Photo: Fred Ward · Public domainWho reports crime for South Miami Heights
Nearby, 3 communities within 10 miles carry a Safety Grade. The closest graded town is Cutler Bay, 3 miles away, at B−. South Miami Heights has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Miami-Dade County. The Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for South Miami Heights alone, and no Safety Grade.
What stands out about safety in South Miami Heights
Policed by the county
South Miami Heights is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for South Miami Heights. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest Florida towns with their own police figures are Cutler Bay (B−, 3 mi), Palmetto Bay (C+, 5 mi), Coral Gables (B−, 10 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from South Miami Heights. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office reports
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Miami-Dade County without police of their own, which include South Miami Heights.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
The nearest Florida towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cutler Bay | B− | 3 mi | 1.4 | 13.9 |
| Palmetto Bay | C+ | 5 mi | 1.5 | 18.3 |
| Coral Gables | B− | 10 mi | 0.7 | 14.2 |
| South Miami | C− | 10 mi | 4.8 | 20.9 |
| Florida City | D− | 11 mi | 18.5 | 68.5 |
| Doral | B | 16 mi | 1.0 | 12.3 |
Straight-line distance from the center of South Miami Heights. Nearby towns can differ a lot from South Miami Heights.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
19 people died in crashes on South Miami Heights’s roads in 2019–2023
South Miami Heights had 18 fatal crashes in five years, in which 19 people died; 4 were pedestrians.
That is 9.8 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for Florida towns of 25,000–100,000 people (9.7, 147 towns).
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
South Miami Heights and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goulds | — | — | — |
| West Perrine | — | — | — |
| Cutler Bay | B− | 1.4 | 13.9 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Goulds and West Perrine are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in South Miami Heights
Is South Miami Heights, FL safe?
There is no Safety Grade for South Miami Heights. The nearest Florida towns with a grade are Cutler Bay (B−, 3 mi), Palmetto Bay (C+, 5 mi), Coral Gables (B−, 10 mi).
Who polices South Miami Heights?
The Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office. South Miami Heights is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Miami-Dade County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in South Miami Heights.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.