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Police and downtown ambassadors report fewer pickpocket arrests, high engagement with homeless outreach
Summary
A downtown police sergeant reported recent arrests tied to out-of-town pickpocketing rings and the DDA received an update from the downtown ambassador program showing more than 200 monthly engagements focused on homelessness, loitering and customer assistance.
Delray Beach police and downtown ambassador staff briefed the DDA on Feb. 10 on public-safety and hospitality activity in the DDA district.
Downtown Sergeant Jim Schmidt said recent targeted enforcement identified organized pickpocketing groups from out of town. "Most of these organizations are from out of town, specifically Miami," Schmidt said, and his team identified suspects and made two follow-up arrests during proactive operations. He told the board officers performed 20 arrests and 59 traffic stops involving trucks on the avenue in the month reported.
Brian DeJoy, security director for PSC and supervisor of the downtown ambassador program, said ambassadors logged more than 200 engagements during the month, primarily responding to merchant and public calls and helping people with directions and non-criminal interventions. DeJoy said ambassadors deal with a range of issues: "They're dealing with everything from the homeless individuals... probably 75% of their activity during the day or their engagement is dealing with the homeless individuals."
Why it matters: Board members welcomed the arrests and proactive enforcement and praised the driver-license-reader tools police used to identify suspects. They also discussed nighttime illumination and sign enforcement as code-related issues that affect both safety and perception downtown.
Ending: The DDA thanked police and ambassadors for their updates and urged continued coordination between code enforcement, ambassadors and police to reduce nuisance activity while preserving hospitality and downtown commerce.
