This Friday, Officer Baird officially graduates from the academy. Which means he’ll be back on the streets of Idaho Falls shortly afterward. We’re excited to officially have him a part of our patrol team.Just to give you a little look into what he’s been doing this final week, here’a a tidbit from Mark Merrill at the Idaho P.O.S.T. Academy.“This week is the final week for this Academy. Monday and

Officer Baird is down to 2 weeks at the academy before he returns back to the IFPD. Some days it doesn’t seem like he was gone all that long. Other days, we’ve been anxious to get him back ASAP!But, he’s expected to graduate next Friday (Nov. 21)! I’m sure we’re just as excited as he is.Here’s a little about what he’s be doing for the last few weeks. Last week they covered a multitude of topics, including

Officer Baird is inching closer to graduation as the Patrol Academy #181 nears completion. Hard to believe that by next month Officer Baird will begin his field training. Here’s the latest from Idaho POST Training Specialist Mark Merrill:“Patrol Academy  #181 is doing well. There was no test this morning, so morale is a little bit higher today. Last week was long and covered Crash and DUI Investigations.

By Mark McBrideThe Idaho Falls Police Department implemented the Cars-For-the-Community program (take-home cars) around 1998 to deter crime and traffic violations, promote operational readiness and realize cost savings. Cities across the nation participate and benefit from similar programs.When drivers see police cars, they typically slow down to ensure they’re obeying the law. The same effect is

Here’s another quick update from Mark Merrill at the Idaho POST Academy.Officers completed their 3rd “Weekly Exam” and averages remain fairly high. The class average was 86.4% for this exam.They also completed classroom portions for Officer Survival, Patrol Procedures, and Building Search. They also got up and out of the classroom for practical building search instruction, decision shooting exercises,

Exciting news out of the Idaho POST academy this week – Idaho Falls Police Officer Jon Baird was elected as the vice president of the class!Way to go Jon!That’s a great honor and his POST classmates selecting him as their VP really speaks to his great character! We’re positive he’ll represent his class and our department well.Patrol Academy #181 is at their half-way mark, which means that they class

Idaho POST Training Specialist Mark Merrill continues to send us weekly updates. It’s always great to find out what our officers are working on at POST. Officer Baird is getting closer to completion!From Mark Merrill:This week is pretty easy for the Academy, each half of the class simply switches. It’s EVOC and Firearms again. What group one did last week group two does this week, and vise-versa.

Here’s another update from Training Specialist Mark Merrill at the Idaho POST Academy. Officer Baird continues to do well as he moves closer to graduation.Here are some of the highlights from last week and what Officer Baird is working on this week:The last week of the Academy included Drug ID & Investigation, Domestic Violence, CPR & First Aid, Special Needs Citizens, and Reactive Impact

Here’s another update on Officer Baird at the Idaho POST Academy.Patrol #181 is off to a great start for week 3. Everyone took, and passed, the Law Week Exam. The class average was 89.4, which is pretty high considering the topic and the amount of material covered.This week is Drug ID and Investigation, Domestic Violence, Special Needs Citizens, CPR & First Aid, Active Countermeasures, and a Thursday/Friday

By Joelyn HansenRemember Officer Baird? He’s one of our newest patrol officers that was sworn in recently. He’s currently attending the Idaho POST academy.We received an update on what they’ve completed in the first week. Thought perhaps it would be fun to share with our readers.The Patrol Academy #181, which graduates Oct. 21, spent the first week covering drill & ceremony, report writing, use

By Joelyn HansenThe wonders of social media continue to amaze me. You never know what can happen.A few weeks ago we honored Officer Shawn Williams with a Life-Saving award for his efforts in saving a man’s life. As the first to respond, Officer Williams found a man, unconscious and not breathing. He went into rescue mode and began CPR until paramedics arrived.We posted about Officer Williams’ recognition

Sarah Hendry and Ashley Moore pin badges on their husbands, Chris Hendry and Coleman Moore, during their swearing in ceremony on Sept. 22.By Joelyn HansenOur police department grew by two on Monday. Actually, I should rephrase that, we thankfully filled to two vacant positions with two awesome new officers.We didn’t have to look very far to find Coleman Moore and Chris Hendry. They’ve been working

By Joelyn Hansen Sarah Hendry & Ashley Moore pin badges on their husbands, Chris Hendry and Coleman Moore, during their swearing in ceremony on Monday (Sept. 22).Our police department grew by two on Monday. Actually, I should rephrase that, we thankfully filled to two vacant positions with two awesome new officers.We didn’t have to look very far to find Coleman Moore and Chris Hendry. They’ve

Officers Hendry and Moore Sworn In Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper officially swore in the city’s newest police officers, Chris Hendry and Coleman Moore, in council chambers on Monday.“You’re joining a force that has a reputation for providing a safe community,” Mayor Casper said during the ceremony. “It’s up to you that every positive association that the community has with seeing a uniform

I’ve been meaning to blog for a while now. There is certainly a lot of things happening at the IFPD that are worth a mention.First of all, the IFPD said many goodbyes this summer as we had 7 police officers retire. Sgt. Phil Grimes, detectives Curtis Bateman, Steve Barnes, Brent Lawrence and officers Mark Burnell, Kevin Pettingill and Lynn Case all retired. I blogged about some of those retirements

I’ve been meaning to blog for a while now. There is certainly a lot of things happening at the IFPD that are worth a mention.First of all, the IFPD said many goodbyes this summer as we had 7 police officers retire. Sgt. Phil Grimes, detectives Curtis Bateman, Steve Barnes, Brent Lawrence and officers Mark Burnell, Kevin Pettingill and Lynn Case all retired.That was 210 years of experience that left

L to R: Officer Murray, Det. Barnes, Sgt. Grimes, Det. Bateman, & Officer Cosens. Not pictured: Officer Burnell.This is a late post — by a couple of weeks. But, I still wanted to make sure a note was posted. A couple of weeks ago we honored four retiring officers. It’s always a bittersweet moment when we celebrate a retirement. You’re sad they’re leaving, but also excited for their accomplishment

I recently reached my one year mark as Idaho Falls’ Chief of Police.  I continue to be deeply honored and yet humbled with this opportunity. As an agency we are working hard to keep up with current crime trends to remain efficient in our approach in solving crimes and making a safer community.   I am surrounded by a great staff, particularly by the people in executive command

Chief Mark McBride presents his uncle Leland McPhie (a retired captain from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department) with an honorary IFPD badge during his 100th birthday celebration.Chief Mark McBride had the pleasure of attending the 100th birthday celebration of his uncle, retired San Diego Sheriff’s Captain Leland McPhie, in San Diego on Monday.Leland McPhie worked as a at the San Diego Sheriff’s

By Joelyn Hansen Students work as a team during the emergency communications exercise.[/caption]It’s no surprise that I love to talk about communication. So, it’s no surprise that I would enjoy communications training.In early January I attended a week-long training for public information officers at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The training was specifically geared for