des243 wk2editor elizabeth budenberg

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DECEMBER / 2015

Body Worn Camera Questions & Issues

The World’s Finest Police Cars

Cybercrimes Enforcement

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Law Enforcement:

Professional Training is the key

STATE TROOPER / DECEMBER 2015

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FEATURES

Law Enforcement: ProfessionalTraining is the key...................7Training should be viewed as investment law enforcement agencies make for the present and future. By doing so, leaders can safeguard their communities not only for the short term but also for future generations.

Improving Your Financial Health.................. 10When you think about the threats to your retirement savings, most people usually think about market losses. Oftentimes, it is not market related events but catastrophic life events, like illness, that wreak havoc on retirement savings.

Body Worn Camera Questions & Issues................ 4Citizens may not only behave better, but they may be less likely to make false claims of police misconduct when they know that there is a video record of their encounter with the police.

The World’s Finest Police Cars........................... 20Freeways may never feel the same after seeing some of the vehicles used from police agencies around the world.

Cybercrimes Enforcement..... 26The advent of the Internet created great opportunities for mankind to share information, expand knowledge, develop new commerce, and make the world seem smaller and more connected. Unfortunately, it also provided a new environment ripe for criminals to target all types of victims.

DEPARTMENTS

From the editor...................... 6By William Jones, Editor, State Trooper

Legal corner......................... 30Recent Search and Seizure Developments in the Courts.

Briefing Room..................... 32Featuring news and items of interest for State Troopers.

Upcoming Events................ 36

ADVERTISEMENTS: The publication of advertisements does not necessarily represent endorsement of those products or services by the State Trooper Association. The editor reserves the right to refuse any advertisement.

SUBSCRIPTION: Subscription to the State Trooper, which began as a quarterly publication in Winter 2007, is included in membership fees to the State Trooper Association.

EDITORIAL: The State Trooper seeks to reflect news and information of direct interest to law enforcement of the State Troopers Association. Statement of fact and opinion are made on the responsibility of the authors alone and do not represent the opinion or endorsement of the State Trooper Association. Articles may be reproduced with written permission only.


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I still remember the fi rst fatal crash I rolled up on twenty years ago as if it was yesterday. A young lady, just recently married, lost control of her vehicle southbound on the Interstate, crossed the open median and hit head-on

with a semi. Her life was cut short far too early, leaving behind dreams and ambitions. One of the last fatal crashes I responded to still resonates in my mind on a daily basis. I am just one of many State Troopers who respond to these types of incidents, but we all have the same images and experiences.

The public often asks why we as State Troopers are so passionate about using seat belts, stopping impaired drivers, eliminating distractions in vehicles or reminding folks to slow down and obey the speed limit. The answer is simple; we see how these factors can forever change lives. We have knocked on doors and told families their loved ones will never come home. Young children will never see Mom/Dad. Mom and Dad will never see their child graduate from college. The younger sister will never play basketball with her older brother again. The struggling mother will never see her husband walk through that door again. All of these scenarios play out on average about two hundred and twenty-five days of each year.

The real tragedy is that many fatal crashes are preventable. There is no reason why so many people should die in a year at the hands of an

Forever Changing Livesalcohol or drug impaired driver. Fifty percent of all our fatal crash victims do not have a seatbelt on. Distracted driving is an ever-increasing trend, and folks who are far exceeding the speed limit have a difficult time surviving high-speed crashes, especially when not in a seatbelt.

The reason State Troopers are so passionate about the five deadliest factors (speed, seat belts, distracted driving, DUI, and drowsy driving) is because we care. We go out each day and say, “No one will die on my stretch of roadway.” When they do, we take it very personally. People often don’t realize it, but State Troopers suffer as well. There are many times when tears are shed in patrol cars after leaving the scene of a horrific crash, or in the basement where no one is watching.

Next time you see a Trooper doing his or her job on the side of the road, I hope you know they are out there to help save your life and the lives of your loved ones.

Colonel William H. Jones

Editor, State Trooper


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By J. Alan Stone

The recent deep economic decline negatively affected city, county, and state governments. In response, these entities made drastic budget cuts that impacted most public service organizations in all jurisdictions. Law enforcement executives now must reduce budgets. Deciding what to cut while, at the same time, continuing to provide adequate safety to their communities and members of their agencies is a daunting task. Some view decreasing recruitment training as preferable to eliminating current employees. Additionally, in-service training frequently is reduced to the minimum state Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) requirements. While often hard to justify, however, training constitutes the glue of effectiveness that forms the foundation for successful law enforcement efforts.

Placing scarce resources up front in training can produce safe, effective, and efficient officers, supervisors, and administrators, which can lessen operating costs in the long run. As an old advertisement for oil filters pointed out, “You can pay me now, or you can pay me later,” the idea

being that sometimes a small investment can result in large savings. The cost of an oil filter is minor compared with that of an engine. The same holds true for law enforcement training.

Necessity of TrainingIn many ways, these difficult economic times should cause agencies to reevaluate their training needs, including the topics covered, the methodology used, and the effectiveness achieved. With fewer available resources, law enforcement organizations need to ensure that with their training, they are doing the right thing and doing it the right way. What is the cost to a department for an illegal arrest, use of excessive force, or a wrongful death? It seems reasonable to assume that if training could prevent these events, it would be done. Of course, even with the right training, these still can occur. Conversely, without such training these incidents will take place and probably more frequently. Training is rarely viewed from the perspective of risk management, yet a direct relationship exists.

Law Enforcement

Professionalism- Training is the Key


1. Entrance-level training (initial knowledge, skills, and attitudes for new officers)

2. In-service training (maintenance of skills taught in entrance level, along with knowledge about new laws, enforcement procedures, and safety practices) 3. Supervisor training (specific information tailored to overseeing rank-and-file members and to developing instructional abilities)

4. Administrator training (influences direction and operational effectiveness of the organization)

These four categories of training are used as a guide that can represent the training in any agency. Not meant to be all-inclusive, these do not encompass every possible training need, but give an overall view. When examining their training needs, agencies should take the overall view because training greatly influences and shapes the interdependency and interrelationships of their officers, units, ranks and affects every law enforcement function.

Entrance-Level TrainingThe right training can shape the recruit into a potentially long-term effective and efficient employee. Entrance-level training does not end or finish the training process but, rather, allows the recruit to operate with minimum supervision and to continue learning through experiences and in-service training. Selecting quality recruits is like choosing the best materials to build the foundation of a house. Without the proper foundation materials (the recruit and the entrance-level training), the long-term product has no guarantee of success.

Maintenance TrainingAs with any house, police training must be maintained. This involves the in-service and specialized continuum of training that officers need. Selecting appropriate candidates and providing sound entrance-level training began the process of turning the raw materials (recruits) into the solid structure. When quality recruits receive the correct entrance-level training, they gain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to become effective and efficient officers for a long time. However, if the training stops at that point, their efficiency can decline. Agencies should view regular in-service and specialized training, just like the initial recruit

selection and training, as a long-term investment. Building a house with a solid foundation creates a positive investment, but, without maintenance, unexpected problems will develop.

Supervisor TrainingOftentimes, agencies select officers who excel at a particular skill to become supervisors and trainers, which does not always work well. Those who mold and build the raw materials (the recruits) into effective and efficient officers and who take seasoned professionals and form them into supervisors and managers need to receive specific training following an extensive selection process. Supervising and instructing others require not only subject-matter expertise but also the ability to accurately convey knowledge to others. Continued training for supervisors and instructors must include evaluating their training skills and how well they apply them.

Administrator TrainingThe final category, administrator training, frequently is overlooked. Agencies often assume that officers who worked the streets, arrested people, and became supervisors or trainers have gained the necessary experience. Arguments have been made in both directions on this topic, with both having valid points. One argument is that all of the preceding training—as an officer, supervisor, or trainer—helped prepare the individual for the position. The counter argument holds that all of the previous training was targeted toward those previous assignments, whereas administrative positions require additional skills. Supervisors supervise people and


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Go directlyto jail.

House of TrainingThinking of police training as a house can illustrate how to divide the process into four categories. While each has a different purpose, all of the training is interrelated and interdependent, just as the foundation, walls, and roof support and form a structure.managers manage programs, but administrators need all of these abilities plus leadership. Another valid argument could be made that administrators are the most important because they determine the training content, budget, and direction of their agencies. Administrator training also can prove difficult to obtain because only a few nationally recognized law enforcement training academies, such as the FBI National Academy, offer such courses.

Using the best materials, performing continual maintenance, and remodeling portions when needed culminate in a structure that can last through many generations—so also can law enforcement agencies that understand the importance of well-trained leaders who can move their organizations forward through whatever challenges they may face.

CONCLUSIONTraining should be viewed as an investment law enforcement agencies make for the present and future.

With fiscal restrains, however, it often becomes one of the first casualties. Because training forms the center of law enforcement effectiveness and efficiency, administrators have a fiduciary responsibility to examine the resources they use to ensure that their citizens are getting their money’s worth. Questioning their training programs, content, and projected benefits can prove a better course of action than merely halting training altogether. By doing so, these leaders can safeguard their communities not only for the short term but for future generations.

J. Alan Stone, a retired FBI senior scientist, is a self-employed law enforcement instructor and consultant.

Mr. Stone owns a private consulting company in West Virginia.


When you think about the threats to your retirement savings, most people usually think about market losses. Oftentimes, it is not mar-ket related events but catastrophic life events, like illness, that wreak havoc on retirement savings.

In this first installment in a series about retire-ment planning, we will examine two miscon-ceptions that often hinder people from proper-ly preparing for retirement:

1) believing that the world is the same today as it has always been, and

2) ignoring the very real probability that at least one spouse will require long-term care.

Misconception: I can be comfortable in retire-ment on less than I make now.

You have three choices for retirement income: more than you need, the right amount, not enough. Sadly, of those who do plan, most try to figure out what they will need and come up with some figure less than they need now.

You are facing challenges today that Ameri-cans have not faced for many generations, if ever. The good news is people are living longer, living healthier and are more active later in life than they’ve ever been. The bad news is that because people are living longer there is a mounting financial crisis. Many people may have incomes that expire before they do.

There is a confluence of forces at work: a pop-ulation that’s living longer than any generation in history and a Social Security system

that cannot be sustained in its current status and fewer employ-er-sponsored pension and healthcare benefits in retirement.

All this is transpiring just as the largest generation in the history of this country is beginning to retire: the baby boomers. Although the effects aren’t visible today, these forces are welling up like a tidal wave in the middle of the ocean. The effects on the shore aren’t seen until the forces converge there… and then it’s too late.

According to a survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research In-stitute, people today have a lot of misconceptions on where their retire-ment income will come from and how much they need. Among the key findings were:

More than half of workers saving for retirement report total savings and investments of less than $50,000.

Many workers are counting on employer provided benefits that are rapidly disappearing if not already gone.

If you think you can get by on less, guess again.

Misconception: I don’t need to worry about long-term care.

Do you have long-term care insurance? Most people don’t. And why is that? There are basically two answers to that question. Number one: “It” will never happen to them. Number two: It’s too expensive.

When you think about the threats to your retirement savings, most people usually think about market losses. Oftentimes, it is not market related events but catastrophic life events, like illness, that wreak havoc on retirement savings. If you had a spouse or family member that needed healthcare, how much of your retire-ment would you be willing to spend to help that person?

If you don’t have long-term care insurance, you have to ask yourself an important question: Can you afford to foot the bill out of your retire-ment nest egg? Would there be any financial strain if your ex-

Improving Your Financial Health By John Jones


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penses went up $60,000 or $90,000 or even $120,000 per year over what you anticipate?

Think it won’t happen to you? Well, hopefully not. But the fact is that 43 percent of Ameri-cans age 65 or older will spend some time in a nursing home. Seven in 10 couples (65 and older) can expect one spouse to need long-term care. There is a tremendous disconnect be-tween the expectations and the facts.

What about the argument that long-term care is too expensive? Well, all insurance is too expensive if we never use it—but a bargain if we do. In any case, you can reduce the cost of long-term care insurance by tai-loring it to your unique needs.

This is done by adjusting one of the four main components of a traditional long-term care policy:

Elimination Period—How long from the time you start needing it until it starts paying?

Coverage Period—The length of time the coverage will pay benefits.

Benefit Amount—How much it will pay per day or per month?

Riders—These can range from inflation rid-ers (how much the amount of coverage will go up each year to cover increases in cost of living), to indemnity (to cover additional costs of medication), to a return of premi-um rider (which may return what you paid to your heirs in the event you don’t use the benefit in your lifetime), as well as many others.

By adjusting the amount of coverage in any one or more of these four components, you will probably be able to create a long-term policy that fits both your risk tolerance and your budget.


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