The Associated Press’ top Montana news story for 2007 were the wildfires that raged around the state. In fact, 1,763 fires burned approximately 740,000 acres, with the total cost surpassing $100 million. According to Doug Williams, Rural Fire Program Manager for DNRC, there were 26 major evacuations last year which occurred on large fires-so that doesn't include all the ones on fires that stayed local or were over within the first 12 hours.

What does this have to do with you? The fact is that sheriffs’ offices were the ones conducting emergency evacuations, establishing secure areas with roadblocks, and providing security for established fire camps.

MSPOA and the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation have entered into an agreement that is designed to help county sheriffs be better prepared when the disaster strikes your county or when your neighbor needs your help.

Please respond today. If you have questions, call the MSPOA office at 443-5669 or Greg Hintz at 258-3302. If we haven’t received the completed form by April 1, expect a follow-up call. The goal is to have strike teams identified and trained by June 1.

This is quite simple and there are no onerous requirements. Complete the enclosed form. Designate the person or persons who will participate in the 6 hour training. MSPOA will work with DNRC to make training sites available around the state.

Some of our more rural counties have been concerned that their participation could result in their being short-handed. Not so. The trained person will be listed as a resource but not obligated to go out when called. In addition, we are strongly encouraging groups of neighboring rural counties to collaborate on putting together a strike team. A strike team consists of 5-6 individuals.

In addition to providing training, every effort will be made to procure for the strike team individuals, flame retardant personal protective clothing, including but not limited to shirt, pants, hard hat, gloves, and fire shelter. Responding officers must arrive at an incident prepared to operate in a self-sufficient manner for up to 48 hours with personal items, appropriate clothing, drinking water, food, and other necessary items.

We rarely can ever anticipate what the impact of a major fire can do to local resources. Last summer’s experience led Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Cheryl Liedle to comment, “The 2007 fire season taxed our office to its maximum. Having the aid of additional strike teams in place would have helped us greatly, not just with the daily exhaustion of the deputies, but also with the financial impact the fires had on our budget.”

To date several Sheriffs’ offices have submitted the agreement to the MSPOA office. It is our goal that by the end of May we have the majority of our sheriffs’ offices signed up, trained up, geared up, and on the resource list. The better our resources, the better our outcomes for all concerned.

Gallatin County Sheriff Jim Cashell was one of the first sheriffs to sign on. The did so because, “Participation in “Project Star” provides your office with access to needed resources and expertise to deal effectively with situations that normally would create very difficult circumstances for any of our offices.”

Sheriff, your agency, large or small, can easily participate whether solo or in conjunction with neighboring counties. Put this on your “to do” list and complete the form ASAP!

Let me re-emphasize that the training is free and can be scheduled to fit your needs. We will assist in locating the necessary protective clothing. You already have the marked patrol units and the communications equipment. You are ready to go.

Thank you for your participation.

Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force

In July of 2007 the Billings Police Department, with the cooperation and assistance of the US Attorney’s Office, responded to a grant solicitation which brought Federal funds into Montana for the purpose of establishing an ICAC Task Force. In November of 2007 the Billings Police Department learned that it would receive funding for a task force. The Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force [MTICAC] was formed in December of 2007. Initially, four sites were selected for funding, the Billings Police Department, Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, Helena Police and the Division of Criminal Investigations [DCI]. Each of these agencies receives funding for areas including training, equipment and overtime for MTICAC related investigations. The MTICACTF continues to grow within the State of Montana by signing on an additional eight law enforcement agencies throughout Montana, by becoming an affiliate of the MTICACTF each agency becomes eligible to receive ICAC related training courses, investigative equipment, other funding assistance, and becoming part of a nationwide network of Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

Becoming a member of the MTICACTF does not require that your agency loose a valuable investigator. Rather, it means that your agency is willing to participate with other Montana Task Force personnel in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for exploiting children using computers and the Internet. Your agency also receives the training necessary to educate your community on the safe use of the Internet.

I am happy to answer any questions you may have about becoming an active member of the MTICACTF. Please check out our web site at: www.mticac.org as well as the national ICAC web site at: www.icactraining.org for additional information, or contact Tim West at: 406.896.3295 or westt@ci.billings.mt.us. The Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force [MTICAC] Program is overseen by Tim West. Tim is a retired Police Detective with the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Police Department. In 1998 Tim was asked to be part of the Steering Committee for the newly developed Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force initiative. Tim became the lead investigator and assisted in the administrative operations of the Northern New England ICAC Task Force which covered the States of Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire.

After retiring Tim remained active in the ICAC Task Forces as a consultant with the Fox Valley Technical College which provides training nationwide to all of the ICAC Task Forces. In December 2007 Tim became the Program Coordinator of the MTICAC Task Force.

The Internet Crimes Against Children [ICAC] Task Force Program began in 1998 as a Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention [OJJDP] program to assist state and local law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of child exploitation cases involving the use of computers. Since 1998 the ICAC Program has grown to include Federal funding to establish a task force in all 50 states.

Crime in Schools and Colleges: A Study of Offenders and Arrestees Reported via National Incident-Based Reporting System Data

James H. Noonan and Malissa C. Vavra
Crime Analysis, Research and Development Unit
Criminal Justice Information Services Division
Federal Bureau of Investigation
October 2007

Schools and colleges are valued institutions that help build upon the Nation’s foundations and serve as an arena where the growth and stability of future generations begin. Crime in schools and colleges is therefore one of the most troublesome social problems in the Nation today. Not only does it affect those involved in the criminal incident, but it also hinders societal growth and stability. In that light, it is vital to understand the characteristics surrounding crime in schools, colleges, and universities and the offenders who reportedly commit these offenses so that law enforcement, policy makers, school administrators, and the public can properly combat and reduce the amount of crime occurring at these institutions.

Read Entire Study - pdf format

REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT (Model)

We are providing this document in several formats:

Acrobat PDF ||||| Word Document ||||| Web Page (html)

MIDAC

Mobile Impaired Driver Assessment Center

MIDAC The Montana Highway Patrol operates and maintains a specifically equipped 32 foot vehicle designed to enable law enforcement officers to process the impaired driver. The MIDAC unit was funded through a grant awarded by NHTSA through Montana Department of Transportation office of highway Traffic Safety in 2007 and built by NOMAD Industries in Kalispell, Montana.

The primary mission is to reduce fatalities, injuries and loss of property due to DUI crashes within the state of Montana. This is accomplished through proactive enforcement of DUI/DUID laws, providing training and education to law enforcement officers and the public, providing support to law enforcement officers by reducing the amount of time spent processing and transport of DUI/DUID offenders after arrest.

MIDAC Use of this vehicle will help maximize the deterrent effect and increase perception of “risk of apprehension” of motorists who would operate a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs. The fact is that drivers who drink too much believe that they stand little chance of being detected and arrested. One reason is because of their choice of route home. Studies have shown that increasing the perceived threat of detection is one of the strongest deterrents to drinking and driving. The MIDAC unit increases that threat of detection by allowing law enforcement officers to work in a specific area and not have to transport the impaired driver long distances for processing, thus freeing up more time for the law enforcement officer to work traffic in distant areas of the state of Montana.

The MIDAC is equipped with an intoxilyzer 8000 and all forms associated with a DUI/DUID arrest.

MIDAC The MIDAC is also capable of producing its own wireless “Halo”.

With all fuel tanks full the MIDAC can stay on-station 24/7 for three days. The vehicle is equipped with fresh water, shower and restroom. An office area is available for writing reports.

The MIDAC unit is available for use by all law enforcement agencies but will be operated only by qualified MHP officers.

Request for use of the MIDAC vehicle should include a short email or letter including the following:

Description of the event
The number of law enforcement involved in the operation
The date the MIDAC is to be utilized
Contact persons name, title, agency work and cell phone numbers
Location of the parking area for the MIDAC unit
Other agencies that may participate

The contact person listed on the application will be notified if the MIDAC is available. Due to the number of requests received, there will be dates that the MIDAC is unavailable. An important consideration will be the availability of qualified MHP operators for the vehicle.

The MIDAC is not a prisoner transport or holding facility. An arrested subject is the responsibility of the arresting officer and not the MIDAC operators.

Once an officer is finished processing a subject, the MIDAC operator will burn a DVD of the processing and give to the arresting officer. The arresting officer then is the responsible person for maintaining the DVD video evidence of the arrest.

Crime Scene Vans

Department of Justice Investigations Bureau Chief John L. Strandell has brought to our attention that the Division of Criminal Investigation recently put into service two (2) Crime Scene Vans that are available to assist local agencies with criminal investigations. The vans were purchased and equipped with the latest crime scene investigation equipment and will respond to a jurisdiciton if requested through the Division. The acquistion of the vans solves past problems of insufficient, limited equipment that wasnÃt necessarily in a centralized, quickly available location. Strandell is confident that the vans will be a valuable tool to DCI when its requested by local law enforcment to assist with criminal investigations. If you are interested in more information, call DCI at 444-3874.

MSPOA Stands with Deputies

The subject of salary and benefits for deputy sheriffs is, to put it mildly, very complex. Of particular concern is longevity payments to deputies and how they are calculated. This has been the subject of two Attorney Generals opinions, a couple of failed legislative attempts, and numerous discussions over the years. In the absence of a clear, understandable statute, counties have drifted into various ways of calculating longevity payments to their deputy sheriffs. Two aspects of the overall issue have come up repeatedly in discussions at MSPOA meetings: 1) whether to include the $2000 increment granted to sheriffs in the calculation of deputy longevity, and; 2) whether to base longevity payments on rank at the time of hiring, or on the minimum statutory amount found in Montana law?

Last year Lewis and Clark County decided to no longer include the $2000 increment in the calculation of longevity payment. The Deputy's Association filed a complaint with the Montana Human Rights Commission. Their position was upheld last October. Lewis and Clark County appealed. The case will be heard in the First Judicial District later this spring.

The MSPOA Board decided to stand with the Lewis and Clark County deputies, and an Amicus Brief (Friend of the Court) has been submitted in the case. Available in PDF.

However the case in District court is resolved, the issue may well require legislative action in the 2007 session. Eventually, all Montana counties ought to be calculating longevity payments to deputies in a standard, uniform, consistent way. This case, and the MSPOA Amicus Brief, may or may not move things in that direction. That remains to be seen.

In any case, however, MSPOA stood with its deputies; and the Association will be on top of the information and ready to do whatever needs to be done next.

Amicus Brief (pdf file)