RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — Since the new Chief Michael Coleman took over three weeks ago, the Active Criminal Enforcement Team of the Riviera Beach Police Department has been changed. Since then, more than 20 guns have been taken off the street.
The ACE Team is made up of two sergeants, three cops, and people who study crime.
“It’s a directed patrol.” The Strategic Investigations Unit’s Major Josh Lewis said this. “They don’t just drive around aimlessly looking for something; they have specific goals.”
In April, 18 people were caught, and 26 guns were taken away. One of the cases is being sent to the ATF.
“We’re in the right places and doing the right things, so I think those numbers are going to happen when you’re in the places where crime happens,” Lewis said.
Ricky Aiken started Inner City Innovators, a non-profit that helps teens who are most likely to use drugs or get into trouble.
He said, “All of these kids who are likely to get guns come from broken homes and broken families.” “They are doing everything they can to get respect in this world.”
Aiken praised the work of the Riviera Beach Police Department, but he also stressed how important it is to work as a community to stop crime and make changes that last.
“I think young people in our community think of punishment when they think of law enforcement,” he said. “I think the community gets a better sense of justice when they can look at the police department and see that they did what they could steer a kid in the right direction instead of using the hard hand of the law that these kids are used to.”
Coleman told WPBF 25 News that community policing is a top goal for him as he starts his new job at the department. He also wants people to know that the department is doing everything it can to be involved in community events.
“Those are our neighbors, those are guys we look up to, they’re human and bleed the same way we do, and we care about them,” said Captain Nathan Gordon of the department’s Strategic Investigations Division. “We don’t just break down their doors and put their family members in jail; we care about them.”
