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Oct 17, 2013

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Earthquake expert warns of dangers on Great California Shakeout day

It will take 100 seconds for California to unzip, and three minutes for the state to stop shaking. That's how Kathleen Springer describes The Big One, and she's the expert.

Springer, a longtime senior curator of geological sciences at the San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands, has devoted much of her career to telling people what to expect when The Big One hits.

“Let's face it: There's an earthquake in your future,” Springer cautioned by phone.

Millions are expected to participate Thursday in the Great California ShakeOut, the state's largest earthquake drill.

Hundreds will be a part of the museum's drill with Springer again. She will address a crowd about the program, how it was created and the importance of being prepared and how to survive the large shaker that will rock the region. Her talk is titled, “The Science Behind the ShakeOut.”

http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20131016/earthquake-expert-warns-of-dangers-on-great-california-shakeout-day

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LAPD, human rights group work to prevent assaults on LGBT arrestees

Last year, the Los Angeles Police Department made headlines when it announced it was creating a housing unit at the Metropolitan Detention Center downtown exclusively for transgender arrestees — believed to be the first in the country — to ensure their personal safety.

The department also earned praise from civil rights groups last year for developing a series of patrol protocols to be “respectful, professional and courteous” to transgender people, including guidelines such as addressing them by their preferred name and using gender pronouns in line with how they identify and express themselves.

Now, the LAPD is about to receive a $240,000 federal grant to work with the human rights organization Just Detention International to help the police agency come into compliance with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act and to help other agencies around the country do the same.

While no one is immune to rape or sexual assault, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community has a history of being targeted and victimized in custody settings, law enforcement officials and advocates say.

http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20131016/lapd-human-rights-group-work-to-prevent-assaults-on-lgbt-arrestees

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2 convicted murderers mistakenly freed from Florida prison

The state of Florida is asking for help in locating two former prison inmates that they realized should still be current inmates.

Charles Walker and Joseph Jenkins, both 34, are considered "escapees" by authorities, but their prison break wasn't exactly a scene out of "The Shawshank Redemption."

Walker and Jenkins -- both convicted murderers -- separately walked out of the Franklin Correctional Institution located on Florida's panhandle "in accordance with Department of Corrections policy and procedure," according to Department of Corrections Secretary Michael Crews.

"However, both of their releases were based on fraudulent modifications that had been made to court orders," he said.

Authorities would not elaborate further. Law enforcement learned of the situation Tuesday.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/16/us/florida-inmates-mistakenly-freed/

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Oct 16, 2013

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Massachusetts

Community policing comes to Assumption

Former Framington Chief Takes Over

WORCESTER — Assumption College's new director of public safety, Steven B. Carl, believes a college campus is the perfect place to maximize the community policing strategies he used during his years as the Framingham police chief.

Mr. Carl, who took over the post recently from Robert A. Murphy, retired from his role as chief in the large town to take the new job at Assumption College. During his decades of policing, Mr. Carl embraced the proactive approach of community policing, but unlike college campuses, local police find themselves sometimes overwhelmed by 911 calls.

"In this environment (college campus) it is like a petri dish for community policing," Mr. Carl said. "You can really experiment and develop some great programs to protect the campus or enhance the quality of life on campus."

During his tenure in Framingham, Mr. Carl wrote grants to enhance community policing in the town. He found preventing crime rewarding, and felt the policing technique was well-received in town.

Having a transparent and engaged department is a priority for the 54-year-old Hopkinton resident. As a married father of two sons in college, Mr. Carl knows parents want a valuable education for their children, but also a safe campus.

http://www.telegram.com/article/20131015/NEWS/310159868/1246

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Wisconsin

Madison Police and Fire Commission urged to review deadly force policy and to look outside department for new chief

Nathan and Amelia Royko Maurer have, by their own admission, hounded the Madison Police Department in the 11 months since Officer Stephen Heimsness shot and killed their friend and roommate Paul Heenan on Nov. 9, 2012.

Yet at public input session on Monday about the topic of a new police chief , the couple was conspicuously silent, legally barred from communicating with the five members of the Madison Board of Police and Fire Commissioners because of their complaint against Heimsness with the board.

But many of the nine speakers picked up where the Royko Maurers left off: concerned with officers' use of deadly force and the department's ability to foster goodwill in the community with the departure of Chief Noble Wray on Sep. 27.

"A year ago, I wouldn't have been here," said Madison resident Heidi Kramer. "Over the last year, my confidence and trust [in my police force] is deeply shaken."

The department has taken the most flak for the death of Heenan, who was shot after he drunkenly tried entering a neighbor's house. But the fatal shootings of Brent Brozek, a mentally ill former cab driver, on May 17, and Charles Carll, who police were told was suicidal following a domestic disturbance, on Aug. 17, have also alarmed community members.

http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=41154

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South Carolina

Public Safety team trains to help large animals in peril

Horses abound in Aiken while cattle, emus and other large animals also live in the area. Sometimes these hefty creatures get into trouble, and the Aiken Department of Public Safety wants to be ready to respond.

“Accidents do happen,” said Sgt. Daymon Spann. “Last year, we had a horse that got away and ran into a minivan, leaving the polo field. He ended up in the woods, and he had a broken shoulder.”

Spann was among the members of the Department of Public Safety that attended a large animal emergency rescue training session on Tuesday at the Carolina Equine Clinic on Powderhouse Road.

The instructor, Rebecca Gimenez, spent the early part of the afternoon teaching her students how to put on, restrain, and move a horse on a rescue glide, which works like a stretcher. She also supervised as department personnel turned a horse trailer on its side to simulate a traffic accident and learned how to deal with an equine victim.

“Horses are like psychiatric patients,” Gimenez said, “because, basically, they don't like to be strapped and restrained, but we do it for our safety as well as their safety.”

http://www.aikenstandard.com/article/20131016/AIK0101/131019577/public-safety-tactical-response-team-trains-to-help-large-animals-in-peril

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Georgia

Radio hams put passion to work for public safety communication in disasters

Starting last month, there is a new partnership between Rockdale County and the local chapter of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service. ARES is a volunteer organization that works with local police, fire and rescue to relay vital messages in the event of an emergency.

Amateur radio operators can be traced back to World War II when they sent messages from the frontlines of battle. Present day ARES groups have been involved in rescue efforts during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as well as the Boston Marathon bombings.

The Rockdale ARES organization has had a long standing relationship with the county, but over the last several years the group has not been directly involved with emergency planning.

Rockdale Fire Chief Dan Morgan, who is also the emergency management director for the county, said he's looking to change that.

“Under this new agreement we're looking to bring the local ARES group into what we're doing here at the fire department as well as with the sheriff's department and the hospital,” said Morgan. “That way when there is an emergency we don't have to try to put a plan together we will already have one in place.”

http://www.rockdalenews.com/section/1/article/17430/

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Oct 15, 2013

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Report: NSA collecting email and IM contacts globally

The National Security Agency has been collecting contacts from people's personal email address books and instant messaging accounts in an effort to detect relationships that might be crucial to government security, the Washington Post is reporting.

The agency is collecting the data from overseas points and many of the contacts belong to Americans, the Post reports.

The Post bases its report on word from senior intelligence officials and top secret documents, including a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden..

The majority of the contacts harvested come from Yahoo and Hotmail accounts, but others also come from Facebook, Google and unspecified other providers, the Post reports. The contacts amount to a sizeable portion of the world's email and instant messaging accounts, according to the news organization.

"You need the haystack to find the needle," the Post quotes Gen. Keith B. Alexander, NSA director, as saying in defense of the bulk collection.

No one from public affairs was available to discuss the allegations at National Security Agency headquarters in Fort Meade, Md., Monday evening.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/10/14/nsa-email-instant-messaging-contact-lists/2984055/

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New Jersey

Rutgers police asking students' opinions on how to improve public safety

The Rutgers Police Department has released a university-wide survey asking for students opinions on how to improve police practices and public safety tactics on the school's three campuses, officials said today.

The 20-question survey, which will be conducted at least once every three years, is part of a department wide effort to improve community relations and a requirement for the agency to keep its status as an internationally accredited law enforcement agency, according to Capt. Michael Rein, a Rutgers police spokesman.

This marks the second time Rutgers has released such a survey. The department received several thousand responses from students, faculty and other members of the campus community in 2011, Rein said.

Many of the questions revolve around community members' previous interactions with Rutgers Police, asking what type of services officers' provided at the time and what they could have done better to resolve the incident they were called to respond to.

The questions are fairly straightforward, and should only take a few minutes to answer, according to Rein,

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/10/rutgers_police_asking_students_thoughts_on_how_to_improve_public_safety.html

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Emergency Managers Expanding Communication Channels to Increase Public Safety Awareness

National Study Finds Concerted Effort to Meet Diverse Public Communication Needs, Address Complacency with Broader Approaches

UNIVERSITY PARK, Ill., Oct. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As mobile technologies and social media channels continue to penetrate Americans' communications behaviors, emergency managers are working diligently to ensure emergency communications keep pace. This is one of the findings from the 2013 Federal Signal Public Safety Survey , which examines some of the greatest challenges currently faced by emergency managers. The survey, following on the heels of September's National Emergency Preparedness Month, comes as recent tragedies in Yosemite National Park and Aurora, Colo., remind Americans of the unpredictable and devastating effects man-made and natural disasters can have.

Now in its fourth year, and conducted again by Zogby, the annual report has traditionally surveyed the general public on safety awareness and emergency preparedness attitudes and behaviors. For the first time, however, this year's survey shifts the conversation by asking emergency managers about the most significant challenges they face and the measures they are taking to address them.

"Last year's Federal Signal Public Safety Survey showed that complacency and a lack of safety awareness are common public perception when it comes to emergency preparedness and response," said Joe Wilson, president of the Industrial Systems Division, Safety and Security Group at Federal Signal. "This year, we wanted to assess the complexity of the issues emergency managers face and uncover the actions they are taking to find effective solutions."

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/emergency-managers-expanding-communication-channels-to-increase-public-safety-awareness-227789961.html

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Oct 14, 2013

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New York

Coming Soon: Meetings on Community Policing and Quality of Life Issues

Nassau County Legislator Dave Denenberg, D-Merrick, is hosting two meetings on community policing and quality of life issues. The first will take place at Seaford Library (2234 Jackson Avenue, Seaford) on Wednesday, Oct. 16; the second, at Bellmore Library (2288 Bedford Avenue, Bellmore) on Thursday, Oct. 24.

http://wantagh.patch.com/groups/around-town/p/this-week-in-blogs-yankee-problems-community-policing-meetings_e471daf5

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California

Jerry Brown vetoes public safety death benefits bill

Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed legislation Sunday that would have extended the statute of limitations for survivors of public safety officers to file a workers' compensation claim for death benefits.

Assembly Bill 1373, by Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, D-Los Angeles, would have extended the time limits for survivors' claims for injuries while on duty to 480 weeks from 240 weeks in cases involving cancer, tuberculosis or blood-borne infections diseases.

Brown vetoed a broader version of the bill last year, and in vetoing an unrelated bill Saturday regarding the timeliness of sex abuse victims' claims, the Democratic governor delivered a virtual treatise on the significance of statutes of limitation.

In his veto message, Brown said the measure is "identical to the one I vetoed last year."

"At that time, I outlined the information needed to properly evaluate the implications of this bill," he wrote. "I have not yet received that information."

In his veto a year ago of Assembly Bill 2451, Brown said there was "little more than anecdotal evidence" available to determine how to balance "serious fiscal constraints faced at all levels of government against our shared priority to adequately and fairly compensate the families of those public safety heroes who succumb to work-related injuries and disease."

http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/10/jerry-brown-vetoes-public-safety-death-benefits-bill.html

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Tennessee

Clarksville tries to keep New Providence policing center open

Multipurpose center could be shut down if federal grant not renewed

CLARKSVILLE, TENN. — There's almost always a police car parked in front of the New Providence Community Police Center, and there is of course “policing” in its title, but you'd be mistaken to think that the center is just another police precinct.

For more than two years now, the 640 Providence Blvd. building, stationed squarely in the middle of Clarksville's poorest neighborhood, has delivered a range of services to help area residents.

From adult educational programs to career services and even targeting the physical blight in the area, the policing center and the services that go along with it are a one-stop shop for trying to turn around the community.

But those services may soon come to an end if the city isn't awarded a renewal of the federal grant that funds the center. If the grant is not renewed, and the city doesn't fork over the money itself, the center will close in October of 2014.

The Clarksville Police Department hasn't heard back from the federal government on the grant application.

http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20131013/NEWS01/310130013?nclick_check=1

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