Every year since the inception of this organization, we have held an annual awards ceremony to recognize those Crime Watchers, police officers, and school principals who have dedicated their time and energy to this agency. With over 800,000 residents involved in one way or another, those volunteers truly make a difference in their communities.  

In years past, this awards banquet has been a big to do, in which members from the community, police officers, and local politicians would come together to share a night of recognition along with a little bit of fun. Unfortunately, for two consecutive years, we’ve had to cancel this reputable event due to the COVID19 pandemic that is still afflicting our nation and the world.  

This year we decided to proceed with the ceremony in a less traditional way of handing the awards in a more intimate setting at our office. That way we could still recognize those individuals who are so deserving of their awards, while still maintaining a safe environment for all involved.  You can view the ceremony on our youtube page or following the link from our social media pages.

The following is a list of winners and the categories they won in. 

• School Principal of the Year award went to Eduardo Bovo from Leewood K-8 Center. This award is given to an outstanding principal whose school is involved in the Youth Crime Watch program and leads their school in activities, promotes The YCW criteria, and works in meeting the everyday challenges of implementing safety techniques throughout the school.  
• School Resource Officer of the Year went to Officer Jorge Ojeda from Leewood K-8 Center. School Resource of Officer of the Year is awarded to a school resource officer who dedicates their time to the YCW program and works closely with students in the classroom, with teachers and administrators in promoting the Youth Crime Watch program. 
• The Citizen’s Involvement award was given to two outstanding volunteers in our community: David Comesanas and Jesus Gomez. This award is presented to citizens who may not necessarily be crime watchers, but nonetheless give back to their community by being involved in the fight against crime, work with law enforcement and other organizations to improve the quality of life in their communities. 
• Crime Watcher of the Year: Lilja Taylor-Diaz for the county and Davis & Raquel Chinchilla of North Miami for the municipality. These winners are chosen based on their dedication to be a part of the solution and be a volunteer by being the “eyes and ears” of police. 

• Chairperson of the Year went to Alicia Arellano for the county and Tiffany Thorne of El Portal for municipality. This award is given to individuals who have chosen to lead their neighborhood in initiating a Crime Watch group in the fight against crime.  
• Police Officer of the Year went to Eddie Smith from Miami-Dade Police South District and Victor Ten of Doral Police Department. These winners are nominated by the Crime Watchers they continuously work with.  
• The Eagle Award was awarded to Sergeant Joseph Bermudez of Miami-Dade Police Department. This is granted to a police officer who has gone above and beyond over the years in collaborating with this organization and the community. 

Congratulations to all of this year’s winners and nominees. Let’s hope that next year we can come together to honor and celebrate in the way we have been doing pre-COVID. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication to this organization.  

To contact our office, you can reach us at 305-470-1670 or visit our website at wwww.citizenscrimewatch.org. 

Until next time, be aware, make good choices, and stay safe! 

Written by: Alina Lopez