Between the 17 th and 21 st November 2003, there was a Free Trade Area of the American's Summit that was held in Miami town, Florida. During that period, the city experienced widespread demonstrations that led to the Miami Police Department's collaboration and the Dade County Public Safety Department to ensure peace and order in the region. This paper aims to analyze the case study and all the other materials, focusing on the FRAA After-Action review conducted by the City of Miami Civilian Investigative Panel in 2006. The pane also provided several recommendations concerning future ways of police dealing with mass demonstrations. It will emphasize raising the critical issues in the case study, identifying the possible root causes, suggesting viable solutions to the problems, conducting the cost and benefit analysis on the solutions, and finally providing the final policy recommendation to the authorities.
The Key Issues
FTAA initiative between the United States and Latin America was initiated in Miami to discuss the various economic issues facing these states. During the conference, there was a demonstration that led to the response of the police departments. Previously, the town had experienced violence from the anti-globalization group that demonstrated forcing police officers to come up with strategies to deal with chaos (Rohter, 2005). Therefore, the two police departments were expected to repeat the demonstration, hence making sure they did not get out of control.
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The primary issue is that police were passive in dealing with demonstrators. They emphasized being offensive rather than defensive. The departments lacked the necessary unity to conduct their hiring and recruitment process. As a result, officers cannot establish the negative and lack of responsibility among the officials. Another issue is the use of excessive force among the police when maintaining law and order. The case study states that the officers were accused of using lethal weapons such as pepper spray offenders. This was against the law that requires such lethal weapons to be diploid when the situation is more dangerous and life-threatening. Another important issue of concern is the prisoner processing. There were no systematic processes for processing prisoners. They were badly treated, with some being jailed without direct presentation of the evidence against the crime Vitale, 2007).
The police were also required to have adequate knowledge of Protestants’ intelligence. They also needed information on proactive enforcement of the data obtained. Finally, police were needed to match up in a coordinated manner and against the Protestants but maintaining a high level of discipline.
Root Causes
The root cause of the issues was the numerous protests that the city had experienced from some coalition groups and members of masked criminal offenders. They were demonstrating because their agendas had been rejected by the conferences conducted in the states. Protests and demonstrations were the only ways of the anarchist groups and the anti-globalizations to air their grievances to the authorities (Driscoll, 2005). However, sometimes these protests culminated in violent attacks against the police. On some occasions, criminals could hijack the protest and commit untold crimes against innocent civilians and police. Anarchists used the camouflaging strategy, which allowed them to hide among the crowd and attack the police. These groups of people caused a lack of peace and harmony during the FTAA conferences.
The CIP report indicated that MPD received adequate assistance from the state and federal security agencies. However, the media delayed releasing this information regarding other FTAA conference protests and how police were able to deal with them ( Reynardus, 2004) . Therefore, the Miami MPD was able to organize and plan on ensuring adequate security during the Miami conference.
Police have been accused of misconduct and violating the constitutional rights of the people during the demonstrations. The accusation led to the court actions in which CIP did not get the opportunity to review the relevant court documents. Several people were imprisoned about such misdemeanors as the unlawful assembly and failure to obey the law. It was also questionable on the misuse of power and weapons among the police. The general review of the CIP indicated that police were professional in their conduct. That majority of the demonstrators did behave in a civilized manner, except for the few of them.
Solutions
There are several recommendations made in the Civilian Investigative Panel (CIP) report. These recommendations act as viable solutions to solve the discussed issues. One of the panel's feasible solutions is ensuring obedience to the Florida people's command of the Incident Command System ( Reynardus, 2004) . The command is supposed to act as the central command for all people and police forces in Florida. That way, it would be easier for the police to promote order whenever there is a rise in the impasse.
Another recommended solution was for the MPD to develop a technique that will encourage free information flow during times of protests and demonstrations. This way, the intelligence personnel will be able to relay information about likely infiltrations of offenders' lawful demonstrations to cause mayhem through conducting attacks on law enforcement officials and innocent citizens. With the free flow of information, it would be possible for citizens to communicate with the responsible security personnel to ensure that all the suspected gangs are arrested and accused of courts before they could commit crimes.
There should be a formation of an arbitration committee that addresses grievances of the mass regarding global economic emancipation and awareness. Not all conflicts are adequately resolved by the institutions of law enforcement or even the courts. The committee would ensure the minimization of chances of there being a demonstration by the masses during essential conferences. Besides, it would ensure that all cases are solved without bias and in a neutral ground.
The final suggested viable solution is training the police officers to prepare them to deal with and handle demonstrations ( Reynardus, 2004) . Training ensures that officials remain respectful to the demonstrators and do not violate their rights protected under the constitution.
The ramification of the Solutions
The suggested solutions to the issue are all cost-effective. They are appropriate as they involve the constitutional duties of the MPD and the rights and obligations of the civilians. They are viably applicable to developing a long-lasting solution to the protests and the police forces' responsibilities to deal with citizens during demonstration activities. The solutions put into considerations both the rights of the citizens and the police obligations towards enhancing security and peace.
Recommendation
As a recommendation, the county manager and the Board of the Country Commissioners should adopt the suggested solutions to ensure that they attain a long-lasting solution to demonstrations and police involvement. The solution should act as a binding law to all people in Florida and its surroundings. If possible, the authority should finance the reforms and measures for the good of the country. The suggested solutions are necessary for enhancing the relationship and collaboration between the police department and the civilians for long-lasting order in Florida.
References
Driscoll, A. (2005). The McDuffie Riots 25 Years Later. The Miami Herald. Retrieved from http://www.floridacdc.org/articles/050515-1.htm.
Reynardus, J. E. (2004). The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Inquiry Report: Civilian Oversight of Miami-Dade Police and Corrections & Rehabilitation Departments. Independent Review Panel (IRP), Miami, FL .
Rohter, L. (2005). Hemisphere Summit Marred by Violent Anti-Bush Protests. The New York Times.
Vitale, A. (2007). The Command and Control and Miami Models at the 2004 Republican National Convention: New Forms of Policing Protests. Mobilization 12 (4)
