Major Keandra Simmons

The City of Miami Central District consists of Downtown, Overtown, Wynwood, Allapattah, and Edgewater Neighborhood areas.

• Wynwood is an eclectic district in the urban core of Miami, Florida. It is home to art galleries, retail stores, antique shops, eclectic bars, artisanal eateries and one of the largest open-air street-art installations in the world. With over a million visitors annually, the Wynwood Neighborhood has experienced rapid growth within the Miami Police Department and is now the area with the largest presence of Beat Officers. Officers conduct foot and bicycle within the Wynwood BID 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

• Downtown Miami area is currently experiencing an increase in tourism and residence; it is projected to further increase in the upcoming years. Our objectives and goals for the Downtown Neighborhood area is to make it the safest downtown for the residents, visitors and business owners. Our approach in making downtown safe is through education, prevention and enforcement. An important component that has recently been implemented in downtown is the creation of a Problem Solving Team; which targets crime trends in a proactive approach limiting opportunities for criminals to victimize the residents and tourists who occupy downtown.

The Downtown homeless population has decreased from 413 to 336 in 2019. The City Homeless Outreach combining with police personnel are able to identify those in need and willing to utilize available services resulting in homeless placements.

Our Downtown Neighborhood Resource officers, patrol officers, Beat Officers and Problem Solving Team have created a greater presence and interactions with the business owners and the citizens of downtown. Our goal is not only to prevent and deter crimes, but to build a partnership that will develop a long lasting positive relationship with the citizens of downtown.

• The Historic Overtown Neighborhood area has experienced a tremendous resurgence in the past few years, thanks to the overall community partnerships that are thriving within Overtown. The City of Miami, with the efforts of the Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency, has spearheaded all these improvements, in unison with the City of Miami Police Department to make the community safer every day, especially as it relates to the major decline in persons crimes. Overtown continues to not only develop new business, but new opportunity for home ownership through the increased number of affordable housing locations and the continued focus on ending homelessness and blight. The Police Department has also re-established broken lines of communication with our various Home Owners Associations and the new communication has proven vital to the continued growth in the community.

In addition to the City interest and partnerships in Overtown, locations such as the Overtown Youth Center, Touching Miami with Love, the Saint John Community Development Corporation, Urban Philanthropies, Stephanie Creates, Inc., and the Gibson Park Complex have all become needed pillars in Overtown. These organizations continue to make a conscious concerted effort to improve the quality of life for the Overtown residents, and the people who work and visit the historic location.