Crime in Coconut Grove is down significantly from this time last year, but one-off crimes, including a disturbing assault, and burglaries still pose a challenge.
Crime is down 33% in Coconut Grove from this time last year, making it the community with the lowest crime rate in the city at this time, according to former Miami Police Commander Daniel Kerr.
As of the end of May, 180 crimes had been reported in the Grove, compared to 269 crimes for the same period last year.
The majority of crimes so far this year – 115 in total – involved routine thefts, including 57 general thefts (larceny), 29 retail thefts and 29 thefts involving motor vehicles (but not stolen vehicles, which are a separate category). Last year those same three categories accounted for 187 of all reported crimes
“It’s strange how little crime there is. People forget what it was like in the Grove in the ‘80s when there were 200 crimes a month. Today people are more aware,” Kerr said.
Last weekend’s Goombay Festival on Grand Avenue also went by without a hitch, with only one misdemeanor arrest for disorderly conduct out of thousands of visitors, according to Coconut Grove’s new police commander, Freddie Cruz, who replaced Kerr earlier this month.
Most of the reason for this success, Kerr says, can be chalked up to the community awareness and interaction that helps police respond to crime and identify repeat offenders.
“The only way to do it is talking to community people and, you know, talking to the restaurants and the stores and the bars and finding out who your chronic offenders are,” he said.
Once those offenders have been arrested, Kerr said he made it a habit to show up to their bond hearings and, after they were released from jail, to make it clear to them that police had their number.
“The fact that they know that you know their name, it kind of changes their style, or you know their zeal for doing it (stealing), because they think you’re going see him and catch him,” Kerr said.
The former commander said one of his proudest accomplishments while leading police efforts in the Grove was not having a single armed robbery to date this year in an area that used to see 150 robberies a month in the 1990s or at best two to three robberies a month a few years ago.
“This is literally just good crime-fighting. So, I’m really happy with it. I’m happy with what the officers have done,” Kerr said.
That’s not to say Coconut Grove has gone without incident.
On May 16 a woman was assaulted in her home after a man broke in while she was sleeping. The incident, which occurred in the 3400 block of William Avenue, was one of more than a dozen burglaries so far this year.
A suspect was arrested and charged the same night.
And while no robberies were reported in Coconut Grove, an armed robbery was reported early last month across South Dixie Highway near the Douglas Road Metrorail Station on Shipping Avenue.
According to police, a man was getting out of his car to head into work when he was approached by two men who proceeded to pistol whip him, injuring both sides of his face, before stealing his car keys and phone and fleeing the scene.
Other crimes of note in the past two months include two shootings (one fatal) and a rash of burglaries, including two on St. Gaudens Road. On April 6, a man entered a home through the garage and walked around the living room and office space. On May 22, a person entered the garage of a home but did not go further. In both cases, nothing was reported stolen.
Two other burglaries occurred on May 9 and May 12 on Oak Avenue at newly constructed, unoccupied homes, Kerr said. From one home, a washer, dryer, refrigerator and oven were stolen. At the other property, the HVAC system and electronics, including a TV, were taken.
“New construction crimes we definitely have to work on because when they start hitting those, sometimes you start hitting them a lot, which is annoying,” Kerr said. A sex-related crime occurred on May 29 in the North Grove at the 1700 block of Wa Kee Na Drive, listed as “forcible fondling.” Kerr did not recall exact details, but said this incident was reported to a Miami-Dade Public Schools police officer and handled by that police department. A Spotlight request for more information is pending.
