Miami Now Has 'Police Impersonator Unit'

Plagued by a rash of incidents in which civilians have pretended to be law enforcement officials, the Miami-Dade Police Department has been forced to create a Police Impersonator Unit, The New York Times reports.

According the the Times, Miami is not alone. Police chiefs across the country say impersonators are becoming more sophisticated, organized and violent.

Miami's Police Impersonator Unit is four years old. In that time, real officers have encountered nearly 100 bogus cops -- and it's getting worse.

“It’s definitely a trend,” Lt. Daniel Villanueva told the Times. “They use the guise of being a police officer to knock on a door, and the victim lowers their guard for just a second. At that point, it’s too late.

“The states need to lock this down and make impersonating a police officer a more serious crime because we’re seeing more people using these types of these things to commit more serious crimes.”