Latino Police Radio interviewed Chief Rafael Hernandez jr, of the North Miami Police Dept on Sept 30, 2008 as a part of LPR’s Hispanic Hero month. Chief Hernandez was born in Cuba and grew up in Miami. He earned an associate degree from Miami-Dade Junior College, a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Florida International University, and has completed coursework at Florida International University and Northeastern University toward a master’s degree in criminal justice. He has over 34 years of experience in the field of law enforcement.
Chief Hernandez obtained his police certification through the Dade County Metropolitan Police Institute and began his career in 1972 as a Metro-Dade police officer. He joined the U.S. Secret Service as a Special Agent in 1979, then in 1980 moved to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, where he rose to the rank of Captain. The first of his appointments as Chief of Police took place in 1993 in Sweetwater, Florida. From 1995 to 1997 he was Chief of Police in South Miami, Florida. In 1997 he became a Commander at the North Miami Beach Police Department before moving to Chelsea, Massachusetts to serve as its Police Chief from 1998 to 2000. He made history by being the first Hispanic to be selected as Chief in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In 2000, the former Governor, Jane Swift of Massachusetts appointed him to the position of Undersecretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety. In that position, he was responsible for a $222 million-dollar budget, 3000 employees, and eight state agencies and boards, including the Massachusetts State Police, the National Guard, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Fire Services, and the Criminal Justice Training Council. After September 11th, he represented the Executive Office of Public Safety/Governor’s Office in facilitating and coordinating law enforcement and private resources to assure the safety to all citizens at the Port of Boston and Logan Airport. In 2002, he oversaw security operations for the Boston Marathon and the July 4th Esplanade. Chief Hernandez returned to Florida in 2002 to take on new challenges as Deputy Police Chief for the City of Tallahassee.
He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the FBI LEEDS (Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar), 34th Session, FDLE Chief Executive Seminar, 35th Session, and the Harvard University JFK School of Government. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Florida Police Chief’s Association (FPCA) and other Police Chiefs organizations. He is the IACP Co-Chair of the Civil Rights and Diversity Panel Board, a member of the Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Committee, and was the Tallahassee Police Department’s representative on the statewide Domestic Security Task Force. He is also a member of the Hispanic American Police Commanders Officers Association (HAPCOA).
During his career, Chief Hernandez has supervised, commanded and/or implemented the following units and programs: Field Force, Combat Auto Theft, School Resource Officer, DARE, Weed & Seed, Police Athletic League, Internal Affairs, Gang Task Force, Civilian Police Academy, Code Enforcement, Field Training Program, Crisis Response Team, Community Oriented Policing and Problem Oriented Policing. He is experienced in the collective bargaining negotiation process as well as in preparing his agencies for the national and state accreditation processes.
"In God We Trust"
1 comment:
Your blog just popped up on my Google News Alert. It's great to hear of your vision for making a positive impact on the Latino community as you serve. I have great respect for those who choose to serve in schools.
Most parents do not fully understand the positive impact of the school resource officer. Through my experience in the middle and junior high levels as an “active in education” father, I see firsthand the value these men and women have on campus.
Over the last 10 years, I helped lead a program designed to get fathers and father-figures started and active in my children’s elementary and middle schools. The purpose and vision of this program was safety and positive male role models. Due to the challenge of 65-85% of students in some schools / school districts who live in a single parent home, typically with mom, the program did not have the ability to serve all communities nationally.
To help support personal responsibility, safety and education, Schools And Families Engaged (the S.A.F.E. TEAM on Campus) was launched in 2008 to meet the needs of schools and families. Many of our school's families do not know where to begin in school. Many parents today never had an example of their parents supporting the school, let alone having a personal schooling experience they enjoyed. Why would they have a desire to serve? You only know what you have experienced.
Provide support for your school, families, community and school resource officers. Make time to check out our site www.thesafeteam.com . On the About SAFE page, click on the 40 Developmental Assets link. This reference will tie in all the benefits of families and communities supporting their students both in school and out of school.
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