 in both years. Seven robberies have been reported so far this year compared to six during the first nine months of 2023.
“I never brag about crime being down,” Kerr told the Spotlight in an interview, “because any crime impacts an individual. So even if it is small, you’re going to remember it the rest of your life.”
Apart from security cameras, which he calls his “number one tool” for arrests, Kerr attributes the Grove’s overall drop in crime to changing demographics brought on by rising property values. In general, the more affluent a neighborhood – in both residential and commercial areas – the lower the crime rate, Kerr explained.
Other factors have also contributed to safer streets: the economy’s shift to electronic payments has meant less cash in people’s wallets, Kerr says, reducing the incentive for robberies and home burglaries. And with cell phones in virtually everyone’s pockets, suspicious activity is recorded and reported much more quickly than before.
Kerr also notes a new state law that increases penalties for package theft by so-called “porch pirates.” He says package theft is considered a “gateway crime” because offenders are more likely to transition into breaking and entering offenses.
According to the website CrimeMapping.com, which accumulates data submitted by local police departments, 61 crimes were reported during the month of September in Coconut Grove, including 12 assaults and four burglaries. The bulk of those crimes were in the West Grove, the commercial district, and along U.S. 1. The North Grove had a handful of reports while the South Grove had only two – vandalism and a car theft.
The most serious offense – a stabbing on Thomas Avenue that sent a woman to the hospital with serious injuries – was described by police as “domestic related.”
One of the burglaries occurred at the Coconut Grove Montessori School on SW 27 Avenue near U.S. 1. Someone climbed through a window and vandalized eight classrooms, according to Maria Fernandez-Arencibia, a school co-founder. The school was shut down briefly for repairs. The school reported an earlier burglary in July.
“We are deeply concerned about the recent incidents of crime affecting both our neighborhood and the Montessori School on 27th Avenue,” said Marlene Erven, president of the Coconut Grove Park Homeowners Association.
Kerr says he has assigned extra police coverage for the area. At any one time a police sergeant and six officers patrol the Grove. Twelve additional officers are available as needed, Kerr says.
Concerned About Crime?
Miami Police Commander Daniel Kerr offers these tips for reducing crime:
- Report unusual or suspicious activity in your neighborhood no matter how minor it seems. Follow your gut instinct.
- Always lock your car. Thieves focus on cars with side mirrors that don’t fold because that often means the car is unlocked.
- Never leave electronics, purses, bags, money or firearms inside your parked vehicle. Professional criminals often carry a devise that alerts them to cars containing consumer electronics.
- Consider installing a home security camera. They can act as a deterrence and provide the police with the evidence needed to investigate a crime. Around 90 percent of the Grove’s car break-ins are committed by less than ten repeat offenders. If police recognize one of these thieves on home camera video, they can arrest them.
- Keep hedges trimmed so that views to a house, particularly entrances, are not hidden.
- Get to know your neighbors and the routine of the neighborhood. A strong communications network is a powerful deterrent to criminal activity.