The California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) held a two-day Statewide Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Coordinator’s Meeting in April.  The meeting focused on issues pertaining to law enforcement response to incidents of civil disobedience and public protest.
 

POST Senior Consultant Robert “R.C.” Smith delivered a presentation on the revised POST Guidelines for Crowd Management, Intervention, and Control.
 

The Guidelines may be obtained on the POST Website.  

 

Questions about the POST Guidelines for Crowd Management, Intervention, and Control may be directed to Senior Consultant Robert “R.C.” Smith, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-3902.

 

BASIC COURSE PHYSICAL TRAINING INSTRUCTOR UPDATE COURSE

During April, basic course physical training subject matter experts met in Sacramento to develop materials and curriculum for a new physical training instructor course intended to update existing instructors on the new Basic Course Physical Training Curriculum.  The group revised required anatomy, physiology, and biomechanic related topics and added student learning activities.  A pilot presentation of this 30-hour Physical Training Instructor Update Course is scheduled for June.  Three additional presentations will follow the pilot.

Questions about the Basic Course Physical Training Instructor Update Course may be directed to Personnel Selection Consultant Michael Catlin, Standards and Evaluation Services Bureau, at (916) 227-2570.

 

POST launched the SAFE Driving Campaign News Alert at the beginning of April.  This News Alert is specific to the SAFE Driving Campaign and will provide recipients with links to training materials, news articles, research studies, videos, and other information that further the goal of reducing law enforcement fatalities and career ending injuries resulting from vehicle collisions.

The SAFE Driving Campaign is a POST initiative focused on changing attitudes, improving training, increasing accountability, and mobilizing leadership to achieve the goal nationwide. Information on the SAFE Driving campaign may be obtained on the POST Website.

 

NEW DID YOU KNOW: MARSY’S LAW, RELEASED
 

In an effort to remind peace officers of their responsibilities under Marsy’s Law, Learning Technology Resources Bureau has just released a new “Did You Know?” on the Learning Portal.
 

The “Did You Know’s?” are 60 – 90 second video spots that deliver a strong training message in a quick and dynamic way.

 

Marsy’s Law enumerated 17 victim rights that are now codified in California laws. Penal Code 679.02 (c)(3) expanded the definition of victim and mandates that every law enforcement agency investigating a criminal act provide or make available to each victim of every criminal act a Marsy’s Rights card.
 

The Marsy’s Law “Did You Know?” recounts poignant stories that depict the importance of officers understanding their role in the victim’s journey through the legal system.

 

To view the Marsy’s Law “Did You Know?” go to the POST Website.

 

Questions about “Did You Know?” video series may be directed to Bureau Chief Jan Bullard, Learning Technology Resources Bureau, at (916) 227-4829.

 

POST PROVIDES GUIDANCE TO INCREASED ACADEMY PRESENTATION CHALLENGES

After several years of a diminished level of academy presentations, including several presenters whose Regular Basic Course (RBC) programs went dormant, many of California’s RBC academy presenters have begun to reinvigorate their programs in anticipation of a potential increasing demand for entry level peace officers.  Whether this is due to a resurgence in the economy, personnel attrition through retirement, or other factors, it is apparent many regions throughout the state are anticipating increased law enforcement hiring for the next few years.

Many academy staff members are either new to training assignments or have been away from the training environment for a considerable amount of time.  POST’s Basic Training Bureau has recognized a substantial need to assist presenters in their endeavor to resume their prior levels of academy operations.  To that extent, the Basic Training Bureau provides a robust level of assistance to the academy community by training numerous staff members throughout the state, as well as providing in-depth guidance to assist in the reactivation of formerly dormant programs.  The Basic Training Bureau highly recommends RBC presenters, both agency and college based, take advantage of academy related POST training opportunities as well as full participation in Consortium meetings in order to increase the quality of academy curriculum delivery, mitigate compliance issues, and ensure operational efficiency.
 

Questions about the POST Basic Training Bureau assistance to Regular Basic Course academy presenters may be directed to Senior Consultant Bob Ziglar, Basic Training Bureau, at (916) 227-4259; or Senior Consultant Scott Loggins, Basic Training Bureau, at (916) 227-3467.

 

POST HOSTS A WORKSHOP TO UPDATE THE AVIATION SECURITY COURSE

The Aviation Security Course is legislatively mandated for any peace officer who is an airport security officer, airport police officer, or airport special officer, regularly employed and paid by a city, county, city and county, or district (Penal Code Section 832.1).

 

In April, POST hosted a three-day workshop to revise the course.  All qualifying agencies and presenters were invited to participate.  Seven subject matters experts met with Basic Training Bureau staff to review the current 40-hour Aviation Security Course for relevance, consistency, and ease of presentation.
 

The attendees were course presenters from Los Angeles World Airport Police Department (LAWA), Orange County Sheriff's Department, San Diego Harbor Police Department, and representatives of the Burbank Airport Authority Police Department.

 

The workshop yielded a revised Aviation Security Course and expanded course outline.  The revised course addresses the needs and trends of Aviation Security in the state of California.  If approved by the Office of Administrative Law (AOL) and the Commission, the new curriculum will be effective on January 1, 2013.
 

Questions about the workshop and/or the proposed revised course content may be directed to Senior Consultant Alexis Blaylock, Basic Training Bureau, at (916) 227-3454.

 

POST PARTICIPATES WITH THE GREATER SACRAMENTO AREA TASK FORCE ON HATE CRIME
 

The Greater Sacramento Area Task Force on Hate Crime consists of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and community organizations dedicated to preventing and combating hate crimes.  The Task Force meets three times per year and is sponsored by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.  It is comprised of over 40 agencies and organizations, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the region’s District Attorneys and law enforcement agencies, Sacramento Human Rights Fair Housing Commission, the NAACP, the Anti-Defamation League, California State University Sacramento, and other organizations.
 

At these meetings, participants make presentations, exchange information, report on ongoing initiatives and issues relating to hate crime reporting, investigation and prosecution, and report on cooperation between law enforcement and the community.  The Task Force also co-sponsors hate crimes conferences and workshops in Sacramento and other cities throughout the region.

 

Questions about POST involvement with the Greater Sacramento Area Task Force on Hate Crime may be directed to Senior Consultant Robert “R.C.” Smith, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-3902.

 

THE 2012 POST INSTRUCTOR SYMPOSIUM

The 2012 POST Instructor Development Institute (IDI) Annual Training Symposium was held during April in San Diego.  The Symposium was presented by the San Diego Regional Training Center and featured the theme entitled, “Training Without Limits.”

 

The Instructor Symposium provides an opportunity for instructors to receive state-of-the-art instructor training and satisfy the academy instructor and continuing professional training requirements.  The Symposium was attended by approximately 420 instructors, 100 of whom are Institute of Criminal Investigation (ICI) instructors.
 

The first morning of this year’s Symposium was dedicated to ICI instructors that use the “4Cs” (Connections, Concepts, Concrete Practice, and Conclusions) to design and deliver great training.  A luncheon followed the morning activities and culminated with an awards ceremony presentation for Excellence in Instruction Awards.  Awards recipients were nominated by their presenters for excellence in instruction of ICI courses.  POST presented Kris Allshouse with the Robert Presley ICI 2012 Founder’s Award for his achievements as a POST Advanced and Master Instructor facilitator, and his significant efforts in redesigning the ICI Homicide, Burglary, ID Theft, and Gangs courses.

 

The Symposium featured multiple workshops on topics, such as Social Media, Effective Classroom Facilitation, Video Production, Apple for Law Enforcement Training, Speaking with Confidence and Clarity, Transforming the Way You Work, Managing Emotions in the Classroom, Civil Liability Update, Learning Activities for Law Enforcement, Crucial Conversations, and Instructional Technology.

 

Questions about the Instructor Symposium or the IDI Program may be directed to Senior Consultant Anne Brewer, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-4895.
 

 

 

In April, POST launched two new courses on the Learning Portal: “Domestic Violence:  It’s Your Call,” Volumes I and II.  The courses are made up of five scenarios (two in Volume I and three in Volume II) plus domestic violence related learning points on topics such as strangulation, stalking, and the long-term nature of domestic violence.  Each scenario takes approximately 1.5 hours to complete and course progress is saved so that users can exit and return to complete the scenarios over multiple sessions.

 

Repurposed from CD-ROM for Web interaction or updated with current DV information, this training prepares patrol officers to meet the challenges of domestic violence calls by placing them in realistic situations in which they interact with subjects, collect evidence, and prepare a report.  As they navigate through each scenario, officers can practice and build confidence, learn from mistakes, or try different approaches until they master effective investigation and reporting for domestic violence cases.

 

Four hours of CPT credit are earned upon completion of Volume I and six hours of CPT credit are earned upon completion of Volume II.  Each course meets the legislative mandate for biennial Domestic Violence Update Training (Penal Code 13519).

 

Questions about “Domestic Violence:  It’s Your Call” may be directed to Senior Instructional Designer Catherine Bacon, Learning Technology Resources Bureau, at (916) 227-4546.

 

 

The Law Enforcement Command College graduated its 50th class in April, in San Diego bringing the number of Command College graduates to 1,028.  Following welcoming remarks by POST Senior Consultant Mike Davies, Lieutenant Spencer Boyce, California Highway Patrol, presented a summary of his futures portfolio, “Jedi Knights Wanted:  Apply Within.”  Lieutenant Boyce’s portfolio focused on the use of holographic technology in courtroom testimony.  He impressed the point that with the ongoing breakthroughs in holographic technology, combined with the public’s desire for cost-effective law enforcement, it is realistic to expect a holographic testimony system to be in place in California’s traffic courts in the foreseeable future.  In light of the 6th Amendment’s “confrontation clause,” the viability of holographic technology in criminal cases will likely be decided by the United States Supreme Court.

 

The keynote address was delivered by Fremont Police Department, Police Chief Craig Steckler.  Chief Steckler, 2012 recipient of the O.J. “Bud” Hawkins Memorial Award and First Vice-President, IACP, spoke about the future of policing in the context of emerging forms of technology and the interplay among the different generations of peace officers.

 

Captain John Feeney, San Francisco Police Department, was the Class Speaker.  Captain Feeney spoke on the importance of continuing to give of ourselves in developing those we lead, challenging each graduate to reflect earnestly about the legacy we create as leaders.

 

Captain Dan Hughes, Fullerton Police Department, was the recipient of the Hank Koehn Award for “Most Inspirational Student.”  Lieutenant Stephanie Shannon, Simi Valley Police Department, received the Dorothy Harris Award for Academic Achievement.  Dr. Sandy Boyd was the recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Member Award.

 

Applications are currently being accepted for Law Enforcement Command College Class 54, which begins December 2, 2012, in San Diego.  The deadline for submitting applications is August 3, 2012.  Applicants must meet minimum experience requirements at the time the application is submitted.  Comprehensive information regarding the Command College requirements, application, and curriculum may be obtained on the POST Website.

 

Questions about the Command College registration or other matters may be directed to Senior Consultant Mike Davies, Center for Leadership Development Bureau, at (916) 227-4892.

 

 

POST Strategic Plan Objective B.15.10 directs staff to develop methods to effectively assess the quality of training courses and instructors.  Since January 2011, POST staff and SMEs have met to formulate evaluation instruments and methodologies, perform data analysis for discussion and possible revisions, and conduct pilot tests of the evaluation processes.  New course and instructor evaluation rubrics have been developed to assess instructor performance and the quality of presentations of POST-certified courses.  Testing of the new evaluation rubrics began in August and has consisted of approximately 20 course and instructor evaluations to date.  Courses utilized for the pilot tests were randomly selected from the Course Catalog.  Training presenters were contacted in advance, and cooperated with POST evaluators to test the new forms in their courses.  A new Course/Instructor Evaluator training course has been piloted to train managers and evaluators in use of the forms.

 

POST continues to explore prospective web applications for the new evaluation forms.  These applications include integration with mobile phone platforms which could be available for evaluations by students, expanded reporting and analysis capability through EDI, and incentivizing student evaluations of courses.  When finalized, the course and instructor evaluation rubrics will be available on the POST Website for use by training managers and supervisors.

 

Questions about the Quality Assessment project may be directed to Senior Consultant Tami Evans, Training Program Services Bureau, at (916) 227-0473.

 

 

The POST Library and Research Center is pleased to announce direct access to a newly acquired database: Criminal Justice Abstracts.  Over 200 sources are available in full text.  To access the link, go to the Library Home Page, click on “Online Databases,” then “Ebscohost Research Databases.”  This excellent research tool is available to POST staff, students, and instructors of Command College and the Supervisory Leadership Institute.  A link has been posted on these internal sites.

 

Many law enforcement journals are not indexed in commercial databases, but Criminal Justice Abstracts covers the most law enforcement journals of any other single source, plus many related legal publications.

 

Questions about the above database may be directed to Supervising Librarian Laurel Espell, Administrative Services Bureau, at (916) 227-3204.

 

IN MEMORY OF RETIRED POST SENIOR CONSULTANT TOM SCHEIDECKER

 

POST and California law enforcement professionals are mourning the passing of Senior Law Enforcement Consultant Thomas Jack Scheidecker, who lost his courageous battle with cancer on Saturday, April 21, 2012.  Tom passed peacefully at his home, in Modesto, surrounded by his devoted wife (Mary), family, and friends.  Tom was hired as a Senior Consultant at POST in 2002.  He served as a Training Delivery Region Consultant in the San Joaquin Valley for six years and in the Management Counseling Services Bureau for the past four years.  Tom served with distinction and law enforcement benefitted from his richly varied background and over 39 years of law enforcement experience prior to being hired by POST. 

 

Tom began his law enforcement career as a records clerk, at the age of 19, with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, in 1963.  He joined his father’s department, the Los Angeles Police Department, on August 4, 1965.  He retired as a Lieutenant on March 21, 1992.

 

Tom served as Chief of Police of the Ripon Police Department in California from February 24, 1992 to February 25, 2000.  He completed an additional two years with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department in a non-sworn administrative role and served as a Level I Reserve for the San Francisco Police Department from April 19, 2002 to September 1, 2004.

 

Tom was also a career Navy reservist.  He was an Intelligence Officer and held a Top Secret Security Clearance.  He retired at the rank of Commander.  Following military retirement and separation from San Francisco Police Department, Tom attended training to become a licensed boat pilot with the Coast Guard Auxiliary on the San Joaquin Delta.  He was also a licensed aircraft pilot and an accomplished SCUBA diver. 

 

Tom earned a Bachelors Degree and Masters Degree in Criminology from CSU Long Beach, a Juris Doctorate in Law from the University of La Verne, and graduated from the FBI National Academy.  He also earned his POST Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Supervisory, Management, and Executive Certificates. 

 

To many, Tom was a role model.  He was capable, patient, sensitive, and modest.  He was a consummate professional who would always take time to help others.  His service in both military and law enforcement intelligence reflected his attention to detail.  His experience in mentoring and advising officers at all levels complemented his contributions to his chosen profession.  He was a trusted employee, an effective practitioner, and a valued friend.

 

Though soft-spoken, Tom had a wry sense of humor that close friends truly enjoyed. Tom enjoyed going to lunch with colleagues.  He especially liked the green salsa at Emma’s Mexican Restaurant, in West Sacramento.  Tom enjoyed his work with the field but his real devotion was to his family.  He kept his coworkers posted on the hiring process when his son, Andrew, was applying for San Diego Police Department.  He glowed with pride when Andrew was hired, completed the academy, and became the third generation of Scheideckers to enter the law enforcement profession.

 

Tom had a huge candy jar that was always prominently displayed in his office.  He said it was how he lured people in to visit.  And it worked!   Tom Scheidecker will be greatly missed by all those privileged to have known him, but his contributions to POST and the law enforcement profession will never be forgotten.