HISTORICAL PROJECTS
Opioid Technology Summit
Our Center, along with New Jersey State Police (NJSP) Superintendent Colonel Joseph R. Fuentes (Ret.) and NJSP Program Development Specialist Shelly Lowe, were invited to the Opioid Technology Summit: Leveraging Technology to Address the Opioid Epidemic which was hosted by the Integrated Justice Information (IJIS) Institute in December 2017. Other partners included the National Narcotics Officers Association, the Police Foundation, and the National Fusion Center Association. Its purpose was “to provide an opportunity for government practitioners and industry experts to work together in exploring the intersection of public safety and public health, and how these diverse areas can come together to explore technology solutions addressing the opioid crisis.” COP Director Linda Tartaglia shared findings from the case study conducted on Utah’s Strategic Intelligence and Analysis Center (SIAC) that involved immigrant, drug, and human trafficking as part of the Information Sharing Initiative.
Excellence in Policing
The Police Institute, together with the New Jersey State Police and the United States Department of Justice, brought together chiefs of police, their assistants, and mayors and business administrators from six cities from around the country to discuss self-identified emerging issues. The program sought to fine-tune departmental policies and enforcement routines that often draw the most public criticism: traffic stops, searches, training, use of force and internal affairs investigation.
EIP then helped to ascertain prior efforts that successfully addressed these issues and, in a peer-to-peer approach augmented by technical assistance coordinated by the Police Institute, created the environment to share and develop the conversion of these ideas into operational standards and programs. The program relied heavily on the collection of data from all these events, while insisting on analysis to disclose individual misconduct, improve performance or perhaps the broader need for re-training a department.
The EIP project advanced a scalable and affordable approach to assist Chiefs and their police departments in building legitimacy and goodwill within their communities.
Fugitive Safe Surrender
Through the Fugitive Safe Surrender Project the Police Institute coordinated the effort at four different New Jersey locations. The project involved the collaboration of law enforcement, prosecutors, and corrections officials as well as a broad range of community service providers in assisting citizens in resolving issues on outstanding warrants.
Through the Fugitive Safe Surrender program, the State of New Jersey invites wanted persons to peacefully turn themselves in, and seek favorable consideration from the court. Fugitive Safe Surrender does not provide amnesty, but does enable wanted persons to work with a judge, prosecutor and public defender, and seek favorable consideration. This program typically results in probation rather than jail time. In addition, every attempt is made to reduce the individual’s unpaid fines or work out a reasonable payment plan.
Europol Meeting
In June 2012, The Police Institute along with other U.S. public safety professionals with significant backgrounds in law enforcement and homeland security exchanged information via visits to The Hague, Europol, Dutch law enforcement agencies, and the National Forensic Institute (NFI), as well as the private sector partners that support these entities. The focus of the exchanges were counterterrorism, information sharing, fusion concepts, and the threats—both international and domestic—as well as the numerous best practices and projects to address the public safety problems and respond to the difficult economic conditions.
Newark Violence Reduction Initiative
The initiative requires police and prosecutors to focus on the small number of lawbreakers responsible for most violent crimes.
For example, data collected for the project showed that in 2009–10, 1,470 people, or less than 1 percent of Newark’s population were behind the violence in 73 crime hot spots that cover less than 9 percent of the city’s square mileage, but accounted for half its shootings.
To reach this group, police and prosecutors summon gang members to a neighborhood meeting and deliver a firm message: the violence must stop, or the whole group—not just the individuals involved in the latest encounter—will face intense scrutiny. Community members are also invited to speak, to condemn the violence and to encourage gang members to choose education, job training, and drug treatment.
The program also ensures that social services are readily available to those in need.
Mayors Violence Reduction Roundtable