Support Services

The Miami-Dade Schools Police Department (MDSPD), established its Canine (K-9) Unit in 1995. The K-9 Unit was spearheaded by Sergeant Reinaldo Perez, who currently supervises the unit. The MDSPD K-9 Unit is comprised of four K-9 Officers and their highly trained Belgian Malinois and German Sheppard canine partners. These very intelligent dogs are trained in the areas of apprehension, narcotics detection and explosives detection.

The K-9 Unit provides support to our agency and renders assistance to all other law enforcement agencies upon request. The MDSPD K-9 Unit undergoes extensive training year round and provides the highest level of professionalism when called upon to conduct area canvasses, building searches, as well as narcotics and explosives searches throughout the county. Additionally, the K-9 Unit participates in tactical training with the Special Response Team to provide tactical support when needed.

The MDSPD K-9 Unit fully supports the school district’s mission, not only by way of providing law enforcement services but by also interacting with the students in a positive manner though educational presentations and participating in student events year-round.

The policy of the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department (MDSPD) is for all officers to aggressively enforce traffic violations in and around school safety zones. In response to a high number of pedestrian traffic injuries, the MDSPD created the Aggressive Driving Unit (ADU).

The ADU is a group of officers directed to target school safety zones via traffic enforcement. Areas chosen are addressed on a priority basis dependent upon:

• where dangerous incidents have occurred
• potentially dangerous areas which have been identified
• complaints of aggressive driving received by citizens and staff
• to supplement the enforcement actions of patrol officers

Law enforcement should target high-visibility locations; including school zones and adjoining neighborhood streets where children travel to and from schools. Extra focus is placed on extreme speeders who regularly drive 10-20 miles above the speed limit. In order to minimize risk to children and other pedestrians, it is critical to enforce speed zones in these areas.

This unit is predicated on the devastating effects of speeding throughout our communities, particularly in school zones. The ultimate success of this unit will be determined by the reduction of traffic violations and accidents in the targeted school zone areas. This will be determined through statistical analyses as interpreted by the Police Support Information Technology supervisor.

The Miami-Dade Schools Police Department’s Bicycle patrol is a problem-solving bicycle policing unit that proactively patrols school sites and prevents crime in surrounding residential areas in an attempt to establish a police presence. Since its deployment, the Bicycle Patrol Unit (BPU) has successfully reduced crime on campus. Bicycle Patrol Officers are highly motivated individuals that strive to be leaders by engaging the school community to mutually solve problems.

The mission of the BPU is to use the advantage of bicycle patrol to complement and enhance the quality of safety and service, already provided by school resource officers to the school sites. Bicycle patrol officers have the advantage of being able to traverse any area in the city and on campus at any time. Bicycles are capable of maneuvering swiftly and safely through congested vehicular and pedestrian traffic and therefore, are a proactive tool for School Resource Officers to utilize. Bicycles are often silent and difficult to see, providing the bicycle patrol officer with an advantage when attempting to apprehend offenders who are in the process of committing crimes and to patrol areas that are not otherwise accessible to police vehicles.

Lastly, the BPU enhances the approachability of officers by students and members of the public, providing the officer with the opportunity to make positive contacts with youth and citizens.

The Miami-Dade Schools Police Department’s Honor Guard is an elite unit that serves as the official representative of the Department and the District within Miami-Dade County. The Honor Guard brings to mind those police officers that have given their lives while protecting our civil liberties and freedom. These select few represent men and women from our community and epitomize the professionalism and dedication of the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department.

The Honor Guard is comprised of dedicated officers that maintain an impeccable appearance, high moral standards and strict police order and discipline. They perform in front of federal, state and the county’s most important leaders.

Each year, the Honor Guard performs in dozens of high visibility, high profile ceremonies in Miami-Dade County. Over the past two years, our honor guard members have represented the Department at more funerals, ceremonies and parades than ever before.

Honor Guard members are often summoned to render honor or inspire esprit de corps; an honor known only to those officers who truly consider themselves as Ambassadors for the Department.

The Police Explorers Program is a volunteer program sponsored by MDSPD and governed by the rules of the Learning for Life Organization.  Our program is designed to provide high-school age youngsters, ages 14 to 18, and a minimum of a 2.0 GPA, with the opportunity to learn about a career in law enforcement.  Following an extensive training program, held every summer, police explorers gain insight into police work through first-hand experience, assisting police professionals in a variety of departmental and community activities. Police explorers are non-sworn, unarmed civilian volunteers with no arrest or enforcement powers.

MDSPD Police Explorers are exposed to several aspects of the law enforcement profession to include the importance of giving back through the involvement of community service.

The MDSPolice Explorer Program is an integral part of the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department, and is operated out of the Community Outreach Unit.

Currently the largest number of Police Explorers in Miami-Dade County, Florida participate within the MDSPD Police Explorer Program throughout several Post being hosted at several High Schools throughout Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

For information on the MDSPD Explorer Program email Officer Colleen LaBarrie at CLaBarrie@dadeschools.net