Connecting smart phones to police computer banks is expected to significantly advance both police efficiency and security throughout Miami-Dade County.
Facebook and Twitter sites at the “Real Time Crime” Center at Miami-Dade Police Headquarters in Doral are expected to be up and running this summer, according to Det. David Invernizzi, 41, who detailed adaptations of new technology to a M-DPD Hammocks District Citizens Advisory Committee on Feb. 25.
“Microsoft experts are now tweaking details for the ‘Citizens Mobile App’ that we expect to go online within about six to eight weeks,” said the 21-year police veteran who monitors installations for the Information Technology Services Bureau at the MDPD headquarters.
In non-emergencies such as minor crimes (i.e., vandalism, disturbing the peace, etc.), reports can be entered by residents and assigned a case number for investigation, as circumstances merit.
Uses for the public also will extend to obtaining records maintained by the Central Records Bureau, including arrest forms, offense, incident and traffic crash reports, as well as police clearance letters detailing criminal history information for citizenship and immigration, employment, adoption, education/ school, investigations and legal affairs.
The new citizen connection is just one of several areas now adapting computerized information to tighten homeland security, he noted.
“We’re now positioning cameras on police helicopters to monitor crowd scenes, a surveillance used during the Martin Luther King Day Parade on Jan. 18.”
Providing a “real time” connection to iPhone or Android-equipped devices will interface a responding police officer to a crime-in-progress, adding capability for instant identification of a known suspect.
“For example, when dispatch receives a specific street address, we can run it through the computer bank to identify a home where an individual with a prior battery offense on an officer may live — a heads-up warning that could save a life,” Invernizzi said.
He likened the interlinking of computerized records to mobile devices as “bringing Miami into the kind of heightened security services already regularly used in Real Time units in New York City, Los Angeles and Scotland Yard.”
DETECTIVE’S MOM INVOLVED IN LAW-ENFORCEMENT, TOO
The appearance of Det. Invernizzi was a special occasion for longtime Citizens Advisory Committee member Elisabeth “Liz” Boggs, both mother and son having been active in police work for more than two decades.
From her usual front row seat, Ms.
Boggs and her son, David, described the latest technological communication advances, an area she helped develop as a member of the Citizens Volunteer Program of M-DPD. Boggs aided a Special Projects Team by entering computer data to develop a simulated helicopter project, compiled Police Memorial details and input Drug Abuse Resistance Education program information.
She began volunteering as a citizen aide to police in Brooklyn for the New York Police Department 40 years ago and continued that services 22 years after coming to Miami in 1975, later moving to West Kendall and graduating from the Police Academy in 1997. She was trained to direct traffic during emergencies as a member of the Community Emergency Response Team.
She has been honored with several awards, including “Most Enthusiastic Volunteer” and twice receiving Team Metro’s “Making A Difference Award for Dedication and Loyalty,” as well as a Gold Medal from the Presidents Volunteer Service Award. She also served as vice chair of the Hammocks District CAC for five years.
Det. Invernizzi began his career serving 11 years in the Hammocks District later becoming a member of the Special Crimes Bureau for two years, then serving two years in a special unit involving crimes against children before taking on his new assignment in technological services.
