You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘law enforcement’ tag.
Here’s an interesting find for the law enforcement map geek in us all. Science Progress, recently created an interactive map of law enforcement DNA policies. There are a series of three maps that are color-coded, according to levels of access, written policy, etc. If you want to see the maps for yourself, go to Science Progress or click the map below.
Get on the crime map at CrimeReports.com
Palm Beach, Florida
Today, as Palm Beach County residents prepare to send their kids out trick-or-treating, the sheriff’s office announces a partnership with CrimeReports, creators of the National Crime Map, to give parents and members of the public a comprehensive map of crime in their communities. Palm Beach County joins 22 other law enforcement agencies across Florida that already publish crime information through the CrimeReports Network to inform local citizens about crime.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office believes that partnering with CrimeReports will give area citizens an accurate picture of crime, not only for Halloween safety but also throughout the rest of the year. Residents will be able to see city and county crime data side-by-side in the towns of Lake Worth, Wellington, Belle Glade, Royal Palm Beach, and other towns throughout the county, giving citizens a complete picture of crime in their communities.
“Florida has been a leader in publishing crime maps for the public,” said Greg Whisenant, founder and CEO of CrimeReports. “We’re thrilled to be working with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, and look forward to working closely with them to strengthen their partnership with the public to prevent and reduce crime.”
CrimeReports offers all citizens free email crime alerts, sex offender information, and the most comprehensive public crime mapping service on the web. Working with nearly 600 law enforcement agencies across North America, CrimeReports’ popularity is due, in part, to a recent trend in law enforcement toward use of web 2.0 tools and social media to share crime information directly with citizens. CrimeReports is the most-affordable, industry-leading resource for accurate, comprehensive, public-facing crime mapping.
Get on the crime map at CrimeReports.com
I made a stupid civilian mistake recently. Corresponding with a law enforcement source, who also happens to be a good friend, I “playfully” got prickly with him for not responding to a request as quickly as I would have liked.
His reply was even pricklier, and not at all playful. As it turned out, he’d been involved in a joint task force operation, serving search warrants and examining digital evidence, for the better part of the week—in addition to investigating a fatal shooting.
And once I got over my initial who-does-he-think-he-is reaction (because, really, who likes to hear they’ve screwed up—even when it’s painfully obvious?), I told him:
I know better, and I should’ve known better. I’m sorry.
And left it at that.
True apology is about trust
One of my favorite social media experts and another friend, Liz Strauss, re-blogged an older post of hers: “When an Apology Can Open the Door to Trust.” It didn’t only strike me because of my experience. It also struck me because in this day and age, it seems everyone is apologizing. Is this really an effective way to rebuild trust?
Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle
Honestly, I doubt it. I have to admit I rolled my eyes when I heard the word “apology” in conjunction with Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle’s apology to his city’s Hispanic community over a rookie officer’s actions. This was due in part to the fact that Kunkle has made public apologies before—notably with regard to another traffic stop.
But it’s not because of any opinions I hold about the DPD, or Kunkle himself. That’s my reaction to every public official’s apology, from Mark Sanford to John Edwards.
Apologies from organizations and public officials have, I fear, not come to mean very much. They are rarely 100% honest. Yet the public expects them, and public figures expect to have to give them. It’s become a “thing to do.” That removes the sincerity right there.
Worse, public reaction to them is mixed. Apologies for extramarital affairs only sometimes destroy careers. More often, they result in even more fame and attention. Apologies for misconduct result in the media using words like “outcry” and “demands for change” for a few weeks. Then nothing much changes.
And as Liz writes:
An apology that deflects attention, that says “I regret it happened,” is not an apology.
An “I’m sorry” that doesn’t own the damage done won’t rebuild trust.
An incomplete apology is a missed opportunity to build a stronger relationship by learning from what went wrong.
Words are not enough
My apology to my detective friend would have meant nothing had I emailed him again the next day, or really anytime before he dug out and was ready to talk again. I had to show that I meant what I said.
So I left him alone for a week—until he emailed me. Trust reestablished, friendship remains, though it has changed along with the two individuals who comprise it.
And therein lies the rub. People change. What they want and need and expect of a relationship changes along with them. The same is true of whole groups. People who once trusted a police department can learn to lose trust, and people who once distrusted their police can learn to regain it.
That’s why it’s so important never to assume you know what the public wants or needs, but to continue to research them, to reach out to them. Crime patterns shift. Demographics change. But pretty universally, people want to be heard and understood.
I made a stupid civilian mistake, and I owned up to it. Police make stupid cop mistakes, and they need to own up to them—not by making an “expected” apology, but by agreeing to learn from the mistake to make public safety better for everyone.
This is not easy. It often means putting one’s ego aside, and only rare leaders can admit their own mistakes to the extent that they can institute organizational culture change. The rest need to know when to admit that a change in leadership is necessary. Perhaps the best example: the LAPD.
What place do apologies hold in our culture? How can you move from the “expected” apology to one that is sincere and credible? And how can you follow through with action?
Christa M. Miller is founder and co-author of Cops 2.0. A freelance trade journalist turned public relations and social media consultant, she has specialized in public safety issues for the past eight years. She resides in Greenville, SC and can be reached at christammiller@gmail.com.
Students from the University of Florida are working with local law enforcement to prevent crime through environmental design. Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) is a way of approaching crime prevention by looking at environmental factors like lighting, traffic flow, ambush points and shrubbery.
The UF students are examining local businesses, evaluating them from a design perspective, and making suggestions for improvement. They’ve partnered with police in their efforts and are lobbying the city council to require CPTED compliance for local businesses.
Not only is CPTED a new and effective way to look at crime prevention efforts, but as local law enforcement departments partner with local residents, they will build relationships and create better communication between citizens and law enforcement. And those relationships will help law enforcement and citizens stay in touch and prevent crime before it even happens.
Is there a chance to do this in you area?
For more information on how they use CPTED to evaluate local businesses, read the full article here: http://www.alligator.org/news/local/article_bae8e36e-c37a-11de-ab2b-001cc4c03286.html
Get on the crime map at CrimeReports.com
The Following article was written by Cory Beyer, Crime Analyst for the League City, Texas, Police Department:
League City, Texas
Law enforcement, like all aspects of life, has been revolutionized by technological advances. The technologies we may take for granted now, such as the automobile, radio and telephone, once transformed policing in major ways. Police cars, first used in 1910, increased efficiency by having officers respond more quickly to emergencies. Radios replaced call boxes in 1928 which increase the effective range of a patrolman by freeing them from stationary boxes. Telephones later developed into 911 dispatching, allowed for easier access to police services during times of crisis. When looking back on these innovations it is easy to see the impact they have had. The League City Police Department is committed to identifying new and useful technologies that will have a greater impact on crime and the fear of crime. This September, the League City Police Department has incorporated two innovative web-based programs, CrimeReports.com and Command Central. Both programs will lead to new and exciting developments in police services.
The first is a web-based program accessible to the public called CrimeReports.com. This program was created by the developers for the purpose of making real time crime statistics available to the local citizenry. The program publishes crime data from the League City Police Department’s databases into an interactive mapping website. The police department’s goal is to put near-real time data into the public’s hands so informed decisions can be made by the citizens. One of the more exciting features of the program offers an option for sending daily, weekly or monthly email alerts to League City residents about criminal activity in their neighborhood. The department also expects a new level of collaboration will develop between the citizens and the police as crime and disorder problems become readily assessable for analysis by the public. Please review our efforts at CrimeReports.com and register your name for crime alerts concerning your neighborhood.
The second technological feature being implemented is called Command Central from the makers of CrimeReports.com. Command Central is a web-based analytical program made only accessible to League City police officers. The program puts real-time data into the hands of officers as they patrol their designated areas. Command Central could possibly do the work of three or four paid analysts. Now, officers can instantly substantiate or refute their suspicions with empirical data. This reduces the time spent studying crime problems and increases the problem-solving capabilities of the entire department. One feature of the program gives officers a “normal” crime range by assessing past crime data. Officers can then address emerging trends and patterns when crimes exceed the “normal” range by developing dynamic action plans tailored to contend with the specific problem.
The League City Police Department is committed to forming and promoting partnerships with the residents, businesses, and guests of League City and to providing the greatest services possible. To meet this goal, we are vigorously searching out new technologies that have the potential of revolutionizing law enforcement. Programs such as CrimeReports.com will cultivate a new contract between the citizens and the police as we both explore new and creative solutions to crime, the fear of crime, disorder, and decay. It is our intent to keep the League City Police Department on the leading edge of progress to better serve you.
Get on the crime map at CrimeReports.com
The Death Penalty Information Center released a study last week that highlights the high cost of the death penalty in a time of economic crisis and releases the findings of a poll of police chiefs on the effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime.
Death Penalty Not a Deterrent
The study reports that although most police chiefs support the death penalty philosophically, they don’t believe it is an effective law enforcement tool for deterring criminals. As well, when asked what area is the most important for reducing violent crime, chiefs rated the death penalty last, with only 1% placing it in the top three. They also agreed that it was the least efficient use of tax payer’s money to reduce crime.
In general, most chiefs ranked lack of law enforcement resources and drug/alcohol abuse as the top issues interfering with law enforcement. And many believed that being pro-death penalty was more of a symbolic stance by politicians than it was an actual policy to reduce crime.
Poll Results
Here are some charts from the study:
Chiefs Support the Idea of Death Penalty, If Not the Practice
Although this study clearly paints a picture that most police chiefs agree that the death penalty does not aid their crime fighting efforts, it is important to keep in mind that the majority still support it on philosophical grounds. In fact, Mark White, former Governor of Texas, has been recently vocal about the decision to change his stance on the death penalty, saying that he doesn’t want any more innocent people executed for crimes they did not commit. However, he still maintains that, morally, the death penalty “is an appropriate punishment for the most heinous crimes.”
What about all the law enforcement officers, chiefs, and sheriffs out there? What do you think about the death penalty, and does it help you do your job?
Download the entire study here.
Download the executive summary here.
Get on the crime map at CrimeReports.com
Christa Miller, contributing blogger and Cops 2.0 maven, recently posted some great thoughts for law enforcement agencies who have avoided blogging: why not try podcasting?
She covers the difference between blogging and podcasting, as well as some of the advantages of podcasting for chiefs and command staff who are more comfortable talking than they are writing. Although in some respects podcasting might take more effort than blogging, it can also have more far-reaching effects and put your agency on the cutting edge of technology. Check out the entire story here.
Get on the crime map at CrimeReports.com
Fairview, Ore., Police Chief Ken Johnson on partnering with citizens through CrimeReports.com
Source: http://www.theoutlookonline.com/news/story.php?story_id=125634811214343100
Get on the crime map at CrimeReports.com
With the news that the Winter Garden Police Department has released its own interactive crime map, Florida’s WKMG (channel 6) website has compiled a list of the police departments and sheriff’s offices that have adopted crime mapping as an effective way to communicate local crime information to the public.(Click here to see the list)
Currently 22 Florida law enforcement agencies publish their crime data through CrimeReports, including St. Petersburg, Daytona Beach, Atlantic Beach, and Fort Myers, with more joining in the next few weeks.
The WKMG list is not comprehensive, but it does give a good picture of the way that Florida is quickly adopting crime mapping statewide. If you live in Florida or are interested in various crime mapping interfaces, check out the list or go to CrimeReports.com and click on Florida.
Get on the crime map at CrimeReports.com
Mike Waraich, manager of the Law Enforcement 2.0 LinkedIn group, has recently started a new podcast focused on the use of social media and web 2.0 technology in law enforcement. The penetration of web 2.0 tools and social media in law enforcement extends from community policing and outreach to recruitment, management, communication, and more. And use of these technologies in law enforcement is growing rapidly across the country.
In the inaugural podcast, Mike talks to Christa Miller, a contributor to The Crime Map, and Lauri Stevens, manager of ConnectedCOPS.net, about government use of social media and implementing social media in investigative processes. You can read more about he podcast here, subscribe to an RSS feed for the podcast here, or listen to the first podcast right now here.
Get on the crime map at CrimeReports.com
Stumble It!
The Crime Map 