Public Safety HR News Roundup – Week of September 3, 2018

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.”

By Jenny Donovan|2018-09-07T11:35:01-04:00September 7th, 2018|From Across the Web, News, Police-Community Relations, Recruitment|Comments Off

Public Safety HR News Roundup – Week of August 27, 2018

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

Kentucky looks at new reforms to cut jail, prison population

The Sentinel Echo | Some solutions are expected to come from 2017 Senate Bill 120, sponsored by Rep. Whitney Westerfield, R-Crofton. The legislation, now law, is expected to reduce the inmates in Kentucky jails and prisons through alternative sentencing–including reentry programs–and so-called prison industry enhancement programs.

In last four fatal fires, firefighters didn’t call the closest reinforcements

Journal Star | The calls instead went to other departments staffed by trained volunteers, either personally selected by a fire officer on scene or according to a predetermined order on file with the agencies and dispatchers, contradicting the most basic tenets of firefighting.

Calling 911 in rural California? Danger might be close, but the law can be hours away

The Sacramento Bee | A McClatchy investigation found that large stretches of rural California — where county sheriffs are the predominant law enforcement agencies and towns often run only a few blocks — do not have enough sworn deputies to provide adequate public safety for the communities they serve.

Podcast | Influence vs. control: Why COs need to know the difference

CorrectionsOne | In this episode of Tier Talk, Anthony Gangi discusses the difference between influence and control, particularly when it comes to prison gangs.

Montgomery County has a shortage of 911 dispatchers. They’re racing to find more — and fast

The Philadelphia Inquirer | … And as the calls pour in, the county — like so many other counties and states nationwide — has grappled with a dire shortage of 911 call-takers and dispatchers, jobs with long hours, high stress and a salary that nets less than $45,000 in Montgomery County.

New Day in the Firehouse

Governing Magazine | The workload of fire departments has grown substantially, even as their core mission — putting out fires — has dwindled. “Communities tend to lean on the fire service in times of crisis,” says Charlottesville Fire Chief Andrew Baxter. “People are looking to the fire service for leadership and partnership for all aspects of emergency response.”

How to train and equip SROs to be a school’s first line of defense

PoliceOne | Unfortunately, it’s not the program’s success as a component of an overall community policing model, but rather the alarming rise in the lethality and frequency of school shootings that has been a major driving factor for requests for SROs in our schools. These requests come not only from law enforcement agencies with established SRO programs, but from elected officials, school officials and the public who may not be aware of the many facets of an SRO program.

Why correctional facilities need a social media policy

CorrectionsOne | You represent your agency every time you don your uniform, and your social media presence does the same thing. If a citizen sees a derogatory image on a CO’s Facebook page, he or she wonders, “Is the whole agency like that?” COs who think there is privacy when posting content online are sadly mistaken.

HERO HIGHLIGHT

Not all Heroes Wear Capes … Or Walk on Two Legs

First Coast News | Therapy dogs help 911 dispatchers at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office process their emotions after dealing with a deadly mass shooting on Sunday.

By Jenny Donovan|2018-08-31T15:05:02-04:00August 31st, 2018|From Across the Web, News|Comments Off

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.

By Jenny Donovan|2018-08-10T16:53:48-04:00August 10th, 2018|From Across the Web, News, Police-Community Relations, Recruitment|Comments Off

Last Push for Participation – New ECC Test Validation

We are hard at work on bringing you 3 new entry-level Emergency Communication Center (ECC) tests. As you know all of our tests go through a thorough validation phase that gets documented in the free Technical Report available with every test. Now your agency can be a part of the process, have a test with direct evidence for use within your organization, and enjoy a deep discount on your next test order (plus other benefits).

All the detailed information can be found on our ECC Validation page. But to summarize, we’d need your to get together a group of your incumbent ECC staff to take the test, then have their first and second line supervisors fill out a brief evaluation for each incumbent taking the test. If you can’t commit to a large group, that’s OK, even 5-6 staff can make a huge difference if multiple agencies get on board.

We are making one last push to get enough participation to finish the validation stage of the development. If your organization can participate in the next 2 months please fill out an interest form here or email Andrey Pankov with any additional questions.

By Andrey Pankov|2015-10-13T11:29:51-04:00October 13th, 2015|Announcements|Comments Off

We need YOUR help – New ECC test enters validation phase

YOU ARE KEY – We can’t do it without you…

If you had not yet heard we are hard at work on bringing you 3 new entry-level Emergency Communication Center (ECC) tests. As you know all of our tests go through a thorough validation phase that gets documented in the free Technical Report available with every test. Now your agency can be a part of the process, have a test with direct evidence for use within your organization, and enjoy a deep discount on your next test order (plus other benefits).

All the detailed information can be found on our ECC Validation page. But to summarize, we’d need your to get together a group of your incumbent ECC staff to take the test, then have their first and second line supervisors fill out a brief evaluation for each incumbent taking the test. If you can’t commit to a large group, that’s OK, even 5-6 staff can make a huge difference if multiple agencies get on board.

If you’d like more information or want to participate, fill out the form below:

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By Andrey Pankov|2015-01-21T12:34:45-04:00January 21st, 2015|Announcements|Comments Off

First Line Supervisor Tests Updated and New Reading Lists

Due to recent updates to the published source material for our First Line Supervisor tests, ECC-FLS 102 and CF-FLS 102, we have had to make updates to some of the test questions that appear in those tests.

As a result of these updates, we are reprinting the tests under new names. The new tests correspond to the old ones as follows:

ECC-FLS 102 will now be known as ECC-FLS 202
CF-FLS 102 will now be known as CF-FLS 202

If you’ve already distributed the reading lists for either test you do not need to take any further action or redistribute a new reading list. When you order your test, just make sure to order the test that matches the reading list you provided to your candidates. We will retain sufficient stock to fulfill all orders of the older test.

From this point forward, we will be providing the CF-FLS 202 and ECC-FLS 202 reading lists only. If you’d like to request the new reading list, you may do so here.

In addition to the CF and ECC First Line Supervisor reading list update, the PSUP series’ (301/302/303) reading list also experienced an update. Unlike the other two tests, it does not require any items to be replaced.

Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns about this update.

By Assessment Services Staff|2013-11-15T15:33:57-04:00November 15th, 2013|Reading List Update|Comments Off