The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting tragedy served as the impetus to go beyond our past work and go in depth regarding the how—how do we solve this epidemic?  The report truly is an operational guide and I am confident that if embraced and followed by our Nation’s communities and schools, that we will together reduce the occurrence of violence and the tragic loss of life.

~Secret Service Director R. D. “Tex” Alles

On June 12, 2018, the United States Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center released “Enhancing School Safety Using a Threat Assessment Model:  An Operational Guide for Preventing Targeted School Violence.”  The guide provides schools and communities with a framework to identify students of concern, assess their risks for engaging in violence, and identify intervention strategies to mitigate those risks.

The Secret Service also recommends that among other actions, schools:              

• Establish a multidisciplinary threat assessment team that meets regularly and establishes regular procedures.
• Define thresholds for interventions.
• Create a central reporting system to deal with threats.

Effective Planning:  Law enforcement must spend the necessary time and resources to identify a specific crime problem that can be addressed with focused deterrence, as well as the offenders that will respond to deterrence efforts.

This Tip Sheet, developed by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC), offers an overview of the best practices for implementation of the focused deterrence model.  Focused deterrence is the practice of using tailored deterrence strategies to address a specific crime problem in a jurisdiction. Focused deterrence identifies the small number of individuals responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime.  The Tip Sheet also offers a case study from Madison, Wisconsin.

The Nationwide Cyber Security Review (NCSR) is a free, anonymous, annual self-assessment survey that is based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework and is sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center.  The NCSR evaluates cybersecurity maturity across the nation while directly providing actionable feedback and metrics to individual respondents in state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) governments.

Using the results of the NCSR, DHS delivers a biyearly anonymous summary report to Congress providing a broad picture of the cybersecurity maturity across the SLTT communities.

Additional cyber-related resources and trainings are available on the Law Enforcement Cyber Center Website.

These common-sense actions directly respond to the national opioid epidemic by allowing DEA to use drug diversion as a basis to evaluate whether a drug’s production should be reduced.  This also opens the door for increased communication and better information sharing between DEA and individual states, as we work together to address the opioid problem plaguing our country.

~ Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

On July 11, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the finalization of an April proposal to improve the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) ability to control the diversion of dangerous drugs in the midst of the national opioid crisis.  If DEA believes that a particular opioid or a particular company’s opioids are being diverted for misuse, DEA can reduce the amount allowed to be produced in a given year. These revised limits will encourage vigilance on the part of opioid manufacturers, help DEA respond to the changing drug threat environment, and protect the American people from potentially addictive drugs while ensuring that the country has enough opioids for genuine medical, scientific, research, and industrial needs.  The final rule enhances the roles for the state attorneys general. It requires DEA to share notices of proposed aggregate production quotas, and final aggregate production quota orders, to the state attorneys general. It also allows for a hearing, if necessary to resolve an issue of material fact raised by a state’s objection to a proposed aggregate production quota as excessive in relation to legitimate U.S. need.

By telling our stories, we can take distant communities and pull them in. Once we’re nearer to each other, we’re better positioned to have real conversations about things that matter.

~ Kate Kimble, Public Relations Manager for Fort Collins, Colorado, Police Services

This webinar will focus on creating and building a strong social media foundation for your agency.  Social media can be a critical part of solidifying your agency’s relationship with the community you serve.  The presenter, Kate Kimble, Public Relations Manager for Fort Collins, Colorado, Police Services, will share tips for building your agency’s reputation by engaging your audience with the stories they really want to hear.

Webinar: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., ET