Fresh Intel: The Weekly Roundup
Weekly News Roundup submitted by Ron DeLord
News and commentary impacting police, deputies, corrections, fire, emergency services and public employees throughout the United States. You can access the full article by clicking on the link. Articles are archived on my web page for those searching for information on a particular topic. The posting of an article does NOT reflect my opinion.
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Reforming Police Culture is a Daunting Challenge
Earlier this month, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck announced that the department would begin giving out a “Preservation of Life” award. The honor would be given to police officers who show restraint and put themselves at risk in order to resolve a potentially dangerous situation without using lethal force.
At a time in which we’re having a national discourse on police violence, the number of people killed by police this year alone just topped 1,000, and Los Angeles itself has seen its number of police shootings nearly double over last year, the award seems like a positive if largely symbolic effort to encourage de-escalation and conflict resolution over brute force. READ MORE
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Supporting Police While Working for Change
The crumbling walls of the Auburn Police Department building house an organization that may have its own internal issues. As officers are working as hard as ever, on pace to respond to more than 30,000 service calls this year, police union leaders believe potential public safety issues exist as the uncertain futures of various police assets linger.
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Sheriff’s Union Asks for Money to Fight Bogus “Wave of Violence”
In a recently mailed fundraising letter for the Alameda County deputy sheriff’s union, Deputy Sheriff Tom Matheny claimed that police officers are being threatened by an “unprecedented wave” of violence and assassinations. Matheny also wrote that two recent California laws aimed at reducing mass incarceration and de-criminalizing nonviolent crimes have been a “double punch” against police and public safety.
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Troopers Go On Food Stamps as They Seek Millions in Back Pay
State troopers suing North Carolina for millions of dollars in back pay say the state’s broken promises have forced them into tough spots: working second jobs, moving in with parents, even going on food stamps. About 800 troopers — equivalent to half the force — have joined a class-action lawsuit.
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Midwest City Mayor Faces Recall Election
MIDWEST CITY, OK — A petition by fire and police unions to recall Midwest City Mayor Jay Dee Collins over concerns about public safety has been validated, triggering a recall election. “I just think that they don’t see the whole picture,” Collins said.
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Private Firms Could Save Britain’s Police 1 Billion Pounds a Year
LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) – Britain’s police forces, facing millions of pounds of budget cuts, could save up to 1 billion pounds ($1.5 billion) a year by buying services like finance and IT from the private sector, outsourcing firm G4S said on Thursday.association.”
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Government Streamlining Panel Targets Collective Bargaining
Collective bargaining is in the crosshairs of a committee that is looking for ways to streamline government operations. That task force, chaired by Illinois Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti, will recommend making collective bargaining “permissive” instead of mandatory. The panel also recommends removing staffing levels from items that can be collectively bargained by firefighters.
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What are the Odds Emanuel Wins Pension Case? Not so Good.
Simple math says the Emanuel administration has a slim chance of winning a reversal of a court order striking down a law intended to save two city pension funds from insolvency. Two members of the Illinois Supreme Court have recused themselves from deciding whether changes to the retirement plans violate the pension protection clause of the Illinois Constitution.
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South Australian Police Association President Leads March on Parliament House in Fight for Compensation
SEVERAL thousand police officers, their families and supporters have taken to the streets in a protest march at the provisions affecting them under the State Government’s new workers compensation legislation.
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Aurora Police, Fire Unions: Tough Election Rhetoric Sent a Message to City Council
Despite being subject to one of the most-aggressive political efforts to oust an Aurora City Council member in decades, Bob LeGare handily won re-election to an at-large seat earlier this month.
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LAPD Union Blasts Medal Rewarding Officers for Not Using Deadly Force
A new Preservation of Life award for Los Angeles police “will put officers in even more danger,” according to a local police union. The controversy comes as a newly released report shows that the number of LA police shootings has doubled this year. READ MORE
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Proposal: Bexar Co. Sheriff Would Appoint Lieutenants and Captains
SAN ANTONIO — Bexar County Sheriff Susan Pamerleau has proposed appointing lieutenants and captains instead of strictly promoting from within her department, according to a copy of the proposal obtained by the I-Team. The plan, which BCSO has included in its proposal for a new labor contract, has been widely panned by rank and file members of BCSO.
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Police Union Sues City Over Uniform Allowances
The Springfield Police Patrolmen’s Association has sued the city of Springfield over a contract dispute involving uniform allowances not being paid to recently retired police officers. The contract between the SPPA and the city states newly-hired and retired patrol officers will receive two payments of $500 each year as a uniform allowance, according to the lawsuit.
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Fort Worth PD Nabs Six More Dallas Cops in Latest Transfer Class
The Fort Worth Police Department could now make up a fully staffed unit out of Dallas officers they snatched up this year. Six out of seven of the Fort Worth department’s newest hires come from the Dallas Police Department, Fort Worth Sgt. Steve Enright said in an email. The seventh officer is from Wichita Falls. That means 20 Dallas officers — a Fort Worth spokeswoman said 19 finished their shortened academy — have left in 2015 to become Fort Worth cops. Fort Worth has hired a total of 27 officers from other Texas police departments in all this year through their lateral transfer classes.
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Judge Sides With Pension Consulting Firm Over Providence in Lawsuit
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – A U.S. District Court judge ruled Friday that Providence officials failed to prove how the city would have saved millions of dollars if its longtime actuary didn’t make errors in analyzing the city’s 2012 pension reform ordinance.
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The U.K.’s Thinning Blue Line Brace Themselves for Armageddon
With cutbacks clearly taking their toll on British policing, officers watched with empathy and concern as the drama unfolded and noted how the French authorities were able to rapidly pour formidable police resources in the form of hundreds of heavily armed police officers on to the streets of Paris and other major cities. READ MORE
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Beach Police Union: Officers Being Unfairly Scrutinized After Viral Videos
In the wake of two viral cellphone videos that show officers using force to make arrests, the local Police Benevolent Association says officers are being unfairly scrutinized because of public pressure.
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Norwegian Police Ordered to Disarm
The state police directorate announced Friday that Norwegian cops on the beat will no longer be allowed to carry weapons. The decision is based on an evaluation that the terror threat against Norway is lower today than it was when police were first armed last year.
Norway has a long tradition of police being unarmed except in emergency situations or those involving high levels of security.
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DeBlasio Faces Fresh Attacks from Police Union Upset Over Pay
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio spent much of the past year trying to repair his relationship with police. Now he’s drawn their wrath again. The discontent, whipped up by the union representing 23,000 of the department’s 36,000 officers, is over an arbitrator’s recommendation favoring the city on a dispute over their contract, which expired in 2010. READ MORE
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Ron Pinkston: For Many in DPD, Negativity, Harassment, and Fear the New Normal
When The Dallas Morning News asked me to write a column on how Dallas police officers are impacted by the negative national media narrative of our profession, I immediately thought of the son of a well-respected Dallas police sergeant. Recently, as the officer was leaving for work, his 12-year old son told him “Dad, please be careful today.” READ MORE
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Monroe County Sheriff Wants to Cut Pensions, Save Taxpayer Money
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Nov. 11, 2015) — The Monroe County Sheriff is hoping to gain approval for his plan to cut pensions and save taxpayer money. Sheriff Brad Swain, who is in his first year on the job, wants the Monroe County Council to sign off on changes to his department’s pension plans.
“I’m trying to ensure that the plan in the next 50 to 60 years is going to be fiscally sound,” Swain said.
READ MORE
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