The Impact - PSP Quarterly Newsletter
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Presents . . .
The PSP Impact
- A Quarterly Snapshot of the PSP Network -
-Virtual Peer Exchanges-
Virtual peer exchanges (VPEs) are a new training and technical assistance offering available to National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) sites. The exchange of ideas during peer exchanges can lead to promising policy and operational improvements.
By employing the use of web-based technologies to host peer exchanges, PSP sites and their law enforcement partners can communicate and collaborate more frequently and in a more cost-effective way. VPEs promote exposure to evidence-based investigation and prosecutorial strategies, among other topics. Law enforcement agencies have already begun taking advantage of this invaluable training resource, and we encourage your departments to do so as well.
Interested in participating in a VPE or need additional information? Contact the PSP team at info@pspartnership.org.
Nonfatal Shooting Assessment Preview
On February 11, 2020, two law enforcement subject-matter experts (SMEs) from PSP’s nonfatal shooting (NFS) assessment team hosted a VPE with numerous local law enforcement agencies to provide an in-depth overview of the NFS assessment process. Discussion included the administrative process leading up to the assessment involving document submission, visit coordination, on-site expectations of the SME team, assessment time line, and follow-up steps leading to the development of the team’s final report. The NFS assessment process involves many dynamic components and pieces of information. The opportunity for the assessment team and the host agency to walk through the process prior to the on-site assessment helps ensure a smooth and successful site visit for upcoming assessments. Please visit the PSP website to view the presentation.
VPE Participating Agencies:
- Amarillo, Texas, Police Department (PD)
- Anchorage, Alaska, PD
- Cleveland, Ohio, PD
- Harris County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office
- Indianapolis, Indiana, Metropolitan PD
- Kansas City, Missouri, PD
Area Technology Centers
On February 19, 2020, two sergeants from the Chicago, Illinois, PD’s Area Technology Center (ATC) demonstrated the significant advantages of employing advanced surveillance and digital evidence techniques to reduce violent crime and increase arrests for the Baltimore, Maryland, PD. The sergeants gave an outstanding presentation on the innovative surveillance systems, technologies, and strategies used to solve crime in real-time throughout a city with complex violent crime issues. The virtual presentation included an explanation of the physical and organizational structure of the ATCs; the challenges of program implementation; where requests for service originate; scene acquisition best practices; processing of digital evidence; and a preview of various software they use in converting, enhancing, and presenting digital video evidence to support successful prosecution.
Baltimore PD and the State’s Attorney’s Office recently made a joint commitment to invest in reducing crime by launching nine Baltimore Community Intelligence Centers (BCICs), modeled after Chicago’s successful concept. The BCICs will leverage data analysis and technology—such as gunshot detection software, license plate readers, and surveillance cameras—to intervene and respond to crime faster than ever. This peer exchange between the Chicago and Baltimore PDs is an excellent example of the power of collaboration through the PSP network.
-On-Site Peer Exchanges-
What Are On-Site Peer Exchanges?
PSP peer exchanges enable law enforcement and other key personnel to travel to peer cities to witness a successful program or strategy first-hand and learn from the SMEs that contribute to their successes. The goal of these exchanges is to increase the capacity and knowledge for participating agencies by sharing best practices, real-world examples, and lessons learned. Peer exchanges often lead to productive and sustainable changes that enhance public safety throughout the country.
Chicago Strategic Decision Support Centers
In February, representatives from Baton Rouge, Baltimore, Tulsa, and Orlando (a non-PSP site) traveled to Chicago to observe the department’s Strategic Decision Support Centers and ATC concept. Participants also engaged in discussions with the State’s Attorney’s Office to learn more about investigative collaborations on priority issues. Tulsa, Baton Rouge, and Baltimore are all at various stages of implementing real-time crime information centers.
Toledo to Tampa—Violent Crime Reduction Strategies
In March, representatives from the Toledo, Ohio, PD visited the Tampa, Florida, PD to learn more about the department’s violent crime reduction strategies. While on-site, participants toured the department’s headquarters and received briefings on the department’s Violent Crime Bureau, a collaboration with U.S. Attorneys and State Attorneys, the Violent Crime Bureau’s weekly meeting, the Real Time Crime Center, the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) and Gun Unit, and the Gang and Narcotics Units.
-Violent Crime Resources:
Domestic Violence-
Domestic Violence
Domestic violence impacts communities everywhere and can have ties to other violent crime and public safety issues, such as homicide, aggravated assault, nonfatal shootings, sexual assault, witness intimidation, human trafficking, and homelessness.
With a vast number of the U.S. population currently under varying degrees of limited mobility orders, we are seeing that some cities are reporting upticks in domestic violence incidents. The National Domestic Violence Hotline cautions that social distancing may mean increased risk for victims of domestic violence.
Please see the resources below for additional information on domestic violence and victim services.
With families quarantined together, some police fear rise in domestic violence
Special Feature on Family Violence: National Criminal Justice Reference Service
Domestic Violence High-Risk Teams Expert Q&A—OVC TTAC
Law Enforcement Response: Approaching Your Work With a Trauma-Informed Lens Expert Q&A—OVC TTAC
Staying Safe During COVID-19—National Domestic Violence Hotline
Domestic Violence and Housing Technical Assistance Consortium—Safe Housing Partnerships
OVC National Crime Victims Rights Week
Domestic Violence Toolkit—Public Safety Clearinghouse
Police Response to Violence Against Women Library—International Association of Chiefs of Police
National Childrens Alliance—COVID-19 Resources for Childrens Advocacy Centers, Partners, and Caregivers
-Contact Us-
We want to hear from you! Do you have a success story or information that you would like to feature in future editions of the PSP Impact?
Please contact info@pspartnership.org for suggestions on items to spotlight.
-PUBLIC SAFETY CLEARINGHOUSE-
The Public Safety Clearinghouse is a public online tool that serves as a one-stop shop for violence reduction and public safety resources from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) program components and other federal entities. The Clearinghouse was developed as part of PSP and was officially launched in 2017 to provide a single point of access to DOJ violence reduction and public safety resources for the criminal justice field.
The Clearinghouse functions as an online catalog for users to browse, search, and ultimately build a custom toolkit of resources that can be downloaded in one package and shared with others for future access.
The Clearinghouse has 18 topic areas and contains hundreds of trainings, technical assistance opportunities, publications, lessons learned, webinars, programs and practices, and other resources publicly available to any jurisdiction in the criminal justice field. Each topic has question-style subfilters to allow the user to refine the resource list further.
If you have questions or would like to add any DOJ-sponsored resources to the Clearinghouse, please contact info@pspartnership.org.
This project was supported by Grant No. 2016-DG-BX-K006 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.