CHICO, Calif., Feb. 29, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- It is time—time to honor police officers and law enforcement leaders worldwide who strive to keep our roads safer.
Voices Insisting on PursuitSAFETY, a national nonprofit public safety organization, announces its second annual Safer Way Award program. This award recognizes police officers and law enforcement agencies that implement innovative ways to avoid vehicular police pursuits and yet bring about the apprehension of suspects.
"This could be a creative method of apprehending a known driver or suspect without a pursuit or the changing of an agency's policy and/or training practices," said Maryville, Illinois, Police Chief Richard Schardan, Sr., administrator of the award program and a PursuitSAFETY advisory board member. Chief Schardan also serves on the Illinois Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS) Advisory Policy Board and the Southwestern Illinois College Police Academy.
The Highway Safety Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) will judge the nominees based on achievements prior to and through the year 2011. For guidelines and the online nomination form, visit PursuitSAFETY's Safer Way Award web page.
"The purpose of a pursuit is to save lives," said Chief Schardan. "PursuitSAFETY's Safer Way Award is an important initiative for bringing attention to both the need for life-saving pursuit policies and for effective officer training."
"We need to educate our recruits in the academy and during our department field training programs about the risks of a pursuit to officers, citizens and perpetrators—to provide a knowledge base in their decision-making," Schardan continued. "Officers cannot make these life and death decisions on an 'if.' The officer's responsibility is for the safety of people. In addition, administrators need to consider the possibilities of losing an officer's ability to work, the loss of a squad car, worker's comp claims, and a lawsuit. It is risk management. It is protecting officers and innocent bystanders."
Impact
The award recognizes officer achievements, builds communication networks between officers about other ways to apprehend suspects, and saves lives by reducing the number of pursuits and, consequently, reducing the number of deaths.
On average, crashes due to drivers fleeing from the police kill someone every day. According to a 2004 Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center analysis of nine years of national statistics, "One third of these pursuit fatalities were innocent bystanders."
"The Safer Way Award sets another standard of professionalism for police officers," said Candy Priano, founder and executive director of PursuitSAFETY. "Crashes to apprehend drivers for stolen vehicles taken without violence, other property crimes, misdemeanor violations, and known suspects are the reasons for pursuits that resulted in the deaths of innocent bystanders and officers. Our goal is officer training and to create communication networks where officers share their techniques. Life is precious, unlike a piece of property. Children, mothers and fathers, grandparents—our loved ones—are not replaceable."
Looking ahead, Priano said that with the financial support of a sponsor, PursuitSAFETY will one day include an officer training component for the law enforcement agency that wins the award. The goal is to hire emergency vehicle operations course instructors to teach officers safer ways to deploy stop sticks and share how they can use other resources and technologies to bring about the capture of known flight risks.
Submit Nominations Now
PursuitSAFETY, the IACP Highway Safety Committee, and Chief Schardan invite officers, law enforcement association members, and the public to submit nominations by March 31, 2012.
- For guidelines and to download the nomination form, visit PursuitSAFETY's Safer Way Award web page.
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Submit forms via email (saferwayaward@charter.net) or U.S. mail to:
Chief Richard Schardan, Sr.
Maryville Police Department
2500 N. Center Street
Maryville, IL 62062
Information provided on the nomination form helps the IACP Highway Safety Committee determine the winner of the PursuitSAFETY 2012 Safer Way Award, which is based on achievements prior to and through the year 2011.
2011 Safer Way Award Winner
PursuitSAFETY presented its 2011 Safer Way Award to detectives of the St. Louis County Police Department. By thinking creatively, these detectives successfully apprehended thieves who were known for fleeing from the police. The thieves waited at a rest stop. They broke into unattended, locked cars and took items such as iPhones and cameras. St. Louis County detectives, looking for a safer way to catch these thieves, said, "Let's find another way." They captured these suspects without a chase, and the criminals are now serving time in prison. St. Louis County Police Captain Lawrence Stulce shares the full story in this Safer Way Award video.
Individuals and companies, which support the Safer Way Award with a tax-deductible donation, will have their name/business listed on all of PursuitSAFETY's Safer Way Award public relations materials. To ensure recognition for your donation, contact Candy Priano at 530-343-9754.
Watch actor and inspirational speaker Glenn Morshower in PursuitSAFETY's public service announcements on YouTube. Morshower is most known for his role as Agent Aaron Pierce in the Fox-TV show 24 and serves as PursuitSAFETY's spokesperson at no cost to the organization.
Other companies working for a safer way include StarChase and OnStar Stolen Vehicle Slowdown.
About Voices Insisting on PursuitSAFETY
PursuitSAFETY is the sole national nonprofit organization committed to preventing the tragedy of vehicular police pursuit from happening to innocent bystanders and police officers. We exist to save lives. Learn more at www.pursuitsafety.org.
Candy Priano, founder and executive director of PursuitSAFETY, continues to work for a safer way so others will not have to endure the pain that she and thousands of others have suffered. A 2002 police chase through a residential neighborhood ended when a fleeing teenager, who officers knew had taken her mother's car without permission, slammed into Priano's minivan right where her daughter Kristie, wearing her seatbelt, was sitting. It took seven days for Kristie to die, but only a few hours for the police to send the teen home with her mother. She was not even arrested. Later she would serve one year in juvenile hall. Kristie died from a massive closed-brain injury, a crushed brain stem, and extensive swelling that caused her brain to rupture.
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