CONNECT DORAL, una alternativa para reducir el crimen en la ciudad

BY: DIANA BELLO ARISTIZABAL

En las últimas semanas, Doral ha sido blanco de delincuentes que han vandalizado 20 vehículos y robado dos, de los cuales 19 casos fueron atribuidos a cuatro individuos que ya se encuentran tras las rejas gracias a que fueron identificados en cámara por las autoridades. La buena noticia es que este tipo de incidentes pueden ser ahora contrarrestados gracias al programa de integración de cámaras Connect Doral.

“Connect Doral empezó oficialmente la primera semana de febrero”, aseguró a este medio Edwin López, Jefe de la Policía de Doral, en vista de los recientes delitos cometidos en zonas residenciales de la ciudad, los cuales son considerados hechos aislados, pues los robos de vehículos han disminuido este año en más de un 20% en comparación con enero del 2022.

Sin embargo, este programa tiene como objetivo ayudar a cumplir la meta de la policía de que esta comunidad siga siendo una de las más seguras del condado. “Es imposible garantizar que se eliminen el 100% de los actos delincuenciales pero tenemos un equipo para enfrentarlos”, explica López, quien añade que desafortunadamente en todo el condado de Miami-Dade se ha visto un aumento de las tasas de criminalidad.

La esperanza es que cada día se integren más asociaciones y negocios a esta iniciativa para que Doral no haga parte de estas estadísticas. Quienes se unan podrán conectar las cámaras de seguridad que tienen en las áreas comunes con el Departamento de Policía para que éste pueda monitorearlas.

“En aquellos condominios o negocios donde se haga esta vinculación, se ubica un aviso en el que se advierte que las cámaras de dicho reparto están conectadas con el Departamento de Policía, lo cual ayuda a prevenir más delitos”, comenta el Jefe López.

Y, ¿cómo formar parte de este sistema? Ingresando al sitio web connectdoralpd.com, en donde los interesados pueden dirigirse al enlace ‘register your camera’ o registre su cámara. Posteriormente, al usuario se le pedirá que diligencie un formulario con su información personal.

Este proceso toma menos de un minuto y hacerlo no conlleva que la policía tenga acceso a la transmisión en vivo del usuario sino que le permite saber si su cámara está presente en una ubicación determinada para poder pedir fácilmente un video como evidencia si llegase a ocurrir un incidente que no necesariamente tiene que ser un robo sino cualquier evento que atente contra la seguridad.

Luego de este paso, los negocios y residentes pueden darle acceso directo al Departamento de Policía de sus cámaras de seguridad haciendo click en ‘camera integration’.

“Las personas que necesiten asesoría sobre este tema pueden comunicarse con el Departamento de Policía de Doral”, advierte el Jefe López. Hasta el momento se han unido más de 32 negocios o unidades residenciales al programa desde que fue lanzado.

Cabe anotar que los residentes que tengan una cámara ring de vigilancia en la puerta de su casa pueden contactar a la policía para que queden en la base de datos de ésta de tal manera que sus videos puedan ser analizados si llegasen a requerirse.

M S All De La Tecnolog A

A pesar de que este programa de seguridad pública es la última apuesta de la Policía para mantener las calles libres de delitos y responder oportunamente ante las emergencias que se presenten, son muchas las cosas que podemos hacer los habitantes de Doral para contribuir con esta causa.

“En la mayoría de los casos recientes, los dueños de los vehículos hurtados los habían dejado sin seguro, por lo cual se trata de crímenes de oportunidad”, añade el Jefe de la Policía, quien explica que los delincuentes normalmente recorren las unidades residenciales en la madrugada buscando obtener objetos de valor de la manera más fácil posible.

“La mayoría no quieren hacer mucho ruido sino sacar el mayor provecho posible. Algunos intentan encender el vehículo o se lo roban completo cuando los dueños dejan las llaves adentro”, comenta.

Por esta razón, la recomendación principal es que si no existe el hábito de asegurar los carros, ponga una alarma en el celular todas las noches que le recuerde hacer esta sencilla tarea que puede evitarle muchos dolores de cabeza.

Por otra parte, también se recomienda cambiar las contraseñas de ingreso a los garajes, monitorear las redes sociales porque allí se publica información importante para la comunidad, mejorar el alumbrado en los condominios, cortar los árboles que estén bloqueando las cámaras de seguridad y tener un cercado lo suficientemente alto como para que les sea más difícil a los delincuentes acceder a propiedad privada.

Por otro lado, es vital que los padres de familia monitoreen las redes sociales de sus hijos y les inculquen valores como el respeto a lo ajeno y la honestidad, pues muchos delincuentes no alcanzan la mayoría de edad. Este fue el caso de una de las personas vinculadas a los 19 robos que se efectuaron en la ciudad que contaba con apenas 17 años.

“Todo esto nos ayuda a prevenir que ocurran más incidentes de esta naturaleza. Nosotros tenemos patrullas activas durante la noche y nuestra meta es agregar más policías al departamento en los próximos meses pero nos queda imposible estar en todas partes en una ciudad que ya tiene casi 80 mil residentes”, afirma el Jefe López.

Por último, se insta a las comunidades que así lo requieran solicitar la presencia de la policía dentro de sus repartos y llamar inmediatamente a las autoridades en caso de actividad sospechosa. “Nadie conoce las calles y sus comunidades más que los residentes”, concluye el Jefe López.

In January 2023, there was a significant increase in the number of immigrants arriving in Florida from Latin American countries. This, in turn, led to an increase in student enrollment within Miami-Dade County schools, which now have nearly 1,400 more students compared to last school year. Is the trend similar in Doral?

To analyze how Doral is dealing with the wave of new immigrants, it’s imperative to first know what the term ‘capacity’ entails, which can be understood in two ways: We speak of physical capacity, that is, having enough space to house a given number of students and capacity in terms of class size based on teacher ratio.

“This is where we’re having a problem,” explains Danny Espino, member of the MiamiDade School Board for District 5, who adds that the school district has welcomed nearly 15,000 new students so far this year, of which a large majority come from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

According to the school representative, District 5 schools generally speaking do have classrooms set up to receive new students and most, in fact, still have low enrollment rates. However, the concern is that there is still a significant teacher shortage in the county, resulting in an inadequate number of teachers relative to the number of students.

“We are receiving this wave of immigrants while still dealing with the effects of the pandemic, as we have more than 220 vacant positions that haven’t been able to be filled with qualified workers. In addition, every day we demand more from our teachers and we exceed their capacity,” says Espino.

In other words, many schools cannot receive more students because there are not enough teachers to teach them. The situation is further complicated if we take into account that many arrive in Florida without speaking English, with psychological trauma as a result of migratory displacement, and even without having previously had a formal education.

“Our challenge is to not only ensure the new students have a place at our schools and can develop academically, but also to integrate them without affecting the older ones,” says Espino.

However, at the Doral level the outlook seems to be more encouraging with the exception of the JC Bermudez Doral Senior High School. Per state law requirements, its student population exceeds the maximum capacity based on the number of teachers for every 9 students, according to data provided by School Board Representative Danny Espino.

Among the strategies that will be adopted to address this issue are promoting dual enrollment opportunities to qualified students, applying methods to maximize the use of instructional staff, and deploying district employees with core-curricular certification to classrooms, among others.

Despite this identified case, in Doral schools there are enough teachers to meet the demand, although there are still vacant positions that must be filled. “We have to continue recruiting teachers to be able to maintain the level at which we are and not suffer a regression, but the schools in this community are neither under nor over their capacity,” Espino explains.

In the meantime, the school board is working to understand what type of services the new students require, such as psychological support or technological resources, since many do not have Internet access, while implementing strategies so that schools comply with the rate of teachers established by law.

But in order to attract qualified staff to classrooms, it is necessary to improve teachers’ salaries, because for this very reason there has been a deficit. In this regard, Espino comments that at the state level they are talking about establishing a fund that will improve the conditions and income of school workers.

WHERE ARE THE NEW STUDENTS?

Although in general Doral schools have not been seriously affected by the wave of immigrants, an interesting dynamic has arisen that is worth analyzing. This has to do with the type of education that newcomers choose despite having several options at their disposal such as public, charter or private schools.

“The newcomer has the perception that charters are the best alternative. For this reason, we are seeing there has not been a significant increase in student enrollment at public or private schools compared to charters,” says Doral’s vice mayor, Rafael Pineyro, who has been following up this issue with the purpose of supporting new families from his position.

However, according to the vice mayor, people are not opting for the new charters in high school education but for older ones like Downtown Doral Charter Upper School and Doral Academy.

“Public schools still have registration capacity but families are not selecting them. They prefer to be part of a long waiting list like the one these two charters have because they are so popular.”

And why do immigrants prefer charters? According to Pineyro, there is a general belief that their standards are higher. “The public school curriculum is just as good. In addition, this trend also has to do with the fact that charters limit class size while public schools don’t, especially now that there is a shortage of teachers.”

But regardless of the path newcomers choose, Rafael’s goal as an elected official is to make sure families have the necessary knowledge to adequately adapt to this community.

“Although as a city we have no interference at the school level, I want to propose a support system for new residents that allows them to know basic information such as where to vaccinate their children, what organizations help with immigration issues or how to get free legal assistance, among other topics.”

He clarifies this initiative didn’t arise as a response to the wave of immigrants, but rather as a response to how difficult it’s for new residents to access information. Even so, it can be very useful for people who come from other countries and, therefore, lack knowledge of how the American education system works or where to find the ideal school for them.

“The goal is to serve as a guide so that children can continue with their education without setbacks. It is also expected that this mechanism helps parents identify the programs that we have to assist them in the care and coaching of their children,” Pineyro explains.

On the other hand, he also aspires to implement another project focused on creating sports and cultural spaces in the city parks after school in order to keep them busy and safe while they develop their creativity or strengthen their talents.

“I see it as a kind of incubator in alliance with universities at the local level. We already have many programs of this type but I would like to make them more accessible for parents in terms of costs.”

“As an elected official, I will always look for a way to make new residents feel included in this community and that they can access the same opportunities as others, while always urging them to follow the rules and laws for the safety of all.”

Danny Espino, for his part, encourages the community to be compassionate to newcomers and help them adjust to our schools. “The lines of communication can be difficult for them to navigate. That’s why we all need to work to get families involved in the community so no child is left behind.”