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February, 2014 - Week 1

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New York

Bratton begins overhaul of NYPD

City's police commissioner on Friday unveiled several initiatives to alter longstanding protocols with the goal of improving his department's relationship with local communities.

by Erik Engquist

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced Friday that he has assigned top aides to review key initiatives inherited from his predecessor, Raymond Kelly, with the goal of overhauling them to improve police-community relations. His plans to reform stop-and-frisk, which he said would get a "wholesale review" by his deputy commissioner in charge of training, were already known. But Mr. Bratton also offered his first details on how Operation Impact—a program that flooded high-crime areas with officers, many of them inexperienced—would be substantially modified.

"Many changes are necessary," he said, summarizing his conclusion after reviewing the program during his first month on the job, which he previously held from 1994 to 1996.

"These kids," he said, referring to young officers, are "minimally supervised" as they patrol crime-ridden neighborhoods. Mr. Bratton said that had led to the overuse of stop-and-frisk and worsened residents' views of police even as crime dropped to record lows. "The patient was arguably getting better—the tests showed it," he said, alluding to plunging crime rates over the last 20 years. "But the patient didn't feel better."

The commissioner, addressing a breakfast gathering of the Citizens Crime Commission in midtown, said he had conducted focus groups and learned that rookie officers all wanted more guidance from veteran colleagues. "The habits of a lifetime are formed in those first few months" on the job, he said, recalling his mentorship by an older officer in early days as a patrolman. "My goal is to get every New York recruit a perfect partner."

He added, "Let me emphasize: Operation Impact is not going away … But we need to reform it."

Mr. Bratton said he continues to subscribe to the theory of broken-windows policing, in which law enforcement responds vigorously to low-level infractions to prevent more serious ones. "I truly believe in the broken-windows theory," he said. "It's how you practice it" that matters.

Some activists have suggested that the policy disproportionately punishes minorities, contradicting the campaign message of Mayor Bill de Blasio, who appointed Mr. Bratton.

Crime victims' experience with the law-enforcement system will also get a thorough examination, from their interaction with 911 operators all the way through to prosecutions, the commissioner said, noting that much is asked of people who reach out to the police. "I think we can do much better," he said, intimating that improvements would encourage more people to report crimes and see the process through.

The commissioner said his agency would do more polling to gauge New Yorkers' feelings for the police—that is, to see if his policies are making them feel any better.

Mr. Bratton also said the department would become more transparent with its policies and its data, which he said would bolster New Yorkers' impetus to cooperate in crime prevention. "There should be no secrets in the NYPD," he said. He said department statistics would be released in formats more usable to outside groups, although when asked after his speech for specifics, he confessed to being a "Luddite" in that aspect of technology.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140207/POLITICS/140209895/bratton-begins-overhaul-of-nypd

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New York

Conflicting Expectations for Bratton's Second Tour

In the 1990s, a time of vexing homicide rates in cities across the country, William J. Bratton left the New York Police Department and began marketing the crime-fighting techniques he had deployed so successfully here to other municipalities struggling with rampant disorder. At the time, business and civic leaders in Birmingham, Ala., brought him on to advise them.

That city's mayor, Richard Arrington Jr., the first black person to hold the office, gave his police chief, Johnnie Johnson, the first black person to hold that job, the goal of reducing crime by 15 percent. In 1997, when Mr. Johnson failed to reach that target and showed a deep reluctance to embrace Mr. Bratton's call for broad changes — rooted in Mr. Bratton's advocacy of preventive, broken-windows policing and CompStat, a crime-mapping system intended to target problem areas in a city and deter criminal activity — Mr. Arrington replaced his police chief with someone more receptive, who happened to be white.

Mr. Bratton's experience in Birmingham suggests the complex political tensions he generates, some of which became visible in New York almost as soon as he was named police commissioner a second time.

Although he was known during his tenure as the head of the Los Angeles Police Department for maintaining strong relationships with leaders of minority communities, Mr. Bratton, whose approval ratings were high across various demographics when he left, was not in many cases the first choice of minority leaders here. Police reform advocates remain quietly apprehensive about what sort of shape his revised stop-and-frisk tactics will take, the cynical view being that stop-and-frisk will simply be rebranded and renamed.

Beyond that is concern about an even more energetic approach to broken-windows policing, whose effectiveness has long been the subject of debate. Last month, George Kelling, an architect of the theory, which argues that combating low-level offenses ultimately prevents major ones, confirmed in an interview that he was in talks with Mr. Bratton to consult with the Police Department.

“We are concerned that continuing the aggressive enforcement of very minor offenses — and even ramping up enforcement of some violations, like jaywalking — will actually cause more harm in communities like the South Bronx and deepen the chasm of trust with the police, cutting against reform efforts,” Kate Rubin, managing director of the civil action practice at Bronx Defenders, which represents indigent clients in that borough, wrote in an email. In conjunction with the start of Vision Zero, Mayor Bill de Blasio's initiative to reduce pedestrian fatalities, 133 jaywalking summonses have been issued this year to date, according to the Police Department, a sixfold increase over the same period in 2013.

If the left is wary, the right, or those whose rigid stance on crime Mr. Bratton's appointment seemed intended to appease, have quickly come to regard him as an accomplice to a mindless scheme to bring the city back to the days of noontime muggings and crushing incivility. Mr. Bratton's great insult was to say, in the aftermath of the de Blasio administration's move to drop the city's appeal of a federal court ruling that deemed the Police Department's handling of stop-and-frisk unconstitutional, “We will not break the law to enforce the law.” Writing in City Journal, a publication of the conservative Manhattan Institute, long a champion of Mr. Bratton's, Heather Mac Donald called this anodyne and ostensibly uncontroversial position a disappointing acquiescence to “de Blasio's political theater,” and a gateway to an “inevitable rise in lawlessness.”

Anyone who has paid attention to what the mayor and the police commissioner have actually said would understand that stop-and-frisk itself isn't vanishing, because stop-and-frisk itself wasn't deemed unlawful. The manner in which it was conducted during the Bloomberg years was.

What it will presumably look like is less arbitrary, which doesn't mean, as thinking from commentators on the right implies, that white people will be patted down in front of Bergdorf Goodman simply to make the whole practice look more equitable. Rather, black and Latino teenagers in central Brooklyn won't be stopped simply because they are fidgeting, which previously provided grounds for a stop and the attendant indignities.

During his tenure in Los Angeles, Mr. Bratton increased stop-and-frisks but conducted them in a way that a 2009 study from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government essentially deemed purposeful, because arrests kept pace with the rise in stops. From 2002 through 2008, the proportion of pedestrian stops leading to arrests more than doubled, to 34 percent. In New York, during the Bloomberg years, only 6 percent of stops led to arrests, meaning that the practice degraded young people and betrayed trust as it proved largely useless.

The police reform process is only just beginning and will surely and inexorably have its critics. Some of them will have cause to grieve because stop-and-frisk will always, no matter how diluted, affect minority neighborhoods more than white ones, while critics worried that an adherence to the Constitution will bring end times that will seem loopier and loopier.

Despite Mr. Bratton's triumphs in Los Angeles as a crime fighter and a master of public relations, he left many profoundly discontented. During his tenure, from 2004 to 2009, 47,000 tickets were issued, largely to black and Latino students, for truancy and tardiness, sweeping legions of young people into the criminal justice system. In 2011, after he was gone, the ticketing ended, thanks to a campaign by community leaders. As one progressive there wrote recently in a newsletter, Community Connection: “To say that Mr. Bratton's return to the New York Police Department is troublesome would be an understatement.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/nyregion/conflicting-expectations-for-brattons-second-tour.html?hpw&rref=nyregion&_r=0

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Kansas

Homeless program is a reflection of city's character

by Casey Casamento and Benjamin T. Davis

One of the most contentious issues today is government assistance for the poor. Our political discourse is plagued by interminable chatter about public versus private services – to almost no avail. If anything, this chatter undermines the difficult work undertaken by many to ensure others are treated justly and with dignity.

As Christians, we affirm human sacredness and desire a more robust vision of the common good than this political debate suggests. We don't believe the poor and socially marginalized are categorical problems to be solved and then put aside – but rather people to be loved and cherished for who they are, knowing they have an invaluable contribution to make to our community.

So it's toward this end that we register our support for the Wichita Police Department's Homeless Outreach Team, which has expanded the vision of community policing to embrace people too often overlooked.

The Police Department started the HOT program in 2013 in an effort to confront the alarming growth of homelessness in our city. Modeled on a similar program in Colorado Springs, HOT seeks to build meaningful relationships with the city's homeless rather than encumber them with paltry fines and misdemeanors.

That is to say, instead of writing tickets and incarcerating them for camping in public space, the officers offer to take them to a shelter or connect them with organizations that help restore their lives.

By any measure, the list of organizations assembled to aid the officers is considerable. Groups such as the Lord's Diner, Kansas Food Bank and His Helping Hands are among the crowd. Also joining in the effort are many other groups that provide medical, housing and job-placement services that go beyond meeting basic needs.

Once the offer for assistance is taken, the officers walk with that person as he begins the process of starting a new life. In essence, they become trusted friends for the road ahead.

The profound compassion of these officers speaks to their character and gives our community a sterling example to follow. It is our hope that all Wichita city officials, regardless of partisan or economic philosophy, would pledge their support to ensure HOT remains a staple in our community for the future.

We believe the strength of our character as a people will be marked by the longevity of this irreplaceable service.

http://www.kansas.com/2014/02/09/3274453/casey-casamento-and-benjamin-t.html

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Maryland

Rash of crimes in Southeast Baltimore sparks new debate over public safety

by Carrie Wells

A recent spate of high-profile crimes in the area around Patterson Park has sparked new and warring commentary over the perennial issues of public safety and inequality in Baltimore.

It started this week with a blog post titled "Baltimore City, You're Breaking My Heart" from Tracey Halvorsen, who lives in the area around Patterson Park. Her subheadline: "This is why people leave."

In the piece posted on Thursday, Halvorsen says there are many reasons to love her neighborhood, but that she's tired of hearing and worrying about crime and is unimpressed with the city's response.

"You'll never have a shortage of fun and interesting places to take visitors who come to stay, just warn them not to leave anything in their car, use their iPhone while in a public area, or walk alone after dark," wrote Halvorsen, a small business owner. "And make SURE they know how to set your alarm when they leave your house. And let them borrow your pit-bull if they want to roam around a little and explore the neighborhood."

Since the beginning of the year in the area around Patterson Park, crimes have included a 12-year-old girl robbed at gunpoint on her way to school, a Baltimore Sun editor robbed and beaten in his head with a brick, and a local bartender stabbed to death in her home in what police believe was a botched burglary by two young teenagers.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts is set to speak with a Patterson Park neighborhood group on Wednesday, and police recently announced stepped-up patrols in the area.

The piece went viral locally, with more than 27,000 shares on Facebook and 800 mentions on Twitter as of Saturday morning. It also spawned several responses, including "Baltimore City, You're Not Breaking My Heart" by Tim Barnett, "Whose Heart is Baltimore Breaking, Really?" by WYPR producer Lawrence Lanahan, weigh-ins from Baltimore City Paper and the Baltimore Brew, and more. Another recent piece by Coppin State University adjunct professor D. Watkins in Salon called "Too Poor for Pop Culture," though more about inequality than crime, added to the mix.

The responses to Halvorsen's piece range from those who believe she is justified in her fears and that they should be respected, to those who believe the writer is viewing the city through a prism of privilege. Halvorsen added a response to that criticism that said her fears truly began in November when two brothers were shot and killed in Upper Fells Point as school was letting out for the day.

"Yes, I'm white, and so are lots of my neighbors," she wrote. "I also have Hispanic neighbors, African American neighbors, gay neighbors [hand raised], old crotchety neighbors, neighbors with kids, neighbors from countries I've never heard of. It's one of the things I love about this city. But I'm not going to shut up and tell myself I have no right to be upset, when people are killed and beaten and threatened all around me. I can't speak to what it's like in other neighborhoods, in other cities — I'm not there. I'm here. And I hope I can stay and look forward to things getting better – for everyone."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/south-baltimore/bs-md-ci-breaking-my-heart-20140208,0,5053560.story

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From the FBI

Four MS-13 Leaders Sentenced -- Serious Threat Removed from Atlanta Streets

For nearly four years, four leaders of various Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, factions operating in the Atlanta metro area terrorized the community through their flagrant disregard for life—conspiring to commit senseless acts of murder, attempted murder, and armed robbery.

But a multi-year, multi-agency law enforcement effort recently took down this criminal enterprise, eradicating a deadly threat from the streets of Atlanta. Ernesto Escobar, Miguel Alvarado-Linares, and Dimas Alfaro-Granados will be spending the rest of their lives in prison, while Jairo Reyna-Ozuna will be behind bars for more than a decade.

The MS-13 gang is composed primarily of immigrants and/or their descendants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. In the U.S., this extremely violent criminal organization got its start in Los Angeles and then spread out to a number of states around the country, including Georgia.

In Atlanta, as in other areas, members are usually organized into groups called “cliques” that operate under the larger MS-13 umbrella. Each clique has a leader who conducts regular meetings to plan and discuss crimes against rival gangs. In this case, we saw clique leaders reporting back to MS-13 leaders in their home countries about MS-13 activities in the Atlanta area.

The four defendants in this case, who reportedly lived by the credo “rape, kill, control,” perpetrated their crimes for seemingly minor reasons —to enhance their reputations among fellow gang members, to protect their turf from rival gangs, or to exact revenge for a real or perceived slight. The robberies were usually committed to obtain funding to support the criminal enterprise, providing money and weapons to gang members—including incarcerated individuals in the U.S and elsewhere.

Some of the heinous crimes the defendants were charged with included:

•  Murdering a fellow MS-13 member who was thought to be cooperating with police; •  Ordering an MS-13 member who wanted to leave the gang to first commit an act of violence, leading the departing member to shoot into a car believed to be carrying rival gang members—killing the passenger and wounding the driver; •  Returning to a nightclub following a fight with a suspected rival gang member and fatally shooting a man walking through the club's parking lot; •  Going back to a gas station after a scuffle with two teenagers who worked there and fatally shooting one of them as he painted lines in the parking lot; •  Murdering a 15-year-old boy—a suspected 18th Street gang member—with a shotgun.

The case was investigated by the Atlanta Safe Streets Task Force, made up of investigators from local, state, and federal agencies, including the FBI. Another key partner was the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations Directorate.

Federal participation in this case allowed a number of effective tools to be brought to the table—perhaps most importantly the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) and the VICAR (Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering) statutes with their tougher penalties. Investigators also made use of physical and court-authorized electronic surveillances and confidential informants.

The charges against the four subjects in this case were part of a broader multi-agency investigation of MS-13 in Atlanta, concluded in 2010, which resulted in arrests of, charges against, and/or deportation of 75 members.

Proof positive that dedicated, cooperative efforts among law enforcement agencies can and do win out over dangerous criminal conspiracies.

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/february/four-ms-13-leaders-sentenced-in-atlanta/four-ms-13-leaders-sentenced-in-atlanta

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NSA collects data on a fraction of call volume, officials say

by Charlie Savage

WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency's once-secret program that is collecting bulk records of Americans' domestic phone calls is taking in a relatively small fraction of the total volume of such calls each day, officials familiar with the program said Friday.

While the NSA is collecting a large amount of landline phone data, it has struggled to take in cellphone data, which has undergone explosive growth in recent years and presents additional technological hurdles, the officials said.

Meanwhile, the nation's secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has approved President Barack Obama's proposal to impose new restrictions on when and how analysts with the NSA may gain access to the raw database containing the bulk phone records, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The bulk call records program began under the Bush administration based on claimed wartime powers and in 2006 was brought under the surveillance court's authority. It came to light after leaks by former NSA contractor Edward J. Snowden.

On Friday, The Washington Post reported that the NSA is taking in data on less than 30 percent of phone calls. The article also said the agency had been collecting nearly all records about Americans' phone calls in 2006 and that the NSA was now trying to restore comprehensive coverage.

Officials partly confirmed The Post's report, although they said it was difficult to put a precise number on the percentage. But they disputed that the agency had ever had near-universal access to phone data, saying cellphone records have always presented problems.

The Wall Street Journal reported in June that T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless were not part of the NSA's data collection, and a report on surveillance policy last month by a review group appointed by Obama said that while the program “acquires a very large amount” of phone data each day, that was still “only a small percentage of the total” calls.

One official said intelligence agencies have quietly chafed at assumptions that the NSA was collecting all phone records. But they have been reluctant to correct the record because they did not want to draw attention to the gap and because it is, in fact, the agency's goal to overcome technical hurdles that stop them from ingesting them all.

The greater attention to the gap puts new light on claims about the effectiveness of the program. Critics say the gap may undermine the argument that the program, as it exists, can provide peace of mind about links to potential terrorists: A negative result might instead mean only that the data was missing.

Supporters, however, say the gap might undermine the argument that the program is ineffective because it has thwarted no attacks and uncovered only a minor case in which some men sent several thousand dollars to a Somali terrorist group.

“We should have a debate about how effective would it be if it were fully implemented,” one official said.

In a speech last month, Obama announced that he intended to find a way to get the government out of the business of holding onto the bulk records, but he also said its capabilities should be preserved.

Obama also announced that he wanted to immediately impose new limits on how the database is used, by requiring the NSA to wait for a judge on the surveillance court to sign off before querying records associated with a number that is suspected of links to terrorism — except in emergencies — and by limiting analysts to only pulling up records of people who are up to two levels removed from that number.

Previously, the surveillance court had allowed the NSA to decide that a search was justified and had let analysts go up to three levels out — meaning an exponentially larger number of people's calls would be scrutinized.

On Wednesday, according to a statement issued Thursday in the name of James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence, the surveillance court issued an order amending the rules in line with Obama's proposed changes.

On Friday, a judicial clerk announced that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. had made his first selection to the main Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court since Snowden's revelations about spy programs that had been secretly approved by the court.

The leaks have focused greater attention on how Roberts has used his unilateral authority to select judges to serve seven-year terms on the court. Of the 11 judges serving — all appointed by Roberts — 10 had been appointed by Republican presidents.

But in May, when the term expires for Judge Reggie B. Walton of the District of Columbia, Roberts has selected an Obama appointee, Judge James E. Boasberg, also of the District of Columbia, to fill the position until 2021.

Boasberg, a former federal prosecutor, was appointed to the U.S. District Court by Obama in 2011. He has handled several cases involving national security and secrecy matters since joining the court.

In 2012, for example, he sided with the Central Intelligence Agency and rejected a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking public disclosure of photographs of the corpse and burial of Osama Bin Laden.

But last year, Boasberg ruled against the Department of Homeland Security, saying it had to release documents explaining a secret policy about the government's ability to shut down commercial and private wireless network services in certain circumstances. The Obama administration has appealed the ruling.

Roberts also selected Judge Richard C. Tallman, of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, to fill a vacancy on the three-member review panel that hears rare appeals of the surveillance court's rulings.

While Tallman was appointed by President Bill Clinton, his nomination was part of a political deal over judicial nominations in which his seat would go to a person acceptable to Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash.

Several members of Congress have proposed changing the way judges are selected to serve on the court to achieve greater ideological diversity in light of its evolving role and growing power, and Obama's surveillance review group also recommended doing so.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2014/02/07/nsa-collects-data-fraction-call-volume-officials-say/GkXwaUjXxxd0v4vd4Bc0yL/story.html

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Meet the Mega Cops: High-Tech Crime Gear Transforms Police Work

by Andrew Blankstein

Our images of law enforcement in America come largely from popular culture: A burly New York City cop pausing on his beat to berate “juvenile delinquents" at the point of his billy club; LAPD officers accelerating "code 4" in a black-and-white through sun-soaked Hollywood; a lawman of the old West, standing on main drag and ordering criminals to “get the hell out of Dodge.”

All depict what was the common thread in U.S. policing as recently as a generation ago: the expectation that the typical patrol officer best protected and served his community by guarding his piece of turf and busting, intimidating or expelling any bad guy who entered it.

But experts and veteran law enforcement officials say that straight-forward mission is rapidly giving way to a more complex and nuanced form of policing. It's a world in which technology and instant communication help that beat cop serve and protect, while simultaneously demanding new levels of training and accountability and raising serious civil liberties concerns.

"It's like the difference in getting across the country on horseback like the pioneers did or flying in a jet from New York to California," Tyler Itzen, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents some 10,000 officers, said of the rapid-fire changes sweeping police departments across the country. "And it's happened in the span of a career."

It starts with the tools of the trade. As recently as the mid-1980s, an officer was equipped with the bare basics -- an in-car police radio, a pen, notebook, baton and a six-shot revolver with a strip loader and a few extra bullets. Back then, Itzen said, many old-timers eschewed bulletproof vests and even hand-held radios, which were just coming into fashion.

"Kid, if it doesn't fit in your pockets or on your equipment belt, you're making it too complicated," Itzen recalled his training officer saying.

Cops of today have far greater resources at their fingertips, including hardware and software that used to reside at the station house. A police cruiser now typically is equipped with at least one laptop, giving instant access to national criminal databases, as well as portable fingerprint scanners, Breathalyzer units and automatic license-plate-reader technology that can identify stolen cars while cruising down the street, even at a high speeds. And while not department issued, personal smart phones and, specifically, policing-related apps are expanding officers' one-stop data search capabilities.

They also are toting far more firepower, typically high-caliber semi-automatic pistols and rifles with assorted magazine clips, as well as less-lethal beanbag shotguns and tasers.

The cornucopia of new equipment is not confined to large urban departments.

The Jackson, Miss., police department, for example, which has 525 officers serving a population of 185,000, has made huge strides in upgrading its equipment, in large part through grants to law enforcement after the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Paper is being superseded by digital, including the ability to instantly upload police reports from the field, and officers are using facial recognition software, automatic ticket writers and the automatic tag readers, said police Chief Lindsey Horton.

"We don't expect them to be robo cops, but we have to embrace technology," Horton said, noting some veteran officers opted for retirement rather than deal with the demands of the new technologies. "It's not optional anymore."

Data is also beginning to dictate the course of a day on patrol.

A generation ago, officers were "mostly self-directed," with a shift primarily focused on answering radio calls and "seeing what we could dig up," recalls Los Angeles Police Department Cmdr. Andrew Smith.

"Now, officers don't leave the station without sophisticated, comprehensive real-time data on wanted suspects, crime hot spots and trends and stolen vehicles," he said. "They have specific directions on where to go and what and who to look for."

"The roll calls are a little longer," admits Police Chief Craig A. Mellecker, of Dodge City, Kansas, the town where fictional U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon and real-life lawman Wyatt Earp once confronted law-breakers. "There is just a lot more information we need to get out to our officers."

The types of crime officers are called on the fight also have changed as a result of technological advances, particularly the Internet and email, texting and social media.

That gives police a head start in gathering evidence that can more quickly lead to arrests and ultimately convictions, but it also gives criminals, street gangs, organized crime and even terror-related groups the ability to harvest personal data, which can yield big paydays while reducing their exposure to law enforcement.

Identity theft and credit card fraud in the form of phishing, skimming, shoulder surfing (using camera phones to snap a still or take video of a credit card or someone entering a PIN) continue to rise. Investigations into these crimes can be time consuming -- about 40 detective hours per case, on average.

Then there's the proliferation of traditional crimes -- drug dealing, bullying, extortion, stalking, piracy, prostitution and sex trafficking -- on the shadow Internet and on social media, law enforcement officials say.

Data on all of these crimes – as well as on activities of the cops – can be used to feed an evolving next wave of what is known as “predictive policing.” The idea of using artificial intelligence software to prevent or severely reduce crimes before they happen is not the stuff of the film “Minority Report” -- at least not yet – but officials say it holds great promise and can at least help departments make informed decisions about the most efficient use of their resources.

"The biggest policy implication is going to be for training. The responsibilities (for officers) have increased qualitatively and quantitatively but are you going to recruit from the same pool of people."

Jon Shane, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, said the transformation in policing raises a host of practical issues, including how departments will pay for and maintain its new gear to whether law enforcement agencies should be hiring more highly educated cops, focusing instead on building “a fleet of crime analysts.”

"The biggest policy implication is going to be for training,” he said. “The responsibilities (for officers) have increased qualitatively and quantitatively but are you going to recruit from the same pool of people? How are they (policing agencies) going to address that gap?”

Another open question is how officers will react to being on the other side of the lens, as more departments begin collecting information on them.

Some agencies already have put the days of "Car 54, Where are You?" behind them by employing satellite vehicle locators to track officers' locations so they can be more efficiently be directed to 911 calls.

And technology is on the horizon that will allow police commanders to measure individual driver performance -- including speed and whether officers are wearing safety belts -- a bid to cut down on costly traffic accidents and on-the-job injuries.

Perhaps the biggest game changer for so-called "accountability policing" is increased use of in-dash and on-body video cameras, which allow interactions between officers and suspects to be captured for later viewing.

Such footage is invaluable in documenting criminal activity, as well as any wrongdoing by officers, but many questions are being raised by its increasingly widespread use. One of the biggest concerns is what will happen to the video and other electronic evidence collected by police.

Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union, said the public should be concerned about the potential for abuse.

“It enables what we call ‘retroactive surveillance,'” he said. “You might not think that anybody cares about you or what you are up to right now but 10 years from now, but what if you get involved in political controversy or come to the government's attention for some other reason? Now, they can sift through your past life with a fine-tooth comb. If you collect enough data on anybody, chances are you can find something to pin on them.”

"Just smile at the public and just do your job."

That's a two-way street, as cops are also facing unprecedented scrutiny from the public.The unwieldy video technology that captured grainy black-and-white video footage of LAPD officers beating Rodney King in 1991 has evolved into HD cameras on phones that fit in the palm of the hand and are nearly ubiquitous. Police officials say that officers should assume and act as if they are being at all times.

In Dodge City, Chief Mellecker says he tells his officers "to just smile at the public and just do your job."

While the job still is fundamentally about putting criminals behind bars, Mellecker says officers must be aware their broader mission. even when they are patrolling 20 square blocks vs. three blocks when he started out. One question that has to be top-of-mind is, "How you are treating your customers?" he said.

Geoff Alpert, a criminology professor at the University of South Carolina, agrees with that emphasis, warning that an over-reliance on high-tech could mean forsaking community policing, which has proven very effective in cutting crime.

"We talk about community policing, but the point of it (is) that officers need to get out in the street and meet people, talk to people, where they know who you are and you know who they are," Alpert said. "It's the human touch. That's how you get information. If you don't know your community cop, you are going to have a tougher time calling them. (And) if cops don't get information, (they) don't solve crimes."

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/meet-mega-cops-high-tech-crime-gear-transforms-police-work-n23841

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Texas

Police Chief David Brown meets with activist group Mothers Against Police Brutality

by Tristan Hallman

Top Dallas Police Department commanders, including Chief David Brown, met Thursday for two hours with an activist group led by a mother of a man who was fatally shot during a confrontation with an officer last year.

The group, Mothers Against Police Brutality, has made some waves and some noise after recent controversial police shootings, garnering a lengthy point-by-point response from Brown late last year. They were joined in Thursday's meeting with Brown by John Fullinwider, president of the Dallas Peace Center.

He said police Community Affairs Manager Shawn Williams and Assistant Chiefs Brigitte Gassaway, Cynthia Villarreal and Randy Blankenbaker also attended the meeting with Brown. Fullinwider said Brown “was real candid and so were we.”

“There was a willingness to discuss things, not trying to silence dissent or criticism of the department,” he said.

But he said there is still plenty of distance between the group and police officials. For instance, the commanders didn't seem to agree with requests for officers to start trying to shoot people in nonfatal areas of their body, he said.

The activists' leader, Collette Flanagan, is the mother of Clinton Roebexar Allen, 25, who was shot by Officer Clark Staller during a fight in March 2013. Police said Staller twice tried to use his Taser against Allen to no effect. An autopsy revealed that Allen had PCP in his system. A grand jury cleared Staller of criminal wrongdoing in October.

Flanagan couldn't be reached for comment. Her group said in an emailed statement that the meeting also touched on increasing community policing and finding ways to prosecute officers involved in shootings. They also gave Brown some praise.

“We recognize Chief Brown's dedication to his officers, but we also appreciate his willingness in two cases last year to remove from the force those officers who violate department policy and the trust of the community through reckless use of deadly force,” the group said in the statement. “Obviously, we disagree with his decisions in other cases.”

Brown said in a Facebook statement that he will meet with the group again in the future and “agreed with a number concerns raised by Mothers Against Police Brutality, particularly the need for increased training.”

Officials recently announce major changes to the department's use-of-force training program, including plans to increase the frequency of training officers receive in realistic use of force simulations.

The sudden policy changes and the firings of Senior Cpl. Amy Wilburn and Officer Cardan Spencer last year have angered some rank-and-file officers. Dallas Police Association President Ron Pinkston derided the policy changes again Friday as “ineffective and inefficient,” and criticized Brown for discussing policy with the group.

“We need to make policy based on what law-abiding citizens want, not fringe groups,” he said.

http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2014/02/police-chief-david-brown-meets-with-activist-group-mothers-against-police-brutality.html/

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Ohio

Cleveland Police announce citizen's academy to begin later this month

by Cory Shaffer

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland police are offering the public a chance to get a first-hand look at how they operate.

Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath said in a release the department is accepting applications for two Citizen's Police Academy courses starting later this month. The free, seven-week courses cover topics including legal issues officers must deal with, police officer training and preparedness and internet crimes against children, according to the city's website.

The academy also includes a tour of the Justice Center and police headquarters, the outdoor range, communication center and police museum. It may also include presentations by police canine, narcotics, and SWAT units.

Attendees can apply for Tuesday sessions or Wednesday sessions, which meet weekly from 6-9 p.m. The Tuesday sessions start Feb. 18 and take place at Public Safety Central, 2001 Payne Avenue. Wednesday sessions start Feb. 19 and will take place at Kamm's Corner Development Corporation, 17407 Lorain Road. Class sizes are limited to 25 students.

Information and registration forms are available at each of the five neighborhood police district headquarters. Applications can be submitted by telephone by calling the Bureau of Community Policing at 216-623-5080 or can be mailed to Cleveland Division of Police Bureau of Community Policing, 2001 Payne Ave., Cleveland, 44114.

The deadline for registration is Feb. 14. Applicants must be at least 18.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/02/cleveland_police_announce_citi.html

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California

Overall crime down in Bay Point in 2013

by Eve Mitchell

BAY POINT -- In a community that has often been associated with violence, overall crime fell last year, and -- for the first time in five years -- there were no homicides.

Last year, there were 436 reported violent and property crimes, an 11 percent drop from 2012, which officials attribute partly to the relaunching of a dormant neighborhood watch program and increased community policing efforts.

"Good things are happening in Bay Point," said Lt. Paul O'Mary, who took over last year as commander of the Contra Costa County Sheriff Office's Muir station, which serves Bay Point and the I-680 corridor north of Pleasant Hill.

A major factor in having no homicides last year in this unincorporated community of 22,000 was the successful prosecution of members of a Bay Point gang, according to O'Mary. Another factor in reducing crime is that several foreclosed homes have been boarded up by banks in Bay Point, which has some of the Bay Area's highest poverty and unemployment rates.

"It's the broken window syndrome," O'Mary said, referring to the concept that crime is more likely to happen in neighborhoods where things like broken windows, littering and blight are overlooked. "The banks got on board with us."

Also helping is a Habitat for Humanity program that has purchased and renovated several foreclosed homes in Bay Point, he said.

The relaunched neighborhood watch program is now more organized and informative and works more closely with the Bay Point Municipal Advisory Council's neighborhood committee, O'Mary said.

The 116 residential burglaries reported in 2013 represented a 37 percent drop from the year before. There were 27 reports of assault with a deadly weapon, down 28 percent, and the lowest in five years.

"It's very good news for the community," said Debra Mason, Bay Point MAC chair. "We think it's because we are getting such good community officers and they are starting the neighborhood watch again."

Still, not all crime went down. Strong-arm robberies rose by 80 percent to 18 in 2013 and armed robberies increased by 17 percent to 20. O'Mary said the higher numbers reflect bilingual outreach efforts to connect with Spanish-speaking, undocumented immigrants to encourage them to report crimes.

"I feel those numbers were there in 2012. Suspects know they are undocumented and (reluctant) to come to the police," he said.

To overcome that reluctance, resident Deputy Paul Briggs is "reaching out to those neighborhoods that have undocumented (immigrants) and letting them know we are here" and that their immigration status will not be reported, O'Mary said.

"An aggressive community policing policy, spearheaded by the resident deputy (funded by the Keller Canyon Landfill Mitigation Fund), is starting to show up in lower crime stats, more citizen participation and a more active, involved community," Supervisor Federal Glover, who grew up in nearby Pittsburg, said in a statement.

"Rightly or wrongly, people tend to associate crime with a community's low median income. The improved crime statistics disprove that belief for Bay Point," Glover said. "An increase in Neighborhood Watch groups coupled with a no-nonsense approach to potential lawbreaking individuals and situations, is producing positive results. The Sheriff's Office and its deputies deserve all the credit for this outcome."

Crime Down in Bay Point
2012 Overall reported crimes 493 Residential burglary 185 Homicide 2 Armed robbery 17 Strong-arm robbery 10 Assault with a deadly weapon 38 Sexual assault 3		2013 Overall reported crimes 436 Residential burglary 116 Homicide 0 Armed robbery 20 Strong-arm robbery 18 Assault with a deadly weapon 27 Sexual assault 3

http://www.contracostatimes.com/contra-costa-times/ci_25080517/overall-crime-down-bay-point-2013

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Texas

Police academy program allows citizens to understand Austin Police Department

by Julia Brouillette

Many people wouldn't consider spending the night in an Austin Police Department patrol car to be a positive experience. But since the establishment of the police department's Citizen's Police Academy in 1987, nearly 2,000 have graduated from the academy and been in those patrol cars.

The academy, which will begin its 80th class on Feb. 11, consists of lectures, demonstrations, tours and hands-on activities featuring many of the department's divisions.

“The main goal is to educate the community to where they get involved and gain a better understanding of how the police department runs and why we do what we do,” police department officer Jermaine Kilgore said.

The academy allows students to join a police officer on a 10-hour patrol shift and sit in the helicopter used for pursuits, search-and-rescue and firefighting.

“When you get that experience of doing a ride-along with an officer, you sit with them for 10 hours, so you really get to see from beginning to end what they go through,” police academy alumna Melinda Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez, who serves as president of the Austin Citizen's Police Academy Alumni Association, said the program helps counter misconceptions the public may have about the police department.

“I feel as though the media sometimes tends to relay the negative about the police department, and they don't always relay the good things about what they do,” Rodriguez said.

According to Rodriguez, one common assumption is that officers spend the bulk of their time ticketing drivers.

“In reality, there's just far too much crime out there for them to be worrying about some of those petty things, such as speeding,” Rodriguez said. “They've got bigger fish to fry, so to speak.”

Each class of academy students is diverse and typically includes aspiring law enforcement officers, reporters, citizens and UT students, alumna Susan Reed said.

“We've always got a lot of orange T-shirts here,” Reed said.

Reed said the hands-on aspect of the program can be daunting, but the experience gives citizens a comprehensive education about police work.

“The officers are there to really give you an outstanding look at how they do their work every day, how they interact with citizens and how they interact with each other,” Reed said.

Officers from the SWAT unit, bomb squad, mounted patrol and forensics and homicide divisions give lectures and demonstrations in the weekly classes.

Jack Darby, former student in the academy and creator of the community policing website krimelabb, said riding along in a patrol car shed light on some of the department's biggest challenges.

“One way they analyze their usage of time is how much time is committed to responding to calls and specific tasks they're responding to versus being proactive,” Darby said. “It's not like their free time is used for donuts and coffee, it's used for productive purposes as well. A lot of times it's working on resolving issues and things that are not immediate.”

According to Rodriguez, the program offers a valuable insight into the police department and its operations.

“You get to see what these people are dealing with day in and day out,” Rodriguez said. “You don't want it to be over, you learn so much and it's really just an eye-opening experience. It really changes how you feel and think about the police department.”

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/news/2014/02/07/police-academy-program-allows-citizens-to-understand-austin-police-department

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Guns, ammo would be taxed extra under bill now in Assembly/ Poll

by Alisha A. Pina

PROVIDENCE — Legislation for Providence mayoral candidate Brett Smiley's proposal to impose a 10 percent supplemental sales tax on guns and ammunition was submitted to the General Assembly Thursday by state Sen. Gayle L. Goldin, D-Providence.

The statewide tax is projected to raise $2 million annual for nonprofit organizations that do anti-violence work in the community. Smiley says the money would go to police departments around the state based “proportionally on the prevalence of crime” in each town and city, and they would then distribute the money to the organizations.

At a news conference in the State House on Thursday morning, Smiley said these nonprofits that are “consistently underfunded” would receive a “steady, consistent funding stream.”

The tax is part of Smiley's comprehensive proposal to make Providence safer. Announced in January, the plan also includes hiring additional officers, recommitting the city to the community-policing model and strengthening the department's partnerships with residents by attending community meetings.

Goldin called the legislation, which includes an annual reporting requirement to detail where the money went and how the money was spent, a “common sense bill.”

“This bill will not solve all gun violence, but it is an important first step to take,” she said while standing in the rotunda with Smiley.

Goldin sponsored a bill — signed into law in July 2013 — that outlawed possession of a firearm with obliterated serial numbers. She introduced Smiley's legislation immediately after the news conference. An identical bill for the House of Representatives is being submitted by Rep. Maria Cimini, D-Providence.

Although absent from the conference, Cimini said in the news release, “Like so many parents throughout our state, I never want to worry if my child is going to be safe walking down the street. Brett has the right ideas to make Rhode Island safer, and that's why I'm so proud to be a sponsor of this bill.”

http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20140207-guns-ammo-would-be-taxed-extra-under-bill-now-in-assembly-poll.ece

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Illinois

Murders Down 35 Percent in Near West Police District

UKRAINIAN VILLAGE — The city's largest police district announced a drop in crime in 2013 compared to the year before, as well as a recent downturn, which could be linked, in part, to the frigid weather.

During a community policing meeting Tuesday at St. Helen's School, 2347 W. Augusta Blvd., Sgt. Juan Clas reported a 20 percent drop in violent crime in the Near West District, created last year by consolidating the 12th and 13th districts.

Police said murders are down 35 percent and shooting incidents have declined by 21 percent in the Near West District, which is led by Cmdr. Melissa Staples and is headquartered at 1412 S. Blue Island Ave., on the border of the Little Italy and Pilsen neighborhoods.

The 20 percent drop included crimes such as murder, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated battery, burglary, felony theft and motor vehicle theft, Clas said.

There were 11 murders in the Near West District in 2013, compared with 17 in 2012.

There were 871 motor vehicle thefts in 2013, compared with 1,178 in 2012.

There were 53 criminal sexual assaults in the Near West District in 2013, nine fewer than the previous year.

The news was good on a more local level as well, Clas said. Over a recent eight-week period for Beat 1212 — Division Street to the north, Chicago Avenue to the south, Wood Street to the east and Campbell Avenue to the west — theft, burglary and criminal damage to property have all been on the decline.

Why the improving numbers?

Clas said it is a combination of the cold weather and more officers patrolling the streets and making more arrests.

"Cold weather and officers being more aggressive and lucky," Clas said. "If they are out there more, there's less opportunity for bad guys."

There were 38 instances of theft from Dec. 3 to Feb. 3, compared with 49 thefts in the prior period, from Oct. 2 to Dec. 2.

There were 19 instances of burglary in the current period, compared with 36 in the prior eight-week period.

Clas said 21 arrests were made on Beat 1212 during the recent eight-week period.

The Near West District spans eight communities and employs more than 500 officers.

For a full breakdown of area statistics, click here.

Beat 1212 meets at 7 p.m. on the first Tuesday of every even-numbered month in the basement of St. Helen's School at 2347 W. Augusta Blvd. For more information, email CAPS012@chicagopolice.org.

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140206/ukrainian-village/murder-down-35-percent-near-west-police-district

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Manhunt underway for convicted killer who escaped Michigan prison

IONIA, Mich. – A convicted man serving a life sentence in Michigan has escaped from prison and allegedly abducted a woman before she escaped in Indiana, authorities said Monday.

At around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, 40-year-old Michael David Elliot was discovered missing from the Ionia Correctional Facility, said Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Russ Marlan via email.

Marlan said that Elliot may have abducted an Ionia woman using a knife or box cutter and drove roughly 100 miles southwest to Elkhart, Ind., to stop for gas. There, the woman managed to get away and call police.

Police made contact with the woman about 11:50 p.m. Sunday. Elliot had left the gas station and remained at large Monday morning, according to Marlan.

“Citizens should immediately call 911 if they observe anything suspicious or possibly become aware of the whereabouts of … Elliot,” Marlan said in the email.

Elliot is serving life sentences for first-degree murder and also has convictions for arson and armed robbery, according to the MDOC.

Michigan Department of Corrections officers are working with the state police and other law enforcement agencies to track down the fugitive.

All other inmates at the Ionia Correctional Facility have been accounted for, Marlan said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/manhunt-underway-for-convicted-killer-who-escaped-michigan-prison/

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Ohio

Condemned Ohio inmate allegedly 'faked it' during execution

by tjlarson

An attorney for an Ohio man recently put to death was suspended after allegations surfaced that he encouraged the condemned man to fake suffering during his execution, according to CBS News.

Defense attorney Robert Lowe was placed on suspension while officials look into accusations that he coached his client, convicted murderer and rapist Dennis McGuire, to feign symptoms of suffocation during his execution.

McGuire was executed in Ohio's death chamber for the brutal rape and slaying of pregnant newlywed Joy Stewart in 1989. Ohio prison officials used a controversial and untested drug combination to put McGuire to death.

McGuire reportedly told guards that Lowe encouraged him to "make a show of it" in hopes that this would lead to abolition of the death penalty. McGuire allegedly refused, saying that he would not put his family through such a spectacle.

The Columbus Dispatch purportedly obtained incident reports from guards with one allegedly stating that Lowe told McGuire that if he showed any signs of distress, the governor would stop the execution and prison staff would administer an antidote to the deadly chemicals.

McGuire's attorneys unsuccessfully argued before the courts that the untried mixture of the drugs midazolam and hydromorphone would cause McGuire to experience "air hunger" and "suffocate to death in terror and agony."

Medical experts weighed in on the possibility that there would be suffering but no consensus was reached due to the untested nature of the procedure. Witnesses attending the execution said that the condemned inmate was unconscious for about five minutes before he began struggling and gasping for breath with the entire execution taking another 20 minutes.

An investigation by the Office of the Public Defender failed to substantiate the allegations against Lowe and he was allowed to return to work, according to a statement from the public defender's office. Ohio prison officials could not be reached for further comment on the alleged incident.

Analysis and opinion

This seems to be a thinly veiled attempt to deflect McGuire's apparent distress. Could this be a way of muddying the waters in preparation for the impending lawsuit against the state of Ohio?

Obviously, to pass the litmus test of "cruel and unusual punishment" the element of suffering must be proven. The unusual part may have already been proven due to the fact that this method was completely untested as a means of execution. The idea that this man faked his apparent suffering, in my opinion, borders somewhere between absurd and comical.

The absurdity lies within how someone who has been rendered unconscious by a supposedly lethal dose of drugs can have the presence of mind to fake suffocation after being out for five minutes.

Can anyone imagine someone waking up during their execution , then going, "Alright! Here's my chance to put on a show for everyone"? Logic dictates this would likely be the last thing on the mind of someone experiencing the last moments of their life.

If anything, this bolsters the idea that McGuire suffered and the execution was botched, especially if he awoke in the middle of it.

The nearly comical part of this is that someone actually released such a story to the media, in hopes of doing what? Was this a bid to insult our intelligence?

An interesting footnote here are the responses of some of the people who commented on this. There's nothing like a good ole fashioned botched execution to bring out the bloodlust-ridden, righteous-anger crew with their sadistic torture fantasies. The comment section of an NBC News article was brimming with graphic suggestions about what should have happened to this man.

As usual, these people apparently don't understand the real issue here. While it is certainly difficult to sympathize with the suffering of a murderer/pregnant woman rapist, this is not the point. The point is that such things are forbidden by law and any indication that the law has not been complied with deserves investigation.

Another thing these people are forgetting while they outline the most painful ways to inflict maximum suffering upon these condemned people is the effect it could have on those tasked with administering these punishments.

The law is not only in place for the comfort of the condemned, but also for those who must do the job. Imagine the mental toll taken on those who must preside over the process; compound that with the agonizing screams of someone being tortured to death.

These are only armchair quarterbacks with no notion of the concepts of retribution and judicial punishment. A judicial execution is not supposed to be about torture but about requital—the ultimate punishment for the ultimate offense.

Anyone who honestly condones the torture-killing of another human being is as twisted as the condemned offender. Furthermore, anyone with the ability to inflict such horrors on a person is simply a mirror-image of the monsters who commit such heinous crimes—caricatures, cloaked beneath a thin layer of civility, hiding their own depraved desires.

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/16431708-condemned-ohio-inmate-allegedly-faked-it-during-execution?utm_campaign=Outbrain&utm_source=Outbrain1.5Cents

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New Jersey

Questions remain on how Atlantic City will enact police oversight board to review complaints

by LYNDA COHEN

As Atlantic City leaders finally move on filling a civilian board to review police complaints, how it will work is still a question.

"We need to move on (the board) in the correct way," City Councilman Steve Moore said during a news conference in which the local chapter of the National Action Network called for immediate implementation of the board, which was first passed in 2012.

Accusations of excessive force went national late last year, after a lawsuit made public a video allegedly showing a suspect being beaten and attacked by a police dog.

Such boards are good for helping strained police-community relations, said Brian Buchner, president of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, or NACOLE.

"Civilian oversight has proven to be a bridge builder between the public and the police by helping to foster the public's trust and notion of police legitimacy," Buchner said.

But how that bridge will work in Atlantic City has not been determined.

City Council tabled the second reading of the revised ordinance Jan. 15, after the police union voiced concerns about some of the wording.

That stems from references to public hearings, because there could be issues with the contract and how the department handles disciplinary hearings and interviews, PBA President Paul Barbere explained.

Buchner said it's important to know the specific laws governing internal police misconduct investigations and disciplinary matters.

"It just has to be drafted properly," Barbere said of the ordinance.

"We would hope that, instead of reinventing the wheel, let's model this after something that's already been in place," he said.

The PBA has reached out to New York City, where its Civilian Complaint Review Board marked 20 years in July. Moore said the council may visit Hartford, Conn., to talk to its Civilian Police Review Board.

Currently, the board would have two tiers.

The first would have 11 members: one nominee from each of the nine council members and two from the mayor. If that board finds in favor of a hearing, that would go to the second tier, comprising City Council members. It does not specify the number of council members.

The first three nominations for the main board were made Jan. 15: New York Avenue School Principal Rosetta Johnson, retired Philadelphia police Sgt. Michael Mander and Jacqueline Sharpe, who has served on several boards in the city.

"We're not saying the Police Department is all bad," said Councilman Sporty Randolph, who nominated Sharpe. "We just want to be able to nip things in the bud if there's a problem that can be solved."

Once brought to the second tier, witnesses may be subpoenaed, under the current ordinance.

Many civilian entities have that power through statute, Buchner said.

"Some can issue subpoenas directly, while others can issue them through their local city attorney or city council/commission," he explained.

At his swearing-in last month, police Chief Henry White said he welcomed the transparency the board would bring, confident that it would reveal the city's department is a good one.

"There's nothing we want more than to show the community that we're doing exactly what we're supposed to be doing and how difficult our job is," Barbere said. "It just needs to be set up in a way where it produces the best result."

But who would make up the board is also of concern.

"You can't have someone with preconceived notions looking to exact some type of revenge," Barbere said.

In San Diego, board members attend training classes on all aspects of law enforcement and go on ride-alongs, while officers are given training on the board's role and its relationship with the city's Police Department.

San Diego began its board after a police-involved shooting in the mid-1980s. It was to last just a year, but the success caused it to become permanent, according to the board's website. In 1988, residents voted in favor of a city charter for a board under the authority of the city manager.

Last year, residents of New Haven, Conn., voted on a similar charter for their board. Until then, the 12-year-old board was running only by mayoral executive order.

Buchner said what they have come to see is that what may be more important than a degree or a law background is knowledge and understanding of the principles and good practices of civilian oversight.

"Oversight is a bit of a niche field, which really depends on interaction and learning from agency to agency and municipality to municipality," he said. "Gaining exposure to those ideas, practices and other professionals in the field through national conferences and training opportunities, like those put on by NACOLE, can make a difference in how prepared someone is to work and be effective in oversight."

Mayor Don Guardian has said he wants to make sure the concerns over excessive force allegations against the Police Department are looked into and addressed fairly while allowing police to do their jobs and keep residents and visitors safe.

"There are a lot of other cities that have had these issues before, and I think we need to learn how they progressed," he has said. "It might be cameras; it might be policy and procedures change; it may be a better matching of experienced officers with young officers; it may be the body cams or cameras in the cars, (or) a civilian review board. All of these are issues we want to deal with, and it's tough."

Civilian oversight can help, Buchner said: "Ultimately, strong and independent oversight can be a critical link between the police and the community and make policing more effective in the process."

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/atlantic_city/questions-remain-on-how-atlantic-city-will-enact-police-oversight/article_719db56a-b1c7-558f-8a3b-259bbf1cda2c.html

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Illinois

New Citizen Advisory Committee To Work With Police In North Chicago

NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. (STMW) – North suburban North Chicago announced Saturday the formation of a United States Justice Department-inspired Citizen Advisory Committee for the police department, and Mayor Leon Rockingham is calling for volunteers to be on it, the Lake County News-Sun is reporting.

“We, as a city, have worked very hard to get things started,” said the mayor before turning the microphone over to former alderman Valerie DeVost, who described the new committee as one where the mayor cannot nominate anyone, but he will be able to choose who is on it.

“There will be no elected officials or city employees on the committee, and no person holding a board position, a city license or doing business with the city,” she said, “This will avoid an appearance of a conflict of interest,” she said.

Preacher LLoyd Howard, who called himself a concerned citizen, was worried that the committee would just have the same old names on it. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results,” he said. Howard went on to say that the problems of officers beating suspects, which is why the justice department recommended the committee, sometimes happens because an officer doesn't understand the lingo.

“The problem is they take a young black man out of the house and the white officer doesn't understand when he says ‘Give me my props,' which means respect. That's when the problems start and 90 percent of the beatings are because of that. But it can be stopped,” he said.

North Chicago has been the center of attention for police brutality and use of excessive force — the most publicized case involving the death of Darrin “Dagwood” Hanna, which resulted in a shakeup in the North Chicago Police Department. Last year, the city paid out $100,000 in cases relating to police brutality.

Back in 2007, city officials agreed with the U.S. Department of Justice to form a committee to work with the police department, but as DeVost said Saturday, “it flopped.” She said this committee, also agreed to with the justice department last year, will be different.

“Now, we are putting some teeth into it. We do want change in this community,” she said, also suggesting that some complaints of the mayor being able to pick the members should be taken back to the justice department “to get their take on it,” she said.

Marian McElroy was on the first committee and she said she is concerned with the process, “because sometimes people are excluded from the process: ‘Oh you're on this side, you're on the other side.' Bad feelings permeate this city and keeps people like me not wanting to participate. There's been people on some committees for decades,” she said.

To be considered for the committee, you need to submit your name, address, and telephone number to the mayor by March 14, or you can nominate someone as long as thy are willing. The mayor will appoint the members by April.

Committee members will assist the police department in achieving a greater understanding of complex community problems in the areas of human relations, justice and diversity.

Committee members will also be responsible for promoting clear rules and procedures consistent with a modern police department and be able to disseminate factual and responsible information to the community in a timely manner to address myths and rumors that damage police/community relations.

Sharon Epps said people need to speak their minds and be honest and agree to disagree. “But we need to be more respectful. I understand what's happened in North Chicago, but we have to be respectful,” she said.

Rockingham ended the press conference by saying he thinks they have a good police department. “There are some we may need to look at, yes, but our officers do a good job of policing the city of North Chicago,” he said.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/02/02/new-citizen-advisory-committee-to-work-with-police-in-north-chicago/

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California

PUBLIC SAFETY: Dorner violence brought communications gaps to light

by JOHN ASBURY

The warning that Christopher Dorner had just exchanged gunfire with police in Corona and was headed toward Riverside came seconds too late for Riverside police officers Andrew Tachias and Michael Crain.

Dorner spotted the two officers waiting for a green light at an intersection and unleashed 13 rounds into their patrol car from a silenced semiautomatic rifle, killing Crain and almost killing Tachias. The warning broadcast and the assault on Crain and Tachias came simultaneously, 11 minutes after the confrontation in Corona was first reported.

On top of the 11-minute lag time was a delay in reporting the Corona gunfire. The Los Angeles Police Department officers, in Corona to protect someone Dorner had identified as a target, had no way to directly communicate with Inland law enforcement. They called 911 on a borrowed cellphone to warn other law enforcement that Dorner had opened fire in the early morning hours of Feb. 7.

Dorner's rampage made it terribly clear that police agencies need to be able to communicate, and communicate quickly, with each other to manage major crimes and natural disasters throughout Southern California.

The ability of first-responder agencies to talk to each other has been a main focus for emergency crews since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The federal government has provided billions of dollars for improvements nationwide.

But Southern California law enforcement agencies continue to operate on different systems, which means officers can't talk directly to their counterparts in other jurisdictions, relying on dispatchers to relay information.

“As far as I can tell in day to day operations of police work, I don't know that we're any closer to talking to each other on radios than we were on 9-11,” Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz said.

Riverside County Supervisor John Tavaglione said the communication failures during the Dorner shooting could have been prevented — and that an earlier warning could have saved Crain's life.

Tavaglione, a vocal proponent of improving such links, said local emergency-response agencies have to communicate with one another to manage disasters such as earthquakes, wildfires or something harder to plan for like a mass shooter.

“It scares the hell out of me,” Tavaglione said. “Seldom does a week go by that you don't have a pursuit crossing jurisdictional lines or an officer-involved shooting. You hear about it too often. To not have the ability to communicate with each other is wrong.”

Karen Bune, an adjunct professor of criminology at George Mason University in Washington, D.C., said police can learn from situations such as the Dorner manhunt or the Sept. 11 attacks and become better prepared to communicate when unpredictable emergencies happen.

“I think it was chaos and everyone tried the best they could,” Bune said.

“If anything came out of the Dorner situation, it showed the need exists to talk with one another and integrate strategies,” she said. “There needs to be ongoing dialogue, and if mistakes are made, how do you fix that and figure out who's running the show.”

‘HURRY-UP STRATEGY'

Local officials say the communication failures began when, contrary to protocol, Los Angeles police did not notify them that officers were working in the Inland region.

LAPD officials did not return numerous attempts for comment. LAPD media representatives declined to comment on the Dorner investigation, citing potential litigation and liability issues.

Riverside police were first warned about Dorner the afternoon of Feb. 6. That day, police linked Dorner to the killing of an Irvine couple — including the daughter of an LAPD captain who had represented Dorner during disciplinary hearings that led to Dorner's dismissal from the force — and found a manifesto Dorner wrote declaring “unconventional and asymmetrical warfare” on the LAPD.

Police departments across Southern California were notified about Dorner's manifesto. Though Dorner had no connection to Riverside, police on patrol that night, including Crain and Tachias, were briefed about his case.

What Inland authorities didn't know was that teams of LAPD protection details had begun swarming across the region to guard about 50 current and former LAPD officers mentioned in Dorner's manifesto — including eight to 10 potential targets in Eastvale, Corona, San Bernardino and Moreno Valley.

“What I believe happened now is that they were in a hurry to get their people out here, and typical protocols weren't followed,” Diaz said. “We wish there had been a better coordination between LAPD and the areas where they deployed officers, but we also understand the hurry-up strategy.”

Tavaglione said LAPD officials should have notified local authorities so they could have sent officers to assist or provided local radios.

“LAPD had an obligation to call every jurisdiction to let them know they would be there during a certain time,” Tavaglione said. “If the LAPD says it's a liability, they've already let down their police brethren by coming out without an ability to communicate, and it resulted in the death of one of our officers.”

‘CULTURE OF SELF-RELIANCE'

The communication breakdown between LAPD protection details and local authorities was evident when Los Angeles police first encountered Dorner just outside Corona.

Dorner, driving up Interstate 15 from San Diego, stopped at an am/pm gas station at Weirick Road about 1 a.m. Feb. 7.

A witness flagged down a passing police car that happened to contain two LAPD officers on their way to protect a potential Dorner target nearby. The officers chased Dorner until he pulled over and opened fire on them, grazing one of the officers in the forehead and immobilizing their car. Dorner then sped away.

The officers' radios could not reach LAPD dispatchers because they were too far out of range. To report the shooting to local authorities, they had to call 911, reaching the CHP and then being transferred to Corona police and Riverside County sheriff's officials.

“LAPD has a culture of self-reliance,” said Diaz, who worked for the Los Angeles force for 33 years before coming to Riverside in 2010. “They don't have to ask anyone for help. This was beyond their capability to handle. You may have the bodies to handle it, but not the equipment.”

One of the officers tried to call 911, but he dropped his cellphone, shattering it on the freeway offramp. According to Tavaglione, the other officer's phone was in his backpack, locked in the trunk.

One officer flagged down a passing driver to borrow a phone. Both ended up calling 911, but at first they said incorrectly that they were at Interstate 15 and Highway 57.

Following the shooting, Riverside police dispatchers received two calls, Diaz said.

The first came from Corona police, asking if the Riverside police helicopter was available but not saying why it was needed, Diaz said.

The next call came from American Medical Response, asking if Riverside police knew about an officer-involved shooting.

Those calls prompted Riverside dispatchers to call Corona — and only then did they learn of the shooting and that Dorner was heading east on Magnolia toward Riverside.

Corona police Sgt. Kim Velasco said that before Corona officers could begin notifying other agencies, they had to contain the scene and start shutting down the freeway.

Riverside police issued an all-points bulletin at 1:33 a.m., 11 minutes after the first call to 911 about the shooting in Corona.

In an interview, Tachias said he and Crain didn't get that warning, sent out as Dorner was unloading a hail of bullets into their patrol car.

“There was a delay in radio traffic from other agencies,” Tachias said.

Diaz said there's nothing the officers could have done differently, but the confrontation should provide lessons about communications.

“Have we learned anything in this experience and nobody will do it the same way?” Diaz said. “Yeah, I think we won't do it the same way. Like going into another jurisdiction blindly, I don't think anyone will do that.”

‘EVERYONE WANTED TO HELP'

In San Bernardino County, communication gaps became apparent during the final standoff with Dorner on Feb. 12, Sheriff John McMahon said.

Sheriff's deputies became involved in the hunt for Dorner a few hours after the Riverside shooting, when his charred truck was found on a dirt road in the Big Bear area.

During the five-day manhunt that followed, representatives from the Riverside and Los Angeles police departments met with San Bernardino County sheriff's officials at the command post, but the Sheriff's Department led the investigation and the manhunt.

What created chaos, McMahon said, was the enormous, unsolicited response from police throughout Southern California after Dorner was discovered in a Big Bear condo and the owners called 911.

“Everyone wanted to help, but there was nothing for them to do,” McMahon said. “We had no assignment to give them, and what they were doing made the situation very difficult.”

The Sheriff's Department's only requests were for San Bernardino police to assist with the outer perimeter at the base of the mountain, and for a medical helicopter to be on standby at the San Bernardino airport.

But as Dorner eluded authorities, an army of officers from other police agencies raced up the mountain.

At the same time, an LAPD helicopter arrived at the top of the mountain. Sheriff's officials waved it off and told LAPD officers to wait at the airport in case they were needed.

Not only did the LAPD infringe on the sheriff's investigation, but the sudden, huge presence of law enforcement made everyone a potential target during the final standoff with Dorner, McMahon said.

Authorities need a better way to coordinate resources during major events, he said.

“Given the same circumstances, I don't think we would do anything different, except how we managed outside resources,” McMahon said.

‘AS PREPARED AS WE COULD BE'

Law enforcement officials in Riverside and San Bernardino counties are looking for better ways to communicate.

Authorities say better radio technology, while necessary, is not the only answer. Officials also need to shift the law enforcement culture toward more cooperation.

Inland law enforcement agencies use a variety of radio systems.

Agencies in San Bernardino County all use the same frequency and can communicate with each other. But sheriff's deputies cannot communicate outside the county, except with Riverside County, which shares a common radio channel.

Riverside County recently launched a new encrypted radio system to improve coverage across the county. But the system does not connect with other agencies, such as Riverside and Corona police.

Riverside police are exploring several options, but officials noted there is not a one-size-fits-all system

During day-to-day operations, police generally don't need to talk to officers from other agencies, Diaz said.

When they do, departments whose radios don't connect can communicate through dispatch centers, a practice that McMahon said generally works well.

In large-scale emergencies like a wildfire or earthquake aftermath, police and fire agencies can communicate through the state's Office of Emergency Services channels. But switching to such mutual channels is never seamless.

Tavaglione said law enforcement and first responders need to find a common channel to communicate across city and county lines. He said he would like to see federal or state laws requiring interoperability.

“We're as prepared as we could be, and more than we ever were. But I wish everyone could flip a switch and talk to each other if they were told to do that,” Tavaglione said. “At a major disaster, you can only improve getting people help if you're communicating properly.”

Contact John Asbury at 951-368-9284 or jasbury@pe.com

COMING FRIDAY

A three-day package focuses on the impact of Christopher Dorner's rampage, the mammoth manhunt it spurred and the lives of the people forever changed.

HALF-HOUR OF CHAOS

From the first sighting of Christopher Dorner on Feb. 7, 2013, to the shooting in which he killed a Riverside police officer, about 35 minutes of chaos ensued.

About 1 a.m.: Tow truck driver Lee McDaniel recognizes Dorner at a gas station just outside Corona on Weirick Road. Both drive away. McDaniel flashes his lights at two LAPD officers and tells them who he saw. They see Dorner pass and enter Interstate 15, giving chase for about five miles until Dorner exits at Magnolia Avenue in Corona and opens fire.

1:22 a.m.: A witness calls 911 to report being flagged down by two “security guards” who had been shot at by a murder suspect.

1:23 a.m.: An LAPD officer calls 911 and says he and his partner were involved in an officer-involved shooting.

1:24 a.m.: The second LAPD officer calls 911 to report the shooting. He requests medical assistance and says the suspect was eastbound on Magnolia Avenue.

1:24 a.m.: The CHP, which receives 911 calls, transfers them to Corona police, and officers are dispatched immediately.

1:26 a.m.: Riverside County sheriff's deputies also are dispatched.

1:27 a.m.: Corona police arrive on scene. American Medical Response calls Riverside dispatch asking if Riverside officers are on scene of an officer-involved shooting in Corona.

1:28 a.m.: Corona police ask if the Riverside police helicopter is in the air, but when they're told it is down, Corona police dispatchers provided no further information.

1:29-1:31 a.m.: Riverside police call Corona dispatch after hearing about the shooting from American Medical Response. Corona police tell Riverside the suspect is wanted in an Irvine double-homicide and describe his vehicle. Riverside police dispatch the department's helicopter.

1:33 a.m.: Riverside dispatchers issue an all-points bulletin to warn officers that Dorner was involved in a Corona shooting and is heading into the city. Officers Michael Crain and Andrew Tachias, stopped at a red light at Arlington and Magnolia avenues, do not hear it before Dorner pulls up across from them and opens fire.

1:35 a.m.: Riverside police receive the officer-down call.

http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/riverside/riverside-headlines-index/20140202-public-safety-dorner-violence-brought-communications-gaps-to-light.ece

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Alabama

Applications available for Auburn Citizen's Public Safety Academy

by Kristen Oliver

Auburn citizens have an opportunity to learn about public safety from their city's experts.

For the 13th year, the Department of Public Safety is holding the Citizen's Public Safety Academy. This year, the program will run March 20 through May 22, and the department is currently accepting applications.

“This program will give the participants an opportunity to meet the police officers, fire fighters, 911 operators, and codes inspectors that keep the City of Auburn safe,” said Capt. Will Mathews of the Auburn Police Division. “They will get a chance to experience a little piece of the public safety mission and hopefully take something positive away.”

Participants will meet Thursdays from 6:30-9 p.m. They will also attend two “hands-on” Saturday lessons, at which time they will take part in activities that include shooting weapons at the police range, extinguishing fires and becoming certified in CPR.

Matthews said in years past approximately 15-20 people participated in the program. He said at the end of each program, they ask the participants for advice to improve the program the next year.

“We work to provide the attendees with an interesting and informative presentation every week,” Mathews said. “And at the end of the program we ask for feedback.”

Mathews said the information they receive from participants also helps them provide better service out in the community. “We always receive information from our citizens about problem areas and have discussions about how to better provide services to address those concerns,” Mathews said.

Mathews said the program is an opportunity for people to get to know the operations-side of public safety and to ask the questions they've always wondered about the business of public safety.

“Citizens see the police cars riding down the road and they see the fire trucks responding to emergency calls, and this gives them the opportunity to go behind the scenes and get a sense of these day-to-day operations,” Mathews said. “It gives them the chance to do what not everyone would get to experience in their day-to-day lives.”

Mathews encourages those interested in attending this year's academy to submit an application as soon as possible as class size is limited.

There is no fee to participate in the program, and all Auburn residents ages 18 and older and welcome to apply.

Applications are available at the Public Safety Department at 161 N. Ross St.

http://www.oanow.com/news/auburn/article_710308c8-8c30-11e3-aed0-0017a43b2370.html

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South Carolina

Lexington County to offer Public Safety Citizens' Academy

Lexington County residents will have a chance to get a closer look at law enforcement and other service operations at the Public Safety Citizens' Academy, which is now accepting applications.

Sheriff James Metts launched the academy in 1996. Participants get a hands-on course of instruction about law enforcement, fire and EMS operations in the county.

The program also includes instruction on planning and training that is being conducted locally to enhance homeland security and provide a coordinated public safety response in the event of a terrorist attack in Lexington County, according to Metts.

Participants also will hear from a detective who investigates gang activity and informs residents about how they can work in partnership with law enforcement to report gang activity in Lexington County.

Classes begin March 4 and will run from 7 to 10 p.m. each Tuesday for 11 weeks. The Lexington County Sheriff's Department will conduct a graduation ceremony May 27 for those who complete the program.

Participants must be at least 18 and residents of Lexington County. They must not have been convicted of a serious crime, Metts said.

For more information or an application for the program, contact Administrative Assistant Lori Drafts at (803) 785-2557 or ldrafts@lcsd.sc.gov

http://coladaily.com/2014/02/03/lexington-county-to-offer-public-safety-citizens-academy/

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Tennessee

Chattanooga public safety chief pitches anti-crime initiative to Glenwood neighborhood leaders

by Beth Burger

Paul Smith spent six years as principal at the Howard School winning over the hearts of inner-city youth.

On Saturday, he worked to persuade Glenwood neighborhood leaders to support the Chattanooga Violence Reduction Initiative. The initiative will be rolled out in the next couple of months. Smith, the city's public safety coordinator, has met with two city neighborhood associations about the program. He has 15 to go.

His audience Saturday was a diverse group of community residents -- blacks, whites, clergymen, young and retired -- assigned to watch over blocks in the Glenwood neighborhood.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/24613479/chattanooga-public-safety-chief-pitches-anti-crime-initiative-to-glenwood-neighborhood-leaders

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Florida

Florida state crime lab worker accused of drug evidence tampering

TALLAHASSEE, FL (WCTV/CNN) - Hundreds of Florida drug convictions could be in jeopardy as officials investigate a state crime lab worker.

The worker is accused of tampering with drug evidence in more than half the state's counties.

It started with a problem in Pensacola.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators were alerted when drug evidence was missing, and then they found dozens of cases where prescription drugs were replaced with over-the-counter medicine.

The FDLE determined it all pointed to one of their lab chemists.

"It could be personal use. It could be trafficking. It could be each of those. We don't know," FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey said Saturday.

The FDLE is investigating all 2,600 drug cases the chemist has worked since 2006, which involve 80 law enforcement agencies and 35 of Florida's 67 counties.

"Our first priority is to find out exactly what happened in this particular case and work with the state attorneys to hold this person criminally accountable," Bailey said.

The FDLE is in the process of contacting law enforcement agencies around the state about this evidence breach.

A spokesman said the Tallahassee Police Department has already been contacted about possibly compromised cases.

"Because of this breach, we have a lot of work to do to restore the confidence of our colleagues and of the Florida public," Bailey said.

Beginning Monday, FDLE teams will be sent around the state to go through the potentially compromised cases.

The identity of the chemist has not been released pending charges.

http://www.wdam.com/story/24611748/florida-state-crime-lab-worker-accused-of-drug-evidence-tampering

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California

LAPD Beefing up Bicycle Patrol in Venice

The three-month pilot program started today.

by Penny Arévalo

A three-month pilot program to increase police patrols in the Venice Beach area was underway today, a response to violent crimes and the death of an Italian newlywed who was killed when a man drove a car into a crowd on the boardwalk last August.

The patrols, which were launched on Sunday, make heavy use of officers patrolling the area on bicycles, police said.

“It makes us very approachable, and we can stop and instantly talk to people,” Los Angeles police Sgt. Brian Gura told ABC7.

On weekends, the patrols will also include the LAPD's Metro horseback detail, according to a report on Venice311.org.

“This is a big boost for quality of life in Venice Beach neighborhoods,” City Councilman Mike Bonin told Venice311, whose 11th District includes Venice. “I applaud LAPD for its strong commitment to community policing, and for working to improve its already strong partnership with the people of Venice.”

The LAPD has employed bike patrols in the area for more than 10 years, but under the new pilot program they will be conducted every day, according to Venice311.

http://venice.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/lapd-beefing-up-bicycle-patrol-in-venice

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Hawaii

Department of Public Safety warns of prank phone calls

by Web Staff

A warning from the Department of Public Safety.

Apparently some Hawaii residents have been getting calls from people posing as Sheriff Deputies.

The callers say they're serving warrants for people who didn't show up for jury duty and they'll clear the warrants if they pay them money.

The DPS says Deputy Sheriffs never call people about warrants having to do with jury duty or solicit the purchase of anything.

If this sounds familiar, and you got a call like this, call the Sheriff Division at 586-1352.

http://khon2.com/2014/02/01/department-of-public-safety-warns-of-prank-phone-calls/

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New Jersey

How Super Bowl security works: Public Safety Command with 50 agencies, hundrdeds of agents, cameras

by Marshall Zelinger

On Super Bowl Sunday, the most important team to every fan will not be on the field or even watching the game.

"We have about 50 enforcement agencies at the federal, state, county and local level," said New Jersey State Police Col. Rick Fuentes during an exclusive tour of the Public Safety Command for Super Bowl XLVIII.

"They're not going to be looking at the Super Bowl," Fuentes said of the staff that will be stationed inside the PSC. "They're going to be looking at the crowd, making sure that everything is going well."

The camera feeds piped into the PSC cover an area of five to ten miles surrounding MetLife Stadium, where the Broncos and Seahawks will be playing.

"These are camera feeds which are very detailed and they can get down to look at very, very small areas," Fuentes said. "The roadways around the stadium are covered and quite frankly in some locations, all the way out to where the teams are staying in Jersey City."

About 700 state troopers will be assigned to work within the stadium's security perimeter Sunday, protecting the expected 80,000 fans and thousands more employees.

Before a fan can enter the perimeter, they will pass through one of seven warming tents. Security inside those tents will be akin to the security screenings at an airport.

"If the agent or a police officer at those posts feels the need to go further on the search, than certainly they will make those decisions to do that," Fuentes said.

New Jersey State Police have asked 7NEWS to keep the exact location of the PSC a secret, but will say that it is in the proximity of the stadium.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/sports/broncos/how-super-bowl-security-works-public-safety-command-with-50-agencies-hundrdeds-of-agents-cameras

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New York

Homeless: More People Live on the Streets Amid Arctic Blasts than Stats Show

by Timothy Bolger

Sharing a vodka bottle of “holy water” while mourning their friend who they say froze to death, six homeless people in the Hicksville train station waiting room ponder their fate on a recent snowy Saturday.

One, a Syosset native who thinks a warm jail may be better than calling the so-called hotbox his living room, openly considers suicide before his fellow “skids,” as they prefer to be called, shout him down. The oldest among them, a 71-year-old ex-plumber named Irving, who says he's been homeless 25 years, jokes about being murdered. The grim talk turns to the average life expectancy for those living on the streets, which is between 42 and 52—decades younger than most Americans.

“Why ain't I dead yet?” a member of the group jokingly asks the others, most of whom are middle-aged. Playing off their morbid, self-deprecating sense of humor hardened by years of being treated like trash, another replies: “Because only the good die young!”

They all share a laugh, forgetting their misery, if only for the moment. Dim florescent lighting, faded-yellow brick walls and urine-scented metal benches are the only other respite from gray skies, subzero wind chills and the frozen ground outside. They may not have much, but they've got each other.

“Queen Maria,” as the five homeless men who protect her from being raped a third time call her, sits in a blue plastic shopping cart to keep raised the ankle she sprained after slipping on the ice. The group makes up just six of likely hundreds of undercounted, unsheltered homeless who refuse to stay in one of the more than roughly 100 shelters on Long Island despite the threat of frostbite, hypothermia and gangs.

“If you tell them you're safer on the street, they look at you like you have three heads,” says Maria, a 41-year-old mother of two whose husband kicked her out when her drinking got out of control six years ago. “After a while you get used to this lifestyle and you learn survival skills.”

With the recent loss of their friend, “Mineola Tommy,” who they say was a Korean War veteran, the group is fully aware of the risk their “lifestyle” poses. Especially during a string of rare, extra-cold arctic blasts that led the Long Island Rail Road to keep the waiting rooms open 24 hours for a change.

“Most important right now is to stay warm,” says Bobby Angell, a 56-year-old former MTA worker who's been homeless on and off for two decades since losing his job and family to crack. “This is killer weather.”

Local news outlets have reported the recent deaths of Tommy, another homeless man in East Meadow called “Wild Bill,” and an unidentified man in Medford, but confirming their cause of death—exposure or otherwise—with Nassau or Suffolk medical examiners is impossible without their full names and the consent of their likely estranged family. Tommy, the vet, wasn't claimed right away at the morgue, an LIRR spokesman says.

The population of people who are homeless on LI is by estimates up 18 percent in the five years following the 2008 Wall Street crash that caused the Great Recession—from 2,639 in '09 to 3,123 last year, the latter nearly the population of Southampton village—according to latest annual homeless surveys, which a Press analysis found are lower than reality. The rise has caused tension in Nassau, where residents worry about aggressive panhandlers, and in Suffolk, where two new “mega-shelters” galvanized their neighbors to protest against the unwelcome additions to their community. Attempts to address the issue have had mixed results.

LI's rise comes as total homelessness fell 7 percent to 610,000 nationally last year with a 23 percent decrease in unsheltered homeless people (those not in shelters, living on the streets) since 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Housing an Urban Development (HUD), which counted more than one-third of those as unsheltered.

Although homelessness on LI was down seven percent as the stats show that growth reversed from '12 to last year, New York State bucked the nation's downward trend with the largest increase in homelessness— 11 percent—from '12 to '13 with 7,864 people and a 23 percent hike since '07 , according to HUD's 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress.

Leading causes are still mental illness and substance abuse, with an increasing amount of aid emphasized for a subset of these sufferers, LI's homeless veterans. Others who lost their homes in Sandy—both directly from storm damage or during its ensuing housing crunch—are still struggling, too, although it's unclear how many of the 17 superstorm survivors the federal government was reimbursing for staying in hotels in New York as of December are from LI. Smaller subsets include people with HIV/AIDS, victims of domestic violence and runaway children.

Homeless people may remain largely invisible—aside from the occasional panhandler or garbage picker—but more are teetering on the edge of joining their ranks, experts warn.

“Working people are one check away from being homeless,” says Johnola Morales, executive director of the Hempstead-based Interfaith Nutrition Network, which has seen more clients at their soup kitchens across LI and three shelters in Nassau. “It would take a very small emergency for people to not pay their rent and wind up in the same situation.”

THE FORGOTTEN
Footprints in a foot of snow lead up to a graffiti-covered abandoned house in Wyandanch. Following them with a flashlight before dawn last month, Greta Guarton peers into a busted-out window and shouts: “Hello?”

A voice from behind an upstairs window blocked by junk yells back, asking what she wants. After a back-and-forth, she gets what she's after: information. The man tells her that he spends time at the train station, has been on the streets for two years and isn't alone—three others are in the boarded-up house, too.

In the broken window, she leaves four donated sweatshirts and paperwork with phone numbers for social service agencies that those inside can call. Then she trudges back through the freshly fallen flakes to her SUV.

It's more productive than when she follows tracks in the snow up to two other nearby vacant homes. No one answers at the second. At the third, she calls out in Spanish—she's met undocumented immigrants staying there before—but again, there's no answer, which she suspects is because they're afraid she's law enforcement looking to deport them.

“We heard people in a lot of [vacant] houses that wouldn't come out,” says Guarton, recalling surveys going back a decade. “They're terrified to talk to us.

“If they don't have documents of being here legally, they're not eligible for most services, including emergency housing,” she adds.

Monica Diez, administrative director at the Workplace Project, a Hempstead-based nonprofit immigrant advocacy group, says many of those she works with avoid the shelters.

“Shelter-wise, they're basically left on their own to fend for themselves,” Diez says. “They don't know exactly where they stand with the immigration issue with sheltering and who's eligible at least for a night, so they don't really go through that resource.”

Complicating the survey further is that everyone tends to look homeless bundled up in the dead of winter. Guarton stops a man on the street, then another, to ask if they know where the homeless are. One points to a vacant house she checked where nobody answered.

She heads to a bodega where the homeless are said to congregate. A group of men eating breakfast inside point her to another bodega across the street, where a man in a camouflage jacket leaves upon hearing Guarton's query. The rest claim ignorance.

After sun-up an hour later, Guarton's questioned more than a dozen around the downtown and only found the one vacant house dweller with three apparent friends. Other volunteers take over the search for the area after she leaves.

“There are tons of people who are obviously homeless and they say, ‘No, I'm not homeless, but I know where they are,'” Guarton says, noting that she can't count those who appear to be, but deny being homeless.

Nassau, Suffolk and the shelter operators send her their stats tallying how many homeless are staying in emergency and transitional housing while she relies on volunteers to count those on the streets all day and night for the survey. But the margin of error for polling such a transient group is incalculable. For one, “The Hicksville Crew,” as the sextet at the train station call themselves, say they weren't counted.

Guarton expects the stats for LI's unsheltered to be lower than reality. Especially since only about 50 volunteers—half of those last year—were available when the survey came the day after an average of 14.5 inches of snow covered parts of LI. Shelters may serve more clients on such snowy nights, which compensates for some of the unsheltered that could be missed, but there are many more homeless that aren't counted at all, such as those temporarily in jail, rehab and psychiatric wards.

Statistics for how many homeless are jailed, committed or in rehab were not available.

Suburban sprawl also makes the homeless census harder than in New York City, where counters scour the metropolis in grids. Volunteers on the Island mostly target known homeless hangouts for their leg of the national survey—but those living in cars, for example, tend to go uncounted, advocates say. Volunteers counted 207 unsheltered in '09—8 percent of LI's homeless that year—and less than 100 every year since, except last year, when 117 were tallied. Results of this year's street count were not available as of press time.

“I think it's a useful exercise, but I would have questions about its absolute accuracy,” says Joel Blau, professor of social policy at the School of Social Welfare at Stony Brook University. He likens the homeless stats to the unemployment rate, which is estimated to be twice as high as reported since it doesn't count those whose benefits ran out.

“The problem with that is homeless people often try to be elusive,” he says. “You never know if you missed the person under the bridge, or whether somebody's in the basement of the abandoned house or whether they're in the woods at the end of a dead-end street.”

SKID ROW
In the easier-to-count segment of the homeless population, Suffolk officials report a more than 62-percent increase in individuals seeking temporary housing assistance over the past five years—from 1,405 in '09 to 2,260, about the population of Shelter Island, last year.

That includes a 30-percent increase since May in homeless families— totaling 535—consisting of 684 adults and 1,282 children , as of December. To meet demand, the county last year contracted two new family shelters, each fitting nearly 100 families, in converted hotels two miles apart from one another in Hauppauge and Brentwood. Neighboring school officials have complained that the added homeless children overwhelm classrooms; outraged neighbors say the mega-shelters ruin their communities and the facilities' legality has been debated in the county legislature.

And there's still not enough shelters, advocates and officials say.

“The wintertime is the time when demand for homelessness goes up,” Suffolk Social Services Commissioner John O'Neill told the legislature's human services committee in December while being pressured to cut the number of families at the two controversial shelters. “I'm not going to commit to shifting families out of some place that I may need to place homeless families.”

Legis. John Kennedy Jr. (R-Nesconset), the legislature's Republican minority leader, had proposed a bill that would cancel the contract with the new shelters, but the measure was tabled. He maintains the county should abide by its law limiting shelter size to 12 families, but the county attorney says state law trumps county limits on shelter sizes in these cases.

“There are many, many, many shelters throughout Suffolk County, but only three of them that go to this size and really nothing that eclipses this facility in the center of Hauppauge,” Kennedy said at the same meeting. “So right there we go to what is clearly an equity issue.”

Dozens of residents, arguing they've absorbed more homeless than other communities, packed the meeting to sound off in support of the bill, and are expected to do the same when the legislature holds its first full meeting of the year this month.

“What Suffolk County wants to do to the Hauppauge community is an outright disgrace,” Joanne Garramone, a longtime resident of the area, told the panel. “Concentrating all the homeless into our community…to save money for the county will in the long run severely hurt our residents' safety, finances, taxes and value of their home.”

Legis. Kate Browning (WF-Shirley) said at the same meeting that she received some “disturbing” emails with comments “derogatory” toward homeless families after she previously said that the anti-mega-shelter crowd are arging NIMBY—not-in-my-backyard.

Aside from the size and school aspects of the issue—officials say many of the children in shelters are bused to their hometown schools—some mega-shelter opponents' comments suggest the fear is that all homeless are alcoholics or drug abusers, like the Hicksville Crew. That isn't necessarily the case.

“A large portion of our homeless are the result of a slow-recovering economy coupled with the high number of bank foreclosures on Long Island,” says John Nieves, spokesman for the Suffolk Department of Social Services (DSS). “Another contributing factor is the high cost of living on Long Island.”

While the federal government defines poverty for a family of four as a total income of $24,343 a year, the poverty level for LI is $46,000 a year, due to the higher cost of living, according to the Long Island Federation of Labor.

And since much of the county's homeless population and shelters are in western Suffolk, the safety net has holes on the ritzier East End. DSS officials say they're planning to open more shelters around the Twin Forks, but it's doubtful any new beds will open up before spring.

“We cannot take everyone who comes walking through the door, we don't have the capacity,” says Tracey Lutz, executive director of Maureen's Haven , a network of 18 houses of worship that host up to 60 homeless nightly more than 100 times annually. “The system that we have in place right now doesn't work, particularly on Long Island for long-term solutions… We have to give people opportunities to earn a living wage.”

She also takes issue with DSS requiring eviction notices for clients to qualify for their shelters.

“This is particularly concerning because many of the people that are looking for shelter have not lived in a traditional environment where they would easily have access to an eviction notice,” she says. “There doesn't seem to be any wiggle room.”

Nieves says DSS will except informal eviction notices as proof of homelessness, or conduct evaluations to corroborate an applicant in fact has no place to go.

GIMME SHELTER
Asked how many homeless people Nassau sheltered in recent years, Dr. John Imhoff, the social services commissioner for that county, provided stats for how many homeless people his agency placed in permanent housing and got out of motels.

LI's homeless coalition reports a 42-percent hike in sheltered people in the county from '09 to '12—595 to 847, about the population of Quioque . Survey results broken down by county were only available for that four-year span. Starting last year, LI's homeless stats are lumped together.

Imhoff says he has no plans to open any mega-shelters in Nassau, but he didn't need to for sentiment rivaling that of Suffolk's mega-shelter neighbors to rear its head in East Meadow, home to Eisenhower Park, historically a hotspot for the homeless. That is, until last year, when Nassau police, tired of summonsing homeless people that ignore the tickets, stepped up arresting them for quality-of-life crimes. Especially after finding out that some had obtained keys to the bathrooms, where they made themselves at home.

“They've made it very unpleasant for people who sign up to use the barbeque areas,” Third Precinct Inspector Sean McCarthy told an East Meadow community meeting last spring. “We've made it less hospitable for them in Eisenhower Park. That's a ship that doesn't turn around right away. But, instead of writing appearance tickets at the scene, we usually bring them into the precinct and process them in a regular arrest fashion, not just write them a ticket that they're never gonna answer anyway.”

McCarthy was not available to provide an update on how this tactic has fared. A large homeless tent city tucked in the woods just west of the park that authorities shut down following a murder there a decade ago had one tent on a recent visit. Another camp along the Meadowbrook State Parkway, farther south near a Freeport day laborer hiring site, has seen two men living in those woods die in as many years, including a Hispanic man in his 20s found dead there last May.

“He lived over there all winter,” Fernando, who declined to give his last name, told the Press following the March 2012 death of 33-year-old Jose Garrido-Lobo, a father of four who they nicknamed “El Cantante,” Spanish for “The Singer,” because he would sing when he drank. “He's a good guy.”

As for the progress on solving the overall problem of homelessness in the county, Imhoff touts reducing the number of families in motels from 44 to 16 in the past three years and 142 to 112 in shelters for the same time span. He also says the county found homes for 328 people in ‘12 and 629 last year.

“I don't think the economic conditions for many families have changed that radically, but I think that our aggressive policy of working with our housing specialists and helping families acquire the means and support to get out of shelters and motels [is] beginning to see a difference,” Imhoff says.

Rev. Daphne Haynes, president of nonprofit Peace Valley Haven, which operates a men's shelter in Roosevelt and does outreach to the unsheltered, says she's noticed fewer people on the streets, but convincing the chronically homeless to seek help is still an uphill battle.

“‘If I'm going to die, I'm going to die right here,'” one homeless person told Haynes, she says. “If every person was accepting, I could bring in…20 people a night. We can't turn our eyes and say the need is not there.”

Blau, the Stony Brook professor, notes that Nassau's homeless arrest policy is likely to be as ineffective as Suffolk's mega-shelters—he favors smaller facilities—but notes that the issue needs a fresh look from local leaders.

“We have to figure our some way of addressing this so we don't come to accept the fact that when you go to a local supermarket some guy's gonna be outside collecting cans and possibly begging,” he says. “Thirty or 40 years ago it was shocking to see people in the street, and I think what's happened is we got used to it and not only have we gotten used to it, but we've gotten used to it in the suburbs, which was supposed to be immune to the city's problems.”

STAND YOUR GROUND
Aside from warmer weather on the horizon, silver linings are seen in new alliances formed to help tackle homelessness on LI, including veterans groups and the LIRR partnering with advocates.

Railroad workers have begun sharing information on where the homeless are staying with the LI homeless coalition, says Guarton, the group's director, who adds that Services for the Underserved, a large New York City-based homeless veterans group, set up an LI outpost in Farmingdale for the first time last year.

“We thought it was time to expand our operation,” says Brett Morash, a retired U.S. Navy veteran who's director of veterans' services at the nonprofit, which partnered with several LI vets groups' goal of helping 500 families. “The idea of the program is to prevent veterans from becoming homeless.”

Guarton is as thankful for the reinforcements on the veteran front as she is for backup from the LIRR, where advocates say an average of half dozen homeless of all types are often found in waiting rooms, sometimes twice that.

“This joint effort was prompted by a noticeable uptick in complaints about the homeless from our customers as we increased the hours of waiting room availability at many LIRR stations,” Salvatore Arena, an LIRR spokesman, tells the Press . “We are also working closely with the MTA Police on this issue.”

For those homeless folks that take the advocates up on the offer to stay in one of their shelters, their odds increase for getting back on their feet with the help of social services. The mega-shelters offer even more programs because of their size, Suffolk officials say.

“As long as there is life, there is hope,” says Haynes, of Peace Valley Haven.

There's another saying common in this line of work, too, repeated by Lutz at Maureen's Haven: “There, but for the grace of God, go any of us.”

Back at the Hicksville train station, Angell recalls making $40 hourly as a track worker. Now he's lucky if he makes $40 a day recycling cans. Between swigs from a can of cheap beer, he says, “I wish I knew then what I know now.”

Important Numbers:

•  Suffolk County Department of Social Services Central Housing Unit hotline: 631- 854-9517 between 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. For emergencies during non-business hours, weekends and holidays, call 631-854-9100.

•  Nassau County Warm Bed Homeless Hotline: 1-866-927-6233

•  Nassau Homeless Help Line: 516-572-2711

•  Nassau Department of Social Services: 516-227-8395. After hours: 516-572-3143

•  Long Island Crisis Counseling & Referral Center: 516-679-1111

•  Nassau County Coalition Against Domestic Violence: 516-542-0404

http://www.longislandpress.com/2014/02/01/homeless-more-people-live-on-the-streets-amid-arctic-blasts-than-stats-show/