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Miami-Dade County set its annual budget late Thursday night. According to the Miami Herald’s Doug Hanks, county commissioners argued over whether it was worth spending $100,000 to revive the county’s Civilian Investigative Panel, which employs civilians to investigate complaints against police. Many law enforcement scholars agree civilian-led panels provide an essential check on police power.
But as protesters marched through Charlotte, North Carolina, demanding greater police accountability Thursday, the commissioners ultimately decided a scant $100,000 was too much to spend to revive the panel. The county’s entire budget totals more than $7 billion.
Now seems to be a good time to remind Miami citizens that multiple city governments across the county green-lighted expensive police-spending proposals this summer. Those projects are far more controversial than the Civilian Investigative Panel. Here are five examples:
1. Miami-Dade Police
2. Coral Gables Police tried to give Miami Beach a spare armored truck it had lying around, but that donation turned out to not be kosher.
3.
4.
5. Miami-Dade County Police are spending $6 million on license-plate readers, night-vision rifles, and ballistic shields.
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