Headlines from around the web regarding hiring, assessment and other human resource issues in public safety.

50-State Report on Public Safety

The Council of State Governments Justice Center | While many policymakers are keenly aware of how spending on prisons has changed over the last 10 years, they often know less about how spending on probation and parole supervision has changed or what recidivism outcomes are for people leaving prison or starting probation.

NJ Transit Police have responded to a huge number of overdose cases so far this year

NJ.com | NJ Transit Police along with other first responders have used the overdose drug Narcan to save the lives of 100 people this year who were overdosing on opioids, agency officials said.

Explosive Growth Is Pushing Arizona Emergency Responders to New Training Resources

government technology | Both Gilbert and Chandler have grown so explosively that their police and fire departments no longer can rely on other municipalities to train officers and firefighters. As a result, Chandler opened the first phase of its new public safety training complex – a $26.3 million facility – in July.

Alaska State Troopers getting raise in contract with State

KTUU | Gov. Bill Walker said Wednesday that Alaska State Troopers will get a 7.5 percent raise later this week, and another 7.5 percent if the Alaska Legislature approves the increase next session. … “For me it was a retention crisis,” Walker said. “When we have wonderful, dedicated law enforcement officers, troopers, that are going elsewhere because it’s better pay, better benefits, I pay close attention to that.”

Pay disparity has Santa Fe officers heading to Albuquerque

KOB 4 | Since July, the police department has lost more than 12 officers, some of them went to APD, which pays more. A starting wage for a Santa Fe police officer is $19 per hour. At APD, the starting wage is $29 per hour.

(For more on this, see: “Santa Fe, Calif., Police Department to City Council: We’re ‘Bleeding out Officers‘”)

Drones Will Supplement Fire, Police Departments in National City, Calif.

government technology | California’s National City police and fire departments have a new type of tool: drones intended to provide officers and firefighters a bird’s-eye view for public safety efforts, such as to find a missing person, document a crime scene or assess a fire.

IAFC Human Relations Committee – Interview with Chief Deryn Rizzi

IAFCTV | At FRI 2018, IAFC TV spoke with Chief Deryn Rizzi about some of the important issues in the fire service right now surrounding the topic of human relations and the initiatives the committee will take on during her tenure.

Houston chief warns pay parity measure could cause at least 800 layoffs

FireRescue1 | Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña on Tuesday warned of dire consequences — including possible layoffs of more than 800 firefighters and deferred maintenance or upgrades on aging equipment, if voters approve the firefighters’ pay parity initiative on the November ballot.

HERO HIGHLIGHT

Michigan Gas Station Owner’s Facebook Posts of Officer’s Act of Kindness Goes Viral

Police Magazine | Kazz wrote on Facebook, “An elderly woman came into my station today and gave me $3 in change to put on her gas pump. A police officer was standing behind her and happened to hear the amount and saw she was using a cane, struggling to walk back to her car. He went outside and told her to sit in the car as he would pump the gas for her. After a few minutes of getting to know one another he realized she was really struggling and didn’t have any gas or money left.”