Florida Police Chiefs’ Association Update: Week Ending July 20
Jul 20, 2012
The following is an informational update on law enforcement news, events, legislative developments and meetings relating to the Florida Police Chiefs Association community for the week ending July 20, 2012. Click on the hyperlinks in bold type to access all information.
Should you have any questions or comments, please contact Florida Police Chiefs Association lobbyists, Colodny Fass.
NEWS
Florida Supreme Court Upholds Controversial Drug Statute
Dating back about 400 years is the bedrock common law principle of criminal law that a crime essentially consists of two elements – the guilty act itself and the guilty mind of the individual offender.
Florida Among Deadliest States For Law Enforcement
Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas were the deadliest states in the nation thus far in 2012 with three fatalities each according to preliminary figures released today by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund in conjunction with the Concerns of Police Survivors.
What’s Driving Florida’s Crime Decline?
Long before he started crunching the numbers, Florida State University criminologist Bill Bales knew Florida’s crime rate, like that of the nation, had been dropping for years.
Florida Spending Millions on Security for Government Officials
Florida is spending millions to provide security to Gov. Rick Scott, as well as for governors from other states who visit.
Florida Budget Cuts Threaten Access To Lawyers For The Poor
In an attempt to save money, the Florida legislature recently approved a law altering the fashion in which private court-appointed defense attorneys for the poor were compensated.
Sanford Police Department wants public’s input during reaccreditation
The Sanford Police Department will once again go through the accreditation process and is looking for input from the community to offer comments to the assessment team.
West Melbourne to shrink police chief candidates list
West Melbourne will whittle a list of more than four dozen police chief candidates down to a pool of six to eight that city leaders will interview next month.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement clears retired Northeast Florida police chief
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has cleared a retired St. Augustine Beach police chief accused of taking firearms, a mountain bike and a motorcycle.
Milford names new police chief
A Florida police captain will be the town’s new police chief, selectmen said Monday.
New Florida law clamps down on metal thefts
For years, Florida recycling facilities have second-guessed sellers who haul in items that raise eyebrows.
Florida not checking national mental health records for gun carry permits
Another gap has surfaced in how Florida screens applicants for gun carry permits: The state agency responsible can’t access a federal database containing 1.6 million records of people nationwide with mental illness, the Sun Sentinel found.
Lake Mary police officer selected a CNN Hero for 2012
Officer Zach Hudson of the Lake Mary Police Department has been selected a CNN Hero for 2012.
Jobs are few but interest in police, fire careers steady in Volusia, Flagler
Scott Silver wanted to be a cop since he was a 4-year-old in New York City.
Police embracing tech that predicts crimes
For something that predicts the future, the software is deceptively simple looking.
Tallahassee Police Department Chief the 59th President of the Florida Police Chiefs Association
On July 11th, at the 60th Annual Summer Training Conference & Exposition in Fort Lauderdale, Tallahassee Police Chief Dennis Jones was sworn in as the 59th President of the Florida Police Chiefs Association by the Honorable Pamela Marsh, U.S. Attorney, Florida Northern District.
Tallahassee Police Department Places First in Florida Law Enforcement Challenge
On July 13, 2012, the Tallahassee Police Department was recognized in Orlando by the Florida Department of Transportation Law Enforcement Liaison Program for its dedication to Driving Under the Influence Enforcement and overall Traffic Safety in 2011.
Ocala Police Department earns award, grant for DUI enforcement
The Ocala Police Department’s efforts to reduce DUIs and DUI related deaths has paid off in the form of decreased numbers of incidents and a $15,000 grant to purchase traffic safety equipment.
Jupiter Island Public Safety Department wins award for implementing alarm system
A burglar alarm system that provides quicker response times and improves officers’ safety has won an award for the Jupiter Island Public Safety Department.
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: Five Questions for Jim McDonough
James R. McDonough was the secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections from 2006 to 2008. He was tapped by Gov. Jeb Bush, for whom he’d worked as Florida’s drug czar since 1999.
REPORTS
Federal Bureau of Investigations: Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report, January-December, 2011
Preliminary figures indicate that law enforcement agencies throughout the nation reported a decrease of 4% in the number of violent crimes brought to their attention for 2011 when compared with figures reported for 2010. The violent crime category includes murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Collectively, the number of property crimes in the United States in 2011 decreased 0.8% when compared with data from 2010. Property crimes include burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. Arson offenses, which are not included in property crime totals, decreased 5% nationwide. The report is based on information the Federal Bureau of Investigations gathered from 14,009 law enforcement agencies that submitted six to 12 comparable months of data for both 2010 and 2011.
U.S. Department of Justice: Classifying Adult Probationers by Forecasting Future Offending
This report presents results from a demonstration project focused on the development of a risk-prediction model for a local probation and parole department in a large urban city. Study results demonstrate that the project’s risk-forecasting models were able to increase the Philadelphia Adult Probation and Parole Department’s (APPD’s) ability to predict recidivism, leading to the restructuring of agency supervision protocols. The most recent version of APPD’s model produced an accurate forecast for 79,299 of the 119,935 probation case starts in the constructed sample. These estimates suggest that this model can be correct nearly two-thirds of the time.
Urban Institute: Tracking Costs and Savings through Justice Reinvestment
This publication is one of three policy briefs designed to guide local policymakers in undertaking justice reinvestment – a data-driven strategy to identify the drivers of criminal justice system costs and make more efficient use of resources while maintaining public safety. It provides guidance on how to conduct a comprehensive assessment of local justice spending; assess cost implications for agencies outside of the criminal justice system; and target reinvestment efforts. Additional resources and a “getting started” worksheet are included in an appendix.
Source: Urban Institute
National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center: License Plate Recognition Systems
License plate recognition (LPR) systems use optical character recognition algorithms that enable computer software to read vehicle license plates and usually consist of three basic components: the camera, the software, and a database of previously read license plates. This report discusses the positive and negative aspects on the three types of LPR systems – fixed, mobile, and portable. The most commonly referenced use for an LPR system is using the technology to find stolen vehicles. The report also includes a section on the performance and expectations of LPR systems on uses, light conditions, speed and accuracy.
National Institute of Justice: Exploring the Role of the Police in Prisoner Re-entry
Traditionally, the police have played little part in facilitating the reentry of prisoners into the community. Police have seen their role as limited to the surveillance of probationers and parolees for the violation of the terms of their release or the commission of new crimes. In addition, a historical lack of trust exists between organizations that work with returning offenders and law enforcement agencies. However, police, particularly urban police departments, have a major role to play in prisoner reentry, in part because of high recidivism rates among returning offenders and because of their concentration in some of the poorest, highest crime neighborhoods. Greater involvement of the police in prisoner reentry can promote public safety through more focused problem-oriented policing efforts and increase police legitimacy, particularly in minority communities, through enhanced community policing efforts.
Bureau of Justice Statistics: Immigration Offenders in the Federal Justice System, 2010
Apprehensions for immigration violations peaked at 1.8 million in 2000 but dropped to 516,992 in 2010 – the lowest level since 1972. The most common immigration offense charged in U.S. district court in 2010 was illegal reentry (81%), followed by alien smuggling (12%), misuse of visas (6%) and illegal entry (1%). Eighty-one percent of immigration defendants who were convicted in U. S. district court received a prison sentence in 2010. The median prison term imposed was 15 months. Ninety percent of federal immigration arrests in 2010 occurred in five U.S. Southwest border federal judicial districts: California Southern, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas Western and Texas Southern.
U.S. Department of Justice: Fact Sheet on Drug Courts
The Office of Justice Programs, in collaboration with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the National Institute of Justice, and the Bureau of Justice Assistance, has released the fact sheet, Drug Courts.
Nationwide, mistaken eyewitness identifications have played a role in 75 percent of convictions later overturned because of DNA evidence, and criminal justice practitioners and researchers have a pervasive interest in finding ways to improve the methods used for eyewitness identifications.
This report examines challenges faced in the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking in the United States.
Bureau of Justice Statistics: Federal Law Enforcement Officers, 2008
This report presents data from 73 federal law enforcement agencies that employed full-time officers with authority to make arrests and to carry a firearm while on duty.
The following report contains information on the monitoring of prison admissions to the Florida Department of Corrections since the criminal justice estimating conference held on December 14, 2011.
MEETINGS
August 20 – 24
Advanced Law Enforcement Executives Seminar: Embassy Suites Lake Buena Vista, 8100 Lake Street, Orlando, Florida.
- Member Information
- Member/Guest Registration
- Agenda
- Vendor Information
- Booth Layout
- Vendor Registration
- Sponsorship Information
Various
- Florida Criminal Justice Executive Institute
- State Officer Certification Exam Review Schedule (click here for 2012 dates)
- Southeastern Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar (SLEDS)
- Criminal Justice Standards Training Commission, Officer Certification and Officer Discipline Workshops