sacop newsletter november 2009

SACOP NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2009 from the general chair I hope everyone made it home safely from our annual conference in Denver. SACOP enjoyed a very productive set of meetings, and I thank everyone for their participation and willingness to constructively work towards a more vital division that is more fully engaged and undertakes specific projects and programs. For those who did not attend, our Executive Director, Dan Rosenblatt, announced that his administrative staff is currently drafting a job description for the Director’s position of SACOP. The upcoming year promises to be full of activities. SACOP has received two new grants from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. One will address the long-standing division priority of identifying officer injuries. Information on that grant can be found on page three in the SafeShield update. The second grant will address the proper response of law enforcement to the problem of missing Alzheimer’s disease patients and provide training and policy resources for first responders responsible for locating missing patients. This is very near and dear to me, as my father-in-law had this dreaded disease, and in its initial stages, law enforcement would find him at a location he had just driven to and would have no idea how he got there. The officers did not know how to handle the situation. This grant will develop and compile training and awareness resources to assist in situations like that. We will be reaching out to SACOP members to work with subject matter experts to complete this grant. For information on how to be involved in this project, please contact Beth Currier. There are two attachments with this newsletter. One is the flyer announcing the 2010 Federal Traffic Safety Assistance Awards from NHTSA. This program provides support to state associations for their members to implement and continue traffic safety initiatives in

impaired driving enforcement. Five awards of $5,000 each will be distributed to winning state associations. The second attachment is the application for the Police Chiefs Scholarship Program. The criteria has been slightly revised to give a more even chance to newer chiefs to attend the IACP annual conference. Like last year, individual applications are submitted to their state association and one application from each state is forwarded to the SACOP office for the SACOP Board of Officers to score. Two chiefs from each SACOP region will be chosen to attend the 2010 Annual Conference. I received very positive feedback from some of the first awardees. Once again, I would like to thank SigSauer Firearms for sponsoring this program. The deadline for both programs is January 31. The winners will be announced at the SACOP midyear conference. Also, as your representative to the IACP Board of Officers, I continue to represent your interests in a diverse agenda. In November, I will be attending a meeting of the Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council which is promoting intelligence based policing and fusion centers for information dissemination. I recently attended the National Amber Alert Symposium. Every state has an Alert program, but if you don’t have a local or regional program, you should. Feel free to contact me for information in setting one up. Finally, I want to thank everyone for your confidence and support during my first year as General Chair. I look forward to the next year serving you. This is a member driven association, and your thoughts and concerns are important, so please forward any comments to me regarding law enforcement issues.

IACP, 515 North Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

Terry Milam General Chair 1-800-THE-IACP

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iacp information sharing initiatives Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, the National Strategy for Information Sharing emphasized the nation’s need to coordinate informationsharing initiatives among local, state, tribal and federal law enforcement agencies to enhance detecting and preventing criminal activity. To accomplish this task, it is essential for law enforcement agencies to collaborate and support sharing their data. As part of its mission to advance law enforcement, IACP is helping to facilitate information sharing among state, local, tribal and federal law enforcement with two programs: Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) and the Law Enforcement National Data Exchange (N-DEx). The purpose of the SAR program is to enhance awareness of and train officers on suspicious activity reporting based upon documentation of observed behavior indicative of criminal activity with possible connections to terrorism. The SAR process focuses on what law enforcement agencies have been doing for years — gathering information on suspicious behaviors and activities. This information will then be shared while protecting privacy and civil liberties. SAR is part of the larger Nationwide SAR Initiative (NSI), a partnership to establish a standardized capacity to gather, document, process, analyze and share information about suspicious activities based on established criteria. IACP is developing and piloting SAR frontline officer training designed to encourage SAR reporting from law enforcement jurisdictions to a respective fusion center. A SAR report is examined by the agency’s local, state, or regional fusion center. If deemed appropriate to share widely, the SAR is entered into a shared space. The shared space acts as a computer network connecting the SAR information through secure data portals, including Law Enforcement Online (LEO) and the National Criminal Intelligence Resource Center (NCIRC). The SAR process enables fusion centers to analyze and share identified suspicious activity with law enforcement agencies. SACOP Newsletter

N-DEx is an FBI-sponsored criminal justice information sharing system, developed in close collaboration with law enforcement agencies that will provide nationwide information exchange of criminal data from a single data repository. In another key effort to expand the use of N-DEx, the IACP, in partnership with the FBI, will deliver a national communications and outreach program. According to Chief Mark Marshall, IACP 1st Vice President, “At its core, N-DEx is a powerful investigative tool that allows law enforcement agencies to submit their incident data to a central repository where they search and analyze data to make connections between persons, places, events, and crime characteristics – linking information across jurisdictions and allowing officers to connect the dots between data that is not apparently related.” N-DEx uses nationally developed standards and existing systems. Ownership of data in N-DEx remains with the agency that provides it. N-DEx supplies controls permitting agencies to participate in accordance with applicable laws and policies governing dissemination and privacy. There are two types of N-DEx participation: data submission for agencies wanting to provide data to the system; and individual users within an agency who want to subscribe to services and capabilities. Access is possible through LEO. To participate as a data contributor or user, please contact the N-DEx program office at 304-625-4242 or email [email protected]. N-DEx and SAR reporting are provided by access forms found at the Law Enforcement Online Web site at www.leo.gov. For more information, contact Tim Bryan, Program Manager at [email protected], Diana Torres, SAR Project Coordinator at [email protected], or Eileen Sierra, N-DEx Project Coordinator at [email protected].

November 2009

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safeshield update The SafeShield project has taken a major step towards the establishment of a national database with an award from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to conduct an 18-site pilot study on officer injuries. 18 agencies from five states will be selected to participate in the study which will catalog and categorize all injuries in those agencies. We expect the five states to be New York, Tennessee, Texas, Minnesota, and Oregon, with the participating sites to be determined. The project, Reducing Officer Injuries: Developing Policy Responses, will thoroughly examine, and quantify how officers are getting hurt and develop a comprehensive policy response. The intended outcome of this effort is to better equip law enforcement agencies with the information and tools necessary to address areas of vulnerability, thereby reducing injuries suffered by police officers. SACOP, through SafeShield is uniquely positioned to advance this national effort given our lengthy advocacy for officer safety issues, research and development.

Highlighting officer safety as one the major priorities of his presidency, Chief Michael Carroll announced another major SafeShield/SACOP project at the IACP Annual Banquet. SACOP, in partnership with Northwestern University Center for Public Safety (NUCPS), will be engaged in designing and implementing a nationwide database of all injuries of officers - those caused accidently and those suffered through assaults. This project brings together a diverse group of stakeholders, including the IACP Research Advisory Committee (RAC). SACOP welcomes the involvement of NUCPS and the RAC in furthering its long-standing goal of establishing such a database. This project is still in the planning stage, and is a natural outgrowth of the Reducing Officer Injuries grant project. We look forward to working with these new partners.

The project has three goals: 1) Identify and document the cause and magnitude of officer injuries; 2) Develop practical resources to assist law enforcement agencies to identify and respond to officer injury vulnerabilities; and, 3) Disseminate resources widely to the law enforcement community. Reducing Officer Injuries will convene its first advisory group meeting as soon as we receive final budget approval from BJA - hopefully within the next month. The advisory group will craft the initial instrument to capture the needed data. The 18 participating agencies will be notified soon after budget approval. We hope to have the project up and running by the SACOP midyear meeting in March, 2010.

2010 Year of Officer Safety We have a great opportunity to further SafeShield’s work. Police Chief Magazine will carry one article every month in 2010 that features a different aspect of officer safety. If you have an idea for an article that fits the bill, please contact Beth Currier at [email protected].


1-800-THE-IACP

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traffic safety update THE TACONIC PARKWAY TRAGEDY On Sunday, July 26, 2009, at 9:30 A.M., a 36 year old mother of two packed up her 2003 Ford Windstar after a weekend of camping in Parksville, N.Y. Along with her was her 5 year old son, her 2 year old daughter and her brother’s daughters, aged 8, 7 and 5. Her husband drove another vehicle home, but used a different route due to commercial vehicle restrictions on state parkways.

driver of the van had a B.A.C. of 0.19. And an additional 10 drinks were in her stomach that were not yet absorbed into her bloodstream. In addition, she had high levels of T.H.C., the active ingredient in marijuana in her system, leading the M.E. to state that she had smoked a marijuana cigarette as late as 15 minutes prior to the crash. A large broken bottle of vodka was found inside the vehicle. The husband of the driver disputes this forensic evidence as he states that his wife never drinks to excess. Westchester authorities stand by their findings.

Along the route home, the driver stopped in Liberty, N.Y. for food and fuel. She left Liberty at about 11:00 A.M. to continue home. Witnesses later stated that they observed a Windstar matching hers driving aggressively on Route 17 and Interstate 87. These observations included aggressive tailgating, flashing headlights, honking the horn and straddling two lanes.

How terribly sad and infuriating! Again, someone makes the wrong decision to get behind the wheel of a car while under the influence and it costs the lives of innocent people, including four little girls.

At approximately 1: 00 P.M., a call was made by the woman to her brother from her cell phone. She stated that she was having trouble seeing and speaking clearly. He also talked to his daughter who stated the same thing. He asked his sister to pull over and wait for him as he would come get her. Unfortunately, she did not. At 1:33 P.M. calls were made to 911 that a southbound van was traveling in the northbound lane of the Taconic Parkway. Cars swerved to get out of her way. After driving 1.7 miles, the van was in a head-on collision with a 2004 Chevrolet Trail Blazer which then struck a 2002 Chevrolet Tracker. The driver of the van, her three nieces and her daughter were all killed. Her son survived. All three passengers in the Trail Blazer were killed and the passengers in the Tracker suffered minor injuries. The investigation into the causes of this motor vehicle accident drew national attention. Did the driver of the Windstar have a stroke or another medical condition that contributed to the cause of the collision? On August 4th, shocking answers to these questions were supplied. A toxicology report released by the Westchester County Medical Examiners Office showed that the SACOP Newsletter

As a result of this tragedy, New York State Governor David Patterson has proposed the Child Passenger Protection Act. This legislation raises the penalties for those who ignore D.W.I. laws and continue to drive with a child under the age of 17. If a drunk driver is apprehended with a child in the car, the driver will be charged with a D felony. If a child is injured, the charge will be a C felony. If a child is killed, the driver will be charged with a B felony. Swift approval of the bill is anticipated. We must not let tragedies like this occur again. Please do everything you can to reinforce the importance of obeying drinking and driving laws in your communities. Please continue to participate in D.W.I. prevention and enforcement programs such as “Over The Limit, Under Arrest.” Spread the word that drinking and driving will not be tolerated and those who violate the law will be apprehended, arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Our lives and the lives of our children depend on it. Chief William J. Kilfoil Port Washington Police District, NY President, New York State Association of Chiefs of Police November 2009

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concerns of police survivors July 10, 1997, was a typical hot New England summer day for me. But the phone call that I received while off duty at my home was anything but typical. Edward Couture, a patrolman with the Middleton, Massachusetts, Police Department had been struck and killed by a motorist. Middleton Police Department served a community of 7,000 residents and experiencing a line of duty death happened to other police departments, not ours! When a line-of-duty death occurs, it is a stressful and emotional time for the family, the agency, and the community. Regardless of size, every agency must have in place a policy or general order to guide departmental response in the event that an officer is killed in the line of duty. An established policy will help ensure that the agency’s response in the aftermath of the tragedy is professional, comprehensive, and compassionate for all survivors. But so much more is needed to help the survivors. In May 1998 my wife and I, along with several other officers of the Middleton Police Department and their families, accompanied Mrs. Couture and her children to Washington, D.C., for National Police Week. It was there that I realized the magnitude and reach of the healing hands of the Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.). Ed’s daughters attended the C.O.P.S. Kids activities and I was amazed with the changes I saw in those youngsters after being with the other surviving children for only two short days. The following year I returned with Mrs. Couture and her children; but this time I tagged along with the other mentors for the C.O.P.S. Kids program and realized that my participation with this organization would result in some good coming from the loss of my friend. For the next ten years I dedicated myself to helping the children of C.O.P.S. during National Police Week. In 2008 I was elected to serve as a director for the C.O.P.S. National Board and I currently serve as their Northeast Region Trustee.

families. Members include spouses, children, parents, siblings, significant others, and affected co-workers of officers killed in the line of duty. There are many C.O.P.S. programs for survivors, including the National Police Survivors’ Conference held each May during National Police Week, scholarships, peer-support, summer camps, activities for young adults, and special retreats for spouses, parents, siblings, children, in-laws and co-workers. C.O.P.S. also offers training and assistance to law enforcement agencies nationwide on how to respond to the tragic loss of a member of the law enforcement profession. Law enforcement administrators should make plans to have their personnel attend the training offered by C.O.P.S. One of particular note is the three day training, Traumas of Law Enforcement, offered several times each year throughout the country. The officers that attend these seminars are well prepared to assist agencies and surviving families suffering the loss of an officer. As your agency policy and procedures are updated you need to include a policy that will give your officers guidance in the event the unfortunate need presents itself. After the wake and funeral, after the pomp and circumstance, it is our responsibility to make certain that the absence of the fallen law enforcement officer does not wreak havoc on their survivors. In addition to financial issues, we need to make sure that they have the emotional support to thrive as families and as agencies. After a family buries their loved one, there has got to be a support system available, to ensure that the spouses and parents, children, siblings and co-workers of the fallen officer have the emotional assets to recover from their loss and live successful lives. C.O.P.S. provides that most necessary support system.

C.O.P.S. was organized in 1984 with 110 individual members. Today, C.O.P.S. membership is over 15,000 IACP, 515 North Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

Chief Paul F. Armitage, Ret. Northeast Region Trustee C.O.P.S. 978-7501900 x3383, [email protected] 1-800-THE-IACP

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collision management solutions for budget shortfalls Collision Reporting Centers (CRCs) were introduced in Canada more than 15 years ago in response to the growing crisis of police manpower shortages, restricted budgets and waste of valuable agency resources. The program has proven to be very successful for all stakeholders, and has allowed police to reallocate many millions of dollars annually. The program is flexible and can be customized to fit each law enforcement agency’s individual needs, with several funding models available. With CRCs, citizens report collisions to both police and insurance carriers at a centralized location, assisted by civilian customer service personnel; a ‘one-stop’ collision reporting center. Accident Support Services International Ltd. (ASSI) originated the concept, and opened its first CRC in Toronto in 1994, setting the standard for an alternate reporting system. Some benefits include: - Fewer officers needed for collision reporting, allowing significant redeployment to higher priority calls for service. Police involvement is down to about five minutes per citizen - Improved response time through increased officer availability - Law enforcement agencies can undertake increased road safety enforcement activities - Traffic is cleared faster, reducing the risk of secondary collisions, increasing officer and public safety - Computer stored data to assist with “hit and run” investigations

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CRCs can be set up in the lobbies of existing police stations – no new sites needed

The public no longer has to wait at the side of the road until police can attend. When they call 911, police dispatch screens the call. If there are no injuries, no suspected criminal activity, or no hazardous waste involvement, parties are directed to go to the police station to report their collision within 24-48 hours. Upon arrival at the CRC, trained staff assists drivers in filling out their State Motor Vehicle Collision Form, take photos of the damage, and data enter all of the information. Approximately 75% of collisions can be reported this way. Funding models include a direct Government funded model, where the state can reallocate millions of dollars of their budget in relation to the difference between police wages and the expense of the private partner. Another option is an indirect insurer funded model, with a small government levy of $3-$4 per auto policy written in-state to finance the program. ASSI’s Microsoft Award winning XML-based electronic “Collision Reporting and Occurrence Management System” (CROMS) captures photos, scanned documents, and all fields on official government collision report forms. It can be searched electronically and can generate statistical reports. An Analytics Portal lets users analyze information by creating ad-hoc multidimensional queries. Police can provide intelligence led policing initiatives to reduce collisions and make roads safer, and see trends in their infancy. ASSI also has an in-car mobile solution to complete electronic collision reports at the scene, and to issue E-tickets, allowing for instant transmission of information. Law enforcement agencies are recognizing ASSI as a ‘best practice solution’ that helps contain escalating costs while improving road safety, and increasing

SACOP Newsletter

November 2009

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service levels. So, can this program help struggling law enforcement agencies in the USA? Accident Support Services International Ltd. is interested in working with the state associations and legislators to pilot their first USA model location. For more information, please go to www.accsupport.com or feel free to contact me. Steve Sanderson CEO, Accident Support Services International, Ltd. 1-877-895-9111

“Collision Reporting Centres have been in operation for many years and have provided a great benefit to both the Toronto Police Service and the citizens of Toronto. These centres have allowed for a more efficient use of the Toronto Police Service time and resources; freeing up frontline officers to attend to matters of a more urgent and pressing nature. We’re very pleased with the investment that ASSI has made and continues to make providing Police Services with consistently reliable data on collisions. The Program gives everyone the ability to be on a consistent platform. We look forward to the continued co-operation between our two organizations.” Bill Blair, Chief, Toronto Police Service

rural domestic preparedness training center The nation’s rural emergency responders face unique challenges when compared to their urban counterparts. In recognizing the need for consistent, quality training which addresses those challenges, Congress and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established the Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium (RDPC or the Consortium) to develop and deliver relevant all-hazards training in support of rural homeland security requirements. All training delivered by the RDPC is certified by DHS and is offered tuition-free for a broad scope of stakeholders, including the traditional emergency response disciplines, other emergency support functions as defined by the National Response Plan, as well as critical infrastructure owners and operators. Led by Eastern Kentucky University, the Consortium is comprised of academic partners and other strategic partners who support its mission. All possess extensive experience and niche capabilities in developing and delivering homeland security curriculum to the rural emergency response community. To ensure that training directly reflects the needs of rural emergency responders, the Consortium convenes a national rural preparedness summit and completes a biennial national survey of rural stakeholders. Data gathered from these activities is used to determine the type of training needs, the extent to which it is needed, and the best delivery methods. The RDPC Web site also hosts a Rural Responder Network, which provides on-demand videos with useful information for rural first responders. Whether you have a few minutes or half an hour, a library of information is available to you with videos on demand on the Rural Responder Network. Timed to meet your busy schedule, a variety of topics provide vital information covering all-hazards response for rural America. Please visit the Web site http://www.ruraltraining.org/ to see the catalog of course offerings. To schedule training delivery in your jurisdiction, please complete the form under the Request Training section. For more information about the Consortium, contact Tom Lindquist, Director of the Consortium for RDPC, at 859-622-8106 or email [email protected] .


1-800-THE-IACP

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midyear meeting information Division of State Associations of Chiefs of Police Midyear Meeting – DRAFT Agenda Alexandria, Virginia March 6-8, 2010 Saturday, March 6 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Registration

10:00 AM – 4:30 PM 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Chiefs Training Lunch on own

1:30 PM - 4:30 PM

Executive Directors Meeting/ Roundtable Executive Board Meeting

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Hilton Alexandria Old Town 1767 King Street, Alexandria, VA The Metro Subway Station is just minutes away or two stops from Reagan National Airport via the Yellow or Blue Metro Lines, facilitating your arrival and departure into and out of Alexandria, Virginia. Estimated taxi cost from Reagan National Airport is $35 one way.

Evening function to be determined. Sunday, March 7 7:00 AM – 8:30 AM 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Continental Breakfast Registration Chiefs’ Issue Update/Briefing Executive Directors Meeting Lunch Regional Meetings Host Chiefs Night

Monday, March 8 7:00 AM – 8:30 AM Continental Breakfast 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM General Business Meeting Adjourn the SACOP midyear meeting 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Lunch 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Legislative Briefing for Day on the Hill activities

Tuesday, March 9 Day on the Hill activities

SACOP Mission Statement Consistent with the IACP Mission, the Division of State Associations of Chiefs of Police (SACOP) will advocate local law enforcement issues and interests, providing representation, coordination, and support for members of state associations. Chief Terry Milam, General Chair St. John Police Dept., MO Chief Kent Barker, Vice Chair Tualatin Police Dept., OR Chief Peter Carnes, North Atlantic Region Stone Hill College Campus Police Dept., MA Chief Scot Ford, North Central Region South Sioux City Police Dept., NE Chief Tom Clemons, Mountain Pacific Region Seward Police Dept., AK Director Michael Robinson, Southern Region OSU Dept. of Public Safety, OK Elizabeth Currier, SACOP Manager Kris Nagales, SACOP Project Assistant

SACOP Newsletter

November 2009