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Grant Proposal for Law Enforcement Funding
by Michelle Calderon, Staff Writer for AnaiRhoads.org.
01 March 2007
"The worst terrorist attack on American soil was also the nation's worst communications failure" (Seigenthaler, 2004).
AnaiRhoads.org - 9/11 is still fresh in the minds of Americans even today at 2007. The 911 incident destroyed many lives and many dreams. Thousands of lives including firefighters and police officers died in the hands of terrorism. The aftermath reflected fear of future events that can occur and prevention methods to either deter another attack and/or minimize the tolls of victims. "Throughout the doomed towers that day, incompatible radios and overcrowded frequencies plagued New York's rescue crews" (Seigenthaler, 2004). The world was in a state of confusion and CHAOS! Firefighters, police, and emergency workers could not talk to each other. Many said that radio problems increased the death toll that day. After the incidencts, firefighter, law enforcement agencies, advocate groups, victims, and citizens all rallied for charities, relief agencies, service providers, and the media to request needed funding to improve the system. Now, five years after the towers fell, better technology does exist but not everyone has it yet. First responders insist that more needs to be done to prevent another disaster from happening.
Executive Summary
The grief citizens continue to experience over the events of that morning will always be an important part of history. However, rather than allow that grief to deplete morale, the city must transform it into action and take from it the important lessons that can guide future actions. On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the attack, the city of Utopia made a plea to the citizens and the media. A philanthropist responded and granted the Law enforcement agency $100,000.00 in hopes of alleviating the fear of being victimized.
The Dangers in Law Enforcement
Law enforcement is a hazardous profession. Officers voluntarily put themselves into potentially dangerous situations in order to protect and serve the public. Dangers faced by police include death as well as increased risk of catching infectious diseases. Law Enforcement is stressful. Stress itself can be dangerous: high divorce rates, alcoholism, depression, and even suicide. Especially after 911, the roles of officers have become more complex. Police officers are the first responders to incidencts, including terrorist threats. Consequently, police officers must not only constantly educate themselves about the dangers they might face but how to minimize those risks. This grant for a $100,000.00 funding for the police department could be used to improve policing conditions.
Communications Center Proposal
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, made clear that lives depend on the ability of First Responders to communicate with emergency personnel from other jurisdictions. The city requests that $40,000 should be spent on a police communication center. The city plans to use the money to upgrade to a digital electronic dispatch system. The new equipment will improve how quickly and effectively local police can communicate with other nearby police departments, the fire department, and Emergency Medical Services Including the up front cost for upgrading, the department would have to pay an "$1,800 maintenance fee, as well as a $600 monthly fee per vehicle" (Community Reporter, 2007). The new system would also save the department paperwork, because officers would be able to send reports via computer directly from the field. The reports would then be able to be transferred to the state police in electronic form. Additionally, "the new equipment will allow the local police to tap into a countywide communications system" (Allen, 2006). With this new implementation, upgrading for the future will also be easier.
Bike Patrol and Community Policing Proposal
The city of Utopia further requests an additional funding of approximately $25,000 in bike patrol equipments, including proper body wear and protective equipment. Approximately (around) 20 tactical mountain bikes will be purchased to provide the community with more police visibility and contact with citizens and the surrounding areas. The purpose of the Bicycle Patrol Unit is to perform visible patrol duties, community relations, and crime prevention. Bicycle Patrol places police officers in the community where they are the most available to the general public. Officers can work side by side with the people in the community to reduce crime, prevent loss of property, stop personal injury, and promote a positive image of the department to both adults and children alike. Citizens are more likely to approach a bike patrol officer than even a neighborhood beat officer, optimizing community oriented or problem oriented policing efforts. Bicycle officers are better able to use all of their senses, including smell and hearing, to detect and address crime. They are often able to approach suspects virtually unnoticed, even in full uniform. This allows the officers to get better acquainted with the citizens who live in their patrol area and to learn the problems they are faced with, and to aid them in finding solutions to these problems.
Law Enforcement Training
A quality police-training program is intended to promote continued instruction and study in the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and procedures involved in carrying out the duties and responsibilities of law enforcement above and beyond the fundamentals covered in basic training. Training is imperative especially in hazardous situations such as in the events of 911. However, personnel are one of the most costly portions of to any funding. Because Utopia’s police agency has been affected by budget cuts in the past, the departmental training program has suffered.
Currently, the only training that is being conducted for departmental personnel is the annual firearms qualification. There are many areas that personnel need training on in addition to their firearms training. Because officers deal with the criminal element on a daily basis, and need to do so as safely as possible, all patrol officers need to have recurrent use of force training which includes, empty hands, intermediate weapons, less lethal, K-9 deployment, use of deadly force and pursuit techniques. These areas are important not only because of officer safety, but also because they are the most highly litigious areas in the law enforcement profession. Officers need to know what tool to use, when to use it and why they should use it and when to escalate and then de-escalate. Training in these areas also helps shield the department from liability because it shows the department cares about the community and trains its officers as such.
Because of the increased threat of terrorism, the department personnel also needs training on First Responder duties such as emergency management, incident command, search and rescue, weapons of mass destruction response, hostage situations and active shooter responses. It is essential that all personnel have a working knowledge of these areas in the event there is a natural disaster, terrorist incident or other mass casualty response. Law enforcement will more than likely be the first on the scene and must protect themselves as well as the lives of the citizens. In addition, once departmental personnel are trained, they can in turn pass the information on to members of the community through training courses.
Due to the high importance of a current and flexible training program, the city recommends the training program be re-instituted with the awarding of the grant. Not much is left from the grant: $35,000. However, the city of Utopia feels that adequate personnel are already available to provide training needed. The city therefore, proposes that the remaining funding be used to promote qualified personnel and the funding used as monetary incentives to take the position of trainer.
The training program plays a critical function for the professional law enforcement agency that is concerned about quality, productivity, (and) liability and employee morale. Police administrators face the task of making their departments flexible while maintaining economic efficiency. By implementing and maintaining a well versed training program, agency administrators will obtain the desired flexibility and efficiency of a fully trained and professional force. (Scott, 2000) In addition, because well trained employees likely will vie for future supervisory and administrative positions within the department, the agency will benefit from having thoroughly trained candidates with a wide range of experience. (Bandics, 1997)
As already mentioned, a number of benefits can result from an increased police-training program. These benefits include increased productivity, greater commitment from personnel, reduction in lawsuits, more efficient use of resources, and better delivery of public services. Inadequate training can have a negative impact on delivery of services, officer safety, police resources, and the ability of administrators to lead their agencies. (Scott, 2000)
The costs associated with operating a quality-training program are increasing at a time when city police budgets are shrinking. Police departments across the country are experiencing tight budgets due to reduced city and county budgets and reductions in federal government grant programs. The everyday demands of policing often constrain limited resources, and when cost cutting is required, training is usually one of the first programs that get cut. (Scott, 2000)
In Service Training
The funds to train new police recruits are obtained from the state standards and training commission but similar funds are not available for in-service training. The costs of providing every officer with at least 40 hours of in-service training may seem very large to a police administrator. The agency has to bear not only the direct costs such as classrooms, instructors, and training materials but also the cost of releasing in-service personnel from their regular assignments and replacing them while they are in training. Nevertheless, agencies cannot afford not to invest in training.
Risk Management
Good risk management involves keeping the knowledge and skills of the department's personnel current. Police agencies have been slow to implement risk management. Too many wait to be sued or to be threatened with other court action before instituting preventive measures to reduce agency risk. It is not enough to provide drivers training, defensive tactics training, and firearms training to recruits. In-service personnel must receive annual or periodic refresher training on these and other topics such as police ethics and various departmental policies. The departmental training officer must see the position as also being a risk manager in order to take a proactive stance against liability. (Scott, 2000)
Depending on whether the grant is awarded to the department or not, the City recommends implementation of the training program immediately. Because a framework for the program already exists, the only necessary actions are for the departmental training officer to update current lesson plans and work with shift lieutenants for officer training scheduling. Once the programs that were already in place are completed, the department will be able to focus on implementing new programs such as homeland security/emergency preparedness related courses.
Training for Citizens (Community Emergency Response Team)
The Community Emergency Response Team concept confirms the need for civilians to increase their ability to safely help themselves, their families, and their neighbors while understanding their responsibility in preparing for disaster. With such little funding left for both trainers and personnel, the City of Utopia has high hopes for citizens to volunteer their time in aiding the agency in hired personnel. Utopia hopes that the training is apt to give citizens confidence in their ability to apply the knowledge and training they gain enough to commit to working with police officers even throughout the difficulties and dangers officers have to face. Community policing plays an ever more so important role in convincing citizens how much they are needed in prevention and apprehension of criminals. The city is realistic in realizing that many citizens may not feel up to the task of having to face the dangers in police work, but hoping these qualified trainers can drive citizens (for many citizens) to move forward in their passion to commit to their community.
Reiterating the Importance of First Responders
In the aftermath of a major disaster, first response care providers such as fire and medical services will not be able to meet the demand for their services. Many factors play an important role such as the number of victims, communication failures, and road blockages in the immediate access to emergency services. Citizens will have to rely on each other for help in order to meet their immediate life saving and life sustaining needs.
In order to properly implement a community emergency response system the citizens of a community must be adequately trained. Several steps must be followed in the training process. First, citizens must be presented with the facts about what to expect following a disaster. Second the message of responsibility of preparedness must be presented to citizens. Thirdly, citizens must be trained in needed life saving skills with an emphasis on decision making skills, rescuer safety, and doing the greatest good for the greatest number. Lastly the emergency response teams must be organized to reflect an extension of the first response services usually offered. Civilians can be recruited and trained to organize spontaneous volunteers and prioritize and allocate resources following a disaster. Once citizens have completed training, it is important to keep them involved and practiced in their skills. Periodic refresher trainings will be necessary to reinforce basic training. One way of keeping the trained citizen active is through disaster education fairs. It is imperative that funds be allocated to this important cause, which can save so many lives.
Conclusion
The effects of September 11th 2001 are alive and well today, in 2007. People throughout the United States silently watched a city "fall apart" due to lack of communication and an emergency response system that did not work. The citizens of Utopia have exercised concern not only for the regular citizens but for the law enforcement officers who serve them.
In order to rise to the challenge of developing effective ways to communicate, train and work together funds are necessary. The $ 100,000 grant, once allocated would greatly benefit the community by empowering them to help each other in a crisis situation. Law enforcement via comprehensive trainings and effective communication can focus on protecting the community at large. The City of Utopia has good research and recommendations for the allocation of such funding.
As proposed, the need for better communication traffic within law enforcement officials with other departments as well as other jurisdictions seems to hold universal appeal. From the 911 experience, the world has come to realize the importance of prevention, response, and deterrence. The City of Utopia feels justification for such funding a great necessity. Additionally, the Bike Patrol Unit is very promising for several reasons. Not only are the use of bike patrol cost effective, police visibility and ease of direct contact with citizens but they offer a rapid response to any emergency. Alternatively, by using bike patrol, the city can either resell two other patrol cars or have the option of not having to purchase them. The city in return, can acquire an additional funding of approximately $40,000 in automobile costs that can benefit the program that is being proposed” (Dodge, 2005). The last proposal entails the rest of the funding for training purposes. This itself can provide positive implications for future funding. However, the City is expecting or hoping for a surge of citizen volunteers in order for the program to be successful in the long run. If the prediction for the numbers of volunteers meets less than expectation, the City will be forced to have less manpower on the streets. If this were the case, there would still be at least two more officers on the streets than is now present.
Utopia looks forward to bettering the community with education, training, and technology. Perhaps with the incidence of 911 and the influence and need for community policing, citizens will realize the need for their cooperation in order for a better community to take place.
References:
a. (2007). Citizencorps: Uniting communities, preparing the nation.
Allen, K. (2006). Public Safety.
b. (2007). Budget Priorities: Building Nimble & Effective Emergency Response.
Bandics, G. (1997). Cross training: a Step Toward the Future – Police Training.
c. (2007). Ready: Prepare, Plan, Stay Informed.
Community Reporter. (2007). Police Wants Computer Upgrade.
Dodge. (2005). Police Cars.
Heavy Badge. (2007). Critical Incident Stress Reactors.
King, K. (2004). Bike Patrol Equipment.
Kingsport Police. (2006). Bike Patrol Unit.
Scott, E. (2000). Managing Municipal Police Training Programs with Limited Resources.
Seigenthaler, J. (2004). Communication Gaps Persist After 911 Attacks.
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