Making a Fashion Statement

By Joelyn Hansen

Today we wear denim. Not because it's casual Thursday. Not because it's comfortable. Not because we had nothing else to wear. But because today our fashion statement is making a statement. We’re protesting sexual assault.

Why denim?

In the 1990s, an 18-year old Italian girl is picked up by her married 45-year old driving instructor for her very first lesson. He takes her to an isolated road, pulls her out of the car, wrestles her out of one leg of her jeans and forcefully rapes her. Threatened with death if she tells anyone, he makes her drive the car home. Later that night she tells her parents, and they help and support her to press charges. The perpetrator gets arrested and is prosecuted. He is convicted of rape and sentenced to jail.

He appeals the sentence. The case makes it’s all the way to the Italian Supreme Court. Within a matter of days the case against the driving instructor is overturned, dismissed, and the perpetrator released. In a statement by the Chief Judge, he argued, “because the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them, and by removing the jeans it was no longer rape but consensual sex.”

Enraged by the verdict, within a matter of hours the women in the Italian Parliament launched into immediate action and protested by wearing jeans to work.

The Idaho Falls Police Department knows the importance of raising awareness about sexual assault within our communities, which is why we choose to wear jeans in honor of denim day.

Statistics show that one out of every six American women are victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. That means 17.7 million are victims of these crimes. It’s 3 percent, or 2.78 million, of American men. The scariest statistic is that 44 percent of rape victims are under age 18 and three out of 20 victims are under age 12.

Denim Day is only one day a year. However, the IFPD vows to fight sexual assault 365 days a year. Will you join us?

It's Somebody's Special Day!

Guess what?! This Boy Scout turned Police Chief is celebrating a birthday today!!!

Happy Birthday Steve!!!

By the way.....this is an unathorized blog post!

Our Loss, Our Gain

One of our most dedicated Citizen’s Watch Patrol volunteers has retired into a new job. The good news is that the new job is with us. Harvey “Ed” Gord has joined us as a front desk officer. Normally, we use retired cops to fill this role, but Harvey pretty much knows the ins and outs of the department.

Harvey retired from Atlas Mechanical in May 1999 as the Plumbing Foreman and joined the Citizen’s Watch Patrol in 2002. Within months after completing training he was appointed to the CWP Advisory Board and then as CWP Commander.

Harvey was instrumental in building training program and abandoned vehicle program for CWP. He is the recipient of the Idaho Falls Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association “Outstanding Achievement” Award in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and is the unique position of being the only non-cop to receive a Commander’s Commendation from the IFPD. He’s also recovered 4 stolen vehicles in Idaho Falls.

Harvey was diagnosed with lung cancer and had 2 operations in April 2006. Three days out of the hospital he was asking for something to do. He couldn’t wait to get back to work with us.

There will be a large hole in the Citizen’s Watch Patrol but we’re happy he’s chosen to take the position. As Joelyn describes it, “Harvey is truly the backbone to the CWP and his contributions to the program…. To say that he will be missed is an understatement because there will never be another man to likely show the same dedication and commitment.”

Time for a Time Out?

Is it okay to handcuff a 6-year-old kindergarten student as reportedly happened yesterday in Georgia following a temper tantrum?

I don’t have the facts needed to pass judgment on this particular case, but handcuffing 6-year-olds is not standard procedure. Can I imagine a scenario where this might be appropriate? It’s hard to envision, but I’d hate to say, never. I checked with our three Student Resource Officers and none could remember ever handcuffing a kid younger than 10.

On the other hand, what do you do with a kid that’s completely out of control attacking anyone within reach - ask him to sit on a chair for a time out?

Let’s take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

Why were the police called in the first place? An out-of-control 6-year-old… is this really a police matter? What happened to the days when the school teacher drug the kid to the principal’s office or turned them over to the parents?

Schools now generally have a no-touch policy, meaning that if a kid goes bonkers, they evacuate the room and call us. Gone are the days when junior gets it worse when Mom & Dad finds out.

But there are those rare cases that the kid is truly out of control with deep seated emotional problems that go beyond just bad behavior. We go hands on, more often than not, to protect kids from hurting themselves. Keep in mind that young children don’t get charged with crimes and they certainly don’t go to jail. Rather we work with the parents or mental health professionals with an eye towards what’s in the best interest of the child.

Friday the 13th Robbery

Wells Fargo Bank on First Street got hit a few hours ago.

The suspect is described as being approximately six feet tall, medium build and in his early 40s wearing a black jacket, khaki pants, black H&K ball cap and a neck brace. He flashed a note saying he had a bomb. Our website and Facebook has more photos and information.

By the way, don’t get too caught up in the exterior clothing – especially the ball cap and neck brace. And no, he probably does not have a neck injury. On the other hand, is anyone missing a neck brace?

Grandson in Trouble?

I’ve received two calls from two personal friends in the last 24 hours concerning their grandsons being in trouble with the law and needing cash. It’s a scam.

In one case, the grandson was stopped at the Canadian border and the person he was with tested positive for drugs, but the grandson didn’t. Since he was with the person, he was headed to a Canadian jail unless the grandparent could send $3,000 cash within two hours by Western Union and by the way, don’t tell anyone or it could jeopardize my position in the military/job/father/etc. Nope, it's all a lie.

In the other case, the grandson got in a minor car accident in New York City and ended up in a fight. He was on the verge of tears and would end up in jail for 90 days with some rough looking characters unless he received $2,200 cash in one hour – again by Western Union. Nope, never happened.

In both cases, the grandson sounded kind of like the real person, but because of the stressful situation, the grandparent was unsure.

Some keys points to watch for:

- Western Union is like dropping cash in a black hole that can be picked up by anyone in the world. Attorneys, government officials, etc. don’t do it that way.

- Told not to tell tell anyone or can’t get ahold of anyone – must act within the next few hours. That’s a big red flag. Again, legitimate officials don't act that way.

These crooks are smooth and very good at what they do. Don’t fall for it. If you’re afraid it might be real, give me a call and I’ll walk you through it.

Now THAT’S Cool

With all the discussion about school bullying and concern over the appropriateness of watching the movie “Bully” because of its rough language, our own Ali and Christina Christensen (finalist in America’s Got Talent) played lead roles in an awesome video that sends a powerful message with no swear words.

After watching the video, three things come to mind.

1. Powerful message

2. Wow, those girls can sing

3. Wow, can you believe that Bonneville County Commissioner Roger Christensen had something to do with those genes?

Telling junior to buck up and face down the class bully isn’t as relevant today as it was a generation ago. Take a look at recent school shootings across the nation and know that things are different now. For more information, check out what McGuff has to say about it.

No Smoking in Bars?

You may have seen news reports that some local bar owners have asked the City Council to ban smoking in all Idaho Falls bars. The council is taking up the discussion this coming Tuesday morning at 8:30 in the council chambers with a draft ordinance that provides an exemption for private clubs. Even though this ordinance comes through the public safety committee, it’s more of a public health policy than a police issue, so I’m officially neutral.

From the perspective of the bar owners who proposed this, they hate to subject their employees to the smoke hazard, but don’t want to chase away customers either. They figure making all bars smoke-free puts them on a level playing field.

No-smoking advocates will argue this point more passionately saying that employees have no choice and there are immense health consequences to them. The more zealous advocates argue that smoking has such a deleterious effect that it should simply be outlawed.

Conversely, other bar owners believes this should be an individual choice and that no one is forcing anyone into a bar. If a patron wants to smoke, they go to a smoking bar. If they don’t, they can go to a no-smoking bar.

They are supported by freedom oriented non-smokers who believe personal choice trumps the health issue.

Are there any no-smoking bars in Idaho Falls? The answer is yes, but it gets a little tricky. Bars that are also restaurants already can’t allow smoking by state law. This includes everything from a regular restaurant that serves wine with dinner to establishments that are primarily bars, but serve food on the side – and everything in between with lots of variations. There is one regular bar, The Bliss, which has no food and does not allow smoking.

It’s no secret that smoking, even 2^nd hand smoke, has a stunning cost in health care and misery, but should the city council ban it in bars? Contact them to give your opinion or better yet, attend Tuesday morning’s work session. It’s likely to be a lively discussion.

Who’s the Vigilante Now?

I’m amazed at the rush to judgment following the Trayvon Martin shooting. I’ve had a number of people ask for my opinion. Was it a racially motivated homicide? Was Zimmerman an out-of-control vigilante? Since my only source of information is the news media and since they lack basic facts, I have too many unanswered questions to hazard a guess.

Whether a person is guilty or innocent is best left to the courts – I mean the legal system following the rule of law, not the court of public opinion fed piecemeal evidence as it becomes uncovered by NBC News.

So what do we do if we think the police are biased or botched the investigation? The wrong answer is to call for an arrest without knowing all the facts. The correct answer is to call for an independent investigation. In the case of Trayvon Martin, it appears that’s exactly what the Department of Justice is doing. And politics aside, if there is sufficient evidence to charge Zimmerman, no doubt there will be an arrest. And if a jury of his peers agrees with the prosecution, he’ll be punished.

It’s hard not to suspect special interest groups of capitalizing on the death of Trayvon for their own purposes – Gun Control Advocates and Stand-Your-Ground Law, Al Sharpton and Relevance. But we are a nation of laws and as such, we should shoot down attempts to manipulate justice through political pressure.

Fortunately, calmer voices have suggested a discussion of race and laws of self-defense framed in the context of the Trayvon Martin shooting while leaving the fate of Zimmerman to the legal system. That makes sense to me.

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