Red Light Cameras still on hold in Margate
Red Light Camera legislation is stalled in Margate until the city’s “Dangerous Intersection Safety Act” is amended to include a maximum fine of $158, and the contract with the city’s Red Light Camera provider, American Traffic Solutions, is amended to comply with new state law.
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National Night Out in Margate little more than a month away
How would you like to attend a free party with 37 million other people? That’s how many turn out for National Night Out in 16,000 communities across the U.S. the first Tuesday in August every year.
2010 marks Margate’s 10th Annual National Night Out. Based on past estimates, police are expecting 5,000 plus attendees.
Click here to read more.
Post flyer on refrigerator to remember date.
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Red Light Cameras on road to approval in Margate
Shortly after Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed a bill in May approving red light cameras for municipalities across the state, Margate officials got to work re-crafting a local red light law of their own, the first reading of which is scheduled for the city’s June 16, city commission meeting.
Click here to read more.
Tips for avoiding a citation.
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Shots Fired at Downtown Margate Restaurant
Margate Police responded to shots fired call at Ambiance Creole Restaurant, 1027 N State Road, Sunday May 16 at 3:30 a.m. Police arrived to about 200 hundred people in the parking lot, according to a Margate police report, and witnesses on the scene said many in the crowd looked like minors.
“The cops had their hands full,” one witness said.
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Canal Crooks Cuffed
Margate Police Chief, Jerry Blough, announced at Wednesday’s City Commission meeting that two suspects allegedly responsible for the rash of one-mile canal burglaries in Margate had been apprehended on May 19 as a result of a surveillance operation in problem neighborhoods.
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CBS4 Reports
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Canal Robberies Continue
Mike on NW 69th Avenue is a recent victim in the rash of burglaries along the one-mile canal in Margate. Burglars came through the kitchen window, said Mike, took two TVs and $300 in cash from a dresser draw, almost as if they knew where to look, he said.
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$200 Reward for Margate Home Invaders
MargateNews.net is offering a $200 reward for the arrest of the person or persons perpetuating the recent rash of residential burglaries on NW 69th Terrace in Margate.
Numerous homeowners on the 'one-mile canal' side of the street in the neighborhood behind the firehouse on Rock Island Road between Atlantic Avenue and Royal Palm Boulevard have been victimized in recent weeks in broad daylight. Thieves have entered through both front and back doors and have stolen guns, electronics and cash, say neighbors.
Neighbors in the area have raised the reward to $1,000 for the return of stolen property and the arrest of thieves.
Click here to read more.
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Pill Bust in Margate takes $50K in narcotics off Streets
Margate cops seized roughly 1,000 black market Oxycontin pills last month after surveillance led to an Ohio citizen ‘doctor shopping’ in various pain clinics around Margate. Detectives estimated the street value of seized narcotics to be in the range of $50,000.
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Disturbing text message reveals violent nature of Margate Teen
“I’m a Killer. Remember my name,” yelled the Margate 17-year-old as he rode off laughing on his skateboard moments after violently striking another Margate teen on the head with it, hospitalizing the teen, states a March 26 Margate Police Incident Report.
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Margate PD enjoys high approval rating
As part of the accreditation process through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), the Margate Police Department is required to submit an annual statistical summary of all complaints made against departmental personnel.
Summary findings indicate the public’s perception of the Margate Police Department remains positive.
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Economy Down, Shop with a Cop Up
This Saturday Margate’s finest police officers, fire rescue workers and other civic volunteers will be taking underprivileged kids shopping at WalMart. After collecting more than $9,000 in donations to purchase gift cards for toys and necessities, this year’s event promises to be the biggest and best yet.
Click here to read more.
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Police in Search of Fraud Perpetrator Roger Miller
The Margate Police Department, the Coral Springs Police Department and several other agencies in Broward County are investigating a fraud scheme involving the Rama Lama Mortgage Company and its owner, Roger Miller.
Click here to read more.
Tips on avoiding investment fraud
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You can still text and drive in Margate…for now
Although undeniably a hindrance to safe driving, cities such as Margate and Parkland are helpless in enacting ‘texting while driving’ laws until state lawmakers take affirmative action. A bill prohibiting texting while driving was submitted to the Florida Legislature this year, but was postponed indefinitely, states a memo from Margate Police Chief, Jerry Blough.
Click here to read more.
Click here for shocking YouTube video of car crash caused by texting.
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Red-Light Cameras on Hold in Margate
Due to an overwhelming number of lawsuits contesting red-light camera citations in Pembroke Pines and other Florida municipalities, Margate officials have suspended approving Margate’s red-light camera RFP this week until language can be inserted to indicate that the vendor awarded the contract will help defray the cost of civil lawsuits.
Click here to read more.
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Do you Trust Police?
In a recent Sun-sentinel column, writer Mike Mayo asks “Do you trust police?” A fairly loaded question and one with no clear cut answer. Bad cops will always make headlines. Good cops go largely unnoticed, save outstanding acts of heroism or interdepartmental awards and commendations.
Reports from both the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the U.S. Department of Justice indicate, for the most part, that the public holds cops in high regard. Police consistently rank among the institutions and occupations in which the public expresses the highest confidence and trust and a substantial majority of the public rates their police as doing an excellent or pretty good job of being “helpful and friendly,” states one report.
Click here to read more.
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Accreditation time for Margate Police
Every three years the Margate Police Department undergoes a voluntary evaluation process conducted by national and state accreditation agencies designed to ensure maximum public safety through the rigorous review of MPD policies, procedures, management, operations and support services.
Click here to read more.
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Show of Strength aims to curb crime in Margate
If you like cop shows, then you’ll love National Night Out (NNO) at the Banks Road Sports Complex August 4th from 7 to 10 p.m. The Margate Police Department will be showcasing K-9 Cops, police helicopters, armed personnel carriers, SWAT trucks, Mobile Command Vehicles and more, all in an effort to let criminals know area law enforcement means business.
Click here to read more.
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Does Voluntary Code Compliance Work?
In response to a Margate resident who questioned why he was being cited by police only now after having a gravel driveway since 1999, city officials collided in a difference of code enforcement opinion at a recent city commission meeting.
The resident told city officials that it could cost him up to $10,000 to install a driveway, in which case he couldn’t afford to pay his mortgage.
Click here to read more.
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Margate Police to enforce city Noise Ordinance
Margate Police Chief, Jerry Blough announced at City Hall Wednesday night that the Margate Police Department (MPD) will be aggressively enforcing the city’s noise ordinance on July 4th. This, in response to a question posed by Margate Commissioner Frank Talerico as to whether fireworks are illegal in Margate.
According to the Chief, “the only thing we really have is a noise ordinance,” said Blough, adding that there is no law in Margate that expressly prohibits the possession of fireworks.
Click here to read more.
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Be a Good Neighbor, Call the Cops
The Margate Police traffic message board stating “Be a Good Neighbor and Report Suspicious People and Suspicious Activity to Margate Police” located on Rock Island Rock due north of Atlantic Boulevard was placed at that location because of signs of criminal activity in the area.
Margate police are requesting that residents in the area heighten their vigilance in reporting unusual events, people and cars in their neighborhoods and to be on the lookout for activity which appears out of the ordinary.
Click here to read more.
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Margate Police Get Grant to Fight Crime
In an effort to increase police presence in high crime areas of the city, Margate Police will be using a grant in the amount of $85,000 to expand their Special Enforcement Team (SET).
Currently, the SET consists of a sergeant and four highly-motivated officers. They operate in marked units and receive special training in street-level tactics. They work mostly at night and have been targeting the rash of residential burglaries in Margate and hot spots for criminal activity, such as the Southgate / 441 area and others along the State Road 7 corridor.
Click here to read more.
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Margate Police propose 'no bid' contract for red-light cameras
In an effort to install red-light cameras at ten intersections throughout the city, Margate Police Chief, Jerry Blough proposed a resolution to Margate City Commissioners Wednesday to sign an agreement between the City of Margate and American Traffic Solutions Inc. without first sending the contract out to bid.
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Traffic Accidents Down in Margate
It could be fewer cars on the road or fewer people passing through Margate. One thing is for sure. Traffic accidents and injuries are down in Margate.
The number of traffic accidents in Margate has dropped nearly 30% since 2003, according to MPD statistics – and the number of traffic injuries about the same. Most frequent accident locations include Southgate Blvd and State Rd 7; Royal Palm Blvd and Rock Island Rd; Winfield Blvd and N State Rd 7; and Colonial and N State Rd 7.
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Margate Undercover
Cops in Margate say they’ve got more undercover cars on the road and more undercover cops in bad neighborhoods. Violent crime and gang activity is up in Margate and cops are on the prowl.
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No Murders in Margate 'they wrote'
There hasn’t been a single murder in Margate for at least five years, according to crime statistics released by the FBI in 2007. But robbery is up in Margate, and so is arson by 200 percent.
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Armed Robbery?
It spread like wildfire through the community. Taqueria Michoacana had just been robbed at gunpoint and the alledged perp snatched the tip jar. This happened on Jan. 22, sometime in the afternoon while regulars sipped draught at Mugshots and sales girls with headsets roamed outside the insurance office next to the barbershop.
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