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On Jan. 7, 2025, I was honored to be sworn in as the first elected Sheriff of Miami-Dade County (MDC) in more than 60 years — overseeing the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, a constitutional office that is independent from county government.
Now, as we enter this new era, I am proud to share how, in my first 100 days, we began laying a strong foundation built on for pillars: rooting out public corruption, crime reduction, transparency and accountability and reshaping the Miami-Dade Office of the Sheriff.
From targeting public corruption and HOA/Condo fraud, to protecting our elderly residents and realigning our resources for greater efficiency, these first steps are only the beginning of a larger commitment to serve and protect the citizens of Miami-Dade County with excellence and professionalism.
I began my law enforcement career nearly 30 years ago out of a deep passion for helping others, and that has remained my driving force. I will work every day to protect our neighborhoods and ensure that everyone feels safe.
From Jan. 7 through Apr. 7, 2025, murders in unincorporated Miami-Dade County have decreased 22 percent, compared to the same time frame in 2024. Our Strategic Response Division has conducted several traffic enforcement details, resulting in 1,980 citations, 564 warnings, and 22 arrests. We’ve cracked down on the illegal use of handicap placards. Our Kendall District has spearheaded this enforcement, issuing citations and confiscating illegal handicap placards.
Following the brutal attack in Israel nearly two years ago, we’ve seen a disturbing rise in hate crimes. We will not tolerate antisemitism or hate in any form. We’ve increased police presence at houses of worship, conducted briefings on antisemitism, and hate crime prevention, and deployed additional security during holidays.
We had the privilege of speaking with hundreds of residents, from community leaders to retirees. We’ve gathered in cafes, churches, community centers, and other locations, talking about public safety concerns.
I’ve hosted several “Share with Sheriff Rosie” events to meet with the public. These events are invaluable, and I remain committed to listening, learning, and taking action. To be more accessible, I launched the “Ask Sheriff Rosie” tool on our website, giving you a direct line to share your questions, concerns, or ideas. Your voice matters and I intend to keep on listening.
We’ve streamlined how the public can report suspected cases of public corruption. We have established a dedicated hotline, an email address, and we have created a dedicated landing page with an online complaint form to report corruption.
We also streamlined the HOA/Condo fraud reporting process, making it easier to report these crimes directly to the investigators. It launched on Mar. 4, 2025, and within two weeks, we received 81 complaints. Our Real Estate Fraud Squad is investigating numerous reports submitted through our landing page, which provides citizens with additional resources, and they can request educational outreach.
I recently launched the “Senior Safety” public service campaign, which includes weekly videos educating the elderly on how to avoid scams and targeted crimes.
One of my key priorities as Sheriff is increasing transparency and accountability — and that begins with giving our community better access to information. We’ve launched a crime statistics dashboard on our website. It is available to the public and provides clear, year-by-year data on major crime categories.
A smooth rebranding of MDSO is underway, with projects on time and within budget. We’ve realigned our Table of Organization to strengthen our functions and street presence.
And while we continue working toward full staffing, strategic scheduling and smarter deployment of roles have allowed us to put more deputies on the streets, ensuring a stronger presence in our neighborhoods. We’ve ended the hybrid work policy for approximately 1,000 of our civilian employees. We believe working together fosters better responsiveness, stronger teamwork and greater success.
We have honored the proud legacy of the Miami-Dade Police Department, the foundation from which MDSO was built, by carrying forward its strengths while forging a new path as a modern, independent agency. Law enforcement is a constantly evolving profession and so too must we evolve and improve. Together, we will build a stronger, safer Miami-Dade for all.
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