City of Homestead history

Homestead’s first newspaper, The South Florida Banner, was published by Reverend Joseph Kahl on March 15th. It covered important local milestones like the creation of a new school and the accomplishments of the Homestead Circle (the predecessor of the Homestead Women’s Club). Photograph courtesy of www.hsdade.com; The Homestead Enterprise, March 30, 1923

When the “Key Largo Hurricane” hits, Homestead is almost entirely flooded and nearly all residences are damaged by the most intense tropical cyclone to strike Florida since 1935.

The peak Cold War years, 1945–60The Truman Doctrine and containmentPostwar domestic reorganizationThe Red ScareThe Korean WarPeace, growth, and prosperityEisenhower’s second termDomestic issuesWorld affairsAn assessment of the postwar era

In 1957, the Dade County Education Commission acknowledged “security” as an integral component of District operations and approved the position of Security Assistant (SA), reporting directly to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

A new city hall on US 1, in planning since 1964, opens and is officially dedicated.

Earlier in his career, as Assistant Director in 1971, McAllister spearheaded legislation that authorized school districts throughout Florida to employ commissioned police officers.

In 1973 due to the high incidence of burglaries and other crimes occurring after regular school hours, the first night patrol was established to augment police services to the District.

Tyler continued to serve in this role until 1974, and was instrumental in defining the humble beginnings of the fledgling organization.

Many modern police departments have since adopted a similar process known as COMPSTAT. Truitt served as Director until 1978 at which time he was succeeded by Mr.

In 1979, the SSD was reorganized as the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) of Dade County Public Schools.

During the mid-1980’s, McAllister began a pilot program assigning school police officers to secondary school sites.

In 1984 Florida City elected its first majority African-American commission.

In 1992, the Superintendent of Schools made a commitment to the School Board to assign a police officer to every secondary school as a proactive measure to provide a safe learning environment.

At that time, SIU had an organizational restructuring to prepare for its new role and expanding responsibilities, and was subsequently renamed the Division of School Police (DSP). Chief McAllister served as the Chief of the DSP until 1996.

In 1999, the DSP began a transformation to a more congruent organization in relation to the District, striving to enhance the delivery of police services.

He served as Chief of Police and District Security until 2004.

In August of 2008, Charles J. Hurley was named Chief of the MDSPD. During his tenure, Chief Hurley managed to reform the business practices of the Department and centralized the agency’s procurement process at a time of great economic uncertainty.