Public Safety HR News Roundup – Week of August 6
Headlines from around the web regarding hiring, assessment and other human resource issues in public safety.
How Many Black Police Commissioners Has Boston Had? None, Until Now
The New York Times | Boston is a city that prides itself on making history. It created a volunteer night watch in 1636 and established a publicly funded police department with full-time officers in 1838. But it took until Monday for Boston to swear in its first African-American police commissioner, William G. Gross, 54.
What’s the difference between Texas law enforcement agencies? Curious Texas investigates
The Dallas Morning News | Though they all wear a badge, vow to protect and serve and have statewide jurisdiction, not every Texas law enforcement officer is the same. From the local to state level, from homes to the highway, there are different groups that each handle a variety of duties uniquely assigned to them.
Maine Police in Labor Dispute Shed Duty Uniforms in Favor of T-Shirts
Police Magazine | Lewiston, ME, police union representatives say that officers are “ditching their uniforms to show ‘dissatisfaction’ over contract negotiations with the city,” according to WGME-TV.
Dear Future Police Officer
Law Enforcement Today | I want to share some things with you before you start your journey as a police officer. I’m sharing this because I am a proud widow of a fallen hero, and now I have a son who is months away from starting his journey as an officer honoring his father. I was asked how I felt about that and had to sit back and really think about it. Charlie and I taught our children to find a career that makes them happy and proud and to never settle in life with “just a job.” So, who was I to question him? Besides, it’s in his blood.
Human Dignity and the Fire and Emergency Service: A Statement from the IAFC Board of Directors
IAFC Press Release | The IAFC will continue to lead by example to ensure an equal opportunity and fair treatment for all. When warranted, the IAFC will call out and draw attention to attacks on our members who are victims of this type of hatred. Further, the IAFC strongly recommends that all fire and emergency service organizations and agencies develop written policies and have procedures in place to support these position recommendations.
911 Emergency: Call Centers Can’t Find Workers
The Wall Street Journal | Cities across the U.S. are struggling to find 911 dispatchers as a historically tight labor market makes it harder to fill a job that was already a tough sell.
HERO HIGHLIGHT
Cop jumps off overpass to save boy’s life
PoliceOne | According to the Rockland/Westchester Journal News, Officer Jessie Ferreira was driving to work on Friday when she witnessed a 12-year-old boy jump over a guardrail and fall several feet onto concrete.
Public Safety HR News Roundup – Week of July 30, 2018
Headlines from around the web regarding hiring, assessment and other human resource issues in public safety.
Justice Assistance Grants (JAG): Federal application period for local and state funds just announced
PoliceOne
The Federal application period for the annual state and local Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) has just opened with an application deadline of August 22, 2018. The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) will make up to 1,147 awards to local jurisdictions totaling an estimated $84.5 million.
Video to aid in Columbia County Sheriff’s Office recruitment
The Augusta Chronicle
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office’s newest recruitment tool is a video produced by a pair of Grovetown High School students, in hopes of attracting more people to a profession having difficulty finding applicants.
Tribal Access Program Expanding
Department of Justice
The Department of Justice is expanding the Tribal Access Program (TAP) for National Crime Information, which provides federally-recognized tribes access to national crime information databases for both civil and criminal purposes. Tribes interested in participating in TAP must submit the application by October 1. TAP allows tribes to more effectively serve and protect their communities by ensuring the exchange of critical data.
Police-Youth Dialogues Toolkit Provides Guide for Improving Relationships and Public Safety Through Engagement and Conversation
COPS
The Center for Court Innovation and the U.S. Department of Justice COPS Office developed this toolkit as a resource for communities that wish to implement police-youth dialogues. Drawing from projects across the country that use dialogues, the toolkit consolidates expertise, providing strategies and promising practices.
Ill. lottery game to help families of fallen officers
PoliceOne
On Monday, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill into law that will create a new scratch-off game, funds raised from the game will help the families of LEOs killed or severely injured in the line of duty.
The value in participating in the #LipSyncChallenge and other viral crazes
PoliceOne
It’s become “a thing” with multiple mainstream media outlets picking up on the craze and reporting on their local agency’s entry into the challenge. Do they do anything to “move the needle” in reducing anti-police sentiment? Probably not (or at least, not much). But they do serve some purpose.
Citing increased danger, union for Minn. corrections officers demands higher staffing levels
Minnesota Public Radio
AFSCME Council 5 Correctional Policy Committee, the union representing corrections officers in Minnesota prisons, demanded the state hire more staff to address what it calls unsafe conditions. The union stated “assaults on staff have skyrocketed since January.”
HERO HIGHLIGHTS
Frederick County woman commends deputy, good Samaritan who came to her aid
The Frederick News-Post
Rita Potter was having one of the worst days of her life when she met one of the kindest people she knows, a Frederick County sheriff’s deputy named Bryce McGuire.
How one patrol officer goes beyond the traffic stop to make a lasting difference
Quiet Warrior blog
When Austin PD Officer Jason Borne responded to a call this summer about a pedestrian in a busy roadway, he had no idea it would become an opportunity to make a big difference for a struggling single mother of two.
Public Safety HR News Roundup – Week of July 23, 2018
Headlines from around the web regarding hiring, assessment and other human resource issues in public safety.
3 Factors that Motivate Volunteer Firefighters to Join the Service
FireRescue1
It will come as no surprise to members and chiefs of combination fire departments that the faltering volunteer firefighter system is one of the largest and most daunting issues in the fire service today. Allowing volunteer firefighters to be emotionally fulfilled by serving their communities and [to] feel a part of firehouse camaraderie will help recruitment and retention efforts.
What Seattle’s new police-chief pick Carmen Best means for law enforcement
The Seattle Times
Public-defense leader Lisa Daugaard, a longtime criminal-justice reform advocate, explains why community activists and the police union are happy about Mayor Jenny Durkan’s police-chief choice.
Cleveland City Council OKs hiring consultant to tackle backlog of complaints about police conduct
Cleveland.com
A Chicago-based company that specializes law enforcement consulting will begin working through nearly 380 unsettled complaints made in 2015, 2016 and 2017 to Cleveland’s Office of Professional Standards about police officer behavior.
Veteran officer to be Boston’s 1st black police commissioner
PoliceOne
Boston police veteran William G. Gross made history yesterday when he was named the city’s first black police commissioner. “It shows that any kid in Boston … will have the opportunity to be the mayor, the commissioner or the chief,” Gross said. “If you want to change, you need to change, that is why I became a police officer.”
Sheriff: Shortage of 25 correction officers at St. Joseph County Jail shows need for better pay
South Bend Tribune
St. Joseph County Sheriff Mike Grzegorek estimates a shortage of 25 correction officers at the jail, contending raises are needed to correct the problem. He said the shortage of correction officers is mainly because they’re being promoted to county police officers or leaving to take higher-paying jobs at other police agencies.
Palo Alto raises police pay but recruiting is rough — even with 25K signing bonus
Palo Alto Daily Post
A $25,000 hiring bonus for officers transferring from another police department, implemented in September and one of the highest in the state, hasn’t been enough to attract more cops to work for Palo Alto, Keene said. A $10,000 hiring bonus was offered to new police-academy graduates. An official said in September that the department had 12 vacancies overall.
HERO HIGHLIGHT
Video: Officer helps homeless man shave beard for job
PoliceOne
A homeless man said he needed to be clean-shaven to get hired at a McDonald’s, so Officer Tony Carlson of the Tallahassee Police Department stepped in and helped.
Weekly Public Safety HR News Roundup – Friday, July 20, 2018
Headlines from around the web regarding hiring, assessment and other human resource issues in public safety.
Alabama troopers concerned about road safety amid trooper shortage
WKRG News | During the 2018 Independence Day travel period, Alabama State Troopers worked 18 traffic fatalities. They say many of those accidents are a result of fewer troopers on the road. Right now, Alabama has about 342 troopers on the highway, but they say they need 700 more.
How to Succeed as a First-time Supervisor
POLICE Magazine | … For those who aspire to become supervisors, your preparation for the test and process started the day you walked across the police academy stage. Those who wait to read the announcement for sergeant testing and only then start preparations will probably fail. Read the requirements ahead of time, as some may take some time and effort to meet.
How should you handle negative employee morale in corrections?
CorrectionsOne | In this episode of Tier Talk, Anthony Gangi discusses how to deal with staff members who have a negative view of the workplace. Listen in as he talks about being the voice for positive change and fighting through the negativity.
Heroes of Public Safety Highlight
We have not one, but three Hero Highlights this week!
Officers go above and beyond to help elderly woman in flooded house
PoliceOne | Three Moss Point police officers responded to a call for a busted water pipe at the home of an elderly couple early Thursday morning.
It’s not like police officers don’t do that sort of thing as part of their job to help the community. But in this case, they not only braved a spewing kitchen water pipe to turn it off, but they also stayed to clean up the mess.
Student who walked 20 miles to work helped by officers, gets new car
PoliceOne | An Alabama college student who walked 20 miles to work after his car broke down was gifted a new vehicle, and it all started after he was helped by a group of officers.
Off-duty Calif. deputy stops assault on woman
PoliceOne | The video – with more than 600 shares on Facebook as of Tuesday afternoon – showed a woman struggling to get out of the driver’s seat of a car as a man in the car wrapped his arm around her neck, choking her from behind. The incident occurred Monday in the Walmart shopping center on Harter Parkway. As the woman just manages to free herself, a man pointing a gun approaches and tells the suspect to get out of the car.
The Good Samaritan was an off-duty Sutter County sheriff’s deputy, Undersheriff Jeff Pierce said Tuesday.
Weekly Public Safety HR News Roundup – Friday, July 13, 2018
Headlines from around the web regarding hiring, assessment and other human resource issues in public safety.
Staffing concerns taking toll on Mo. prisons
CorrectionsOne
Gary Gross, director of the Missouri Corrections Officers Association, said inmate tensions are growing across the state over restrictions that stem from staff shortages, the News Tribune reported. Currently, there are about 700 open starting-level corrections officer positions statewide.
“In some institutions, they’re using non-correctional staff to work as corrections officers,” Gross said.
Baltimore Police assign 115 extra officers to patrol the streets in hopes of curbing overtime spending, crime
Baltimore Sun
Front-line patrol officers are regularly referred to as the “backbone” of the police department, but commanders have struggled to fill shifts, forcing them to draft officers into overtime work. That costs money and leaves officers exhausted.
The reassignments come as the City Council has announced plans to more carefully scrutinize the department’s overtime spending.
Yuma Police Department faces critical officer shortage
KYMA News
The Yuma Police Department is faced with a major police officer shortage after losing nearly 40 officers to higher-paying agencies over the last three years.
“We’re losing our officers to other agencies who are offering these incentives,” Chief John Lekan said. “Offering higher pay, unfortunately, maybe even offering a little more community.”
According to Chief Lekan, those losses have critically affected the Yuma Police Department.
Heroes of Public Safety Highlight
Star Spangled Summer Hero: police officers buy shoes for barefoot man
WBIR News
“When the initial call came in, they thought he was intoxicated. When I got up there, I realized he wasn’t under the influence. He didn’t have shoes. It was 90 plus degrees that day, so the ground was hot,” Gibson recalled.
Shoeless, friendless, and homeless, Gibson says the man said he was heading south where he heard the people were nicer. But, on that hot highway in Rogersville, he met one of the nicest.
A Roundup From Across the Web
New EEOC Report Examines Barriers Facing Women in Federal Government Public Safety Occupations
WASHINGTON — In its continuing effort to aid the federal government in serving as a model employer, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today issued its federally focused report addressing equal employment opportunities for women in various public safety occupations…Continue Reading
Experts warn of shortage of armed guards in New Jersey schools
As school districts across New Jersey clamor to hire armed guards, some law enforcement experts are concerned about a potential shortage of candidates equipped to serve as school officers…Continue Reading
Union chief: Detroit losing officers at alarming rate
Mark Diaz, president of the Detroit Police Officers Association, said the union has lost 117 officers since Jan 1., which averages to about 4.5 per week…Continue Reading
Press Release: Senate Passes Durbin, Roberts Farm Bill Amendment To Support Rural EMS Agencies
Bipartisan Amendment Will Reauthorize Funding For Rural Fire And Ambulance Crews To Fight Opioid Epidemic, Strengthen Workforce….Continue Reading