"News of the Week"   Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch March, 2018 - Week 5

MJ Goyings ~~~~~~~~ Many thanks to our very own "MJ" Goyings, a resident of Ohio, for her daily research that provides us with the news related material that appears on the LACP & NAASCA web sites.

CERT Training in Alaska Helps At-Risk Youth

Alaska Youth Military Academy delivers lifesaving skills training by offering CERT to cadets

A key partnership in Alaska brings Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training to at-risk youth.

Michelle Torres’ desire to teach Alaskan youth how to prepare for disasters led her to a new partner, the Alaska Military Youth Academy (AMYA). It now offers Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training to its teenage cadets.

“I thought it was a great opportunity to engage our youth,” said Torres, State Outreach Coordinator for the State of Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. “I think they are an untapped resource that are often overlooked.”

Torres found CERT to be a great way to provide an essential skill set to Alaskan teens. With many remote areas in the state, the travel expenses to deliver training pose a challenge. She found the perfect solution. Her agency falls under the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which also houses the AMYA. The program educates cadets to bring their new life saving skills back home to these remote areas.

“Some of these kids come from very remote areas,” she said. “When we have them in the program, it’s an opportunity for them to learn a skill. What they learn, they can take to college or any other community that they go to.”

The AMYA serves 16 to 18 year-olds who left high school without receiving a diploma. The program focuses on helping them achieve their high school diploma or General Equivalency Diploma (GED).

This quasi-military program spans more than 17 months. It teaches academics and life skills with an emphasis on community service, responsibility, and leadership. The cadets spend about six months on base. The remainder of the time is spent in high school or working toward their GED.

Beginning in December 2016, Torres teamed up with the AMYA to train 25 cadets in a pilot CERT program.

The cadets loved their CERT training so much that she accepted 100 students for a second cycle. Over the course of 16 weeks, Torres taught four classes. She also partnered with other state agencies to help deliver the training. For the fire safety unit, she collaborated with a fire inspector from the Division of Fire Life Safety. For the medical unit, she teamed up with the Department of Health and Social Services.

Cadets receive school credit toward their Life Coping Skills requirement when they complete their CERT training.

Torres continues to push the program further and create a culture of prepared youth. After receiving positive feedback from the roughly 300 cadets trained in CERT thus far, the AMYA now wants all their cadets to participate. To address this ambitious request, Torres worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 10 to conduct a CERT train-the-trainer course February 6-8, 2018 in Wasilla, AK. Staff from the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management signed up, as well as the AMYA instructors and volunteer members of the Alaska Defense Force. Now, these instructors hope to deliver CERT to every cadet who comes through the door.

“It is amazing,” Torres said, “to watch the kids from the beginning of the program to when they graduate.”

Torres attributes her ability to grow the CERT training program to strong partnerships. She works with state agencies, emergency preparedness stakeholders, and subject matter experts.

“A lot of jurisdictions are struggling economically right now,” said Torres. “This was a way we could collaborate as state agencies, share resources, and build resiliency among our Alaskan people.”

With such a successful partnership, Torres remains optimistic about the CERT-trained cadets. Quite a few of them expressed an interest in emergency service type work, such as firefighting, emergency management, and search and rescue. No matter what career path they choose, she wants them to understand how they can apply the skills they learned to different cultures, jobs, future volunteer work, and community service.

Torres will continue using CERT to create a culture of preparedness among the youth, one cadet at a time.

“Youth have so much potential,” said Torres. “They are gung-ho to learn. And they want to help, especially when you can put it into terms they can understand, like helping their neighborhood, their church, or their peers.”

Visit the Alaska Military Youth Academy to learn more about the cadets.

https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1522255309970-e6fdcb9caf14738f73df4ad9db1b325c/CERT_Training_in_Alaska.pdf

Cranston mayor focuses on school security, public safety in budget address

“Our children have always been at the forefront, and they will continue to be in this budget,” Fung said.

The mayor's budget appropriates two and half million dollars for safety and fire updates at city schools. New this year, the mayor is allotting money specifically for school security details in light of the recent school shooting in Florida.

"We added another hundred thousand dollars to our police to support additional police details that will help on top of the school resources officers, as well as the regular patrols that are in the schools randomly throughout the day,” Fung said.

The mayor says he is also focused on public safety, budgeting for three new police officers and a second police substation at Hall Manor.

The budget does not include an increase in taxes for the fifth time in seven years, but the mayor says residents might still see an impact on their wallets.

"The tough part for some of our residents is that it is a revaluation year,” he said. “So, while it is great news that we are holding the line on raising property taxes, and not raising the sewer use fee, some people will see an increase because the values overall have gone up throughout the city.

Fung has also allotted funding to address the opioid crisis, money for two new dog parks, a new playground, a new liner for Budlong Pool, continued improvements at Cranston Stadium, a new softball field at Hope Highlands, a new playground at Eden Park Elementary School, $5 million for new public works equipment and traffic safety improvements, two new fire trucks and a new vehicle bay at Station 1 in Edgewood.

Fung also announced the city wants to eliminate all fees for children and teen books at the Central Library.

The budget now heads to the Cranston City Council, and will be reviewed at a series of budget meetings before it gets a final approval later this spring.

Colorado

Cities ask county sheriff to fund school cops, from new public safety taxes

by GARY HARMON

Higher-than-anticipated revenues from Mesa County's public safety tax should pay for 75 percent of the cost of putting additional officers in their middle and high schools, Grand Junction and Palisade officials said.

Mesa County Sheriff Matt Lewis said the municipalities already are getting the benefit of new revenues and that Grand Junction and Palisade should be looking at ways to fit additional school-resource officers into their budgets, just as he already has done with his.

Grand Junction City Manager Greg Caton and Palisade Town Administrator Rich Sales wrote on March 19 to Lewis and Mesa County Administrator Frank Whidden asking that excess money from the public safety sales tax approved by voters last year be used to pay for 75 percent of the cost of additional officers in the schools within those municipalities.

"Using excess 1A funds to fund SRO officers would help provide a much-needed public-safety element in our area schools," Caton and Sales wrote in a March 19 letter. "Since county revenue from the public safety sales tax is more than budgeted, this amount would not negatively affect county programs and agencies already receiving budgeted funds. Furthermore, this is an excellent opportunity for the county to fulfill the countywide promise to support public safety as made when the voters approved the 1A ballot measure."

The city managers estimated that the additional eight officers would cost about $500,000 a year from the sheriff's share of the public safety tax revenues, which Lewis noted is administered solely by the Sheriff's Office.

The letter mentions Fruita, but Fruita City Manager Mike Bennett didn't sign it.

As much as public safety concerns surrounding schools are real, Lewis said, "There is no pile of money" from the 0.37 percent sales tax devoted to the sheriff's and district attorney's offices and 14 other agencies, including Grand Junction and Palisade.

In its first month, the public safety sales tax amounted to $577,000, of which $388,000 went to the Sheriff's Office.

"The new sales tax generated more than budgeted," Caton and Sales wrote. "With unexpected additional revenues, we suggest that Mesa County fund 75 percent of the SRO programs in municipalities with the remaining 25 percent coming from each respective agency."

The breakdown seems fair because the municipalities' 25 percent share would cover the times when schools are closed, Caton said.

"The idea is that these are the most innocent and vulnerable of our residents," Caton said.

School and law-enforcement officials have agreed that a total of 16 school-resource officers are needed valleywide. Five remain to be funded.

"This is a countywide program and it's a countywide sales tax," so more money should come from the tax receipts, Caton said.

Lewis said other functions that he anticipated funding when he was campaigning for the sales tax have gone wanting as he has juggled his budget to open the next school year with a complement of school-resource officers in schools in unincorporated Mesa County.

"I am diverting from other places to put a greater uniformed presence in our schools," Lewis said. Other local governments should make similar evaluations, Lewis said.

Caton said he hadn't heard an official response from the county and would wait for it until deciding on what step to take next.

Sales and Fruita City Manager Mike Bennett couldn't be reached for comment.

https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/cities-ask-county-sheriff-to-fund-school-cops-from-new/article_bdca4a72-3500-11e8-82e0-10604b9f7e7c.html

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Milwaukee

More Community Policing Needed?

Critics say Police Department must be more accountable.

by Jabril Faraj

During the tenure of recently departed Chief Edward Flynn , the Milwaukee Police Department was involved in a number of high-profile incidents that have whittled away at its already tenuous relationship with residents. The department has also been sued  for allegedly conducting pedestrian and traffic stops that disproportionately affect people of color and violate their constitutional rights.

One of the ways to begin rebuilding trust, community members said at two recent community events, is for the Milwaukee Police Department to hold officers accountable for interactions with community members. African-American Roundtable Director Markasa Tucker , chair of the  Milwaukee Collaborative Reform Initiative 's community committee, added that police must be willing to work with the community to address the root causes of violence.

“Clearly what they've been giving us is not what's needed,” she said. “It's not working.”

The events, held at the Washington Park Senior Center, 4420 W. Vliet St., and Wisconsin Black Historical Society, 2620 W. Center St., focused on identifying solutions to issues identified by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)  draft report , leaked late last year. The report was the only tangible outcome of a months-long collaborative reform process  initiated by MPD in early 2016  and ultimately buried by the Trump Administration. Community groups  have since taken the lead  on gathering resident feedback, with the hope of securing changes to police policy.

Though MPD has claimed to engage in community policing for years, the report found that it does not have a department-wide community policing strategy; officers generally do not understand community policing; and MPD does not evaluate officers on problem-solving or interactions with residents. The report notes that “police-citizen interactions can have a profound effect on the legitimacy of the police department.”

Nikotris Perkins , 33, who grew up in the central city and lives near North 45th and West Center streets, said the Community Liaison Officer (CLO) in her neighborhood “knows the community” and is a valuable resource for residents. However, she said every officer should engage with the community in that way.

Perkins, who recounted occasions in which she felt officers approached her out of suspicion, added that she wishes they would be more inquisitive and helpful.

“That's a different approach than, ‘You're clearly doing something wrong and I caught you,'” Perkins said. “That's not usually the approach I've felt with police.”

And LaQuan McMahan , 22, who also attended the Washington Park Senior Center discussion, said he would like police to listen to people's stories and take into account the effect a particular action will have on the individual involved.

MPD Acting Assistant Chief Ray Banks , who was promoted when Alfonso Morales was named interim chief of police, said MPD is creating a department-wide community policing strategy. He added that officers will be trained on community policing practices, reminded of their responsibilities in daily roll calls and evaluated on those measures.

“All of those things are coming,” said Banks. “In order for our organization to be successful, we need community input.”

McMahan added that there should be a mechanism to incorporate feedback outside of the complaint process. He suggested that MPD officers be reviewed annually based on feedback from residents, solicited by “a trusted group of people who are elected by the community.”

He added that this approach might be “a way of circumventing the nuances of implicit bias” because officers would answer directly to the people they are policing.

Tucker said that accountability must begin immediately. She expects the Common Council, Fire and Police Commission and MPD to honor the community's recommendations, adding that feedback will not end with this process.

“We want to see police policies change,” Tucker said. “2020 [is] around the corner — people are going to remember,” she added, referring to the mayoral and Common Council elections.

Tucker said there will most likely be more community feedback hubs scheduled in early April, which will focus on youth. The Fire and Police Commission will take feedback  online  at least through mid-April.

https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2018/03/30/more-community-policing-needed/

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Ireland

Retiring Limerick garda sergeant says community policing is 'very important'

by Norma Prendiville

HAD he stayed on in the job just a few months longer, Sgt Denis Woods would surely have done duty at yet another Papal visit, bookending a career in An Garda Síochána which spanned 40 years and began shortly before the first Papal visit in 1979.

But that was not to be and Sgt Woods finished up at Newcastle West garda station on Friday.

“I have nothing planned. My first job is to cut a bit of turf,” he admitted this week.

“I will be looking to play a bit of golf, to bring down my handicap,” he laughed. But he insisted: “I am not going to be looking back. My time in the gardai is now over. You have to move on to the next step.”

His first step into the force began back in November 1977, a time when he and several classmates from Glin, including now retired Supt Tom O'Connor, headed for Templemore.

“We were all doing it together,” he said. “Coming from a rural background, our parents encouraged us to go into these pensionable jobs. It was the done thing at the time for a lot of lads in the country.”

It was also, at the time, the “done thing” to send newly trained gardai to border stations or to Dublin and Denis was appointed to Swanlinbar in Co Cavan.

“I was only 19. It was the height of the Troubles and it was a baptism of fire.”

But it was his promotion to Sergeant and subsequent transfer to Newcastle West in 1991 which laid down the foundations for the rest of his career and life.

By now, Denis was married to Listowel woman Marie Carey and their two sons, Darragh and Donnchadh were born. Their only daughter Laura was born after the move to Newcastle West where Denis built up a wealth of knowledge about the community he served and among whom he and his family made their home.

“I think community policing is very important, getting to know the people in your area, visiting them, calling in on the elderly, the vulnerable. It is very important to keep close to people. It is the life-blood of any garda, getting to know their area. If you police an area, you will have less trouble.”

“When I started off over 40 years ago, it was mainly a paper-based system. There were no computers.”

To check a car you had to phone divisional headquarters.

“Now, you can check a car on your phone.”

Technology has brought a lot of pluses, he said, but knowing your area is still vital.

“And unfortunately, it is something that is slipping.”

The job is a lot more dangerous now, Denis continued. And more and more, gardai are having to deal with tragedies, disasters and suicides.

“It is very very hard to knock on the door at three o'clock in the morning and tell someone that their loved one has died.”

When it is suicide, that task is even harder.

“It is very hard on members,” he said.

But fortunately, now there is more peer support and there are welfare officers in every division.

“Before you had to cope with it yourself.”

It has not always been easy either to deal with the criticism thrown at An Garda Síochána. But stressed: “I was always a proud member of An Garda Síochána serving a community.”

Community policing returns to Saint John, but long-term future in flux

Neighbourhoods felt the loss of community police, now being restored with money from province

by Sarah Trainor

NEW BRUNSWICK -- Community policing is coming back to Saint John's most impoverished neighbourhoods as a result of a $1.2 million top-up to the police force budget.

The restored funding approved by council Monday night comes from the $22 million provincial aid package that was meant to minimize front-line service cuts, as the city struggles with a so-called structural deficit.

The so-called new deal money encompassing the next three years will also give the program time to re-examine its role, which, over the years has taken on the duties of mental health support and social work in addition to policing and outreach.

"We've got to look at how to continue to provide services that are meeting the needs of the communities, and see how we can do it in a more efficient manner," said Coun. Gary Sullivan, a member of the Saint John board of police commissioners.

"Maybe it's different partners, or it gives us time to find other partners, so now we've got a couple years to keep working on it," he said.

Working group formed

When community policing was disbanded in December, Sullivan formed an advisory board together with a representative from each of the five priority neighbourhoods, and Sgt. David Hartley-Brown — the lone member remaining from the original unit.

It's looking at how much of the unit's responsibilities involve looking after the social and mental-health needs of the neighbourhoods, and whether more partners can come on board.

"So is the future of community support only community policing, or is it bringing more health-care providers, mental health care, is it getting social development more into the community and co-ordinating those things?" Sullivan said.

"All of those things go together to reduce crime, but improve wellbeing and health … I'm open to keeping community policing because that relationship with citizens in these neighbourhoods is important. What it will look like in three, four years, I couldn't say."

Share the load

Barry Galloway, executive director of the ONE Change community group in the old north end, said residents would be better served through more services.

"If the justice area in policing sees issues related to mental health or drug use, we need to share that information with each other," Galloway said.

That could take the form of a social worker being added to the mix, Galloway said, as many calls for service relate to mental health.

"If an officer has to deal with what's clearly a mental health challenge, they could call someone rather than just make it a justice issue," he said.

"By augmenting supports, it would decrease the number of calls they're dealing with."

Trust relationship

Galloway said several issues have arisen over the past three months without an officer posted in the old north end.

He noted an increase in drug use in the neighbourhood and around the community centre, reports of domestic violence, neighbour disputes, and concern over a new drug dealer moving into the area.

"In the past, it probably was happening, the only difference is there is no one to deal with it now," said Galloway.

"They don't know or aren't comfortable with calling the police very often. But when we have a community police officer in the neighbourhood, we see a trust relationship develop."

'OK, never mind then'

The Crescent Valley neighbourhood has also felt the absence of its officer, said Anne Driscoll, executive director of the community resource centre.

Driscoll said her office gets phone calls every day from residents looking to speak to police.

"We've had to tell them, 'Well, they're not here anymore, and we hope they're coming back,' and we try to refer them in a way we can help or refer them to patrol," she said.

"And sometimes folks will say, 'OK, never mind then.' And things tend to brew and tend to get worse, whereas previously when an officer was here, they could be addressed right away."

Driscoll said the reinstatement of the program is like having a family member move back home.

"The are part of the team, we are looking forward to having them back," she said.

"Four months would be long enough. We wouldn't want that gap to be longer."

Community policing is expected to return to the old north end, Crescent Valley, south end, Waterloo Village, and lower west side in a matter of weeks. The officers will be working under a five-year term, Sullivan said.

The traffic and street crime units also had their funding restored. Up until now those officers were re-assigned to general patrol.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/community-police-saint-john-returns-1.4594822

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Mexico

'Never put down or humiliated': community policing in Mexico

by Yussel GONZALEZ

In Tlacotepec, in southern Mexico, dozens of armed civilians patrol a mountainous area to keep organized crime from taking root.

In the sweltering heat, the community policing group joins similar squads from neighboring villages in a show of force.

There are only two local police officers in the area. Both are unarmed.

In Guerrero state, one of the most violent in the country, more than 2,300 murders were committed in 2017, according to official figures.

Community policing groups cropped up more than six years ago in Guerrero, and also in neighboring Michoacan state, in a bid to protect local residents from violent gangs and other criminal groups.

"They might find me dead, but never put down or humiliated," reads a slogan on several uniforms worn by the armed men. The phrase is attributed to Heliodoro Castillo (1887-1917), a local hero of the Mexican Revolution.

When they are asked why they decided to take up arms, several of the men recount how someone close to them -- a relative, a friend -- was killed or a victim of extortion.

"God rewards those who fight for just causes," one group leader says, triggering applause.

But the line separating these armed militia groups from the drug traffickers can be fluid, or even non-existent: many members openly admit that they participate in the trade of opium poppies, which are used to make heroin.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/never-put-down-humiliated-community-policing-mexico-192045820.html

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Pennsylvania

Inside Erie's community policing discussion

by Kevin Flowers and Tim Hahn

Through a national pilot program affiliated with the U.S. Department of Justice, Mayor Joe Schember's administration is bringing police and key community groups together to discuss how officers can be more effective and engaged in the community.

A group of Erie-based law enforcement officials and community members began meeting quietly and behind closed doors in August 2016.

For more than two years, the group met for a series of candid, raw conversations about what's necessary to improve the relationship between Erie police and the citizens they serve and protect.

Mayor Joe Schember paid attention to that effort during his 2017 campaign for the city's top job.

Now, Schember is working to build upon those conversations to foster better police-community relations — with the help of the U.S. Department of Justice.

On April 21, Schember's administration will host a day-long meeting at Mercyhurst University as part of “Strengthening Police and Community Partnerships,” a national pilot program for community policing that the Erie Bureau is participating in with the DOJ's assistance.

Following the 2014 fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., the DOJ has helped various cities nationwide facilitate discussions between police and law enforcement.

The DOJ's goal is to help communities improve public safety and officer safety by creating better police-community partnerships that emphasize problem solving.

During the Mercyhurst event, Schember said, representatives of Erie's black community, refugee groups, nonprofits, the arts, religious leaders, business leaders, educators, neighborhood associations and victims of violence will be part of detailed discussions with law enforcement officers about community policing, or how to build police-resident relationships through proactive, non-enforcement interactions.

Smaller meetings between police and some community members have already taken place as part of the pilot program, Schember said.

“We expect this to be at least a six-hour program,” Schember said of the Mercyhurst event. “The groups are going to address two basic questions: ‘What do you think is working well with the police, in your opinion?' and ‘What needs to improve and what kinds of problems does your group have with the police?'”

“Later in the day, we'll talk a lot about possible solutions,” Schember said. “We were contacted by the Department of Justice about doing this as a pilot program, and the idea is that through all of this, we build better police-community relations and keep the conversation going about how we can all improve.”

Schember said his goal is to have the pilot program spawn a standing “focus group” of city officials and citizens that would meet regularly to discuss police-community relations.

That group, Schember said, could also give input regarding ongoing community policing efforts, such as bicycle and foot patrols and the city's Police Athletic League, which focuses on tutoring, mentoring and recreational programs to build positive relationships between city youth and police officers.

Further, Schember said, the police-community council could weigh in on issues such as body cameras for city police officers — which Schember has vowed to equip officers with soon — and recruiting practices aimed at adding more diversity to the 173-member bureau, which has just five black males, one black female, two Latino males and eight white females on the force.

Erie Police Chief Dan Spizarny said city officials are trying to approach community policing — including the pilot program — with an open mind.

The goal is to get the bureau's officers, particularly the front-line patrol officers, more involved “in more positive things in the community,” which can help relieve the stresses of the job, Spizarny said.

“It's the whole community we need, because everyone will benefit from that,” he said. “Rather than not cooperating with the police and having the same problems continuing over and over, you can stop the problems in your neighborhood by cooperating and give your community a chance to build.”

The city is working on the pilot program with Charles E. Phillips, a conciliation specialist with the DOJ's Community Relations Service, and he has attended meetings in Erie with police and community members.

Phillips declined comment for this story, saying that he was unauthorized to discuss the program publicly. Other Department of Justice officials were unavailable for comment.

‘Honest dialogue'

Schember wants the city's pilot program to expand upon work previously done by the 20-member Community Police Relations Group, which continues to meet periodically at the federal courthouse in Erie.

Roughly half of that group's members are from Erie's minority community; half are from law enforcement.

Many members of the CPRG group were affiliated with the Unified Erie anti-violence initiative, a broad-based, data-driven violence-reduction program created in 2010 that follows a three-pronged approach to reducing violence and problem behaviors: prevention, law enforcement, and re-entry.

That group began meeting in the wake of the Department of Justice launching a civil rights investigation of the Erie police following a violent June 2016 encounter between police and an Erie man, Montrice Bolden.

After promising in July 2016 to scrutinize the patterns and practices of the Erie Bureau of Police as part of their investigation into Bolden's arrest, federal officials in April 2017 announced that their review found officers did not violate Bolden's civil rights.

Justice Department officials, at that time, revealed nothing regarding Erie officers' patterns and practices.

Michael Outlaw is Schember's community liaison and his point person for the Strengthening Police and Community Partnerships program. He is also an original member of the CPRG group and remains involved with those discussions.

Outlaw said Schember's initiative can take the conversation about community policing and police-community relations to the “next level” because it will benefit from the frank discussions that have already taken place within the CPRG.

Continuing that dialogue, Outlaw said, is crucial in a city where the divide between police and some of its residents is deep and has been forged over several decades.

“The CPRG initiated out of concerns for potential repercussions out of the Montrice Bolden situation, like unrest,” Outlaw said. “We met to build positive relationships through honest dialogue and talked about keeping both sides accountable.

“So many barriers came down from that group,” Outlaw said, “that we talked about how we could expand it for the entire community.”

Marcus Atkinson agreed.

Atkinson is executive director of ServErie, a nonprofit dedicated to urban renewal. Like Outlaw, Atkinson was part of both the CPRG's original discussions and he is involved in the Schember administration's community policing talks.

“A lot of negative perceptions and misconceptions have already been addressed on both sides,” Atkinson said. “And those early conversations were extremely candid. “I can recall moments when people from the African-American community walked away from a (CPRG) meeting or two with a very bad taste in our mouths about the flow of the conversation.

“We hit snags, but both sides were willing to open those ugly feelings back up again and address how we were feeling in order to advance the conversation to try to reach positive results.”

Atkinson said he will attend the April 21 meeting at Mercyhurst.

He also understands that there are skeptics in the community who doubt that ongoing conversation will help bridge the police-community divide.

“To the naysayers, I would say this is a necessary step to reaching the goal of better relationships,” Atkinson said. “We want this to continue on. We want more people to come to the table, and for those people to reach out to other people. That will help this process move forward in a positive manner.”

Spizarny said he believes there is a negative perception of the police from some in the Erie community — and the bureau is willing to face that as part of this process.

“I think most of the comments so far have been things we know we can do better, and we're working on them,” Spizarny said.

‘True community policing'

Schember has pointed to the Bureau of Police's Quebec Unit, which patrols Erie Housing Authority properties, as a solid community policing model that he would like to replicate citywide.

The six-officer unit has been in place since 1997, and it was created to address drug and other crimes on Housing Authority properties.

The Housing Authority, with roughly 8,000 residents and 2,000 housing units across the city, provides $500,000 a year via a federal grant to help fund the unit, said Michael Fraley, the authority's executive director.

The Quebec Unit's officers also patrol properties on foot and via bicycle and participate in various activities with Housing Authority residents, including children's Christmas parties, family picnics, literacy programs, a junior police academy and recreational activities such as bicycle rodeos.

According to Housing Authority officials, overall crime rates at its properties have dropped nearly 75 percent since 1997.

“I'd like to get officers involved that way across the city,” Schember said. “The Erie Housing Authority is doing true community policing. The officers know the residents, and the residents know them.”

Pat Mickel, 71, has lived in public housing for more than 40 years. She is also a member of the Erie Housing Authority's board of directors.

Mickel said Schember's approach is long overdue.

“Granted it can't work all over the city exactly the same way it does over here,” said Mickel, who lives in the John E. Horan Garden Apartments in the 700 block of Tacoma Road. “This is a smaller area. People know they have to follow the rules or they could have to leave.

“But the officers here walk around. They greet people. They get out into our community and get involved with our community,” Mickel said. “And I think that with the people who live here, that helps them feel safe. It's not anything like it used to be around here.”

Schember said he's putting both faith and resources into Strengthening Police and Community Partnerships because he believes it will create real change when it comes to police-community relations in Erie.

“Having this conversation, and continuing this conversation, is important because it involves groups of people that are used to not being heard,” Schember said. “We're committed to this conversation and to finding the solutions.”

http://www.goerie.com/news/20180325/inside-eries-community-policing-discussion

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Iowa

Warriors v. guardians: police ideology shifts to community policing

by Matt Bruder

“To protect and serve” is the motto of law enforcement agencies around the country, but throughout recent decades the public's perception of police officers has not always been positive.

Events going back to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, anti-war protests of the 1970s and Los Angeles riots of the 1990s have put strain on community relations and negatively influenced the image of law enforcement across the United States.

Even in recent years, across the United States, civilians and peace officers have been at odds in Ferguson, Missouri; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Baltimore and Milwaukee and even now in Broward County where the latest mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida occurred on Feb. 14.

Clashes between the two groups seem to be inevitable.

During situations such as these, people often question what law enforcement is really doing for them. In fact, in the wake of the Parkland incident, critics on both sides once again brought up the U.S. Supreme Court case of Warren v. District of Columbia in which the courts ruled the police have no constitutionally mandated duty to protect citizens from a third party after officers did not make an arrest in connection to a protective order granted to a Colorado woman by the courts.

While that may be the decision given by the courts in 1981, the goal of most departments is not to be seen as outsiders with a badge and a gun doing only part of what people expect but rather as an asset and valuable contributor to the success of the community.

In fact, as Matthew DeLisi, sociology professor at Iowa State with experience working with offenders and the court system, stated he “would guess that at least 90 percent of law enforcement would disagree with that court ruling.”

As the police are featured more and more in news stories across all platforms, DeLisi said it is important to remember most officers “truly want to do this to help people.”

He said most people who view police departments as outsiders are often young people who may have had a poor interaction with an officer, especially when considering that at the high school level and above much of the student population has had some offense on their record.

Community policing is now more than ever a fundamental feature of law enforcement.

DeLisi believes much of police work can be applied to what he referred to as the “90-10 rule” in which 10 percent of police duties are actually in an enforcement capacity, whereas the other 90 percent is considered public services.

Chief Michael Newton of Iowa State University Police Department echoed similar sentiments when he said community outreach is such an important part of what they do.

Additionally, he stated he believes in most departments “the community aspect was there all throughout. Folks here have that mindset.”

On the other hand, he mentioned that in some cases over time, “we [the police] got away from that partnership.

"With new buzzwords in recent years like 'war on drugs' or 'war on terrorism,'” he said, “We started to get on this mindset of being a warrior.”

This shift is what people tend to notice more as it makes the headlines, but on many levels, this is not the full, true depiction of how law enforcement agencies function.

Police like, those on Iowa State's campus, now use Twitter to engage the community and launch campaigns such as "Donut Disrespect."

Fortunately, with efforts of departments at all levels relations between the officers and the community began to look brighter.

“To me, that's our responsibility,” said Newton, “it takes all of us.”

http://www.iowastatedaily.com/news/article_e39129e2-305f-11e8-9c6b-1bcaa84edf65.html

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Illinois

Freeport Police Department kicks off community policing series

FREEPORT — Police officers are giving Freeport residents a taste of what they do on an everyday basis.

The Freeport Police Department on Monday launched a three-part community policing series, which is an abbreviated version of the Civilian Police Academy. Monday's topics included when police use force and how they investigate gangs and drug dealers. In the future, police will discuss traffic stops, the K-9 unit and detective work, among other topics.

“I just really want to address a lot of the misconceptions people have about their police department,” said Chris Fidecki, a Freeport police officer. “The community is the police, and the police are the community.”

The police department partnered with the Freeport Housing Authority to host the programs at the Hosmer Community Room, 601 N. Walnut Ave. There are plans to host additional meetings at different locations in the future.

“We found that at neighborhood watch meetings, we're kind of preaching to the same folks,” Police Chief Todd Barkalow said. “We're going to kind of take this show on the road.”

Barkalow said the goal of the program is to help police reach out to the community to create personal relationships between police officers and civilians. Carolyn Miller, who recently moved to Freeport from Chicago, said she has a better understanding of how the police operate after attending Monday's meeting.

“I just want first-hand explanations,” Miller said. “I don't want to talk to someone else about their opinions, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to get first-hand information.

“I would say this has put me more in kind of a comfort zone.”

Barkalow expects that the series will act as a feeder for the 10-week Civilian Police Academy.

“Maybe after they hear this, and they hear about our Civilian Police Academy, they'll want to come back and go through the whole thing.”

http://www.journalstandard.com/news/20180326/freeport-police-department-kicks-off-community-policing-series

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Minnesota

‘Community policing at its very core' — Rogers police officers receive commendations

by Sue Webber

Eight Rogers police officers, plus two civilians, received commendations at the March 13 Rogers City Council meeting. Rogers Police Chief Jeff Beahen presented the awards.

Feb. 3 INCIDENT

Life Saving Awards were present to Sgt. Stephen Sarazin, Officer Matt Nelson, Officer Blake Neumann, and civilian Richard Schwartz for reviving Jay Fraser, 66, who collapsed while shoveling snow Feb. 3.

The officers were called to a home on 124th Avenue North at 6:19 p.m. Feb. 3, to find Richard Schwartz, a friend of the victim, administering CPR to Frazer, who did not have a pulse. Officers inserted an airway, began rescue breathing and attached an automated external defibrillator AED to the victim. The AED advised that a shock was needed, and officers delivered the shock. The AED detected a pulse, and no further shocks were advised. Officers continued CPR and rescue breathing, but soon after the victim began to breathe on his own and resisted CPR efforts. Medics arrived on the scene and placed the victim into an ambulance for transport to the hospital. Sarazin rode along and helped with CPR and a second shock when the victim suffered further complications.

“The victim arrived at the hospital with his pulse again restored, and after extensive cardiac rehab, is doing well,” Beahen said.

Sarazin, Neumann, and Nelson each received a departmental Life Saving Award for “immediate action and application of their first aid skills, which directly resulted in saving the life of another.”

Jay Frazer, the man who was revived and since has recovered, said, “I hope I look better than when you saw me last.”

He added, “It's unfortunate that police officers so often go unappreciated or taken for granted. I was guilty of that before, but no longer. God blessed me that night. My heartfelt thank you for literally saving my life.”

Beahen agreed that “our officers do wonderful things each and every day.”

Acting Mayor Mark Eiden said, “We certainly are blessed to have a fantastic police force in Rogers. It makes Rogers a great place to live.”

Schwartz was not present to receive his award.

Feb. 15 INCIDENT

School Resource Officer Amy Berglund, along with Rob Lehmann, an industrial technology teacher, were in the lunchroom at Rogers Middle School at 1:39 p.m. Feb. 15, when they overheard a teacher ask a student who was eating if she was okay.

“They recognized that the student was in distress, as the child's face was turning blue and they realized the child was choking,” Beahen said. “They both went immediately to the aid of the victim and both applied the Heimlich Maneuver. This dislodged the airway obstruction. The child began breathing on her own, and suffered no serious injury.”

Berglund and Lehmann each received a departmental Life Saving Award for “immediate action and application of their first aid skills, which directly resulted in saving the life of another.”

Feb. 5 INCIDENT

At 9:22 p.m. on Feb. 5, Sgt. Brandon Wegner was on patrol when he observed a suspicious vehicle enter the parking lot of Bedrock Motors.

“Aware of multiple thefts from car lots in our city, Sgt. Wegner watched the vehicle and occupants and determined that they were potentially getting ready to commit a theft,” Beahen said.

Wegner stopped the vehicle and was working on identifying the occupants, with the assistance of a back-up officer. When the assisting officer was called away on a medical emergency, Wegner was alone with the suspects.

“The driver started to become non-compliant, seizing on the advance of out-numbering the officers, refused to comply with the sergeant's command and fled on foot,” Beahen said.

Wegner stayed with the truck and passenger and contacted a neighboring business owner to view live feed from exterior security cameras. He was able to direct outside agencies to perimeter positions until a canine unit could arrive and take the suspect into custody.

The truck the suspects were in was determined to have been stolen from a car lot in Fridley in December, Beahen said. It had a stolen VIN number so the suspects could register the truck in Minnesota.

“Sgt. Wegner's attention to duty resulted in the detection and apprehension of two prolific vehicle theft suspects, who since this arrested have been linked to a multi-state vehicle theft ring believed to be responsible for the loss of over $1.5 million of late ‘80s model SUVs,” Beahen said.

Feb. 12 INCIDENT

On Feb. 12, Sgt. Darren Bohlsen, and Officers Jared Peterson and Shawn Wilbur came into contact with two transient individuals who called 911 after the vehicle they were living in ran out of gas.

“The occupants had become so cold they no longer wanted to live,” Beahen said.

The dayshift officers realized that the woman in the car was staying in the non-running vehicle while her husband started his first day of work. The outside temperatures had been in the single digits.

“Over the course of the day, these officers used their own money to secure fuel for the vehicle, found resources to put the couple up in a hotel for the weekend, brought them groceries, and assisted the unemployed female in applying for and potentially receiving a job at a local business,” Beahen said.

The officers also chose to ignore a petty traffic offense related to their situation, “knowing that a citation at this point would just create further financial obligations.”

In nominating the officers for the award, Sgt. Brandon Wegner said, “It is the small intangibles of our daily contacts with members of the public which often create the biggest impacts on the lives of those we serve.”

Bohlsen, Wilbur and Peterson each were given a departmental Meritorious Service Award “for their amazing compassion and illustration of community policing at its very core.”

Illinois

Black Lives Matter, other groups get voice in Chicago police reforms

The agreement comes on the heels of three lawsuits filed last year against the city

by Jeremy Gorner

CHICAGO — Black Lives Matter and a coalition of other community groups have won a seat at the table as the city of Chicago and the state attorney general's office hash out a consent decree that would guide reforms to the troubled Chicago Police Department.

The agreement comes on the heels of three lawsuits filed last year against the city, urging Mayor Rahm Emanuel to allow a federal judge to oversee an overhaul of the Police Department in the wake of a U.S. Department of Justice report that found the department was deficient in training and supervision and prone to excessive force, especially against minorities.

Word of the agreement came Tuesday evening as news organizations devoted their resources to covering the primary election certain to dominate headlines.

The community groups, a coalition of legal firms and the ACLU of Illinois — all plaintiffs in the pending federal lawsuits — hailed the 10-page agreement, filed in federal court, as a major step in the fight for federal oversight of the Police Department.

The agreement will give a prominent role to community groups that have been staunchly critical of police and the city's oversight and discipline of officers. If precedent holds, Tuesday night's news will not sit well with police union leaders, who have complained that officers are unfairly portrayed as prone to misconduct.

Under the agreement, the community groups can provide input as the city and the attorney general's office continue to negotiate the terms of the consent decree. And once the decree is in place, they can object if it is inadequate or push for enforcement if the Police Department fails to follow through on its commitments.

Following the appointment of an independent monitor overseen by a federal judge, the community groups have been promised quarterly meetings with the monitor — outside the presence of city and state officials — to discuss the city's compliance with the consent decree, according to the agreement.

“It's really setting up the community groups as watchdogs that will have a role to make sure that reform really continues no matter what happens as politicians come and go,” Kathy Hunt Muse, an ACLU staff attorney, told the Tribune. “The city and the attorney general still need to do the hard work here of hammering out the terms of the consent decree, and we really hope that now that we've defined this role for involving the community that they're going to move quickly to draft that consent decree.”

The agreement reaffirms “our commitment to a transparent process and (supports) our promise that the public will have opportunities to provide input as we take this next step on Chicago's road to reform,” Bill McCaffrey, a spokesman for the city's Law Department, said in a statement.

In a statement, the head of the Chicago Police Department's largest union expressed his concern about the agreement.

“The city of Chicago should be careful where they go with a consent decree,” said Kevin Graham, president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police. “Without the support of the rank and file Chicago Police Officers, their move today will go nowhere. Anyone who thinks it will is sadly mistaken. As I have said before, we will never give up our collective bargaining rights.”

Under the terms of the agreement, the community groups have 60 days to propose what they think should be part of the consent decree.

“An important step in achieving reform is ensuring that communities that have been particularly impacted are engaged in this process,” a spokeswoman for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in a statement. “The agreement ensures that community groups have a clear process to provide their input on the consent decree and enforce its terms.”

The community groups agreed to put a hold on their lawsuits for now but could move to revive them if the consent decree hasn't been filed in federal court before Sept. 1.

The ACLU's lawsuit in October alleged that Chicago's police reform efforts have neglected how officers are trained to handle people with mental illnesses or developmental disabilities. The suit sought a permanent injunction to block the city from continuing what it calls its current practices "of using unlawful force against black and Latino people and individuals with disabilities."

Earlier in 2017, two separate lawsuits were filed by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and about 15 civil rights lawyers from Chicago and New York representing African-American plaintiffs who allege they were victims of excessive force and other abuses by Chicago police. That suit, which includes community groups such as Black Lives Matter, was filed days after Emanuel backed away from his pledge to sign a consent decree.

The Justice Department report, made public in January 2017, was prompted by the court-ordered release in November 2015 of video showing Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting Laquan McDonald 16 times a year earlier. The video sparked widespread protests, the firing of Chicago's police superintendent and calls for widespread reforms. Van Dyke is awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges.

After the Justice Department released its findings early last year, Emanuel signed an agreement with then-President Barack Obama's attorney general to enter a consent decree in which a federal judge would enforce reforms. By May, however, Emanuel was trying to reach an out-of-court agreement with President Donald Trump's administration, which had signaled its opposition to court oversight of police departments. Emanuel argued that an out-of-court deal would get the same results as a consent decree.

City attorneys have asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuits, arguing the plaintiffs' claims were moot because the Emanuel administration already had instituted police reforms recommended by the Justice Department and the mayoral-appointed Police Accountability Task Force a year earlier. Then, shortly after the city's lawyers sought that dismissal, Madigan filed her lawsuit in late August seeking to force judicial oversight. With Emanuel appearing with Madigan at a news conference announcing the litigation, the two described the effort as a "partnership."

https://www.policeone.com/patrol-issues/articles/472713006-Black-Lives-Matter-other-groups-get-voice-in-Chicago-police-reforms/

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

FBI investigating suspicious packages at DC-area military installations

by Elizabeth McLaughlin

The FBI is investigating several suspicious packages found at military installations and government facilities around the Washington , D.C., area, the agency confirmed Monday.

The FBI said each package was collected for further analysis, and at least one contained explosive material.

Officials at Fort Belvoir in suburban Virginia confirmed to ABC News Monday night that a suspicious package was found there that afternoon, but it's now contained and rendered safe.

Michael Howard, an Army spokesman, confirmed reports that one of the suspicious packages was sent to National Defense University at Fort McNair around 8:30 a.m.

That package contained explosive material, testing positive for black powder and residue. An X-ray indicated a suspected GPS and an expedient fuse attached. The package was eventually rendered safe and no injuries were reported.

The FBI, Secret Service, and hazardous material and explosive ordinance disposal units responded to the scene, Howard said. The FBI is the lead law enforcement agency investigating, he added.

ABC News confirmed Tuesday that in addition to Fort McNair and Fort Belvoir, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in southeast Washington also received a suspicious package Monday.

"We are tracking the delivery of suspicious packages to multiple military installations in the National Capital Region," a Department of Defense spokesperson said in a statement. "This incident is currently under investigation and we refer all queries to the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fbi-investigating-suspicious-packages-found-dc-area-military/story?id=54027817

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Iowa

Warriors v. guardians: police ideology shifts to community policing

by Matt Bruder

“To protect and serve” is the motto of law enforcement agencies around the country, but throughout recent decades the public's perception of police officers has not always been positive.

Events going back to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, anti-war protests of the 1970s and Los Angeles riots of the 1990s have put strain on community relations and negatively influenced the image of law enforcement across the United States.

Even in recent years, across the United States, civilians and peace officers have been at odds in Ferguson, Missouri; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Baltimore and Milwaukee and even now in Broward County where the latest mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida occurred on Feb. 14.

Clashes between the two groups seem to be inevitable.

During situations such as these, people often question what law enforcement is really doing for them. In fact, in the wake of the Parkland incident, critics on both sides once again brought up the U.S. Supreme Court case of Warren v. District of Columbia in which the courts ruled the police have no constitutionally mandated duty to protect citizens from a third party after officers did not make an arrest in connection to a protective order granted to a Colorado woman by the courts.

While that may be the decision given by the courts in 1981, the goal of most departments is not to be seen as outsiders with a badge and a gun doing only part of what people expect but rather as an asset and valuable contributor to the success of the community.

In fact, as Matthew DeLisi, sociology professor at Iowa State with experience working with offenders and the court system, stated he “would guess that at least 90 percent of law enforcement would disagree with that court ruling.”

As the police are featured more and more in news stories across all platforms, DeLisi said it is important to remember most officers “truly want to do this to help people.”

He said most people who view police departments as outsiders are often young people who may have had a poor interaction with an officer, especially when considering that at the high school level and above much of the student population has had some offense on their record.

Community policing is now more than ever a fundamental feature of law enforcement.

DeLisi believes much of police work can be applied to what he referred to as the “90-10 rule” in which 10 percent of police duties are actually in an enforcement capacity, whereas the other 90 percent is considered public services.

Chief Michael Newton of Iowa State University Police Department echoed similar sentiments when he said community outreach is such an important part of what they do.

Additionally, he stated he believes in most departments “the community aspect was there all throughout. Folks here have that mindset.”

On the other hand, he mentioned that in some cases over time, “we [the police] got away from that partnership.

"With new buzzwords in recent years like 'war on drugs' or 'war on terrorism,'” he said, “We started to get on this mindset of being a warrior.”

This shift is what people tend to notice more as it makes the headlines, but on many levels, this is not the full, true depiction of how law enforcement agencies function.

Police like, those on Iowa State's campus, now use Twitter to engage the community and launch campaigns such as "Donut Disrespect."

Fortunately, with efforts of departments at all levels relations between the officers and the community began to look brighter.

“To me, that's our responsibility,” said Newton, “it takes all of us.”