You’ve no doubt seen the countless memes showing images of Karens – those righteous women who report minor infractions to the police.
Victims are usually just annoyed by a Karen’s irrational behavior, but incidents can be dangerous for people of color when police get involved for frivolous reasons.
Now city commissioners have started a neighborhood watch group, but many people think it sounds a lot more like a Karen squad.
Back in July, city commissioners voted to start a so-called Citizens Volunteer Patrol that would deputize residents to stake out their neighborhoods and report suspicious behavior.
The initiative was supported by Commissioner Steven Meiner, an attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, who was elected last year after running on a platform of law and order.
Many feel that this organization is ushering in a new order of 'Karen-like soldiers' on the street of Miami.
A prior attempt at a civilian based crime prevention group failed some years earlier.
In 2017, a Facebook group was started called the Miami Beach Crime Prevention & Awareness. The group began surveilling the streets of South Beach and collecting data on the people who were arrested frequently.
The group grew quickly and accumulated 1,500 followers. Those followers saw themselves as crime-fighting vigilantes with the goal of putting an end to crime in the city. The 'Karen'-like group wanted to crack down on illegal behavior by people who were Black or homeless.
The Facebook page received a warm reception from police at first, but then Police Chief Daniel Oates cut ties in 2019. The relationship between the department and the group deteriorated after the vigilantes were accused of accidentally exposing an undercover operation.
Hopefully, this new Citizens Volunteer Patrol group can effectively work together with police in the future.
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