Florida Police Chiefs Association Update: Week Ending April 12
Apr 15, 2013
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 April 12, 2013. 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& Webb.
NEWS
Florida Senate votes unanimously to restrict drones
Lawmakers in the Florida Senate voted unanimously this week to ban law enforcement agencies from using surveillance drones in the Sunshine State.
State puts word out that Internet cafes need to shut down
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is distributing notices to local law enforcement and prosecutors’ offices across the state that Internet cafes need to shut down.
Arbitrator: Clermont cop wrongfully fired
Cecil Garrett has been fighting for vindication since Oct. 31, 2011, when he was fired from the Clermont Police Department for reportedly lying about details surrounding a traffic stop earlier that year.
Law enforcement chaplains get training on helping officers
As Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Investigator John Merchant told the driver of a Jeep Patriot why he had been pulled over, The Rev. Franklin Browne of Hattiesburg, Miss., watched the passenger from the other side of the sport utility vehicle.
Noise law changes gain support
Although lawmakers raised questions about racial profiling and subjective enforcement, a House committee on Tuesday moved toward allowing Sarasota and other communities to fine motorists who play their car stereos too loudly.
Six finalists vie for deputy Sarasota police chief
Six men are vying for the second-in-command position at the Sarasota Police Department.
Citizen observers on the lookout for crime in the community
On any typical Friday or Saturday night from 10 to midnight you can find Jan Garside, 83, a captain with the citizen observer patrol making rounds at Boynton Beach Leisureville.
Holly Hill police give electric car a spin
The Holly Hill police force’s new all-electric vehicle may not be taking a big bite out of crime, but officials hope it sparks interest in green technology.
Ex-Officers Often Investigate Police-Involved Shootings
After Oakland police Officer Miguel Masso shot and killed 18-year-old Alan Blueford last May, prosecutors quickly released their investigator’s findings about the incident, amid a public outcry and a protest that shut down a City Council meeting.
Florida Law Enforcement Running After Charity For Special Olympics
It’s a dreary, drizzly day. But the bright colored shirts, the cheering and speeches of camaraderie, hard work, and jobs well done, create some sunshine on the back steps of the old Capitol building. It’s the start of the 30th annual Law Enforcement Torch Run benefiting the Special Olympics and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is welcoming the crowd.
REPORTS
In 2011, about 1 in 5 victims of workplace homicide was a government employee. From 2002 to 2011, the annual average rate of simple assault in the workplace against government employees(18.9 per 1,000) was more than three times that of private-sector employees (4.6 per 1,000). Serious violent crime accounted for a larger percentage of workplace violence against private-sector employees (25%) than government employees (15%). From 2002 to 2011, about 96% of workplace violence against government employees was against state, county, and local employees, who made up 81% of the total government workforce. Male government employees were more likely than female government employees to face a stranger in an incident of workplace violence from 2002 to 2011. From 2002 to 2011, female government employees were more likely than male government employees to be attacked in the workplace by someone with whom they had a work relationship.
This report provides an overview of changes to the Pennsylvania juvenile justice system resulting from Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Fairness on Juvenile Justice. Fifty-seven individual rule changes and amendments were made to the rules governing procedures in both the appellate and juvenile courts. Some of the changes included prohibiting the use of restraints on a juvenile in the courtroom unless it’s for the safety of court personnel and the juvenile; requiring juveniles to have an attorney present during proceedings; establishing an extensive question-and-answer process before the judge before a juvenile can enter a plea agreement; creating an expedited appeal process whenever a juvenile is removed from his or her home as a sentence; and strengthening the special ethical obligations of juvenile court prosecutors.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are collectively responsible for providing radiological emergency preparedness oversight and guidance to commercial nuclear power plant licensees and local and state authorities around the plants.
In July 2012, GAO reported that the Department of Justice’s more than 200 grant programs overlapped across 10 key justice areas, and that this overlap contributed to the risk of unnecessarily duplicative grant awards for the same or similar purposes.
While the primary responsibility for protecting the nation’s communications networks belongs to private-sector owners and operators, federal agencies also play a role in support of their security, as well as that of critical components supporting the Internet.