By Spc. William E. Henry, USA Special to American Forces Press Service  March 31, 2008 - The Greater Indianapolis YMCA is offering family members of state National Guardsmen an affordable way to stay active and healthy while their loved ones are deployed.  The organization has created "Operation Indiana Partners," which allows the families of deployed Indiana National Guardsmen to enjoy free memberships.  "We want to make sure their families have lots of positive activities during these difficult times," said Eric Ellsworth, president and chief executive officer of Greater Indianapolis YMCA during a recent news conference at the YMCA's Fishers, Ind., branch.  Operation Indiana Partners and the Greater Indianapolis YMCA got favorable reviews from Indiana's adjutant general, Army Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger.  "This is really a special day for us in the Indiana National Guard," he said. "The YMCA has stepped up and offered free memberships to National Guard families. We hope all our families take the opportunity and take advantage of the YMCA's generosity."  Participating facilities also are offered up to two hours of free child care during specified time periods. That's time for mothers like Colleen Curtis to get away for at least a little while.  "I think mostly it helps with him," she said, referring to her son, Jaxon. "It gives me a break to have 'me' time. I just want to say how awesome this is. The overwhelming support is amazing."  New YMCA members taking advantage of the program know that little things can make a difference.  "As a military wife, it's very hard with a loved one being gone, and this definitely helps," said Guard spouse Ashley Witt. "It made my day. Things like this can really change your mood. It's the little things like this that can make the families happy." About 43 facilities throughout Indiana participate in Operation Indiana Partners, according to YMCA's Web site.  Though the years, the YMCA has tended to the needs of servicemembers, prisoners of war and civilians through some of the country's most turbulent times of war and poverty.  The organization established an armed services department in September 1898, and in 1902, YMCA facilities were built on military bases. In 1903, special training was made available for the Army and Navy. By 1914, there were 31 military YMCAs and 180 traveling libraries, allowing almost a quarter of a million men to stay in dormitories.  During World War II, the YMCA gave aid to about 6 million prisoners of war from 36 different countries.  Today, the YMCA still offers its support by lending servicemembers and families an opportunity to participate in structured and positive activities, ensuring emotional and financial preservation.  "This is just one way to help our brave men and women who serve in the National Guard," Indiana Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman said.  

(Army Spc. William E. Henry serves with the Indiana National Guard.)

The extensive and far-reaching impacts of alcohol abuse on crime and public safety are only now achieving widespread public policy attention.  This report was prepared to provide statistical information as background for the Assistant Attorney General's 1998 National Symposium on Alcohol Abuse and Crime, which will address many of these policy issues and discuss approaches that may help alleviate these problems. Based on this compilation and new analysis of data on alcohol and crime, we know that nearly 4 in 10 violent victimizations involve use of alcohol, about 4 in 10 fatal motor vehicle accidents are alcohol-involved; and about 4 in 10 offenders, regardless of whether they are on probation, in local jail, or in State prison, self-report that they were using alcohol at the time of the offense.  There are, however, a number of positive indicators that alcohol-related crime is generally decreasing and that most of those in need of treatment are receiving it.  Violence between current and former spouses, boyfriends, and girlfriends is especially likely to involve alcohol abuse, and all forms of violence against intimates, including homicide, have been declining in recent years.  In addition, rates of arrest for DUI have declined by 24% since 1990. During the last 10 years, the number of highway fatalities attributable to alcohol-related accidents has dropped by about 7,000 annually, a 29% decrease.  This report uses a wide variety of sources, including statistical series maintained by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.  We are grateful for the cooperation of these agencies and also want to thank the many respondents to our surveys throughout the country.  

We anticipate that more on the issue of alcohol and crime will be available in the near future as new data collections by BJS, including the 1997 Survey of Inmates of State and Federal Correctional Facilities, are analyzed.  BJS has incorporated new questions into its surveys which will enable a more in-depth understanding of the alcohol use and abuse backgrounds of offenders and the nature of the treatment they receive while incarcerated.

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http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/ascii/ac.txt

Typically, studies on violence have focused on propensity, that is, on who is or is not likely to become violent. But propensity models do not account for the transactional, contingent nature of violence or for within-person variability over time or place. Further, they cannot explain the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a violent event—that mixture of motivation, context, and facilitation that channels arousal or other actions into actual violence or the failure of an event to escalate to violence despite the presence of the dynamic factors that would make it likely. Researchers at Columbia University's Center for Violence Research and Prevention are conducting a qualitative, multistage study on adolescent violence that draws strategically from theories of cognitive and developmental psychology to construct a situational framework for understanding violent behavior.  Cosponsors of this research include theNational Institute of Justice (NIJ), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation.

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http://www.ncjrs.gov/txtfiles/fs000189.txt

Over the past few years the nation has experienced an alarming number of disturbing and sometimes deadly hate crimes. The dragging death of African-American James Byrd, Jr., in Jasper, Texas; the deadly attack on Matthew Sheppard, a gay student in Laramie, Wyoming; the shooting rampage targeting minority citizens in Chicago; and the shootings of children at a Jewish community center in Los Angeles, California, followed by the murder of Joseph Santos Ileto, a Filipino-American mail carrier, have left a trail of dead or wounded victims and traumatized, fearful communities. During this time many other Americans have been the victims of far less publicized hate crimes motivated by their perpetrators' bias toward their perceived racial or ethnic identity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, gender, or disability. These less well known hate crimes resulted in similar levels of injury and trauma to both the victims and the communities. The nation has reacted to these hate crimes with energy and ingenuity. Responses include clear and strong condemnation from religious, civic, and governmental leaders; efforts to strengthen state and federal hate crime laws; innovative preventive programs in schools; and additional resources for training police officers and prosecutors.  

Police officers generally are the first professionals responding to the scene of a hate crime. Their actions significantly affect the outcome of the criminal investigation as well as the community's response to the incident. Therefore, law enforcement agencies have a pivotal role in responding to, investigating, prosecuting, and preventing hate crimes. To successfully carry out their roles, police officers and prosecutors must receive training on recognizing and investigating potential hate crimes, have clear protocols on how to respond to hate violence, and develop innovative programs for preventing and responding to hate crimes.

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http://www.ncjrs.gov/txtfiles1/bja/179559.txt

Law enforcement executives are increasingly recognizing that they are no longer in an information-poor world: data and information about the criminal environment and criminal activity abound. The challenge is to corral this wealth of data into knowledge that can enhance decision making, improve strategies to combat crime, and increase crime prevention benefits. In other words, the aim is to convert data and information into actionable intelligence.  In many cases, however, this increase in data has not necessarily translated to an increase in knowledge. The structure of information handling processes within policing is not set up for the new millennium and ideas about intelligence management and dissemination from the 1970s still pervade the thinking and organizational culture of police agencies in the twenty-first century. 

While many executives get access to crime analysis, sometimes through Compstat meetings or similar briefings, criminal intelligence is not integrated into the picture and executives make key decisions without access to all of the pertinent knowledge available within their organization. For much of the history of law enforcement, criminal intelligence—information that relates to the activities of criminal individuals or groups of offenders—was retained by specialized units or by individual detectives. Even with the introduction of intelligence units, these analytical groups often kept their information within the narrow confines of their specific unit. The focus of intelligence units was first and foremost on reactive, investigative support. This situation continues in most places today. For example, narcotics intelligence units do not share intelligence beyond their units, and street gang intelligence units do the same. In the new environment of intelligenceled policing, these information silos are too valuable as strategic resources for the whole police department to squander on the needs of an individual investigator or unit.

As we learn more about the abilities of organized crime groups to involve themselves in a range of criminal enterprises such as street crime, narcotics, human smuggling, and money laundering, it has become necessary to restructure law enforcement analytical services to better reflect this criminal environment. The risks are too high to stick with unit isolation and specialization out of simple bureaucratic convenience.

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http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/ric/Publications/integratedanalysis.pdf

By Staff Sgt. Margaret C. Nelson, USA Special to American Forces Press Service  March 30, 2008 - On his way home from working in his family's field near this Iraqi city, Rahmey didn't see the hidden improvised explosive device until it was too late.  taggering for home after the blast, the 13-year-old Iraqi boy had no way to know that his life would be saved by the quick, selfless actions of U.S. Army soldiers and U.S. Air Force airmen March 27.  "I heard and saw the explosion from my window," said Arif Muter Jarew, Rahmey's father.  It wasn't long before his son stumbled in with shrapnel wounds riddling his knee, leg and chest.  "I was panicked, there was blood coming from his mouth," Jarew said. "My son was dying. He had blood everywhere."  The hospital was miles away and the desperate father didn't think his vehicle would make it. With his son in his arms, he ran out to the street to flag down passing motorists for help.  "Then I saw a convoy of American soldiers," he said. Jarew was a little wary of asking for help from coalition forces. With his dying son in his arms, he only hesitated a moment – his son's life was at stake.  "We saw some Iraqis waving us to stop and one was cradling a kid," said Pfc. Jeffrey Parson of the 10th Mountain Division's 1st Brigade.  Parson and Pvt. Justin Avila, the patrol's medic, began treating what they initially thought were gunshot wounds.  "There was blood coming from the kid's mouth and his wounds, so we treated the bleeding first," Parson said.  The patrol radioed Forward Operating Base McHenry in the Hawijah district of Tamim province. A medical evacuation helicopter arrived a few precious minutes after receiving the call to transport Rahmey and his father to the FOB. After medics stabilized Rahmey's condition, he was transported along with his father to the medical facility in Kirkuk, Iraq.  U.S. Army and Air Force medics treated Rahmey for shrapnel wounds at the Freedom Hospital.  "He's a very lucky boy," said Air Force Capt. Gabriel Rulewicz, a military surgeon. "He'll need some surgery to remove the shrapnel, but we've stabilized him for transport to a hospital in Kirkuk."  The Air Force surgeon credits Rahmey's survival to the quick reaction by everyone involved. "It is a perfect ending to what could have quickly resulted in the opposite," he said.  But to one Iraqi father, this ending was more than perfect.  "I did not know how caring U.S. soldiers are. I could not believe how well they treated my son and me," Jarew said. "I am so thankful to everyone who saved my son's life."  

(Army Staff Sgt. Margaret C. Nelson is assigned to the 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)

For many of us, the adage, "there is no place like home" conjures up images of warm, comfortable, family scenes. For millions of women in the United States, however, this phrase has a very different meaning. For these women, home is a place of intimidation, fear, and violence. Domestic violence continues to be the leading cause of injury to women. In fact, women are at greatest risk of becoming a victim of violent crime in their own homes. The violence is not just debilitating -- the injuries can be deadly. According to the 1995 FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting system (URC), 26 percent of female homicides are perpetrated by husbands, ex-husbands, or boyfriends (for those cases in which the victim-offender relationship is known).  Even if she is free of physical or sexual abuse in an intimate relationship, a woman faces the risk of being sexually assaulted by an acquaintance or stranger. Sexual assault is acknowledged to be the most under-reported violent crime on which national statistics are kept. Even so, the redesigned 1992-1993 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) estimated approximately 500,000 women are the victims of some form of rape or sexual assault each year. In 75 percent of the cases, the victim knows the offender.  Stalking is another violent crime that plagues many women. Only recently has the justice system and the public recognized stalking as a distinct and serious crime, rather than an antecedent to other crimes. Beyond highly publicized cases involving celebrities and political leaders, there is still little understanding of stalking as a crime, and few people acknowledge it as one that affects "ordinary" people. In contrast to these highly publicized cases, the majority of stalkers know their victims, and much stalking occurs within the context of domestic violence, particularly when victims try to leave their batterers. A survey, jointly sponsored by the National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, concluded that one out of every twelve American women has been stalked sometime during her life.  Perpetrators of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking discriminate against no one. Women of all ages, races, cultural and social backgrounds are victims of these violent crimes. The impact of these crimes extends to families, the workplace, and all of our communities. Over the last two decades, dramatic changes have occurred in the public response to violence against women. Prior to the mid-1980's, the failure of the justice system to take these crimes seriously reinforced the escalating, recurring and often lethal nature of domestic violence and stalking. In this regard, the law - and those responsible for upholding the law - reflected society's tolerance of intimate violence, its prejudices against victims of violence against women, and its ignorance of the complexities of the issues implicit in these crimes. In the mid-1970's, survivors and advocates gave voice to women who had previously been silent. The battered women's and anti-rape movements demanded additional legal protections and a full range of services for victims. By the late 1970's, a limited number of jurisdictions had initiated legal reforms. Some states passed new civil and criminal laws giving greater protection to victims and enforcing penalties on perpetrators. Criminal justice agencies, some funded under the Law Enforcement Assistance Agency ("LEAA") Family Violence Program, trained personnel, developed innovative policies, and modified jobs to comply with the new laws. As research began to document the relationship between violence at home and violence in our society as a whole, the criminal justice system looked for ways to stop violence against women. Ongoing advocacy by women's agencies representing battered women and sexual assault victims helped communities understand an effective response required systematic and coordinated change, involving both justice agencies and community providers. 

While an increasing number of jurisdictions have undertaken initiatives in recent years to respond to sexual assault and domestic violence, the efforts are sporadic. Laws protecting victims and holding offenders accountable vary, limited numbers of criminal justice personnel are trained to enforce the law, and only some communities have embraced a coordinated response to reduce violence against women with clear strategies for intervention.

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http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/promise/pplaw/pplaw.html#id92014

March 29, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added three deputy sheriffs who have written books. Danni Hartmann Eldridge joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in February of 1967.  She was deputy sheriff for more than 20 years, retiring in September of 1987.  Prior to becoming a sworn employee of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, she was a civilian employee for the Los Angeles Police Department.  Danni Eldridge was the first female to lift in the California Police Olympics. Even though her opposition was of the male, she placed 4th. In 1982, Danni Eldridge won the Athlete of the Year Award for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. She was inducted into the California Power-lifting Hall of Fame in March, 2004. Danni Hartmann Eldridge is the author of two books: Valley Investigations: No Common Sense and And the Beat Goes on: Valley Investigations. Stephen J. Hemenway is a deputy sheriff for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.  In addition to having an associate degree in Administration of Justice, he is a member of BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.), the International Police Association and the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs.  In 1993, Steve began writing “The Slouch in the Couch” series of children’s learning books.  People loved it and huge success followed.  He formed a band and Incorporated, “The Slouch & Friends, Inc.”  Stephen Hemenway is the author of The Slouch in the Couch, Never Jump on a Grump and The Stinkells in Stankwell. According to the book description of Never Jump on a Grump, “This book is Book #2 in the continuing series of The Slouch In The Couch learning books. In the World of the Magical Couch, Elroy Slouchinski becomes bored and decides to take a walk into the forbidden hills which lie behind Slouchville. In the hills, he encounters the Grumps and pays no attention to the one rule they have -  Never ever, never ever, never ever do you jump, never never never never do you jump on a Grump. This series of books have been written as the "next step" after Dr. Seuss. As your Childs reading progresses, they begin to read "The Slouch In The Couch" stories, which retain the rhyme of Dr. Seuss, but are a little more advanced in reading difficulty. Each story has a moral within itself. Words from the text are taken and placed in the back of the book, called "words of interest" and are defined in simplistic terms to enhance the Childs vocabulary.” Melquiades “Mike” Ortiz joined the Marine Corps in May of 1962.  He received an honorable discharge after over four years of service which included a tour in Vietnam from August 1965 to April 1966. Melquiades “Mike” Ortiz’s retired in 1997 after law enforcement career with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department that spanned more than 28 years. Melquiades “Mike” Ortiz is the author of Nightmares and Thoughts of a Vietnam Vet.  Police-Writers.com now hosts 906 police officers (representing 389 police departments) and their 1911  police books in 32 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

A Blueprint for Successful Human Capital Leadership Overview

How do you build a great public service organization that meets the intensified expectations of governing in today’s environment? How do you energize the people in it to produce consistently excellent results? This seminar is for leaders who need answers to these key questions. The course provides a design for “people practices” that make a difference—recruiting, developing, motivating, and succession planning approaches that work for your employees and your organization.

You will begin at the foundation: a comprehensive assessment of your organization’s health to see how it compares with the latest in human capital management. Then you will look at the framework of agency culture and dynamics to identify opportunities for transformation. Discussing the principles of building a great people organization with seasoned executives will complete the structure. As a special bonus, a group of new recruits will share perspectives on what is meaningful to them, what drew them to the Federal workforce, and what inspires them to become our next generation of leaders.

Appreciate the importance of a comprehensive approach to transforming Federal human capital practices

Learn how to launch and implement a succession and leader-development strategy

Develop your organization’s culture as the framework for a healthy and successful public service agency

Devise strategies to develop a climate of encouragement and learning

Learn from other leaders who have successfully retooled their workforces

Gain special insights from high-potential recruits who have recently chosen public service as a career

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http://www.leadership.opm.gov/Programs/Organizational-Leadership-for-Executives/EXE0031/Index.aspx

March 29, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website now lists over 900 police officers and over 1900 books written by law enforcement officials. Michael Simonsen is a former police officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. In 1977, as a means to teach children safety Michael Simonsen, developed an entertaining visual presentation through the use of a Macaw.  The bird, known as Officer Byrd, No. 007, was the genesis of the book The Adventures of Officer Byrd – Get Help! According to the book description of The Adventures of Officer Byrd – Get Help!, it “is based on a true-story. It's about a real police bird who helps children and adults. The story is about Officer Byrd helping young people not to keep bad secrets and to get help. The children's book is for ages five to 12 plus.”  Captain Jim Di Giovanna retired as commander of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Aero Bureau on March 30, 2006, having been assigned to the aviation unit since January 1989. His 34-year law enforcement career also included assignments as a patrol deputy, patrol and operations sergeant and patrol lieutenant watch commander, along with assignments at the Sheriff’s Information Bureau, Field Operations Headquarters and Custody Division.  Captain Jim Di Giovanna is a commercial pilot, helicopter- and instrument-rated, with over 5,800 flight hours. As unit commander of the Aero Bureau, he was responsible for managing aviation operations for the largest sheriff's department in the United States. While supervising 72 sworn and civilian sheriff's department personnel, Captain Jim Di Giovanna had responsibility for directing and overseeing the operation and maintenance of the department's 15 rotary-wing and three fixed-wing aircraft.  He is also a retired colonel from the United States Army Reserve Jim Di Giovanna is the co-author of Tactical Helicopter Missions: How to Fly Safe, Effective Airborne Law Enforcement Missions. Howard Earle is a retired Assistant Sheriff from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.  He is the author of Police Community Relations: Crisis in Our Times.  According to the book description, “this book continues to present comprehensive, authoritative information on all phases of this complex topic. The text has been expanded and updated, however, to maintain currency with concepts and practices. It begins by reviewing general problems of police community relations (PCR), including the police image and crisis areas.”  Police-Writers.com now hosts 903 police officers (representing 389 police departments) and their 1905  police books in 32 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

March 29, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added the 900^th police officer who has written a book, Tony Newsom of the Los Angeles Police Department. Tony Newsom joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1989.  In 1992, he was assigned to the West Valley Division, working with juveniles in the Jeopardy Program.  He briefly left the Los Angeles Police Department to form his own personal protection company.  Tony Newsom rejoined the Los Angeles Police Department in 2003 and works in the area of community relations.  Tony Newsom is the author of Top 10 Crimes - Don't Be the Next Victim, Student Safety Tips: 45 That Every 3rd - 5th Grader Must Know, Middle School Student Safety Tips, High School Student Safety Tips, College Student Safety Tips, Student Safety Tips: 40 That Every 1st - 2nd Grader Must Know and The Parent's Guide For Raising Safer K-12 Students. According to the book description of Top 10 Crimes, Don’t Be the Next Victim “will help you: Learn how to prevent date rape; Teach your children (and yourself) how to avoid predators; Discover how to avoid dangerous ATM robberies; Find out how to recognize scams and cons before it is too late.”  Other police officers who were added include: Dr. Michael H. Corcoran has been in the law enforcement field since 1968 and the threat assessment field since 1970 when he entered the United States Secret Service. While in the Protective Intelligence Squad, he assessed the dangerousness of those threatening the President and Vice President of the United States. From 1979 to 2002, he served with the Huntington Beach Police Department (California) as a police officer, sergeant, station commander and chief hostage negotiator. Michael Corcoran is the co-author of Violence Assessment and Intervention: The Practitioner's Handbook. After ten years with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, Rick Van Horne began teaching in for the Kern High School District.  As a third-generation Bakersfield High School alumnus who became a Friday Night Hero, as did his father and son as championship players for the BHS Drillers. Rick Van Horne began his coaching career at BHS in 1984. He later served as head coach at East High and Liberty High (where he guided his team to a Valley Championship in 2001). In 1998, Rick Van Horne was selected All-Area Coach of the Year for football. Rick Van Horne is the author of Friday Night Heroes: 100 Years of Driller Football. Benny Mares is a retired Los Angeles Police Department police officer and former international bodyguard.  Today, he is a child safety consultant and speaker throughout the Pacific Northwest.  Benny Mares is the author of Executive Protection: A Professional's Guide To Bodyguarding and Child Safety 101. According to the description of Child Safety 101, “Is your child a potential victim? Child safety is every parent's first priority. Retired LAPD officer Benny Mares relates 101+ straightforward safety tips to assist parents in protecting against child molesters, abductors, and pedophiles. A must-read for parents.” Police-Writers.com now hosts 900 police officers (representing 389 police departments) and their 1903  police books in 32 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.