Workshop Schedule

Partnerships: Community Safety and Community Engagement

• Project Safe Neighborhoods: A Community Response to Getting Guns Off Our Streets
• The Re-entry Challenge: the Successful Integration of Ex-Offenders Back into the Community
• Engaging the Community Through Mass Media
• The Role of Crisis Communications in Responding to Public Fear
• Building Partnerships and Easing Tensions with Minority Communities
• Restorative Justice: Partnerships for Public Safety, Offender Accountability, and Peacemaking
• Building Safer Communities through Mental Health and Substance Abuse Partnerships

Project Safe Neighborhoods: A Community Response to Getting Guns Off Our Streets

Monday, June 16 (10:30 a.m. – noon)

Moderator: 

Mr. Ken Howard, Senior Policy Analyst, COPS Office

Presenters:

Mr. Reagan Dunn, Senior Counsel to the Director, Project Safe Neighborhoods Coordinator, Executive Office of the United States Attorney
Special Agent Mark Kraft, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
Ms. Lois Mock, Senior Social Scientist, National Institute of Justice
Ms. Marilyn Morey, National Crime Prevention Council
Ms. Paula Wulff, Senior Attorney, National District Attorneys Association

The U.S. Department of Justice formed a partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the International Association of Chiefs of Police; the National District Attorneys Association; the Community Policing Consortium; Michigan State University; and the National Crime Prevention Council. This partnership was developed to create a full range of training and technical assistance opportunities for every partner in Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). Opportunities range from one-day training for uniformed patrol officers to executive summits for agency leaders. Districts can request customized instruction to support a self-initiated or pre-existing training program, or receive more comprehensive technical assistance geared toward sustaining PSN partnerships over the long term. This training and technical assistance can be delivered in a local jurisdiction at no cost. This presentation will provide an overview of PSN and includes discussions of the available materials, methods of training and technical assistance, and identification of individual points of contact for the wide variety of help available to make PSN succeed. This panel will be of value to line-level officers, command staff, prosecutors, and community leaders who wish to learn more about the federal government’s training and technical assistance efforts in working with local communities to make their streets safe

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The Re-entry Challenge: the Successful Integration of Ex-Offenders Back into the Community

Monday, June 16 (2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.)

Moderator: 

Ms. Katherine McQuay, Program Manager, COPS Office

Presenters:

Director Blake Norton, Public Affairs and Community Programs, Boston (MA) Police Department
Superintendent Patrick Bradley, Suffolk County House of Correction
Ms. Wanda Jackson, Resource Coordinator, Reintegrating Alternatives Personal Program
Mr. E. Scott Frison, General Counsel, Reintegrating Alternatives Personal Program

With over half a million ex-offenders leaving prison every year and returning to their communities, cities and towns across the country are facing an enormous challenge. The statistics are grim, with over half of those individuals likely to re-offend within the first three years. In spite of the obstacles, many jurisdictions are developing unique, creative programs to meet this challenge. One is example is Boston, where a re-entry program has been developed under the COPS-funded Value-Based Initiative. Workshop participants from Boston will discuss the partnership that has been created among the Boston Police Department, the Suffolk County House of Correction, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Probation and Parole, and a variety of community-based partners. They will also discuss the unique role that faith-based mentors play in the process. Another innovative program is taking place in Washington, D.C., and representatives of the Reintegrating Alternatives Personal Program (RAPP) will share how they are bringing together faith-based organizations, police, government, probation and parole, and community members to combat recidivism. RAPP representatives will discuss their roles as a pioneers in this effort and how their program is serving as a model for faith-based organizations in other states.

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Engaging the Community Through Mass Media

Monday, June 16, 2003 (3:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.)

Moderator: 

Mr. Gilbert Moore, Public Affairs Specialist, COPS Office

Presenters:

Steven Chermak, Ph.D., Director of Graduate Affairs, Department of Criminal Justice, Indiana University
Chief J. L. Dotson, Chattanooga (TN) Police Department
Mr. Ed Buice, Media Director, Chattanooga (TN) Police Department

The workshop will provide an overview of law enforcement agency practices for advancing community policing and enhancing community trust and respect through effective use of the media. For community policing to be successful, it is essential to win the support of citizens and engage a wide range of stakeholders in the fight against crime. Law enforcement agencies know this calls for an organizational commitment to the effective dissemination of information to the news media. However, advancing community policing through the media is no easy task, and requires a department’s philosophical and practical commitment. The workshop will discuss the results of a recent COPS-funded study on the effectiveness of engaging the public through the media. This workshop will also examine the Chattanooga Police Department’s successful approach to engaging the community through mass media.

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The Role of Crisis Communications in Responding to Public Fear

Tuesday, June 17 (10:30 a.m. – 11:45 p.m.)

Moderator: 

TBD by Gilbert Moore

Presenters:

Colonel Randall Larsen, USAF, Ret., Director, Institute for Homeland Security
Mr. Mitchell Miller, News Editor, WTOP Radio Network
Robert J. Louden, Ph.D., Director, Criminal Justice Center and Security Management Institute, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Frank G. Straub, Ph.D., Commissioner of Public Safety, White Plains, NY

This workshop will examine the benefits of effective crisis communications strategies in response to the ongoing threat of terrorism, disasters, crime waves, and other occurrences that heighten citizen fear or require the dissemination of information that is critical to public safety. As law enforcement agencies have learned as a result of the tragic events of 9-11, the beltway sniper incident, and an increased focus on homeland security, sharing vital and sensitive information with the public is a necessity in mitigating fear and responding to crises. This workshop will examine the importance of an effective crisis communication plan, and practical issues associated with communicating with the public during a crisis. The workshop will feature several short presentations followed by an interactive panel discussion between speakers and conference participants. This workshop will be of interest to law enforcement public information officers, command-level law enforcement officers, and municipal officials involved in developing or executing emergency response plans for terrorist attacks, natural disasters, crime waves, or other occurrences that impact large percentages of the population.

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Building Partnerships and Easing Tensions with Minority Communities

Tuesday, June 17 (2 – 3:15 pm)

Moderator: 

Bill Matthews, Executive Director, Community Policing Consortium

Presenters: 

Chief Russell Leach, Riverside Police Department
Lt. Alex Tortes, Riverside Police Department 
Alfredo Figueroa, Chair, Latino Network

This workshop will explore how to improve law enforcement relationships with minority communities by providing a brief overview of the Community Engagement Technical Assistance Program (produced by the Community Policing Consortium and funded by the COPS Office) which is designed to develop trust between local law enforcement, community-based organizations, business owners, religious leaders, and other stakeholders.  In addition, this workshop will feature a detailed discussion by representatives from the Riverside Police Department and the community on how this program helped to reduce a potentially violent situation in their city.

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Restorative Justice: Partnerships for Public Safety, Offender Accountability, and Peacemaking

Ms. Keesha Thompson, Regional Supervisor, COPS Office 

Presenters:

Torian Donohoe, J.D., Division of Educational Research and Service, University of Montana
Associate Professor Joanne Katz, Missouri Western State College;
Director Art Lusse, J.D., Community Dispute Resolution Center
Chu Wu, Project Director of Hmong Circles of Peace, Upper Midwest Community Policing Institute

Community policing has at its core the principle that community involvement is a necessary component to solutions for public safety. Restorative justice is based on the concept that the criminal offender must be held directly responsible for repairing the harm caused to the victim and the community following a crime. When used in partnership with other community institutions, recidivism is reduced and victim and community satisfaction are significantly enhanced. The Upper Midwest Community Policing Institute has partnered with the Hmong Circles of Peace, a restorative justice process which holds community healing at its cornerstone by allowing the victim, the offender, and community representatives to participate in developing culturally acceptable responses to crime. The Safe Schools Project at the University of Montana, funded in part by the Department of Justice, has developed peacemaking and restorative justice models unique to three Montana Indian Reservations. By building a strong foundation and teaching productive ways of addressing conflict resolution, these tribal justice systems are facilitating the development of social competency in youth. The St. Joseph, Missouri School District used federal funding to institute the use of restorative justice for reentering elementary and middle school students after an in-district suspension program. The students showed a marked change in behavior after studying a restorative justice curriculum and participating in a Circle Conference with school personnel and victims. This panel will provide a wealth of information in the area of restorative justice and will document best practices and provide models that can be used by law enforcement and communities. It will be of value to community representatives and leaders; state, local, and tribal government officials; law enforcement command staff; and juvenile justice and social service researchers and practitioners.

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Building Safer Communities through Mental Health and Substance Abuse Partnerships

Wednesday, June 18 (8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.)

Moderator: 

Ms. Vonda Matthews, Program Analyst, COPS Office

Presenters:

Sergeant Dee Dee Rhinehart, Gastonia (NC) Police Department
Ms. Angela Williamson, Mayor’s Taskforce on Homelessness, City of Gastonia (NC) Mr. Fred Wilson, National Sheriff’s AssociationExecutive Director John Matthews, Community Safety Institute
Major Sam Cochran, Memphis (TN) Police Department
Mr. Ron Honberg, Attorney, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

Building strong collaborative partnerships between law enforcement, mental health, and substance treatment professionals is an important step in reducing the number of individuals inappropriately housed in jails and prisons or suffering on our streets. This workshop will highlight three ongoing projects that address specialized populations. In 1988, the Memphis Police Department forged partnerships with the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, mental health providers, and consumers to form the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model, a community-based program dedicated to responding to crisis events related to mental illness and/or suicide issues. The CIT program has received national attention for its success in developing a more intelligent, understandable, and safe approach to crisis intervention.  This workshop will offer practical information on how to organize and implement a specialized police unit, methods for the delivery of specialized training for officers by mental health professionals and family members, and tools for establishing working partnerships between the police, family members, consumers, and mental health providers. Meanwhile, the National Sheriff’s Association collaborated with the Treatment Advocacy Center to develop a curriculum and video entitled “Model on Law Enforcement and Mental Health Partnerships.” Workshop attendees will be able to view the video and consider an overview of effective responses during this segment of the panel. Finally, the Gastonia Police Department implemented several initiatives to assist the homeless population, including mentoring the homeless, providing alternatives to homelessness, and developing partnerships with other community organizations. Its presentation will examine how to locate and identify helpers, how to establish rapport with the homeless, and how to successfully mentor individuals seeking alternatives to homelessness. This workshop should prove useful for law enforcement officers, mental health workers, and others involved with providing services to the mentally ill and/or to individuals with substance abuse concerns.

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