The Final Week

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 today are full days of scenarios. Our scenario graders had brought to our attention that some areas students were lacking included their abilities to do a good and thorough building search and their ability to do good searches on people, especially when the search was cross gender. In order to address those issues last week’s scenarios and the scenarios for this week have been modified to incorporate those specific skill sets, giving students more hands-on practice time while having a grader present to coach and critique. This morning’s briefing provided some positive feedback and indicated that there have been improvements on the part of the students.

Our final PRT was canceled, as was our final Canyon run that was scheduled for tomorrow morning. Winter weather has hit hard here and between the single-digit temperatures and the icy surfaces the decision was made to cancel those events. Wednesday afternoon the class will have Community Policing. Thursday morning will be the final exam. We’ll do a graduation practice in the afternoon and then the optional Police Marriage class will be Thursday night.”

Capt. Royce Clements and Sgt. Steven Poulter are looking forward to attending the academy graduation on Friday!

The Final Week

Graduation is Next Week!

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 financial crimes, crime prevention, juvenile procedures, ground control, weapons retention and interview and interrogation techniques.

This week they’ve been working on force-on-force scenarios, sexual assault investigations, crime scene investigations, evidence collection and crimes against children.

So, as you can see, there’s no slowing down at the academy as officers near completion.

We’ll continue to update you on work they’re doing at the academy. As well, we’ll blog later about graduation.

Graduation is Next Week!

Getting Closer to the End

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. The DUI wet lab and the optional radar class made for some long nights. The week ended with Gangs and Gang scenarios.

This week we have a busy Monday with Financial Crimes, Crime Prevention, and Juvenile Procedures. Tomorrow is our GSAT day, which is force on force scenarios and a chance for students to really put their skills to the test. Weds and Thurs is Ground Control and Weapon Retention. We’ll be doing an Arrest Techniques review this week and Friday will be Interview and Interrogation all day.”

Getting Closer to the End

Cars for the Community

By Mark McBride

The 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 experienced in neighborhoods because crime occurs less where criminals see a parked police car. There are occasions when off-duty officers, driving their assigned vehicles, take enforcement action on in-progress crimes or assist with traffic accidents. Just last month, an officer driving home late at night arrested people burglarizing cars in a neighborhood.

Off- duty use of police cars is governed by policy, including restrictions on using vehicles outside Idaho Falls city limits. Officers also pay a use fee based upon personal use, mileage outside the city limits and wholesale cost of gasoline. Most officers do not drive or seldom drive family members in their assigned vehicles because of posed threats to officers. According to policy, officers never respond to critical incidents with family members or civilians in their car.

The department’s operational readiness has improved since assigning police cars to officers. When crises occur and the bomb team, SWAT team, etc., must respond, they are ready in a short amount of time. Before take-home cars, it would take up to an hour for officers to arrive on scene.

Take-home cars also save officers 30 minutes loading and unloading equipment into the car at the beginning and end of shifts. At a probationary officer’s wages of $18/hour, that’s $9 each workday for a total $1,872 per year in non-productive time per officer.

Cost analyses conducted by cities nationwide identified significant cost savings with take-home cars. A study by Mercury Associates, for Tacoma, Wash., concluded that operating costs per mile were 30 percent lower for assigned rather than pooled vehicles. Those savings were realized in maintenance costs, parking facilities and productive time.

In 2013 an IFPD analysis on take-home cars showed approximately $167,000 in annual savings. How? A take-home car lasts anywhere from eight to 10 years before it’s sold at auction. A pooled car, running at least 20 hours a day, lasts up to three years. Each vehicle has approximately the same mileage when auctioned; however the three-year car undergoes the same amount of maintenance as the eight-year car. Condense eight years of maintenance into three years and you have a significantly higher annual cost, even with fewer cars in the pool. This savings does not include the cost of hiring additional city garage mechanics to service these cars at an increased rate.

With Cars-For-the-Community, the city gains presence and preparedness at a reduced cost to taxpayers.

Cars for the Community

Another Week at POST

Here’s another quick update from Mark Merrill at the Idaho POST Academy.

Officers completed their 3^rd “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, and our Field Skills block that included high risk traffic stops, high-ration contacts, active gunmen and open area movement, and transition drills. A good half of the week was practical and hands-on.

This week’s schedule includes two days of Crash Investigations with an optional Radar class in the evenings, DUI Investigations with the accompanying evening wet lab, and Gangs and Gangs scenarios in the afternoon.

Another Week at POST

Baird Elected Vice President of POST Academy Class #181

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 has taken their written exam over their firearms classes. This exam holds a higher standard for a passing score than most written exams. Students also did their Physical Readiness Test.

In other news, last week the class finished up their EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operation Course) and firearms split. They also finished up classes on auto theft and water safety. This week they’ve been working on officer survival, patrol procedures and building searches.

The class is inching forward to completion with only a few weeks remaining before graduation!

Baird Elected Vice President of POST Academy Class #181

Another POST update

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. Those doing EVOC this week will have their use of force encounter tomorrow night and, as I mentioned last week, I can make a video of your student’s performance available to you, or you’re welcome to come observe.

Our weekly exam was given this morning as Monday was a “holiday” and our curriculum dept. wasn’t around to help with testing and grading. Everyone passed this week’s test with another solid class average; 88.2%.

Another POST update

Another Update from POST

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 Weapons. Tuesday night was Domestic Violence scenarios and Thursday night was our Active Counter Measures class where students get to go 3 minutes with a person in a F.I.S.T. Suit. That was a gut-check for some, but no one gave up, everyone stayed in the fight.

This week the class is split in half; one half is on the range doing Firearms while the other half is here at POST doing EVOC. Next week they will switch. The half that is here doing EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operation Course) will get a use of force scenario/encounter on Wednesday night. This scenario is one that will require the student to make a decision to act that will require a use of deadly force on their part. These will be videoed and I can make those available to you at your request.

Friday the class will come back together for Traffic Stops; classroom in the morning and practical’s in the afternoon.

Another Update from POST

Week 3 POST Update

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 full of Arrest Techniques and Reactive Impact Weapons (batons). There will be some Domestic Violence Scenarios on Tuesday Evening.

Looks like Officer Baird is learning a lot at the Academy and doing well!

Week 3 POST Update

Update from POST

By Joelyn Hansen

Remember 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 of force, effective communication, and the lecture portions of firearms, defensive tactics, and marksmanship.

They also got their first introduction to scenarios and a full day of arrest techniques.

This class took their first test, covering topics from last week as well as some of the pre-academy course work. Everyone passed and the class average was 86.5%. We love to brag, so we’ll tell you that Officer Baird scored a 97%. We’ve heard it was the highest score…..but we don’t know that for sure. We’re proud of him either way.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Update from POST

Good Endings

By Joelyn Hansen

The 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 on Facebook. The post found its way to the man’s wife. Up until this point, the IFPD really didn’t know what had become of the man or how he was doing.

But, luckily through social media, we were able to connect with him and his wife. We were able to find out how he was doing and she was able to find out who the officer was that saved her husband’s life.

What a great story, right? We think so. Nothing like ending a story on even better note!

I’ve posted a video of Officer Williams receiving his award. Feel free to take a look!

Good Endings

Welcome Officers Hendry and Moore

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 Hansen

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 been working as dispatchers. They tested with the police department for a patrol officer spot last summer. Unfortunately, at the time we didn’t have spots available for them. But, with all the retirements, we finally had some openings and they slid perfectly into those spots.

Officers Coleman Moore and Chris Hendry

Let me tell you a little bit about Coleman and Chris….

Coleman, who graduated from Bonneville High School in 2003, has worked many years in law enforcement in some capacity. He worked as a juvenile detention officer at the 3B Detention Center and for the last two years as a dispatcher at the Idaho Falls Bonneville County Dispatch Center.

He’s also a member of the Idaho National Guard.

He is graduate from Brigham Young University-Idaho with his bachelor’s in emergency services administration. He and his wife, Ashley, of 10 years have three children and a baby due in November.

Chris, who is a native of Georgia, also started his work at IFPD as a dispatcher at the Idaho Falls Bonneville County Dispatch Center. He was hired in April 2013.

Hendry is a member of the Army Reserves. He graduated from the University of Phoenix in 2013 with his bachelor’s in business administration. He is currently working on his master’s in criminal justice at the University of Phoenix.

He and his wife, Sarah, of eight years have two children.

We think they’ll both be very successful in wearing the IFPD badge carrying on the tradition of professionalism, respect, trust and integrity.

Welcome Officers Hendry and Moore

Welcome Officers Hendry & Moore

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.

Let me tell you a little bit about Coleman and Chris….

He’s also a member of the Idaho National Guard.

He is graduate from Brigham Young University-Idaho with his bachelor’s in emergency services administration. He and his wife, Ashley, of 10 years have three children and a baby due in November.

Chris, who is a native of Georgia, also started his work at IFPD as a dispatcher at the Idaho Falls Bonneville County Dispatch Center. He was hired in April 2013.

Officers Coleman Moore and Chris Hendry

He and his wife, Sarah, of eight years have two children.

We think they’ll both be very successful in wearing the IFPD badge carrying on the tradition of professionalism, respect, trust and integrity.

Now on to filling the other five vacant positions….

Welcome Officers Hendry & Moore

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 continues to be a positive association in their mind.”

Officer Moore, who graduated from Bonneville High School in 2003, has worked many years in law enforcement. He worked as a juvenile detention officer at the 3B Detention Center and for the last two years as a dispatcher at the Idaho Falls Bonneville County Dispatch Center.

He said he’s looking forward now to making the switch from the job as a dispatcher to a police officer.

“It’s an opportunity now to get more face-to-face with people and being able to follow-up and see calls through to the end,” he said.

Moore is a member of the Idaho National Guard. He is also a 2011 graduate from Brigham Young University-Idaho with his bachelor’s in emergency services administration.

He and his wife, Ashley, of 10 years have three children and a baby due in November.

Officer Hendry, who is a native of Georgia, also started his work at IFPD as a dispatcher at the Idaho Falls Bonneville County Dispatch Center. He was hired in April 2013.

Hendry said he’s always strived to work in law enforcement.

“I just feel like I need to do something to contribute to the community,” he said. “I value the freedoms we have and I wanted to do something to defend those freedoms.”

He and his wife, Sarah, of eight years have two children.

###

Officers Hendry and Moore Sworn In

IFPD Changes

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 earlier.

Kevin Pettingill

Brent Lawrence

Mark Burnell

Lynn Case

Steve Barnes, Phil Grimes & Curtis Bateman

That was 210 years of experience that left the department. We’re certainly happy for them as they enter retirement, but they will be missed.

With retirements comes of course the opportunity to fill positions with new hires. Thankfully, after the budget process we were able to fill all of our vacant positions.

We were able to hire three people right away. Jon Baird was sworn in on Aug. 25 and is currently attending the Idaho POST academy in Meridian.

Officer Jon Baird

Next Monday, Sept. 22, we’ll swear in Coleman Moore and Chris Hendry (both of whom currently work for the IFPD as dispatchers).

All three are great new hires!

In August we also had 100 people that took the civil service test and then the top 32 people from the test went through the panel interview and agility test. From these candidates will fill the remaining vacant positions.

As I write this, the chief and the captains are interviewing perspective new officer hires. We could have some good news in the next coming weeks!

Along with the retirements and hires, there was a shake-up with captain assignments in August. Capt. Clements is now overseeing patrol, Capt. Cook is overseeing detectives and Capt. Cawley is overseeing IFPD services (animal control, dispatch, training and records).

This will hopefully be a great way to allow for different perspectives on how divisions are operated.

Anyway….as you can tell it’s been a busy summer here at the IFPD!

IFPD Changes

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.

That was 210 years of experience that left the department. We’re certainly happy for them as they enter retirement, but they will be missed.

With retirements comes of course the opportunity to fill positions with new hires. Thankfully, after the budget process we were able to fill all of our vacant positions.

We were able to hire three people right away. Jon Baird was sworn in on Aug. 25 and is currently attending the Idaho POST academy in Meridian. Next Monday, Sept. 22, we’ll swear in Coleman Moore and Chris Hendry (both of whom currently work for the IFPD as dispatchers).

All three are great new hires!

As I write this, the chief and the captains are interviewing perspective new officer hires. We could have some good news in the next coming weeks!

This will hopefully be a great way to allow for different perspectives on how divisions are operated.

Retirees Detective Steve Barnes, Sgt. Phil Grimes & Detective Curtis Bateman

Officer Mark Burnell

Officer Kevin Pettingill

Detective Brent Lawrence

Traffic Officer Lynn Case

Anyway….as you can tell it’s been a busy summer here at the IFPD!

Saying Goodbye

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 (there’s probably a little dose of jealousy too!).

Happy Retirement Sgt. Phil Grimes, Det. Steve Barnes, Det. Curtis Bateman and Officer Mark Burnell! We wish them the best!

Here’s some career highlights:

Sgt. Grimes started at the IFPD in September 1984. He worked in patrol and investigations during his career. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant in December 2006. He served as the Public Information Officer between 2009 and 2011. During his career he work many high-profile cases and homicides, including the Angie Dodge homicide case for which he received a Commander’s Commendation. He was also awarded Officer of the Month and Employee of the Month In December 2004 and October 2006.

Officer Barnes started at the IFPD in November 1983. He worked in patrol, detectives and as a school resource officer at Eagle Rock Junior High. He is also the longest serving officer in the investigations division with 20 years. Barnes is considered a guru in financial crimes and arson investigations. He has several arson and $100,000-plus embezzlement convictions.

Officer Bateman started at the IFPD in August 1984. He has worked in animal control, patrol, investigations and was a member of the IFPD SWAT team. He was also involved with Crimestoppers. He received Commander’s Commendations in 2003 and 2010 as a result of his excellent investigative skills. He was also Officer of the Year in 1996.

Officer Burnell started at the IFPD in September 1987. His police career has included service in the IFPD patrol division and airport security at the Idaho Falls Regional Airport. He is also a certified Idaho POST instructor and a former member of the IFPD SWAT team. Burnell received Officer of the Month in March 2000 and Employee of the Month in June 2007 for his work. He was also recognized in 1999 for his efforts during a response to a house fire that killed three children.

Saying Goodbye

Reflections

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 positions that oversee each division of the department who ensure we are doing our best. This comes from constant evaluation of policies, procedures, ordinances, and best practices that are put in place to meet our mission; The Idaho Falls Police Department strives to create an environment free from crime and disorder through efficient service and valuable community collaboration. We are also striving toward our

vision, A Community safe from crime and disorder. Our primary values are integrity, professionalism, respect and trust.

To fulfill our mission and vision we’ve completed many different tasks.

Staffing studies were completed to best determine the number of officers needed to most efficiently respond to the current needs of our community. These studies included reviewing our supervisory staffing needs and preparing an annual budget that came in below the previous fiscal year while absorbing some increased expenses and implementing a more efficient accounting system of revenue at the animal shelter.

Dedicated staff created a new look on the department webpage and are working on a media plan to keep the public updated on the most recent events of the police department. Alert ID was launched for the purpose of keeping the public informed of crimes in their neighborhoods which also provides crime prevention tips.

The basic underpinning of all police work is the public trust. We continue to interact with the public through our citizen’s academy, community night out, neighborhood watch, volunteer services, and in many other ways.

Safety of this community is our number one priority. The three most important tenets of creating a safer community are; prevention, education, and enforcement. Officers work hard to find new ways to prevent crimes. While education for the officers in latest crime trends is important; it is just as important to educate the public. Enforcement of the law by the officers not only acts as a deterrent to crime but is also used to educate offenders of the dangers their actions are to the community.

Reflections

100 Years

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 Department from 1940 to 1969. At the age of 40 he became the youngest person to ever to be promoted to captain. The celebration was hosted by the San Diego Sheriff’s Department at the Sheriff’s Museum in Old Town San Diego. March 10th was also declared “Leland McPhie Day” in San Diego County.

Mark was glad to attend the celebration and even presented his uncle with a special honorary IFPD police badge as a token for his 100th birthday.

100 Years

Emergency Communication

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 teaching about operating an emergency communication system.

In the event there is an emergency situation – earthquake, major accident, flooding, etc. – there would be a dire and important need to make sure emergency responders are communicating any information to the public.

It will be up to the PIOs to make sure residents know what’s going on, what to expect, and ultimately how to respond in an emergency. It’s also important that the public is able to communicate their needs to the emergency operations center.

All this information will be expected to flow in and out of the emergency operations center with the help of the PIOs. Not always an easy task considering how much information there may be in an emergency.

In fact, in our first pre-exercise for our big training exercise, I’d say we failed as there was a bottleneck of information. But, luckily, we figured it out, made some adjustments and information flowed smoothly.

[caption id=”attachment_1950″ align=”alignright” width=”300″> The Emergency Management Institute campus once was the location of the first girls parochial school in the U.S.

Training is really important and this training proved to be worth it. I learned a lot. Hopefully, I’ll be able to continue practicing and applying skills – just hopefully not in a real-life situation anytime soon.

By the way, the campus the training was held has an interesting history. It started out as a Catholic girls’ school (St. Joseph’s Academy) opened by Mother Seton in 1809, making it the first parochial school for girls in the U.S.

Emergency Communication

Pages

The Final Week

Graduation is Next Week!

Getting Closer to the End

Cars for the Community

Another Week at POST

Baird Elected Vice President of POST Academy Class #181

Another POST update

Another Update from POST

Week 3 POST Update

Update from POST

Good Endings

Welcome Officers Hendry and Moore

Welcome Officers Hendry & Moore

Officers Hendry and Moore Sworn In

IFPD Changes

Saying Goodbye

Reflections

100 Years

Emergency Communication

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