Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosanna “Rosie” Cordero-Stutz touts new RoboCop car

Don’t be surprised if the next Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office car that rolls up on you doesn’t have a cop behind the wheel.
On Wednesday, Sheriff Rosanna “Rosie” Cordero-Stutz unveiled what she claims is the nation’s first autonomous patrol vehicle — a driverless police car that sounds like it rolled straight out of a 2000s sci-fi flick. They even gave it a cutesy name: the Police Unmanned Ground vehicle, or “PUG Patrol Partner.”
Ladra wonders who got paid for that branding job.
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The PUG comes courtesy of Virginia-based Perrone Robotics and a one-year pilot program cooked up by a nonprofit called the Policing Lab. And, no, taxpayers aren’t supposed to be footing the bill — at least not yet. Which is a good thing, seeing as how the sheriff was demanding more tax dollars for her $1 billion budget just a few weeks ago. But Ladra can’t help but wonder if Perrone Robotics gets out of it: Data? Footage? What?
The 12-month pilot period aims to evaluate how the PUG affects improved response times, enhanced deterrence, officer safety, and stronger public trust. Miami-Dade is testing ground and this information will determine whether other agencies follow.
But Ladra doesn’t know how they’ll get those metrics if, for now, the robo cruiser — which can drive “pre-planned routes” — is assigned to the department’s Community Affairs Bureau. That means you’re more likely to see it at a parade or a school event with Sberiff Rosie and her entourage than rolling up on a burglary in progress. Like an upgrade on McGruff the Crime Dog.
At least while they work out the kinks — there will actually be a “safety driver” riding along in case the thing goes haywire. So, not exactly “driverless,” huh? The sheriff says it’s to get the public reaction and responses. But doesn’t it have the tech for that?
The vehicle is fully loaded: 360-degree cameras, audio sensors, thermal imaging, license plate recognition, even the ability to launch a drone that gives law enforcement real-time, live footage of a shooting in progress or other critical response scenario. It reportedly can also find someone hiding in the shrubs in a restricted area or a sniper along the rooftop, which is frighteningly becoming more of a thing to search for. Artificial intelligence supposedly automates patrolling and reporting.
Sounds cool until you realize it also means more surveillance toys pointed at you.
“For us, it’s a way to touch this community in a way that we really have never done before,” Cordero-Stutz told WPLG-Local 10 News, calling it a “game-changer.
“We are setting the standard for what will be the future of law enforcement in this country.”
Yikes. What if we don’t want to be touched in that way?
The sheriff says the point is officer safety, faster response times, and stretching resources without new costs. The Policing Lab director, Marjolijn Bruggeling, calls it a “smart, high-tech partner” that frees deputies to focus on “the complex and human side of policing.”
Okay, but forgive Ladra for being skeptical. This is not Miami-Dade’s first foray into high-tech assistance.
Remember the millions poured into ShotSpotter, the gunshot detection system that was supposed to “revolutionize” policing but mostly just misfired? Or the network of license plate readers that promised to catch criminals but ended up tracking ordinary drivers instead? Add the never-ending rollout of body cams, pitched as a transparency fix but plagued by storage costs, delays, and missing footage.
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Every few years, the law enforcement brass lines up with a new gadget that’s supposed to solve everything from officer safety to public trust. And every few years, taxpayers are left wondering if we bought more bells and whistles than actual results.
So, Ladra has to ask: is this really about “community trust,” as they say — or is it about testing how much robo-policing the public will swallow? Because today, the PUG is just smiling at kids in a school gym, a demo car to rally the crowds at community events. Tomorrow, it could be circling your block with nobody accountable in the driver’s seat.
And if something goes wrong — who are you going to call? The safety driver? The sheriff? Some machine?

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