The Homicide Bureau conducts thorough and objective investigations of all deaths and officer involved shootings that occur in unincorporated Miami-Dade County. These investigations are also conducted in many municipalities within the County that lack the resources to perform their own inquiries. The Bureau utilizes eight squads of four investigators, each headed by a sergeant and working as a team, to address the many critical aspects of a death investigation. As a result of this approach, information is quickly developed and categorized, enabling the expeditious identification of potential subjects, witnesses, evidence and investigative leads.
The Bureau also houses four specialized squads; the Traffic Homicide Unit, which investigates all fatal and critical-injury motor vehicle crashes, and all County police vehicle collisions; the Specialized Investigations Squad, which examines narcotics-related homicides for potential links, criminal conspiracy charges, and ongoing criminal activity; the Cold Case Squad, which handles continuing probes into unsolved murders which occurred as long as 50 years ago; and theSouth Florida Homicide Clearing House, which serves as a centralized registry to gather and disseminate investigative leads and intelligence information to cooperating agencies, in order to help coordinate investigative efforts between police departments.
Homicide Gallery
Traffic Homicide Unit (THU)
The Miami-Dade Police Department’s THU conducts follow-up investigations of fatal, critical, and County police vehicle crashes occurring within unincorporated Miami-Dade County. In addition, the unit handles all fatal and critical crashes occurring within 27 of 35 municipalities in the County. THU investigators are responsible for the entire investigation, from processing the crash scenes to the filing of formal charges. This includes collecting and preserving evidence from the traffic ways and vehicles, measuring, photographing, and taking statements from drivers, occupants, and witnesses. During the year 2004, the Unit of seven detectives handled 67 critical crashes, and 143 fatal crash investigations.
THU is an investigative unit within the Homicide Bureau and provides 24-hour response to fatal, life threatening and serious MDPD owned or leased vehicle crashes. The hours of normal operation are from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., seven days per week, and responds during all other times via call-out procedures.
http://www.hsmv.state.fl.us/reports/crash_facts.html for the State of Florida Crash Statistics.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for information on product recalls, technical service bulletins, consumer complaints, Air Bag switches, child passenger safety tips, and other auto safety issues and regulations.
http://www.ntsb.gov. National Transportation Safety Board for publications, safety alerts and improvements.
Specialized Investigations Squad
In the late 1970s and early 1980s the nation was experiencing widespread proliferation of drug related violence. In Miami-Dade County the increase of homicides, kidnappings, and drug related shootouts was alarming. By the end of 1981 the murder rate had reached an all time high in South Florida. The U.S. Government, through the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), funded a number of centralized tactical units (Centac) in order to combat these crimes regionally. In South Florida the squad became known as Centac 26.
The team, which eventually became the Specialized Investigations Squad, has evolved through the years. The investigations have also expanded to include organized crime, home invasions, complex murder cases, police sting operations, and other acts of domestic street-style terrorism. Through the development of many confidential informants and after numerous investigations, the squad has been credited with not only convicting various previously “untouchable” criminals, but also with the seizure of millions of dollars in cash and property.
Cold Case Squad
In the early 1980s an ad-hoc squad composed of one sergeant and two detectives was put together to review the unsolved murder of a twelve-year-old female. The renewed investigation led to the arrest and conviction of the two individuals responsible for the murder. As a result, this team then reviewed and closed several other unsolved homicides. A Miami Herald reporter wrote a series of articles covering the cases and referred to the squad as the “Cold Case Squad”, the name was eventually adopted by the Homicide Bureau.
Today, the Cold Case Squad reviews cases based on numerous different factors and explores how new technology and resources, (i.e. DNA, fingerprint and informational databases etc.), might impact a renewed investigation. If the inquiry identifies new suspects, or strengthens the case against known subjects the case is reopened. The Squad also assists the other Bureau teams with police-involved shooting cases and other major death investigations. The Cold Case Squad has also aided other Departmental entities with high-profile cases on an as needed basis, and, upon request, lends its expertise to other law enforcement agencies.
South Florida Homicide Clearing House
The continuing population explosion in South Florida, along with the creation of multiple municipalities fueled by community growth has become a serious law enforcement challenge. A homicide subject could cross several neighboring boundaries to commit his criminal act. This creates an investigative obstacle, as the lead agency in the case could have to contact many jurisdictions to obtain information that might aid the investigation.
The South Florida Homicide Clearing House was established to serve as a centralized registry to identify the various trends and motives associated with homicide investigations. The Homicide Clearing House gathers and disseminates investigative leads and intelligence information to cooperating law enforcement agencies in an effort to support interaction and enhance the abilities of the agency conducting the case. In order to further improve the effectiveness of its operations, the Clearing House also participates in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Violent Criminal Apprehension Program, (ViCAP). Developed by the FBI in 1985, ViCAP is a state-of-the-art behavior-based crime analysis tool, which has been designed and structured to address violent crime problems impacting law enforcement agencies. ViCAP will enable participating agencies to collect, collate, and analyze their own violent crime information on a local level, and to assist in identifying similar cases on a regional, state, or national basis.
Associated Links:
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www.miamisao.com Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office: works in conjunction with the Homicide Bureau in certain aspects of the investigative process and manages the prosecution of homicide cases.
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www.miamidade.gov/medexam/ Miami-Dade Medical Examiner Department: provides information regarding forensic pathology and the medical aspects of death investigation. Participates in the prosecution of homicide cases.
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