Some crimes in San Diego now reportable via Sheriff’s website
SAN DIEGO – The Sheriff’s Department has launched a new way for victims to report some types of non-emergency crimes via the sheriff’s Web site. The department’s new e-crime reporting system is accessed by logging onto www.sdsheriff.net.
Types of crimes that may be reported through the system include thefts, vehicle burglaries, vandalism, lost property and harassing phone calls.A valid e-mail is required to fill out an online report. The victim can then print out a copy to keep or submit to an insurance company for their records.
Some crime reports must be filed with a deputy. Those includes crimes with suspect information, witness information or physical evidence; auto or boat theft; identity theft; lost government identification, such as a passport or driver’s license; and crimes in progress. Those reports can be filed by calling the Sheriff’s Department at (858) 565-5200.
Deputies and civilians honored for heroism
King County Sheriff Sue Rahr recently honored six deputies and four for heroism, including an off-duty officer who was forced to fatally shoot a suspect during a street robbery last year.
The recipients were awarded Friday during a ceremony at the Criminal Justice Training Commission Center in Burien.
DeKalb to hire 127 cops
DeKalb County will get an additional 127 police officers in a budget narrowly approved today by county commissioners.
Reacting to calls from the public to increase security, commissioners voted 4-3 for a proposal that adds 77 police officers to the 50 new positions recommended in Chief Executive Officer Vernon Jones’ proposed 2008 budget.
Commissioner Kathie Gannon, the commission’s presiding officer and budget committee chair, said “We heard loud and clear a message” for more police. Her amendment expands the police force by about 10 percent without raising taxes.
The hiring would be paid for with cuts elsewhere and with money from emergency and reserve accounts.
Gannon’s amendment slashes $600,000 from the county’s technology budget, $112,884 each from both the legal and human resources departments and $29,515 each from the office budgets of both the commission and the CEO. It also taps $800,000 from a contingency fund and $799,883 from reserves.
The three commissioners who voted against the budget proposal said they preferred an alternative by Commissioner Larry Johnson that would have raised property taxes to hire a total of 125 new officers this year.
Johnson’s proposal also would have raised pay for police officers more than Jones’ budget, offering as much as 8 percent increases. But commissioners did not bring it to a vote.
Commissioner Burrell Ellis, who voted with the majority, said he opposed a tax increase during tough economic times when some residents could be unable to pay their mortgages.
Police Chief Terrell Bolton said he appreciated the new officers, but noted that he had asked for an additional 200 this year, plus larger pay raises to reduce the number who are quitting. He said an average of 110 officers leave per year.
“It’s a first step, but we really didn’t address the issue of attrition,” Bolton said. “I’m thankful for what I got, but does it fix the problem? No.”
And you, U.S. cops think PAPERWORK is tough!
By Rachel Shields
Sitting in traffic is hardly the most entertaining of pastimes. In fact, it’s usually downright dull. Unless you’re a driver in the Romanian city of Timisoara, that is. There, impatient motorists will soon be offered ample distractions – in the sculpted shape of the city’s ballet-dancing traffic police.
Angry horns look set to be replaced by arabesques over the coming weeks, as officers in the western Romanian city knuckle down to introductory ballet classes. It is thought that the elegant movements may help to soothe the frayed nerves of stressed drivers, while perhaps rending the dull job of directing traffic a little more interesting.
“The aim is to develop an ability to regulate traffic and achieve elegance in their movements, which will not only be agreeable to the eyes but could also help drivers waiting at red lights get rid of their stress or sadness,” Dorel Cojan, the head of the community police, told AFP.
Twenty community police officers have begun studying the discipline, attending lessons taught by professional dancers at the city’s Philharmonics Hall twice-weekly for a month. But the aspiring ballerinas will not be using their moves to fend off criminals. Community police in the city mostly deal with traffic regulations rather than serious crime
Minister offers sympathetic ear to officers
I love the ending to this story. It WOULD suck to get arrested by the Chaplain…LOL!
Dateline: SEARCY, Arkansas
The Morning News
He has crosses on his lapels and a Glock on his hip.
Pastor David Copeland of Chapel Lane Freewill Baptist Church has been a law enforcement chaplain since 1999, first with the Searcy Police Department and now with the White County Sheriff’s Office.
With two uncles in law enforcement — one a longtime sheriff in California — and some experience of his own, Copeland knows firsthand the needs of law enforcement personnel.
“Serving those who serve and protect is very fulfilling for me,” Copeland said. “It’s one of the most rewarding things I do.”
Copeland, 48, works mainly with officers while another chaplain works in the jail, conducting services and ministering to inmates and their families.
“Being a sympathetic ear for one thing,” Copeland says of how he spends his time, all of which is as a volunteer. “The officers listen to so many negative things out there and I listen to the officers, whether it’s listening to their personal problems or letting them be able to vent.”
The chaplain’s equipment goes beyond the gold crosses, however, because Copeland is also a fully trained auxiliary deputy. That status allows him to ride along with officers and carry a weapon.
“An auxiliary deputy has basically the same power and authority as long you’re in contact with or under the supervision of a certified officer, and that can mean radio contact,” Copeland said. “As long as you’re not out there as the Lone Ranger.”
Deputy Eric Fleming was with Copeland when the chaplain made his first traffic stop.
“One of the duties I hate the most and do the best is death notification,” Fleming said. “Having a chaplain there that can come out and talk to them means a lot to me because he can comfort them.”
Department protocol says officers shouldn’t perform death notifications, Copeland said, leaving that for the chaplain. Copeland has done that many times for victims of motor vehicle accidents, other accidents, suicide and homicide.
Being with the officers means helping them deal with stress, Copeland said.
“They don’t show it and that’s one of the problems,” Copeland said. “It’s one of the most stressful jobs in the world.”
But there is a lighter side to being a police chaplain, Copeland said.
“I arrested a lady one time and she said, ‘Chaplain? You’re a chaplain? It really stinks when you’re arrested by a chaplain.”‘
Paws-itively brilliant
BERLIN – Police dogs in the western city of Duesseldorf will no longer get their feet dirty when on patrol — the entire dog unit will soon be equipped with blue plastic fiber shoes, a police spokesman said Monday.
“All 20 of our police dogs — German and Belgian shepherds — are currently being trained to walk in these shoes,” Andre Hartwich said. “I’m not sure they like it, but they’ll have to get used to it.”
The unusual footwear is not a fashion statement, Hartwich said, but rather a necessity due to the high rate of paw injuries on duty. Especially in the city’s historical old town — famous for both its pubs and drunken revelers — the dogs often step into broken beer bottles.
“Even the street-cleaning doesn’t manage to remove all the glass pieces from between the streets’ cobble stones,” Hartwich said, adding that the dogs frequently get injured by little pieces sticking deep in their paws.
The dogs will start wearing the shoes this spring but only during operations that demand special foot protection. The shoes comes in sizes small, medium and large and were ordered in blue to match the officers uniforms, Hartwich said.
“Now we just have to teach the dogs how to tie their shoes,” he joked.
Jefferson County (Missouri) Sheriff’s Citizen’s Academy sign up continues
It’s not too late to sign up for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Citizen’s Academy that starts Tuesday.
The 12-week course covers almost all aspects of police work, including administrative functions, narcotics, investigations, tactical teams, firearms, jail functions and road patrol.
“Every week is different,” academy coordinator Kim Simpson said. “People actually get to tour the jail and do a ride-along. It gives people a whole new perspective about what takes place at the sheriff’s office. It’s really beneficial for people to take the class.”Simpson said anyone 18 or older can take the course, but the class is limited to 30 people. There are still spots available and people can sign up until the first day of the class.
Upon completion of the course, participants will receive a certificate and can participate in the sheriff’s Safe Program where people volunteer once a week at the sheriff’s office or community events.
“People can come in and help with different projects such as fingerprinting or filing,” Simpson said.
Classes meet from 7 to 10 p.m. every Tuesday at the sheriff’s office. Participants must attend at least 10 of the 12 classes to qualify for a certificate of completion.
Call Simpson at 636-797-5020 for more information.
Don’t forget to spay & neuter your pets!
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (Oregon) will be offering spay and neuter discount vouchers Tuesday in support of “Spay Day USA.”
The vouchers will be available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from the Animal Control Division at the Sheriff’s Office in Douglas County Courthouse Room 210.
The vouchers will only be accepted at the following veterinarians:
n Bailey Veterinary Clinic, 248 N.W. Garden Valley Blvd., Roseburg
n Companion Animal Clinic, 736 W. Military Ave., Roseburg
n Countryside Veterinary Clinic, 221 Half Circle Lane, Days Creek.
n Parkway Animal Hospital, 2655 N.W. Edenbower Blvd., Roseburg
n Oakland Veterinary Clinic, 204 N.E. First St., Oakland
n River Valley Veterinary Clinic, 8993 Highway 99 S., Dillard
n Sutherlin Veterinary Hospital, 702 W. Central Ave., Sutherlin.
There are no restrictions for cats, but dogs must be licensed for their owners to purchase vouchers.
Owners can get their dogs licensed as long as the canines are 6 months old or older and have current rabies vaccinations. Licenses will cost $25 with $19 refundable once the vouchers are redeemed by veterinarians.
Owners should know how much their dogs weigh when getting vouchers.
For more information on spay and neuter costs and voucher discount amounts, visit the Sheriff’s Office Web site at www.dcso.com
It’s tough being a cop, even in Maine
Kennebec Journal
When you sign on to be a police officer anywhere in the world, you know it is a dangerous and demanding job.
But you might hope that in Maine, which has one of the lowest crime rates in the nation, your chances of avoiding deadly situations would be a little better.
While on a statistical basis, police here are safer than police in urban areas, recent incidents remind us that even in Maine, being a cop is a tough and risky job.
In the past week alone three news stories brought this fact home:
n On Feb. 15, we reported that the state Attorney General’s office investigation of a fatal shooting by police in Gardiner was justified. The shooting took place on Dec. 15, when a disturbed man was shot by a state trooper and a Gardiner police officer. The following excerpt from the attorney general’s report gives a flavor of the situation:
“All three officers recalled that it was at that point that (Jason) Wentzell screamed an obscenity and raised the rifle to his shoulder with it pointed in a southerly direction towards Officers LaPlante and Gioia and the area where his wife, child, and mother-in-law had retreated. Chief Toman, and others, heard Officer Gioia, shout, ‘No! You don’t want to do that.’ At about the same time that Wentzell fired a single shot from his rifle, Officer Gioia and Trooper Rogers simultaneously shot at Wentzell.”
n Last Saturday, a state trooper and two Somerset County deputies shot and killed a 21-year-old Harmony man. The attorney general is investigating that shooting, too, and until then we don’t know if the shooting was legally justified. But the circumstances as we know them now appear to have put the police officers in a life-threatening position.
Again, the incident involved a man with a troubled past who appeared bent on self-destruction. Police responded to a call from the man in which he claimed to have killed one person and taken two hostages. While that turned out to be false, officers didn’t know that when they arrived at the scene and, during the standoff, the man pointed a shotgun at them, and then they fired at him.
As Stephen McCausland, spokes-man of the Maine Department of Public Safety, said, “They are trained to stop the threat. They don’t think of shooting to wound. That happens only in the movies.”
A third incident turned out better, but had the potential for an out-in-the-open shootout.
It happened in Waterville, when an officer tracked down a man wanted by Bangor police for an armed robbery earlier in the day. Bangor police warned that the man was armed.
Patrol Officer Mike Sellar told our reporter, “He (the suspect) was thinking about going for that handgun. It’s clear in my mind that when he looked down — I was sure he had a weapon … That’s when I was very clear: ‘Put your hands back up.’ “
When the suspect stepped out the car, a 9mm handgun slipped from his lap and fell to the ground.
A close call. If the suspect had been on drugs or simply more reckless, he might have opened fire on Sellar.
Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey put it well when he said, “I’m very, very pleased with the outcome, considering Sunday night we had a gun incident … that comes on the heels of a shooting (in Harmony). I think it just illustrates just how dangerous the job is for these guys out there.”
When police confront armed and threatening or disturbed people, we hope for the best. We hope the suspect listens to reason and lays down his weapon. When that doesn’t happen, trained officers have to make life and death decisions under great duress and in a split second. When a legitimate investigation finds they acted reasonably, then all of us should both give credit to and show our appreciation for the men and women who protect and serve.
VA cops want red light cams
Chesterfield County police hope that “photo red” will soon get a green light there.
The department is preparing a budget request of more than $6.6 million to lease and operate red-light camera systems at 28 of Chesterfield’s most crash-prone intersections.
The cameras, approved last year by the General Assembly, would digitally photograph vehicles and their license plates as they ran red lights. The vehicle owners would then be issued civil citations with fines up to $50.
Police would like the cameras to be rolling by early fall, if they can persuade the Board of Supervisors to authorize the money as part of the department’s budget for fiscal year 2009, which begins July 1 and runs through June 30, 2009.
While the start-up and operational costs are high, officials say the photo-red programs used in other parts of the country typically pay for themselves and are cost-neutral. They can even generate additional revenue for localities.
Redflex Traffic Systems, a firm that Chesterfield has talked with, guarantees that its programs are completely “violator-funded,” according to company literature.
“The goal is to get people to stop at red lights, not to make money,” Chesterfield police Maj. Karl Leonard said.
“One of the things we’re trying to do is reduce accidents in the county,” Leonard added. “And if you can save one life, how much is that worth? You just can’t measure it.”
News of the plan comes as the department is nearing the end of a monthlong effort to reduce red-light running in the county. Officers have been targeting about a dozen of the county’s 170 signaled intersections for enforcement, issuing 294 tickets through Thursday.
The department issued 1,459 red-light citations last year, up from 1,343 in 2006.
Such efforts are labor-intensive, requiring at least four officers to run the operation in both directions, Leonard said. The photo-red cameras could alleviate, if not eliminate, the need for staffed enforcement efforts at Chesterfield’s most dangerous intersections.
Under the proposal, Chesterfield would contract with a private vendor to install, lease and maintain the equipment. That would cost an estimated $18,400 a month per intersection for eight cameras, or $220,880 per year.
If the county monitored 28 intersections, about the most it can do under the law, the operational cost would be nearly $6.2 million. In addition, the department estimates it would need to dedicate at least four officers to run the program, at an annual cost of $477,000.
Under Virginia law, only sworn officers can check license plate numbers with the Department of Motor Vehicles. They would also send out violation notices to offenders.
Leonard noted that if the cameras caught 50 violators a day at just one intersection, that would total $2,500, or about $77,000 per month, if red-light runners each were fined $50.
“It has the potential to bring in a lot of money,” Leonard said.
The measure the assembly passed allows most localities in Virginia to install photo-monitoring systems to enforce traffic-light laws. Localities exercising the option may install cameras at no more than one intersection for every 10,000 residents.
Last spring, police chiefs in the Richmond area expressed great interest in the system, indicating they would seek to have it implemented. But so far, only Chesterfield and Richmond are moving forward with photo-enforcement proposals.
The Richmond Police Department is working to select a vendor to provide and maintain the photo-red equipment and identify which intersections in the city should be targeted, police spokeswoman Cynthia Price said.
No other police department in the Richmond or Tri-Cities areas has moved beyond the research stage or included money for the program in their 2008-09 budgets.
Leonard said the department budgeted the maximum amount it would take to fund all 28 intersections, realizing the Board of Supervisors might scale down the project to start. The number of officers assigned to the program would depend on how many intersections are funded.
“We don’t think one officer can handle much more than seven to 10 intersections,” Leonard said. “The reason being, the law says you have to get all these notices out within 10 days of the occurrence. And that puts the spot on the officer to get all these DMV checks done. If we’re getting 2,800 [violations] a day, you can see how it can backlog real quick.”
County Administrator James J.L. Stegmaier said the county is still in the early stages of the budget process and the photo-red request could evolve before the board meets March 12 to consider the police department’s fiscal 2009 budget plan.
“The county is still evaluating what the potential is for revenue to offset [the costs], and evaluating whether it should be implemented at the maximum number of intersections, or whether there should be a limited number of test sites,” Stegmaier said.
“To my knowledge, no locality has done this under this [new] law in Virginia, so there are some unknowns,” he added. “It’s somewhat speculative to say how much revenue you would actually generate, so we are still in the process of looking at that.”
