Miramar's newest Police Chief Delrish Moss says he wants to strengthen relations with the community
MIRAMAR - Miramar's newest police Chief Delrish Moss, who became known nationwide during his service in Ferguson, Missouri after civil unrest, said he wants to strengthen relations with the community and beef up his crime-fighting technology.
CBS News Miami's Peter D'Oench spoke with Moss, 58, before he was sworn in as police chief on Thursday afternoon at Miramar City Hall.
"One of the things I want to say to residents is that we want to do more than protect and service, we want to serve and protect, meaning that not only are we looking to combat crime and make sure that it is minimized but we want to be looking at ways to deal with problems before they become criminal issues. We have a social worker here and not many departments have a social worker," Moss said.
"My thing is to provide the best services I can because at some point I am going to retire and I want to avail myself of those services, so one thing I want to do is make sure that this police department is ready to protect me when I am an old man," he added.
He also wants to bolster his staff but said "Not as many people are applying for the police job who are qualified to do the job and there are many more agencies than when I started with Miami in 1984, so there is much more competition for officers."
Moss said another big challenge is the explosive growth in Miramar.
"It's not the Miramar that I saw when I moved there in the 90s," he said. "The population has more than doubled. Businesses are booming. The population is booming. As this becomes a go-to city, a destination city, more people are coming here and more police services are needed."
Moss started his career at the age of 20 as a public service aide with Miami Police and then moved to patrol and became a homicide detective for years was a spokesman for the police department and eventually became a major in Community Relations.
In 2016, he was chosen from over 53 candidates to become Police Chief in Ferguson, Missouri after civil unrest following the shooting of Michael Brown Jr. While there, Moss said he worked on improving community relations and diversifying the department.
In 2019, he returned to Miami to care for his ailing mother and joined the FIU Police Department as a captain in charge of community outreach.
Moss, who will supervise 230 sworn police officers and 83 other staff members, said he believes his experience will make him a stronger police chief.
"Miami has always been a training ground for chiefs but to have a multi-faceted set of experiences makes me a more rounded person and a better police chief. I worked at FIU where the main goal was service to the community which has always been a pet peeve of mine. I went to Ferguson and Ferguson was a city of changing demographics and a growing population. I am accustomed to ushering in change and that has made me a better person today," he said.
