Presents . . .

The PSP Impact

- A Quarterly Snapshot of the PSP Network -

January–March 2023

Quarterly Site Highlight

On Friday, March 31, Wichita, Kansas, Police Department (WPD) recruits were brought to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to visit the Greenwood Rising Black Wall Street History Center. Recruits were given an opportunity to tour the museum and learn about an important piece of American history and the effects it had—and still has—on the Black American community to this day.

This is the first trip taken by WPD recruits, and they plan to make the trip with each consecutive recruit class to instill in them the responsibilities entrusted to them and ensure that they are culturally aware.

Chief Joe Sullivan was inspired by his own visit to the Greenwood Rising museum with the Tulsa police chief while attending the PSP Summit. He said he was shocked at what he learned and wanted to share that history with WPD recruits.

Communities of Practice (CoPs) bring together those with common interests and/or professions to share lessons learned and promising practices, address today's challenges, refine skills through interactive engagements, and introduce members to new methods.

PSP has established CoPs in the areas of crime analysis, prosecution, and public information officers. Click here to learn more!

Quarterly CoP Newsletter

February 28, 2023

CoP members received a CoP newsletter from the PSP Support Team, which included new PSP Clearinghouse resources, PSP webinar recordings covering topics such as GunStat, Specialty Courts, and recruitment and retention. The newsletter also included articles of interest and upcoming events. CoP members will now receive this newsletter on a quarterly basis. Click the link to view the newsletter: CoP Newsletter.

Prosecution Community of Practice (PCoP) Webinar

March 2, 2023

During this quarterly event, PCoP members heard from grant specialist Ms. Joan Brody about grant opportunities for prosecutors, as well as how to develop a grant strategy and navigate the grant-writing process. Following the presentation, Ms. Beth McGarry and Ms. Brody facilitated a moderated discussion with PCoP members in which they were able to share their experiences, ask questions, and request assistance.

Crime Analysis Community of Practice (CACoP) Webinar

March 8, 2023

During this quarterly event, CACoP members heard from retired Supervising Crime Analyst Annie Mitchell on investigative case studies. Attendees were presented with various case scenarios including burglary, kidnapping, and sexual assault. Members were then asked to utilize their critical thinking skills and expertise to further the investigations and identify suspects. To further these investigations more efficiently, Ms. Mitchell emphasized the importance of sharing data with neighboring agencies through an information-sharing network as well as remembering not to overlook the basics of crime analysis during an investigation. Throughout the presentation, members were asked to answer various polling questions about characteristics of their crime analysis units and their views on the overlap between crime analysis and intelligence. Following the presentation, Mr. John Markovic and Ms. Mitchell encouraged CACoP members to share ideas, ask questions, and recommend future topics.

-Training and
Technical Assistance-

The PSP team is continuing to deliver on-site engagements, including peer exchanges and assessments, to support law enforcement agencies and PSP partners. The following engagements, held between January and March 2023, covered a variety of topics aimed at reducing violent crime and enhancing public safety.

- On-Site Peer Exchanges-

January 18, 2023—Group to United States Marshals Service (USMS)

USMS hosted a group peer exchange at the USMS Carolinas Regional Task Force in Charlotte, North Carolina. The peer exchange focused on the vast array of resources USMS has at its disposal and provided a unique opportunity for USMS to interact with the PSP sites it is supporting. This peer exchange covered the following topics: history of USMS; Organized Crime and Gangs Branch; Sex Offender Investigations Branch; Critical Incident Response Team resources; overview of Regional Task Force Branch operations; Behavioral Analysis Unit capacity and support; and training resources. This peer exchange was attended by personnel from the following PSP cities: Antioch, California; Baltimore, Maryland; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Cleveland, Ohio; Gary, Indiana; Greensboro, North Carolina; Washington, DC; North Charleston, South Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; Rochester, New York; Shreveport, Louisiana; Tucson, Arizona.

January 24–27, 2023—Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT)

PERF hosted personnel from PSP site Richmond, Virginia, at its ICAT Conference in San Diego, California. This unique training program developed by PERF equips first-responding police officers with the resources, skills, and options that are essential to safely deescalate a broad spectrum of critical incidents. With the guidance of numerous law enforcement professionals from across the United States, ICAT offers an integrated approach to training through critical thinking, crisis intervention strategies, communications, and tactics. Agencies across the nation are currently implementing these strategies to provide their officers with a new approach to critical incidents. Attendees also participated in train-the-trainer sessions for law enforcement agencies interested in implementing ICAT for their officers.

February 22, 2023—Group to Fort Worth, Texas

The Fort Worth Police Department hosted PSP sites Anchorage, Alaska, and Wichita, Kansas, to observe the department’s Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC) operations, staffing, challenges, and technology to develop their own center and learn best practices.

February 22, 2023—Group to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

This peer exchange hosted by ATF provided the opportunity for PSP sites to attend a collaborative event at the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) National Correlation and Training Center (NNCTC) in Huntsville, Alabama. Attendees had the opportunity to discuss current capacities and PSP partnerships by each site, eTrace, and crime gun intelligence, as well as receive training for the NIBIN Enforcement Support System (NESS).

February 27–28, 2023—Miami, Florida, Crimefighters

The Miami Police Department in partnership with The Policing Lab hosted the Miami Crimefighters Conference in Miami, Florida. This two-day national crime fighters summit focused on violence reduction strategies for 2023. PSP sites were invited to attend this event.

March 1–2, 2023—Baltimore, Maryland, to Prosecutorial Summit

Personnel from PSP site Baltimore, Maryland, attended the National Summit on Prosecutorial Data Transparency and the Use of Data Dashboards in Miami, Florida. The goal of this summit was to feature up-and-coming prosecutorial practices that leverage data and public-facing data dashboards to promote transparency, racial equity, and engagement within our communities. With a variety of engaging speakers, topics, and countless opportunities for peer-to-peer networking, attendees learned how to utilize data to make informed decisions regarding resource distribution, case efficacy, and programming. Topics covered during the summit included improving data readiness and infrastructure, cultivating data culture, and effectively utilizing the wealth of resources on the advancement of internal and public-facing dashboards.

March 15–16, 2023—Aurora, Colorado, to Milwaukee, Wisconsin

PSP site Aurora, Colorado, visited Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) Headquarters to tour its Fusion Center (Real Time Event Center [RTEC]). Attendees were also provided an overview of Milwaukee’s Public Safety Review (PSR), MPD community engagement, and Sojourner Family Peace Center, to include Domestic Violence High Risk Team (DVHRT), Office of Violence Prevention, Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services—Children, Youth, and Family Services, and MPD Special Investigations Division.

-Assessments-

Part of PSP’s comprehensive approach is to offer a series of assessments related to PSP’s focus areas. The objective of each assessment is to provide an understanding of challenges and opportunities for growth within the participating departments and agencies. The PSP Site Team will use the assessment results to help develop a PSP Strategic Plan to address violent crime and public safety priorities, supported by all local and federal partners.

Antioch, California—Nonfatal Shooting Assessment

Aurora, Colorado—Detective Function Assessment

Aurora, Colorado—Crime Analysis Assessment

Chattanooga, Tennessee—Prosecution Assessment

Sacramento, California—Crime Analysis Assessment

Washington, District of Columbia—Nonfatal Shooting Assessment

Wichita, Kansas—Technology Assessment

-Virtual Academy-

The U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance invites active U.S. law enforcement professionals to access the PSP Virtual Academy.

The Virtual Academy offers a growing number of interactive courses on law enforcement topics of relevance and interest to today’s criminal justice professionals. Courses are self-paced and designed especially for adult learners.

PSP delivers these valuable learning opportunities in a convenient, contemporary platform that may be accessed via computers, smartphones, and tablets. Enrollees have the option to pause and resume courses at their own pace—offering the flexibility to respond to other time-sensitive priorities.

There are six Virtual Academy courses available, with more in production.

Crime S.C.E.N.E. Excellence
Ghost Guns—Identifying and Tracing Privately Made Firearms
GunStat—A Data-Driven Approach to Address Gun Violence
Law Enforcement Guide to Crime Guns
Leadership Strategies Reduction
Navigating NIBIN Leads via the GETS System

Click here to learn more. We look forward to learning with you!

Featured Toolkit: March is Women's History Month! The PSP support team wanted to provide some helpful resources from the Public Safety Clearinghouse. These resources include topics such as recruitment and retention of women in law enforcement and violence against women:

Clearinghouse Toolkit

The Public Safety Clearinghouse is a public online tool that serves as a one-stop shop for violence reduction and public safety resources from DOJ program components and other federal entities. 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.

Designed for maximum functionality on your smartphone or tablet, the Public Safety Clearinghouse mobile app offers a convenient, single point of access to DOJ violence reduction and public safety resources for the criminal justice field. Download the Public Safety Clearinghouse mobile app today by scanning the QR code, clicking on the Apple or Android link, or visiting your mobile app store.

If you have questions or would like to recommend any DOJ-sponsored resources to the Clearinghouse, please contact info@pspartnership.org.

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Download on the Apple Store

-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.

This project was supported by Grant No. 2019-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.