Naples policeman named Officer of the Year

Naples Police Officer Steve Walden is the runner-up for the 2009 Florida Retail Federation Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award for his work educating retail employees at the Coastland Center mall, as well as his fellow officers, about South American Theft Groups.

Walden will receive a certificate of commendation at an awards banquet tonight in St. Petersburg.

Noticing a trend in retail thefts reported at the mall, Walden learned about the work of the South American Theft Group Intelligence Network, an East Coast nonprofit dedicated to tracking organized crime rings from south of the border. Walden started going to SATGIN training himself, and then started hosting his own training classes with managers and staff members of retail stores at the mall. After the training, Walden made several arrests at the mall based on calls from retail employees who recognized some of the tricks they had been taught.

Walden followed that up by facilitating department-wide training for Naples police, making his department the first in Southwest Florida to be SATGIN trained.

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