Wednesday, November 27, 2013

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

The Holiday season is upon us. . . . .

In the spirit of the season I hope this finds all healthy and preparing to visit friends and family for the holiday; overeat as I will, and, watch a little "football."  If you are traveling over the holiday, be careful and safe, prepared for quick changes in weather.  I also encourage everyone to take their time, planning on leaving early and giving yourselves time to travel safely.  I always worry about the day travelers such as myself and my wife who travel a good number of miles all in one day there and back.  These can be long days and you put a little turkey in any of us and a nap always looks better than a drive.  Just make every effort to be safe.

I hate to tell you I told you so, but . . . .

A while back in a previous post I had mentioned that as the weather changes, we see an increase in thefts from vehicles and properties.  Well we have.  Any thing you as a member of the public can do to help us help you to protect your property is always appreciated.  It is much easier to work in preventing crime than it has ever been to investigate and arrest for criminal activity.

You are our extra sets of eyes and ears, you know who lives or has reason to be in your neighborhoods and you also know when someone is a stranger.  By protecting your property and calling us when you have a concern, we can work together to keep Kearney safe.

A difficult couple of weeks . . . 

You will seldom hear me complain about life in Kearney and today is no different.  We are blessed and need to keep that foremost in our minds.  I must tell you though, these last three weeks have been difficult on staff.  This time of year often brings tragic events and most are aware that this is the case here in Kearney.  Doing what we do as police officers, we see many things, some of which are really horrible.  This takes a toll on the officers, one that most people do not understand or realize.  

Many times, the calls for service are somewhat mundane but when we face a tragedy we do not always have a means of just putting it someplace and not thinking about it.  This is true for anyone in emergency services, whether it is law enforcement, EMS, fire or our communications officers.  It is equally true that many tragedies occur at this time of year, or seem somehow more tragic because of the date.  

The public is often blissfully unaware of all of the tragedy of the season and may find it difficult to grasp how or why these things happen.  We would ask that if you have the opportunity to help another at this time of year, regardless of how that help is provided, do so.  You may well prevent something horrible in someone else's life.

I personally would ask that if you have a chance to interact with one of the Officer's you take the time to say hello and wish them the best of the holiday season.

The cycle continues . . . .

We have been in the process of creating a hiring list for the department.  It is a bit of a drawn out process and I won't go through it all here but suffice it to say in take some time.  We have had initial testing and interviews and have narrowed the field down based upon those criteria.  We will proceed with two further sets of interviews to determine suitability for hire.  We should have an established list by just after the first of the year.

We are also promoting a Sergeant, which is a separate process.  Again, we have a fine list of interested officers all from within the department.  This is a challenging and competitive process.  This will begin just after the first of December.

Last but not least, something you probably did not know . . .

A great deal of what we do as Police is to gather information, and provide documentation for not only our activities but for others as well.  Today I got a letter from an attorney's office that proceeds the potential for a civil law suit between their client and another party.  The letter warned us that they would be seeking information, reports and all manner of correspondence on a specific matter.  Well, thanks for the heads up.  This is not unusual and the requirements for the department to maintain records and such are clearly written in statute.  I guess I just like the warning when I get one.

On a lighter note, I also got a letter from a prosecuting attorney from Texas.  One of our officers was recently subpoenaed to testify in a criminal trial in Texas.  The prosecutor was effusive in his praise and thanks for the work of the Officer and the cooperation of the department.  That is always nice to hear.

What I'm saying is that at the end of the day, our success is built upon the collection and sharing of information, (lawfully), and working together and in concert with other agencies to identify and apprehend criminals.  This is allot like working together with the public to prevent crime.  Our history and demonstrated ability to work collaboratively has been a boon to the department and the community.  To that end, we have recently begun using an information exchange system, on-line, that links several departments or agencies in the south central Nebraska area and allows us to share information.  It makes it very easy to make each other more aware of what is going on in each of our communities.  We see this as a real positive and potentially can improve and enhance our service to the area.  

Well let's call that a wrap.  I would again wish everyone a very happy thanksgiving and we'll talk again in December.

Friday, November 8, 2013

It has been awhile, sorry . . . .

Well I do apologize as I am not certain where the time went over the last month.  Lots of activities with my family and I just got side tracked.  I want to get to this as needed or every two weeks, but sometimes, life gets in the way.

ACTIVITIES OF NOTE
Over the last 30 days, the Officer's have been busy and have done some really good work.  A long term investigation culminated in the arrest of two people and I believe gave a neighborhood back a sense of comfort.

Long term investigations can really frustrate the public.  It always seems to take too long, be too complicated and for most of the people it seems too obvious that wrongdoing is going on.  Well sometimes, we agree.  The reality is that to make a criminal case or address a criminal issue, requires evidence.  Without being clever, common sense does not necessarily constitute evidence of a crime.  Physical, circumstantial, testimonial types of evidence take time to locate, verify and explain for purposes of prosecution.  Frankly unless a crime is committed in front of an officer, and sometimes even if this occurs, we will have to produce probable cause in order to obtain a warrant for the arrest of someone.

In the case of the neighborhood here we could not have been more pleased or thankful for their cooperation and patience.  We too have frustrations but do want them to know that we appreciate all they have done to support us and our investigations.

We also recently dealt with a student at Kearney High School which has raised a good deal of public concern.  An Officer was forced to use force to subdue this young person and it is my impression that people question this situation.  I cannot comment specifically on this case as this needs to continue through the appropriate systems.  Suffice it to say that it is always unfortunate to have a contact end up with force being required and yet is more often necessary than people realize.  Behaviors are not always mere verbal exchanges but even with people in this age group, it can result in physical confrontations.  Officers are allowed to use that force necessary to effect an arrest and to protect themselves and others.  Our hope is that the help needed in these situations is obtained for the people in need.

A BIT OF CARRYOVER INFORMATION . . . .
In a previous post I mentioned an initiative to work on bike, pedestrian and skateboarder safety.  Jan Rochford from here in Kearney was and is a driving force behind this effort and is looking for other who might want to help in this effort.  The effort will continue in the spring and we will work to develop programs and the effort in full to deal with safety for these groups.  If you are interested in helping, you can contact Jan.

If you check the City of Kearney website you'll notice many things in the Police Department's area.  One of these is we try to do a topical monthly "TRAFFIC TIP".  This month's tip is in regards to being prepared as a vehicle operator, now that frost and ice are a greater possibility.  We continue to urge people to clean their vehicle windows thoroughly before driving when covered with snow/frost or ice.  Not just that small area on a windshield but all windows, completely.  Failing to do so creates real danger for the vehicle operator and others.  Take the time to do this for yourself and others.  Also, I would pass on here that starting your vehicle and letting it idle while the defroster does the work is not a good idea.  First, you're wasting fuel but you also leave yourself open to someone driving off in your vehicle.  A decision that, if it happens to you will not only be embarrassing but could easily be expensive.  Well that's enough of me sounding like your parent, but seriously please keep this in mind.

As we approach the holiday shopping season we would also again encourage you to lock your vehicles.  I mentioned this in a post some time ago, but sadly I have been proven right.  This time of year we have people who tend to steal from unlocked vehicles and we all leave way too many valuable items in our cars.  This problem just gets magnified when we begin to shop for holiday gifts.  If you are going to be shopping, put your purchases in a secure area of the vehicle such as your trunk.  If that is not possible, make certain the items are stored and covered and that the vehicle is locked.  None of us have enough money to buy presents twice.

Well for now, that seems like plenty.  As always if you want to start a dialogue about a topic I've mentioned or something your are interested in, simply sign up for the blog and add a comment.  Until next time, be safe and have a great holiday season.