Letter From the DirectorGreetings! We at the RCPI have been working diligently on many new projects that I would like to share with you.

First, the RCPI was selected by the COPS Office Applied Research Division to coordinate at least eleven national focus group meetings for the COPS Office over the next 18 months in Washington, DC, and other cities. The fund-ing for this project is approximately $200,000.

The RCPI is now overseeing terrorism preparedness train-ing, funded through the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). Training manager Fred Ragsdale has been added to the RCPI staff, and all community policing and anti-terrorism training coordination will be divided among the three RCPI training managers. You may have noticed the anti-terrorism classes advertised on our web site and training calendar over the past few months. These offerings will continue

Project InformationThis project was supported by cooperative agreement #2005-HS-WX-K014, awarded by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice, to St. Petersburg College. Points of view or opinions contained within this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

RCPI Executive PartnersBoard of DirectorsSoutheastern Public Safety Institute & Applied Ethics Program at SPCFlorida Department of Law EnforcementSt. Petersburg Police DepartmentClearwater Police DepartmentLargo Police DepartmentLakeland Police DepartmentPinellas Park Police DepartmentTampa Police DepartmentPinellas County Sheriff’s OfficeHillsborough County Sheriff’s OfficeSt. Pete Beach Police DepartmentPinellas Police Standards Council United States Attorney’s Office, Middle District of FloridaUnited States Probation Office, Middle District of FloridaOffice of Florida Attorney GeneralState Attorney’s Office, Sixth Judicial CircuitFlorida Department of Corrections, Region IVFlorida Commission on Human RelationsFlorida MLK Jr. Institute for Non-ViolencePinellas County Domestic Violence Task ForceUniversity of South FloridaFlorida State UniversityThe University of TampaPinellas County Safe & Drug Free SchoolsCity of Pinellas ParkYWCA of Tampa Bay

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Fall 2006

Florida RCPI Director, Eileen LaHaie

See Director, page 2Florida Regional Community Policing InstituteSt. Petersburg College3200 34th Street SouthSt. Petersburg, FL 33711

Florida Regional Community Policing InstituteBuilding Bridges through Police - Community Partnerships

The Florida RCPI at St. Petersburg College provides progressive public safety training in Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Common-wealth of Puerto Rico.

Cutting edge topics include: plan-ning and responding to WMD inci-dents, human trafficking, ethics and integrity, sexual predator/offender awareness, dealing with the mentally ill, and problem solving strategies in community policing. Many of these

courses are available online.

Award-winning interactive school safety CD-ROMs and videos, writ-ten for today’s young people, are available nationwide to schools, law enforcement and youth organiza-tions.

The RCPI can adapt its training to fit your agency, community, or business needs. Evening and weekend classes are available. Training modules may

be modified to allow for limited time allotments, and, classes can be con-ducted at the SPC training site. In addition, the RCPI can arrange train-ing at your facility.

To register for classes, schedule on-site training or become part of the Institute’s mailing list, please call (727) 341-4437 or 341-4432. Or, register online through our web site: http://cop.spcollege.eduhttp://cop.spcollege.edu.

About St. Petersburg College:St. Petersburg College is dedicated to the concept of equal opportunity. The college will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin or marital status, or against any qualified individual with disabilities, in its employment practices or in the admission and treatment of students. Recognizing that sexual harassment constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex and violates this rule, the college shall not tolerate such conduct. Should you experience such behavior, please contact the EA/EO director at (727)341-3257.

Bridging the New Generation Gapby Sergeant Gary L. DukemanSt. Petersburg Police Dept.Field Training Unit

They always ask “why” about every job assigned. They are only committed to themselves, not the job, or the organiza-tion. They want everything now! Are there any of these employees at your agency? Do you find yourself making these comments about someone you supervise?

Chances are you’re a boomer trying to understand the work ethic of a twenty-something.

See Generation, page 6

Dr. Lew Bender creates an engaging and inter-active discussion on generational differences at the 2006 RCPI Instructor Retreat.

Terrorism Summit BringsInternational Training to Florida Law Enforcementby David Murray, Intelligence Research SpecialistU.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida

More than 100 agents, officers and analysts representing Florida’s terrorism and domestic security task force com-munity convened in Tampa January 18-19, for the Inter-national Terrorism Summit. Held at FDLE’s Regional Operations Center and sponsored by the RCPI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, the FBI and FDLE, the IT Summit provided a great opportu-nity for law enforcement to receive training from interna-tionally recognized authorities on terrorist motivations, and Middle Eastern culture and affairs.

Dr. Shabi H. Shabtai led the training by providing insight into the Israeli-Arab conflict and the challenges faced by the international community in dealing with radical Islamic fundamentalists. Born in Israel, Dr. Shabtai served in the intelligence branch of the Israeli Defense Forces, and earned a Doctorate at the University of Chicago. In addi-tion to teaching political science at several universities, Dr. Shabtai is an author and serves as a consultant to the film industry. The hit movie “Passenger 57,” is based on his personal hijacking experience. Dr. Shabtai concluded

his presentation by providing attendees with his “10 Com-mandments for Fighting Terrorism” – a list of 10 goals that he believes must be achieved by nations if they want to eliminate the instability and violence created by interna-tional terrorism.

Mr. Sam Kharoba, President/CEO of First Capital Tech-nologies, LLC, explored the driving force behind terror-ist motivations. Mr. Kharoba is a Christian Jordanian by birth, and was raised in Amman Jordan where he was exposed to both Western and Arabic cultures and languages through his family’s life-long employment with the Brit-ish Embassy in Amman. Mr. Kharoba’s depth of educa-tion and personal experience in both Middle Eastern and Western affairs lent valuable insight into the material he presented on understanding Islamist terrorism. Particularly well received by law enforcement was the information that he provided for understanding the structure and signifi-cance of individual’s names in the Arabic culture.

Midway through the training, attendees were given the opportunity to listen to leaders in the Tampa Bay Islamic community share their perspective and experiences as Muslim members of society. Moderated by LEC William Daniels, U.S. Attorney’s Office, a question and answer session followed a panel discussion by panel members Dr. Muhammad Sultan, Imam and Director of the Islamic Society of Tampa Bay, and Mr. Wali Shabazz, Regional Director, National Trust for the Development of African American Men.

Following the panel discussion, representatives from the CIA provided an overview of Middle Eastern terrorist groups and their threat to the U.S.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bobby O’Neill wrapped-up the training with a discussion of the significant law enforce-ment provisions contained in the USA Patriot Act, focus-ing on the provisions that are set to expire in the coming months.

Based on the “standing room only” response, and the over-whelmingly positive critiques of the speakers and subject matter, the training proved to be a success. The present-ers’ material and shared life experiences should ultimately enhance law enforcement’s ability to investigate and deter terrorist threats in Florida. The unique partnership of the RCPI, U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, and FDLE continues to develop cutting edge training that impacts the quality of policing throughout Florida.

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to enhance the curriculum we already offer.

The RCPI is partnering with all of the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to present Anti-Gang train-ing in their regions. Funding has been allocated to the RCPI through BJA to assist with this initiative. The RCPI also continues to partner with the Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Taskforce Training program (MCTFT) at SPC to provide Criminal Street Gangs, Clandestine Methamphetamine Laboratory Investigations and Current Drug Trends training. One hundred sixty-five participants attended Crimi-nal Street Gangs training here at the Allstate Center in May. This excellent attendance record gives you and idea of how important an issue this is in Florida and throughout the nation.

The RCPI continues to provide train-ing to our Caribbean partners in Puer-to Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Puerto Rico Training Institute (PRTI) has trained 2,177 community members and law enforcement offi-cers during 49 training sessions since its inception more than two years ago. Dr. Ernesto Fernandez has been so successful in promoting commu-nity policing training in Puerto Rico that he has had a training building provided to him by the municipality of Caguas. Other municipalities are working with him to provide training space in other locations throughout the Island. Ethics and Problem Solv-ing trainings recently were held in St. Thomas and St. Croix with more than 40 participants each. More training was held in the Virgin Islands in Sep-tember, 2006.

The RCPI has developed a four- and eight-hour course on the timely topic of Human Trafficking. You may have read in previous issues of this newslet-ter about Human Trafficking seminars conducted throughout the Middle District of Florida in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Recently, the COPS Office provided funding for Human Trafficking training in target cities across the nation. Florida has a distinct problem with Human Traf-ficking and the RCPI will be focusing its training in Jacksonville, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Tampa, Fort Myers and Miami. Of course, the RCPI also will provide this important training throughout the state upon request. The RCPI held its first eight-hour Human Trafficking class in March at the All-state Center. A Human Trafficking train-the-trainer course took place on August 24-25, 2006, in Naples to a group of interested RCPI instructors. Two four-hour courses are sched-uled in October, one in Clearwater and one at the Florida Crime Pre-vention Association Conference in Altamonte Springs. The Clearwater Police Department also received a grant for Human Trafficking funding and the RCPI is partnering with that agency to provide training under its grant. Check out our web site at http://cop.spcollege.edu for current course offerings.

The RCPI held its annual Cur-riculum Update for Instructors at the TradeWinds Sandpiper Resort on St. Pete Beach in April. Forty-five instructors from around the state attended the two and one-half days of training and networking. Training topics included: Human Trafficking, Managing Generational Issues in Law Enforcement, Clandestine Laboratory Investigations and an overview of Escape School — a program for teach-ing young children how to escape a possible abduction. Instructors com-

mented that this was the best network-ing retreat to date. A good portion of that compliment goes to Lew Bender, the Generational Issues instructor who set the tone with his dynamic style of teaching. He brought even the most introverted person out of his/her shell. (Not that the RCPI is known to employ too many introverts!)

Recent RCPI conference sponsorship and attendance included: National Conference on Preventing Crime in the Black Community; National Com-bating Gangs, Violence and Terrorism Conference; Florida Paraprofession-als in Library Service Conference; Ex-Offender Re-Entry Summit; 2006 National COPS Conference; Interna-tional Terrorism Summit; a commu-nity forum entitled Clandestine Lab Awareness: The Dangers of Metham-phetamine Labs in Your Community; and, COPS in Schools.

The RCPI continues to work with the Florida Department of Law Enforce-ment’s Criminal Justice Executive Institute to provide leadership training topics throughout the state. Addi-tionally, the RCPI continues to offer Franklin Covey’s 7 Habits for Law Enforcement Professionals training upon request.

The RCPI plans to partner with the Suncoast Crime Prevention Asso-ciation on a training conference in 2007. Finally, the RCPI continues its partnership with the Florida Citizen’s Police Academy Association. Mem-bership continues to grow and the association’s 2nd annual state con-ference is scheduled for October in Orlando.

Eileen LaHaieExecutive Director Florida RCPI

Director, from page 1

Left to Right: Carl R. Peed, Director, USDOJ/Office for Community Oriented Policing Services, Washington, DC; Carl Whitehead, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Tampa Field Office; Lance H. Newman, Special Agent in Charge, FDLE, Tampa Bay Regional Operations Center; and Paul I. Perez, United States Attorney, Middle District of Florida

RCPI TRAINING CALENDARNovember 2006 - May 2007

Date Course Title Location November2-3 Survival Skills for the CPO SPC/AC3 Critical Incident Stress Management SPC/AC6 thruDec.. 1 Ethical Issues and Decisions in LE Online Online30 Resources for Domestic Violence Teams SPC/AC

December5 Current Drug Trends SPC/AC6 Criminal Street Gangs SPC/AC11 Evidence Detection & Preservation for WMD Incidents SPC/AC

January8 Dynamics of Domestic Violence SPC/AC17 Introduction to Human Trafficking SPC/AC25-26 Stress Management in the Climate of Terrorism SPC/AC30-Feb. 23 Ethical Issues and Decisions in LE Online Online

February6 Effective Media Skills for Law Enforcement SPC/AC13-14 Medical Strategies for WMD Incidents SPC/AC

March5-6 Introduction to Community Policing/ Community Policing’s Role in Homeland Security SPC/AC5-30 Dynamics of Domestic Violence Online SPC/AC21 Decontamination in WMD Incidents SPC/AC27 Sexual Predator and Offender Awareness SPC/AC

April2-27 Understanding the Dynamics of Violence SPC/AC in the Workplace Online9 Ethical Issues and Decisions in LE SPC/AC18-19 Planning Considerations for WMD Incidents SPC/AC23-24 Managing Encounters with the Mentally Ill SPC/AC

May1 The Many Faces of Human Trafficking 4 hours SPC/AC4 Legal Aspects of Domestic Violence SPC/AC17-18 Crime Scene Awareness in WMD Incidents SPC/AC14-June 8 Ethical Issues and Decisions in LE Online Online21 Clandestine Laboratory Investigations SPC/AC22 Criminal Street Gang Awareness SPC/AC

How to submit articles, responses, questions or remarks:

The Florida RCPI is looking for articles and pictures from around the state to include in our quarterly news-letter, Building Bridges. If you have a community policing success story, please mail a hard copy or (prefer-ably) IBM-compatible disk to:

Florida RCPI at SPC Attn: Barb Kieta 3200 34th Street South, Room 201 St. Petersburg, FL 33711

or e-mail to: kieta.barbara@spcollege.edu

F L O R I D A R C P I T R A I N I N G I N F O R M A T I O N

Florida RCPI Staff Members

Eileen LaHaie Executive DirectorBarbara Kieta Training ManagerLaura Heisler Training ManagerLaura Heisler Training ManagerLaura HeislerFred Ragsdale Training ManagerDan Bates Training and Curriculum SpecialistRobin Linde Project TechnologistKadell Ford Academic Staff Asst.Vonceil Smith Staff Assistant IIMary Anyan Staff Assistant II

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Most classes are 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Calendar is subject to change. Call (727)341-4587 or visit our Web Site for further information:

http://cop.spcollege.eduhttp://cop.spcollege.edu

RCPI Meets Demand for Technology-Based Training Requests for our school crime pre-vention products: About Face: Turning Away from Hate; RetroGrade: How School Crime Sets You Back; After-Math: Lessons in School Safety; and, Fed Facts: The Real Deal continue to pour in from Safe and Drug Free Schools coordinators and Florida SROs.

To get copies of these youth oriented media products (free to Florida orga-nizations), call Robin Linde at (727) 341-4546 or visit our Web site at: http://cop.spcollege.eduhttp://cop.spcollege.edu.

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AKA AKAdemy Holds “Aftermath” CD-ROM TrainingThe Florida RCPI has partnered with the AKA AKAdemy for the past three years to provide youth crime prevention classes to their Gems and Pathfinders. RCPI has thor-oughly enjoyed this partnership. The girls and boys in the program are respectful, motivated youth who are eager to learn.

The AKA AKAdemy was established by the ladies of the Zeta Upsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Soror-ity, Incorporated (ZUO-AKA). The primary objectives of the AKAdemy are to help youth participants develop resil-iency and leadership skills using positive mentoring, and to encourage educational development and a commitment to school and volunteerism. The focus is to prepare our youth to become socially competent and productive adults. Presently, the AKAdemy receives approximately $114,000 annually from the Juvenile Welfare Board. The AKA AKAdemy includes over 125 young ladies and 105 young men (Exquisite Gems and Pathfinders) age 11 through 18 in South Pinellas County. The Chapter partners with the men of Eta Rho Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity to administer the Pathfinder Program. For more information,

please visit www.zuochapter.org.

By Kevin M. RoseMy name is Kevin Rose, Pathfinder with the AKA Akad-emy. I was a participant in the Aftermath training session held during the AKA Akademy Personal Safety Workshop at the St. Petersburg College Allstate Center. The After-math session was presented by Officer Joseph Smith of the St. Petersburg Police Department. He said a lot of good things about safety. During the workshop, I learned many things like what I should do if a friend brings a gun to school, what to do if someone I know is thinking about suicide, how to avoid peer pressure to drink with friends or skip school. We watched movie clips about each topic and everyone in the session participated. Everyone in the room could relate to something in the discussion. It was some-times funny to see the looks on other Pathfinder’s faces, when Officer Smith talked about things that seemed small to us, but could cause teens a lot of trouble and a whole lot of other problems. He made these problems very real and I hope that other Pathfinders took something away from the valuable session. I know that the things Officer Smith discussed are not only harmful to my personal safety, but affect my reputation, morals and values. I don’t always know the right things to do, so not only was the Aftermath session fun, but very informative.

Police Suicide: Prevention Is The Answerby Teresa T. TateExecutive Director, Survivors of Law Enforcement Suicide

In the first six months of 2006, Florida has lost four officers in the line of duty, and seven officers have died by suicide. Four of those suicides were murder/suicide, where seven fam-ily members died at the hands of an officer. What is happening to our law enforcement officers?

In his research work entitled “Police Suicide: Epidemic in Blue,” Dr. John Violanti, Research Professor at Buf-falo University and former police officer, emphasizes the point that a severe form of stress, traumatic stress, appears to be prevalent in police work

and possibly plays a part in suicide. The profession is close-knit, so the best way to reduce suicide in law enforcement and to eradicate the stig-ma of reaching out for help is through training within the law enforcement family.

To achieve this goal, training through-out an officer’s career is imperative - educating new recruits and manda-tory in service training should be on going. The awareness of warning signs associated with depression and knowing where community resources are available must be promoted among the ranks.

The Florida Regional Community Policing Institute, along with the US Attorney’s Office- Middle District, Law Enforcement Wellness Associa-tion, and Survivors of Law Enforce-ment Suicide (SOLES) have partnered together to provide training on psy-chological survival, entitled In Harm’s

Way: Tactics for Psychological Sur-vival in Law Enforcement. Together, this training has been presented twice in Tampa over the past several years for statewide local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, with more than 250 participants in each session. This summer, In Harm’s Way was also presented to over 200 law enforce-ment officers in Wichita, Kansas. In the Spring of 2007, another statewide In Harm’s Way training conference is tentatively scheduled in Tampa. In the mean time, due to the significant num-ber of law enforcement suicides in Southwest Florida, a train-the-trainer program will be offered in the Fall.

Law enforcement officers are trained to survive physically, whether it is hand-to-hand combat, defensive driv-ing, firearms training, but let us not forget to survive emotionally. Most cases of suicide can be prevented. Know the signs. Participate in one of these free training sessions.

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U.S. Soldier Benefits from RCPI Online Trainingby Alex SomersonU.S. Army, Iraq

I am Alex Somerson with the U.S. Army’s 1/327 HHC Recon/Snipers division. I was in the U. S. Army from 1997 to 2000, after which I served as a Deputy Sheriff in Charlotte, NC, conducting gang and narcotics investi-gations. In 2004, the Army

called me back to active duty service and I am currently stationed in Iraq.

Since 2000, I have taken law enforcement training all over the country to include gang conferences, defensive tactics classes, and methamphetamine courses. I have also stayed consistent with my training in counter-terrorism, drug traf-ficking, ethics, and the President’s DNA initiative course.

In 2002, I found the course offerings by St. Petersburg College’s (SPC) Regional Community Policing Institute (RCPI) and Multi-Jurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training Program (MCTFT). The programs and courses they provide are some of the best in the country. Courses

such as Gangs, Drug Trafficking, and Domestic Violence are at the forefront when it comes to community policing and training. National award-winning youth crime preven-tion multi-media products such as AboutFace, FedFacts, AfterMath, and RetroGrade show the dedication the RCPI has in making our job and community safer. RCPI and MCTFT also offer on-line classes to go along with an ever-growing number of on-site classes, which help keep the door open for multi-functional officers to learn and stay mentally fit. Community policing is now the most prac-ticed form of intelligence gathering and criminal deterrent. RCPI’s programs help bridge the gap between the law enforcement community and those we aim to protect.

As I write this from Iraq, I am still learning. The online courses offered through RCPI and MCTFT are helping others like me stay informed and updated with current trends and tactics. Without these institutes of learning and without the programs they help provide, we as law enforcement officers would be at a clear disadvantage. To me, knowledge really is power.

I would like to thank SPC’s RCPI and MCTFT for their regional and national commitment to training. I would also like to thank the instructors and staff members who help make all of this training possible. Finally, a special thanks to the law enforcement and civilian community who contribute to this training and knowledge on a day-to-day basis. Be safe and God bless.

RCPI Expands Anti-Terrorism CoursesThe Florida RCPI, in cooperation with the National Terrorism Preparedness Institute (NTPI), is now offering class-es in counterterrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

The current classes consist of Evi-dence Detection and Preservation for WMD Incidents; Planning Consider-ations for WMD incidents; Medical Strategies for WMD Incidents; and Critical Incident Stress Management for WMD Events. These training courses are funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and are available to civilian and military agencies, includ-ing medical centers as well as the community at large.

The trainings have been presented since 2003 to thousands of respond-ers throughout the U.S. and in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to law enforcement, fire service, medi-cal personnel, military, public works responders and others. Courses can be presented wherever the U.S. flag flies in or outside the continental United States. There is no cost to the responder agency or the attendees for the presentations. All of the classes are either eight or sixteen hours long depending on the complexity of the material. Each student is given a course manual along with any other pertinent course materials and a cer-tificate of attendance. There are a minimum of two presenters for each class. One is a subject matter expert in weapons of mass destruction and the other is a subject matter expert in

medicine, planning, and decontamina-tion.

The objective for all courses is to give the responder and administrator a greater sense of their role and how to safely respond to a WMD incident. All of the courses use the NIMS Inci-dent Command System as a base in planning for such incidents. Pertinent videos, articles and other visual aids are used throughout the presentation to bring a better understanding of the material. Evaluations received about the course have been positive. There are periodic updates and revisions of the material to ensure that everything presented is current and appropriate.

If you are interested in learning more, check out our web site for upcoming courses.

by Dan BatesFlorida RCPI

Just as many of our faithful readers probably have done, we at the technology savvy Florida RCPI subscribe to a free international Internet service that sends us all media activity that contains any key word we choose to place in our daily alert subscription. As you probably would guess, we are very interested in any activity containing the term “community policing.”

It certainly appears that US-based activity involving com-munity policing in the last year is markedly on the wane. Conversely, the rest of the world – from Great Britain to South Africa and the Philippines to Canada – appears to be awake, enlightened and chatting up the merits of problem solving, police-community partnerships and a commitment to the concept of addressing long term policing issues in a new and meaningfully effective way.

Great Britain recently foiled a terrorist plot to simultane-ously destroy several passenger jets in route to the United States. The plan was to use explosive combinations of chemical agents assembled after boarding the targeted airplanes. The separate chemical ingredients were easily acquired at any drug store, and would have been carried through standard airport luggage inspection without suspi-cion.

The plot was designed to exploit two key weaknesses in anti-terrorism methodology. The first element concerned the simple, innovative and effective methods terrorists developed to secret the necessary ingredients on board targeted aircraft. Solution: within hours of disrupting the plot, baggage screening and carry-on item policies were re-written and disseminated. That target vulnerability was addressed and hopefully remedied for now – until the next wave of terrorist innovations come to light.

The second vulnerability was equally as troubling, how-ever, it is not nearly as quickly remedied. That vulnerabil-ity deals with the ability to track terrorists or sympathizers through “the system.” It seems that most of the arrested subjects were native born second generation citizens of Great Britain – lacking any obvious terrorist ties or trace-

able activity that could have been considered warning signs of their involvement in dangerous terrorist activity.

Those of us who were exposed to any of the Florida RCPI Terror Within or Counter Terrorism Awareness Training (CTAT) recall the training section specifically addressing the subject of second generation terrorists and the predic-tion that this trend likely would be seen and exploited more and more in the future. Preliminary investigative details indicate that Great Brit-ain’s Islamic community stakeholder partners were instru-mental in tipping off law enforcement that certain individ-uals were involved in activities that warranted them being closely watched. British law enforcement developed those investigative leads, resulting in the disruption of what all seem to agree was a potential major terrorist event.

Meanwhile back in Florida, the day after the Great Britain plot was disrupted, the only news alert mention of “com-munity policing” from a U.S. source comes from the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday, August 11, 2006. “Home-grown cell implicated in plot” written by Mathew Stannard and found at www.sfgate.com/cgi-in/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/08/11/PLOT.TMP&type=printable. In that article, author Stannard relied heavily upon information provided by David Brannan who is credited as being a lecturer at the Center of Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. David Stannard is also co-author of several police /public safety related reports for the RAND Corporation concerning law enforcement trends and training in the U.S. and the Middle East.

In the article, which discusses the preliminaries of the Great Britain terrorist plot, Stannard stated that the most likely way these second generation groups would continue to be disrupted was as follows:

“It doesn’t sound very sexy: It’s called community policing. As police departments have become efficient at getting into these communities and developing relation-ships, more information is passed through those one-on-one relationships than has ever been passed through covert means. If we can expand that (Community Policing), we’ll be much more effective and not have to worry so much about violating civil rights.”

There are certainly some notable differences between Great Britain and the U.S. regarding the way law enforce-ment is required to conduct investigations. Great Britain allows law enforcement officials to hold citizens for up to one week based essentially on suspicion and longer if

Is Your Agency Waving Goodbye to Community Policing?

See Community Policing, Page 8

58

Community Meth Forum on Clan Lab Awareness by Commissioner Kenneth T. WelchPinellas County Commission Chairman

On January 25, 2006, a Community Forum on Clandestine Lab Awareness was held at the St. Petersburg College Seminole Campus. The sponsors of the event were: St. Petersburg Col-lege’s Florida Regional Community Policing Institute and Multijurisdic-tional Counterdrug Task Force Train-ing Program; Pinellas County Justice and Consumer Services; Operation PAR; and, WestCare. Among the 129 participants were community mem-bers, representatives from local gov-ernments, law enforcement and fire rescue. As an elected official, I found the information presented at the forum to be invaluable.

Local governments across the nation are struggling to deal with the rapid

increase in methamphetamine produc-tion and addiction. The impact to local communities and law enforcement agencies is substantial. In fact, for local governments, the methamphet-amine epidemic is the “perfect storm” of illicit drugs – creating legal, medi-cal, environmental, juvenile welfare and social problems. Moreover, local governments, via their taxpayers, must foot the bill for this epidemic – from investigating and closing labs, to arrests, pretrial detention, trial, imprisonment of methamphetamine producers, treatment of addicts, and the welfare of children “orphaned” by addicted or incarcerated parents.

In a recent survey of 500 counties, sponsored by the National Associa-tion of Counties, methamphetamine was identified as the leading local law enforcement problem in the country. Fifty-eight percent of the responding counties identified it as their larg-est drug problem, outpacing cocaine (19%), marijuana (17%) and heroin (3%). Although Pinellas County hasn’t seen a marked increase in metham-phetamine production and related

crime to date, other Florida counties have, and Pinellas law enforcement agencies are preparing to deal with the eventuality of this illegal drug in our county.

The forum was practical and to the point, bringing the stark realities of methamphetamine to the forefront – the ease of producing the drug, its highly addictive nature, the impacts on children, and the environmental hazards – all issues that individually warrant the attention of local govern-ment.

Together, the societal impacts of methamphetamine compel the atten-tion and action of everyone connected with public safety and governance. That is why the forum on clandestine lab awareness was so important, and why Pinellas County was proud to be a sponsor of the forum. Winning the fight against methamphetamine will take the involvement and commitment of all our community stakeholders. This type of educational forum is a vital tool in winning that fight.

COPS 2006 Conference:Leading the Way to a Safer Nation

Eileen LaHaie, Barb Kieta, Dan Bates and Laura Heisler attended the 2006 COPS Conference in Washington DC, July 27-29. Over 1,400 law enforcement and community members attended this two and one-half day workshop in which com-munity policing leadership was the focus. RCPI instructors Tony Rolon, Troy Fergueson, Ernesto Fernandez and Keith Goree were also among the attendees, with Keith also presenting on “Mak-ing Ethical Decisions.” Topics such as Human Trafficking; Communications Interoperability; Responding to Bioterrorism and Pandemic Threats and Learning Leadership from Winston Churchill were a few of the diverse sessions attended by the staff.

RCPI staff also had the privilege of touring the Capitol Building through Congressman Bill Young’s office. We were fortunate enough to meet him in the hallway for a quick chat and a photo opportunity at the conclusion of the tour. Tony Rolon’s high school chum just happens to be an Army Lt. Colonel working directly for Sec-retary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. That con-nection brought us to the Pentagon for a personal tour by his friend. Did you know that 43,000 people work in the Pentagon? A chapel and small memorial now sits where the plane entered the building on September 11, 2001. A ground-breaking ceremony was recently held for a larger memorial being built outside. On the lighter side, we also enjoyed a photo opportunity in the press room at the Pentagon. We were appreciative of the very informative tour and wish to thank Col. Mike Finnegan and Mary Morgan for their time.

Top photo: (L-R) Barb Kieta, Tony Rolon, Eileen LaHaie, Laura Heisler and Lt. Col. Mike Finnegan pose for a photo behind the Pentagon pressroom podium.

Middle: (L-R) Laura Heisler, Eileen LaHaie, Dan Bates, Barb Kieta and Tony Rolon near the portrait monument of the pio-neers of the woman sufferage movement.

Bottom: Eileen LaHaie gets a photo opportunity with Congress-man Bill Young

the suspicion is of a terrorist nature. Search warrants are issued much more quickly based upon far fewer require-ments than the United States Constitu-tion based protections guaranteed to U.S. citizens. That’s a good thing as many of us recall from our History of Policing 101 courses the oft used say-ing “The only place where policing is easy is in a police state.”

That being said, how much more should we in this country continue to emphasize and foster the essential community partnerships with each and every segment of our diverse commu-

nities as a primary method by which we can protect our own citizens and our own protected and precious free-dom?

The term “community policing” may be temporarily falling from favor in segments of our country, but the essential need for continued training in those core concepts of partnerships and problem solving and the other tools that are forged and proceed from that foundation must never fall from favor or be ignored, regardless of how those foundational courses are mar-keted or packaged.

RCPI’s PRTI Wins IACP Community Policing Award

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) chose the RCPI’s Puerto Rico Training Insti-tute (PRTI) as fi nalist in the 100,000 - 250,000 population category of IACP’s Annual Community Polic-ing Awards. A reception is planned to honor all fi nalists during IACP’s annual international conference held in Boston, October 14-16. Dr. Ernesto Fernandez will travel to Boston to re-ceive the honor on behalf of the RCPI and PRTI. The award submission was written by Dr. Fernandez and Robin Linde.

Community Policing, from page 4

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FBI Agent Shows Students Another Way By William DanielsU.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida

Flying fists escalated into gunfire at the McDon-ald’s across the street from King High School in Tampa on a Thursday afternoon in Novem-ber 2005. When the smoke cleared, four stu-dents had been shot. One, a 17 year-old senior, was mortally wounded. The violent exchange between students and non-students was the cul-mination of week long altercations at school. Still, it was not over as another stabbing took place a few weeks later, at the same location.

This was the backdrop as FBI Supervisory Spe-cial Agent Jody Norris and Will Daniels from the U.S. Attorney’s Office entered the campus of King High School on December 14 to address a group of at-risk youth. Agent Norris, upon hearing of the violence and receiving a call from Wali Shabazz, Regional Director of the National Trust for the Development of African-American Men, altered his holi-day plans, suited up and came to speak with the students on his scheduled day off. “I will be there,” he said. Entering the classroom and looking like he had just stepped off the page of GQ magazine, the stiff-ened image quickly dissipated as Agent Norris quickly greeted each student personally by visiting each desk, gripping their hands and giving the boys “some pound” (fist-to-fist).

“I want you to see African-American men who are successful,” said Mr. Shabazz as he introduced the men to the group. “These are black men who are handling their business.” Agent Norris stunned the stu-dents with his early perception of school. “I did not like school and both of my parents were educators. I messed around. I was smart, but I did just enough to get by...” Norris personalized his youth experi-ences in South Carolina, saying that “life was hard” and that he was not always the “good son.” It was not until an after college venture when he chauffeured an FBI Agent to a black tie affair that he was even aware of the opportunities available within the FBI (a job that has allowed him to travel all over the world). Now, he is the first African-American Supervisory Agent in the Tampa Field Office’s history, but said that it did not come without hard work and some mistakes. “None of us are perfect,” Norris inter-jected, “but we all have the ability to make choices.”

Daniels urged the students to question and work to remove negative labels frequently imposed on them by their peers and society. “Define success for yourselves,” he said. “The fact that you are sitting here today is evidence that you are already successful. You just have to make up your mind to become great in whatever you choose to do.” King High School teacher Carrie Reizer was lauded for her insightful-ness - “understanding that not all learning comes from a textbook” and that by allowing real-life exam-ples into the classroom, students can often better relate to real-life issues.

Armed with a belief that the right words and examples can change a life, all three men urged the students to use their talents towards positive results. Not your standard lecture by any stretch - but rather a dis-cussion among those charged with the responsibility of education, prevention and enforcement and those most recently affected by crime. “They are thinking,” Mr. Shabazz said to the men as they exited the campus. “They are thinking!”

RCPI Instructor Receives Officer Of The Year AwardThe RCPI would like to congratulate Joe Smith. Joe has taught many courses for the RCPI over the years to include Survival Skills for the CPO & Citizen, Police Community Partnerships, Building Bridges: Community Policing Over-view for Citizens and a myriad of specialty courses. He has worked with many youth-oriented programs that the RCPI has sponsored and is featured in the RCPI promo-tional video “Building Bridges.”

The following is taken directly from the SPPD’s public information office announcement regarding Officer Smith’s award:

Officer Joseph Smith of the St. Petersburg Police Department has been named the Officer of the Year. The Officer of the Year award is one of the most prestigious honors bestowed upon a police officer in St. Petersburg. The award is presented each year to an officer who dis-played outstanding and distinguished service for the police department.

Officer Smith is a twenty-three year veteran of the department who distinguished himself as a 911 responder, Youth Resources Division detective, and most recently serves as a Community Police Officer. Officer Smith is

a certified instructor in the Police Academy, where he trains new police recruits in high liability courses, such as self defense, less lethal weapons, including the recently deployed Taser, firearms training and high speed driv-ing. He is a trained Hostage Negotiator, with an ability to establish quick rapport with individuals in a crisis situa-tion and de-escalate incidents to avoid a tragic outcome.

SPPD Chief Harmon (right) and Odette Patterson of the Patterson Trust (sponsor of the award) present the Offi cer of the Year award to Joe Smith (Left). FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jody Norris speaks to a group of

students at King High School .

Hoping for the “answers” of how to understand and better manage mem-bers of the younger generation, I readily enrolled in a seminar entitled Managing Issues Across Generations in Law Enforcement, as did a number of other federal, state and local law enforcement agency representatives who attended the two-day seminar hosted by the Florida Regional Com-munity Policing Institute at St. Peters-burg College, St. Petersburg, Florida. The seminar was presented by Dr. Lewis Bender.

In what could have easily been a four- day seminar, Dr. Bender provided not only a historical perspective but also a global perspective covering relevant trends related to generational differ-ence such as age distribution, educa-tion concerns, workforce make up, earnings versus indebtedness, econo-my and the national deficit, behavior

and attitude differences, ethics, and the overall mobility of today’s society. Social aspects such as the self-esteem movement and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs were also discussed and shown to be very integral to the topic of gen-erational differences.

Dr. Bender promoted open dialogue throughout the seminar to help us gain a better understanding of the genera-tional issues. He also challenged us to recognize the qualities of the twenty-something employees. In short, don’t expect them to think like your genera-tion. They have different life expe-riences. Technology, though often thought to be the answer to all our problems, has contributed to an atmo-sphere that encourages less emphasis on interpersonal communication and the skills associated with it. Coupled with a lack of life skills, there seems to be an emerging issue of the lack of problem-solving skills in the younger generation. Recognizing these trends

will enable us to understand and man-age the younger workers entering our agencies today.

So what does the twenty-something employee have to offer you? They like change. They work easily with technology. They are not limited by “old ways.” Dr. Bender concluded the seminar by offering some insight into future trends, and he provided his seven steps for managing generational differences.

As a Field Training Supervisor, I found the seminar invaluable. Dr. Bender provided not only a com-prehensive look at the generational issues, he also provided practical rec-ommendations to manage generational differences. By understanding the dif-ferences inherent in our generational backgrounds, we can move toward a more efficient and cohesive work environment.

Generation, from page 1