Miami Downtown Development Authority Ambassadors Program
The Miami Downtown Development Authority Ambassadors Program is designed to assist the public, business owners and government agencies with basic services in the Central Business District of Downtown Miami. The team consists of 6 full-time Ambassadors who are trained to provide hospitality assistance, to be alert for crime prevention services and to report service issues to local government agencies.
The Ambassadors patrol on foot, seven days a week, 8:30am - 6:30pm, Monday through Friday and 8:30am - 4:30pm on Saturday and Sunday.
The goal of the program is to address issues that affect the quality of life in Downtown and to strive to make Downtown Miami one of the most livable cities in the country. The primary roles of the Ambassadors are to:
- Offer a walking service to escort visitors to their destination
- Assist the public with directions and inquiries about the district, its businesses and its services
- Respond to calls concerning specific incidents (suspicious persons, tourists with special needs, graffiti, panhandling, litter)
- Report crime, code enforcement violations, solid waste and other concerns to appropriate agencies and assist in mitigating these from escalating
- Complete daily incident reports on issues attended to and follow-up with other agencies to resolve problems
The program is co-managed by the DDA and Verasys, Inc., a private security firm. The DDA is responsible for program development, supervision of daily operations and assisting with resolving problems with other agencies. Verasys, Inc. is responsible for hiring, basic security, training and managing personnel.
