L.A. County would release low-level inmates awaiting trial to ease jail crowding

With jails bursting at the seams, Los Angeles County justice and public safety officials are seriously considering a gradual release of potentially thousands of low-level inmates - mostly those awaiting trial on petty theft and drug charges - starting with a few hundred next month.

In a report to the Board of Supervisors, county Chief Executive Officer William Fujioka recommended alternatives to jail that include a pilot pretrial release program that would let inmates out without posting bail - if they can pass a risk-assessment analysis and get court approval.

Under the plan, proposed for implementation Nov. 1, the court could also order some inmates released on their own recognizance.

Others inmates could be placed under electronic monitoring via GPS-enabled ankle bracelet; or required to check in with sheriff's deputies, probation officers, work release programs, community detention facilities, or treatment facilities for mental health and substance abuse.

"With the use of a risk assessment instrument and appropriate supervision and services during release, an effective pretrial release program may be implemented," Fujioka said in the report.

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_21710660/l-county-would-release-low-level-inmates-awaiting

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Manson follower's release OK'd by parole board

LOS ANGELES - A parole board panel has recommended the release of a former Charles Manson follower imprisoned for 40 years for a double murder Manson engineered, but it's not the last hurdle Bruce Davis will face as he seeks his freedom.

The recommendation that came Thursday on the eve of Davis' 70th birthday in his 27th parole hearing is subject to a 120-day review period by the entire parole board. If upheld, Gov. Jerry Brown then has 30 days to review the decision, and could reject it as his predecessor Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger did the last time parole was recommended.

Some expressed opposition to his release, including the office that originally prosecuted him.

"We certainly disagree with the board's decision," Los Angeles County district attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said. "We will evaluate how we plan to proceed as the matter goes to Gov. Brown."

California

Oakland Police Adopt Nixle "Tip Watch" After String Of Deadly Shootings

OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 4, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Faced with a rising homicide rate, the Oakland Police Department has adopted Nixle's "Tip Watch," a powerful new two-way notification service that allows witnesses to pass along anonymous tips via text message, Internet or phone call.

Nixle activated Tip Watch on Wednesday at the request of the Oakland Police, who have appealed for the public's help in looking for homicide suspects that left five East Oakland residents dead in unrelated shootings Monday night and Tuesday. Police report the murder rate is running 11% ahead of last year.

Through Tip Watch, witnesses can leave anonymous tips for the police—and even reply to follow-up questions from the department without revealing their identities.

"Nixle Tip Watch has the potential to increase our police force by thousands through the enlistment of the community's eyes and ears," says Oakland Police Chief Howard A. Jordan. "In the past, when tips were not shared due to community reluctance and fear, criminals were allowed to reoffend and re-victimize. Tip Watch anonymity removes that element of fear from the community's decision to report."

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/04/4883086/oakland-police-adopt-nixle-tip.html

One year in to realignment, local law enforcement voice fears

A year into the implementation of Gov. Jerry Brown's public safety realignment, dozens of law enforcement officials from across Southern California came together Tuesday to express concerns about its impact on crime and on their scarce resources.

"Crime appears to be on the increase," Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine said, citing statistics from downtown Los Angeles, Sacramento and Fresno. "It's frightening."

A spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, however, countered that a year is not enough time to judge whether transferring the supervision of certain criminals from the state to counties has been a success or a failure.

"It's incredibly early to make any kind of determination," spokeswoman Dana Simas said.

"I understand there's some local law enforcement concerns about rising crime rates but, at this point, it's all anecdotal," she added. "I don't have any numbers from any law enforcement agency saying these numbers are going up."

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_21701846/one-year-realignment-local-law-enforcement-voice-fears

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

California

LAPD won't turn over some illegal immigrants, Chief Charlie Beck announces

The Los Angeles Police Department will refuse to turn over some arrestees to federal immigration authorities under a new policy announced Thursday by Chief Charlie Beck. Beck said the LAPD won't honor Immigration and Customs Enforcement "detainer" requests for most undocumented immigrants arrested for public nuisance offenses or low-grade misdemeanors.

It will still honor the requests, Beck said, for people charged with felonies, drunken driving or crimes of violence, as well as those suspected of gang membership and those with prior felony records. The department now honors all ICE detainer requests, which can lead to deportation.

The LAPD gets about 3,400 ICE detainer requests a year, and Beck said it could refuse to honor about 400 under the new policy. Those numbers are extrapolated annual figures based on a six-month internal study and are a small fraction of the LAPD's overall 105,000 annual arrests.

Beck said the new policy should go into effect Jan. 1. Police have not finalized the list of offenses that will be covered, and they will accept public comment before it goes into effect. As an example of people who probably won't be detained under the new policy, Beck mentioned someone charged with drinking in public.

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_21699323/lapd-wont-turn-over-some-illegal-immigrants-chief

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oct 4, 2012

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Security program slammed by Senate report for improperly collecting info on innocent citizens

WASHINGTON - A multibillion-dollar information-sharing program created in the aftermath of 9/11 has improperly collected information about innocent Americans and produced little valuable intelligence on terrorism, a Senate report concludes. It portrays an effort that ballooned far beyond anyone's ability to control.

What began as an attempt to put local, state and federal officials in the same room analyzing the same intelligence has instead cost huge amounts of money for data-mining software, flat screen televisions and, in Arizona, two fully equipped Chevrolet Tahoes that are used for commuting, investigators found.

The lengthy, bipartisan report is a scathing evaluation of what the Department of Homeland Security has held up as a crown jewel of its security efforts. The report underscores a reality of post-9/11 Washington: National security programs tend to grow, never shrink, even when their money and manpower far surpass the actual subject of terrorism. Much of this money went for ordinary local crime-fighting.

Disagreeing with the critical conclusions of the report, Homeland Security says it is outdated, inaccurate and too focused on information produced by the program, ignoring benefits to local governments from their involvement with federal intelligence officials.

Because of a convoluted grants process set up by Congress, Homeland Security officials don't know how much they have spent in their decade-long effort to set up so-called fusion centers in every state. Government estimates range from less than $300 million to $1.4 billion in federal money, plus much more invested by state and local governments. Federal funding is pegged at about 20 percent to 30 percent.

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_21687851/security-program-slammed-by-senate-report-improperly-collecting

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Georgia

Help APD be Better in the Community, Participate in the Community Policing Self-Assessment

The Atlanta Police Department wants our community input to make better decisions and choices when policing our communities.

(The following is a message from the Atlanta Police Chief, Georgre Turner)

Our agency has chosen to participate in the Community Policing Self-Assessment Tool (CP-SAT), an online survey which collects information about our practice of community policing. I strongly encourage you to complete this assessment, which you may access by clicking the URL below. Through your participation in this assessment, our agency will be able to gather valuable data allowing us to enhance our community policing practices and identify community policing strengths and areas for improvement. The assessment is sponsored by the COPS Office and is administered by ICF International.

Your responses to this survey will be kept confidential. There are no individual identifiers in the data that the agency will receive, and the agency will not be able to link an individual's data to their email address. This is not a test, so there are no right or wrong answers. Please answer each question honestly. The assessment will take you approximately 15 minutes of your time.

Assessment URL: https://survey.icfsurveys.com/se.ashx?s=04BD76CC552D21AD

http://cascade.patch.com/articles/help-apd-be-betterin-the-community-participate-in-the-community-policing-self-assessment

Firefighting cops: How police can SWARM

During the past two years, the Joint Counterterrorism Awareness Workshop Series (JCTAWS) Project has been conducting tabletop exercises in selected urban areas

SAN DIEGO — Dr. Reed Smith is a guy you'd want to have on your team in a fight. He'd be on my team, that's for sure.

Dr. Smith was among the panelists on a Sunday afternoon session, which was made up of individuals from FEMA, DHS, FBI, NCTC, and several local police and fire agencies, who convened to discuss the lessons learned from a series of regional workshops held in the past two years.

Each tabletop exercise — conducted in cities such as Philadelphia, Boston, Sacramento, Indianapolis, Honolulu, and Houston — was designed to improve the ability of local jurisdictions to prepare for, protect against, and respond to complex, coordinated terrorists attacks specific to that particular city.

The program is called the Joint Counterterrorism Awareness Workshop Series (JCTAWS), and it has yielded some pretty interesting results.

http://www.policeone.com/police-products/less-lethal/projectiles-launchers/articles/5999879-Firefighting-cops-How-police-can-SWARM/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oct 3, 2012

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LAPD helping raise money for two girls orphaned, injured in Woodland Hills car crash

WOODLAND HILLS - A fundraising effort for two young girls whose parents died in a car crash last week in Woodland Hills has been launched, with proceeds going to help pay for their medical bills. Officers with the LAPD's Topanga Division started the fund drive Tuesday to help get the word out about the girls' needs.

"We want to be able to do what we can for the girls," said LAPD Senior Lead Officer Sean Dinse, speaking at a launch event held at Safir Mediterranean Cuisine on Ventura Boulevard. "When someone is in need, we want to be there for them," added Officer Amir Abolfazlian. "They will have ongoing medical needs."

Dino, 46, and Leila "Rosa" Milon, 45, died and their daughters were critically injured last week in a car crash in a residential Woodland Hills neighborhood. An investigation is continuing, police said, but it appeared that Dino Milon, who was driving the Toyota RAV 4, may have sped down a steep hill near the 20400 block of West Califa Street, run a stop sign, and then swerved to avoid another car, causing his vehicle to tip on its side. The Toyota then rammed a parked Ford F-250 pickup and flipped upside down, Los Angeles police have said. | See photo gallery.

The two girls, Nila 12, and Iyla, 10, survived but were brought to Northridge Hospital Medical Center in critical, unstable condition. Since then, they have made progress in their recovery, but they face many reconstructive surgeries, as well as rehabilitation, said the girls' cousin, Pareesa Nindra.

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_21685003/lapd-helping-raise-funds-two-girls-orphaned-injured

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

9/11 Libya consulate attack leads to Oct. 10 congressional hearing

In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chairman Darrell Issa and Rep. Jason Chaffetz said their information came from "individuals with direct knowledge of events in Libya."

Issa, R-Calif. and Chaffetz, R-Utah said the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans was the latest in a long line of attacks on Western diplomats and officials in Libya in the months before Sept. 11.

The lawmakers said they plan a hearing on Oct. 10. They asked Clinton whether the State Department was aware of the previous incidents, and whether the level of security that was provided to the U.S. mission met the security threat, and how the department responded to requests for more security.

Referring to the Sept. 11 attacks, the letter said, "It was clearly never, as administration officials once insisted, the result of a popular protest."

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_21679876/9-11-libya-consulate-attack-leads-oct-10

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Senate panel criticizes anti-terror data-sharing centers

The scores of 'fusion centers' across the country threaten civil liberties while doing little to counter terrorism, a two-year study by a Senate subcommittee finds.

The so-called fusion centers were created in 2003 after the Sept. 11 commission concluded that federal, state and local law enforcement agencies needed to collaborate more in counter-terrorism efforts.

Funded by federal grants, the fusion centers were intended to share national intelligence with state and local law enforcement and to analyze potential terrorist activity detected by police. Homeland Security Department officials have credited the centers for helping uncover terrorist plans, including a 2009 plot to bomb the New York subway.

But the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, in a 146-page report released Tuesday that reviewed intelligence reports from fusion centers between April 1, 2009, and April 30, 2010, "could identify nothing that uncovered a terrorist threat, nor could it identify a contribution any fusion center made to disrupt an active terrorist plot."

Senate investigators concluded that Homeland Security liaisons to the centers "forwarded 'intelligence' of uneven quality — oftentimes shoddy, rarely timely, sometimes endangering citizens' civil liberties and Privacy Act protections, occasionally taken from already-published public sources, and more often than not unrelated to terrorism."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fusion-centers-20121003,0,3075735.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bronx community leaders praise new NYPD anti-gang initiative, argue more youth programs are also needed

Bronx community leaders applauded the NYPD Tuesday for vowing to combat the violent crews that have been shooting up the city's streets.

The NYPD will double the size of its Gang Division from 150 to 300 detectives and pursue the small, loose-knit gangs on social media websites such as Facebook, where their petty turf rivalries often break out, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly announced.

But neighborhood leaders also called for a holistic approach to the problem, including more extracurricular programs and more beat cops to deter street crime.

"From a police perspective, this makes sense," said Rev. Francis Skelly of Immaculate Conception Church in Melrose. "There are turf wars going on here.

"But the broader issue is these kids are doing this because they have time on their hands. We need to come up with more things for them to do - otherwise we'll just be arresting more kids."

In addition to enlarging the Gang Division, "Operation Crew Cut" will involve NYPD lawyers coordinating investigations with borough prosecutors, and certain precincts will assign up to a dozen cops to deal with turf wars.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/city-top-raymond-kelly-announces-operation-crew-cut-article-1.1173045?localLinksEnabled=false

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arson In Toledo Mosque

TOLEDO, Ohio (RNS) Muslim worshippers are reeling from an arson fire at the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo, but are grateful for an outpouring of support from the local interfaith community.

"All the support we get is very welcome because if you are going through a tragedy and you have a friend who is holding your hand it means a lot," said S. Zaheer Hasan, a spokesman for the United Muslim Association of Toledo.

Perrysburg Township police ruled that the Sunday evening (Sept. 30) fire was arson. Surveillance footage from the mosque shows a "person of interest" -- a white middle-aged male wearing a camouflage sweatshirt and hat -- at the mosque's entrance shortly before the fire, which was reported about 5 p.m.

Mahjabeen Islam, president of the Islamic Center, said the suspect poured gasoline in the center of the main floor where men worship at the mosque. Women pray on the same main floor, but in an area separated by a low divider.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/03/toledo-mosque-arson_n_1934488.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the FBI

Help Us Catch a Terrorist -- U.S. Citizen Wanted for Supporting Al Qaeda

10/03/12

The FBI today announced a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest of Ahmad Abousamra, a U.S. citizen from Massachusetts charged with traveling to Pakistan and Yemen to seek military training so he could kill American soldiers.

“Knowing that the public is the FBI's best ally in finding fugitives, today we're requesting your assistance to locate Abousamra,” said Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of our Boston office.

Abousamra is charged with conspiracy to provide material support or resources to al Qaeda. He was indicted in 2009 for taking multiple trips to Pakistan and Yemen in 2002 and 2004 to seek jihad training. He also traveled to Iraq with the hope of joining forces fighting against Americans overseas. Abousamra left the U.S. in 2006 and may be living in living in Aleppo, Syria with his wife, at least one daughter, and extended family.

Abousamra's co-conspirator, Tarek Mehanna, was convicted of terrorism charges by a federal jury in December 2011 and sentenced last April to 17.5 years in prison.

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/october/help-us-catch-a-terrorist/help-us-catch-a-terrorist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oct 2, 2012

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NYPD to Boost Gang Unit Over Social Media Violence

The New York Police Department is planning to double the size of its gang unit to 300 detectives to combat teen violence fueled by dares and insults traded on social media.

Rather than target established street gangs involved in the drug trade, the reinforcements will focus mainly on "looser associations of younger men who identify
themselves by the block they live on, or on which side of a housing development they reside," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in prepared remarks.

"Their loyalty is to their friends living in a relatively small area and their rivalries are based not on narcotics trafficking or some other entrepreneurial interest, but simply on local turf," Kelly added. "In other words, 'You come in to my backyard and you get hurt. You diss my crew and you pay the price.'"

The remarks were provided in advance of Kelly's appearance Tuesday in San Diego at a gathering of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Under the new plan, the NYPD gang unit will work more closely with other divisions that monitor social media for signs of trouble.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/nypd-plans-double-size-gang-unit-17372184

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michigan

Nearly $500k in federal anti-drug grants awarded to Saginaw prosecutor, Buena Vista PD, BAYANET

SAGINAW, MI — The Saginaw County Prosecutor's Office, Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team (BAYANET) and Buena Vista Police Department are among several Michigan criminal justice agencies awarded a total of $6.4 million in federal grant funds to strengthen anti-drug efforts in Michigan.

Another federal grant awarded today will allow young people in Saginaw attend the Michigan Youth Leadership Academy for free.

The Saginaw County Prosecuting Attorney's Office was awarded $248,922 for High-Crime Cities Prosecution Efforts, the Michigan State Police reports.

The Saginaw County Major Crimes Prosecution Project will work closely with the Michigan State Police, Saginaw Police and the Saginaw Sheriff's Department Major Crimes Task Forces to interdict and reduce violent crime in Saginaw by targeting investigations, prosecutions and enhanced sentencing of violent criminals who repeatedly commit the most violent and habitual serious crimes, the MSP reports.

BAYANET will receive $181,580 to "efficiently investigate controlled substances violations and target major narcotics dealers within a six county region," according to the document.

http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2012/10/nearly_500k_in_federal_anti-dr.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oct 1, 2012

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fewer services for patients with Down syndrome who are affected by Alzheimer's

Now 60 years old, Denise Steinberg is forgetting the little things. She puts her blouse on backwards or her pants on inside out. Her attention span has dwindled. She is acting out toward her roommates.

"I'm seeing the signs more and more, and I'm freaking out because where is she going to go?" asks Terri Budow, Denise's younger sister.

"I love her and I want her to be around people who care and who love her, too."

Steinberg was born with a developmental disability at time when she and people like her expected to live only until they were 30 years old.

Now, she is part of an unexpected trend: Those with Down syndrome or other development disabilities are living longer, but in some cases, not necessarily better. More than 90 percent of those with Down syndrome develop Alzheimer's disease by the time they are in their late 40s.

"This is something the community has never had to deal with before," said Roschell Ashley, director for residential services for New Horizons.

The nonprofit New Horizons formed in the San Fernando Valley in 1954 to help those with developmental disabilities learn life skills, find employment and receive housing.

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_21667511/most-down-syndrome-are-affected-by-alzheimers-disease

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CA 'Anti-Arizona' Legislation Gives Undocumented Immigrants License to Drive

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The newest legislative move in California marks a small victory for the states undocumented immigrants. In the new bill, signed into action late Sunday night by Gov. Jerry Brown, some undocumented immigrants could get California drivers licenses.

AB2189 by Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, will let the Department of Motor Vehicles issue licenses to undocumented immigrants eligible for work permits under a new Obama administration policy. The bill requires the department to accept as proof of legal residence whatever document the federal government provides to participants in its deferred action program.

Cedillo said his bill will make roads safer while letting young immigrants drive to school and to work. His reasoning drew support from several Republican lawmakers, while other Republicans argued the state should leave immigration issues to the federal government.

"It is a victory for those who were brought here through no choice of their own, played by the rules, and are only asking to be included in and contribute to American society," Cedillo said in a statement.

He said California is the first state to grant drivers' licenses to the group singled out under the Obama administration's policy. Cedillo praised Brown for choosing "public safety over politics" by signing the bill.

"President Obama has recognized the unique status of these students, and making them eligible to apply for driver's licenses is an obvious next step," Brown spokesman Gil Duran said.

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/10/01/ca-anti-arizona-legislation-gives-undocumented-immigrants-license-to-drive/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DNA evidence exonerates 300th prisoner nationwide

A Louisiana man is released from death row after his murder conviction is overturned. He said he was coerced into giving a false confession.

A Louisiana man has been released from death row, becoming the 300th prisoner nationwide to be freed after DNA evidence showed he was innocent.

Of those 300 prisoners, 18 had been on death row, according to lawyers from the New York-based Innocence Project.

"It feels good. I'm still processing it," said Damon Thibodeaux, 38, when reached by phone in New Orleans.

A Jefferson Parish judge overturned his murder conviction Friday and ordered Thibodeaux released after 16 years in prison, 15 on death row. The decision was one of several recent exonerations across the country.

Last Monday, John Edward Smith was released from a Los Angeles jail nearly two decades after he was wrongfully imprisoned in connection with a gang-related shooting. In August, Chicago prosecutors moved to dismiss murder charges against Alprentiss Nash 17 years after he was convicted of a murder that recent DNA tests indicated he didn't commit. Earlier that month in Texas, David Lee Wiggins was freed after DNA tests cleared him of a rape for which he had served 24 years.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-dna-evidence-20121001,0,2977942.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Nearly all (92 percent) of citizens surveyed by Accenture (NYSE:ACN) in six countries want to support their police force and believe they have an important role to play in reporting crime (88 percent). However, the vast majority (84 percent) of almost 1300 respondents say they are only minimally informed of local police activities, according to a survey released by Accenture at the annual conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police ( IACP ).

Citizens -- from Canada , Germany , Netherlands , Spain , the United States and the United Kingdom -- believe digital communication channels, including social media, can play a significant role in bridging the communication gap. Almost three-fourths (71 percent) of those surveyed say police use of digital channels can help overcome the communication gap , but only 20 percent believe their local police use digital channels.

The survey found almost three-fourths (72 percent) of respondents believe social media can be an effective tool to report crimes, generate suspect leads and support police investigations. Yet, only 13 percent of respondents said their local police are currently using social media as a communications channel. More than half of respondents (53 percent) believe the use of social media by police can improve police services and 47 percent believe it can prevent crime. Citizens also expressed preferences for specific social media platforms: 81 percent of respondents said they would most likely use Facebook to interact with police and 35 percent said they would use Twitter.

Almost one-fourth (23 percent) of respondents believe police should use smartphone and mobile applications to communicate with citizens and 50 percent said they would like to see an increase in the use of police websites and portals. Only 22 percent of those surveyed, however, said their police force is currently using dedicated websites and portals. The research found that police across all six countries continue to rely heavily on traditional media channels, including newspapers (69 percent) and radio or television news reports (45 percent), as their primary tools for one-way communication with citizens.

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/news/article.asp

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Assistant Secretary of State Brownfield promotes international police training

William Brownfield, a shrewd and witty diplomat who serves as Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, appeared at the IACP show in San Diego on Sept. 30 to sign a partnership agreement with the police department of Portland, OR, under which Portland will send some of its law enforcement officers to the South Asian nation of Bangladesh to instruct their counterparts in community policing.

One might reasonably wonder what police officers from Portland might know about community policing that would be relevant to police in Bangladesh, but it turns out that Assistant Secretary Brownfield, Portland Chief of Police Michael Reese and AKM Shahidul Hoque, an inspector general with the Bangladesh Police, all of whom attended the brief signing ceremony, all agreed that such training makes a lot of sense.

“When this training works,” said Brownfield, “Portland is a winner, the U.S. Government is a winner, the Bangladesh Police is a winner and the nation of Bangladesh is a winner.”

A few hours later, in an exclusive interview with Government Security News , Brownfield noted that while Portland may, indeed, be quite different from any large city in Bangladesh, a substantial percentage of the material about community policing that the Portland instructors would impart to their Bangladesh students would hit on “universal” themes, such as the importance of local police officers linking up with local residents, and the value that can flow to police if they're perceived to be members of the local community.

Chief Reese, of Portland, made essentially the same point when he recalled a situation a few months ago in which an engineer from Portland wanted to donate a handful of computers to a school in Bangladesh, and Portland Police officers agreed to hand-carry the computers and physically present them to the school in Bangladesh. As a friendly gesture, the Portland officers invited their counterparts from the Bangladesh Police to join them at the school when they presented the computers.

http://www.gsnmagazine.com/node/27487?c=education_training

.