By Joelyn Hansen I guess since the Apocalypse didn't happen, you get to read this post highlighting the Idaho Falls Police Department's good news of 2012. Aside from the many arrests and crime fighting, we've done this past year, I thought it would be good for us to remember some of those events that perhaps we've forgotten about. We've given out honors, welcomed new folks to the department

As Police Chief, what I’m going to say may sound controversial but here it goes: 1.      I don’t like the idea of criminals and the mentally ill having guns, but knowing that the police response will take minutes when seconds count, I do like the idea of responsible citizens having guns – people like school principals. 2.      Where you stand

Last night, there was an armed robbery at the Midget Market and with the help of technology and excellent police work; we made an arrest five hours later. Just before 7:00 p.m. the suspect set a bottle of wine on the counter and pulled out a revolver while demanding cash.  He left the wine bottle and sunglasses at the scene.  Oops. CSI lifted prints, scanned them into our local database

By Joelyn Hansen It's that time of year when we see spikes in our vehicle burglaries. Between Nov. 5 and Dec. 2, we had a reported 28 incidents. Some of those incidents involved multiple cars. Since Dec. 2, we've had a few more since the Dec. 2. In many of the cases, the vehicle door was left unlock leaving it an easy targets to criminals. Luckily, we've made a couple of arrests, including

"I saw it with my own eyes." This may seem like the best evidence, but my experience shows otherwise. I remember doing some robbery training at a local bank some years ago. I had a detective play the role of robber wearing a red sweatshirt and ball cap. Immediately after the mock robbery, everyone in the bank silently filled out a descriptive worksheet. Outside, I had the detective switch shirts

[Mayor Fuhriman swears in Brandon Prince (left) and Eric Rose (right)]      We had two recent additions to the police department filling vacancies from retirements.  They were selected from a very competitive process. Brandon Prince: Played hockey at Utah State Member of National Guard Native of Huntington Beach, CA Wife is a teacher (part of what she teaches

 We worked to change the department leadership style from Directive to Servant Leader.  We removed the rank-has-its-privileges mindset among supervisors starting by eliminating the reserved parking for captains and chief and making the captains and chief pay for their take-home cars like everyone else.  We also now make the chief and captains wait in line for a new car like everyone

    We initiated localized Intelligence-Led Policing as an enhancement to Community Policing.  It may come as no great surprise that most crime is committed by repeat criminals.  It’s more effective to focus on these 10%’ers than all criminals equally. Besides fielding up-to-date crime analysis to the front line (still a work in progress), we work with the Prosecutor,

    We’ve equipped the officers and implemented technology (Mobile Dispatching, E-Citations, Online Reporting, wireless mobile video download, etc.) to give them the tools they need to be more effective.  I’d much rather have one guy driving a backhoe than a hundred guys with shovels.    I’ve also made some mistakes here.  When it comes to implementing new technology,

Being an animal lover, I find that any time an officer has to shoot a dog is heartbreaking.  I don’t blame the dog and I certainly don’t blame the officer.  The real tragedy is that the owner didn’t keep closer tabs on the animal. In this particular case, Officer Reynolds went to check out some trespassers on the south end of town.  You can see from the video that Officer Reynolds

    We have worked hard to establish citizen trust and satisfaction. I have an open door and accept all complaints from anyone. I have my direct line and cell phone number listed on my business cards and website.  Supervisors who receive officer complaints explain that if they aren’t satisfied with the internal investigation outcome, they are encouraged to discuss the matter

We have dramatically improved relationships with other agencies, particularly the Sheriff’s Office.  One of my first acts as police chief was to tear down a locking door separating the Police Department and Sheriff’s Office.  There was a collective sigh of relieve as this symbolically signaled the end of a long-standing rift between agencies.  Sheriff Paul Wilde and I continued

    Continuing with my obsession in making government more efficient, one of the first things I did was to eliminate a captain and two lieutenant positions and put them on the street.  Of course I did this through attrition (I’m not a barbarian).  Besides putting three additional officers on the street, which would have cost the city over $250,000 a year, it saved the

Those of you who understand me know I can’t rest until I’ve at least made a stab at making things work better.  My dragon-slaying idealism also must get along with my obsession with making government more responsive and efficient.  I’ve carried my experience in business and my MBA into law enforcement to apply some principles that helped us accomplish more with less.  Over the next

When Mayor Fuhriman asked me to be Police Chief five years ago, I told him I’d commit for three to five years.  Rebecca and I knew that when we became empty nesters, we’d be moving onto the next phase of life.  That time has arrived. In late January, we’re heading for Brazil to teach English for five months.  Then we hope to serve an LDS Mission (I’m betting that her good behavior

If you’re in the security business or buy security cameras, make the cameras useful.  Check out these photos from two different business thefts reported to us yesterday and tell me which one will likely yield results. The woman above is suspected of taking sterling silver jewelry from Shopko and will almost certainly be identified.  Identifying the male suspects below

The FBI finally released the crime data for 2011.  The charts show the 5-year trend for the FBI defined definitions of Violent Crime and Property Crime.  Violent Crime includes murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.  Property Crime includes burglary, theft, and auto theft.  I’m especially pleased that violent crime is trending downward even faster than other cities

Okay, so take a close look at the person on the left in the last blog post all spiffed up wearing a jacket and tie.  That would be Mike O'Bleness, CEO of Development Workshop.  Now take a look at the guy holding the rope in this post.  Yes, that's an earlier version of Mike with Rebecca and I on the right. I think I've aged more than him.  What do you think?

By Joelyn Hansen Congratulations CWP!!! Yesterday, the Development Workshop, Inc., honored the Idaho Falls Citizen’s Watch Patrol with the “Mae Tomblison Distinguished Service” award. The award is presented to organizations that have provided outstanding service, contributions and enhancements to the lives of persons with disabilities. The Citizen’s Watch Patrol has annually assisted with

Pictured after completing the Tough Mudder on Oct. 13th in Utah are IFPD Officer Paul Murray and his wife, Heidi; IFPD Officer Bart Whiting (tallest one in the center) andIFPD IT Oliver Lewis (the guy on the right). By Joelyn Hansen Anyone interested in swimming through ice-cold water, belly crawling through 10,000 volts of electricity and then traversing through mud up to your chest?

Add caption By Joelyn Hansen I took this photo of the chief this morning just to reassure blog readers he's still alive! I'm sure with all my posts that some of you have been wondering about his whereabouts. He's here at work, he's just been extremely busy late

Idaho Falls Mayor Jared Fuhriman and Compass Academy art student and teacher Kendra Handy take a picture in front of their mural they painted to help beautify the city.   By Joelyn Hansen When Compass Academy Art Teacher Kendra Handy approached me with an idea back in September I'm not fully sure she knew the magnitude of what she was hoping to accomplish. Students follow