Police Operations Archives

Lemmer Presenting Twice at the ILACP’s 2022 MSPCE

The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (ILACP) is presenting the 2022 Midwest Security & Police Conference/Expo (MSPCE) on 18 and 19 August 2022, at the Tinley Park Convention Center, in Tinley Park, Illinois. This annual expo showcases the latest products and services for law enforcement and security professionals. The event also hosts a comprehensive training conference accredited by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. Thomas Lemmer, the Founder of Secure 1776, LLC will be presenting two executive training sessions during the conference on 19 August 2022. Registration is free for law enforcement and security personnel. [Click the link below to read more.]

The Council Says it Has Questions

Last week we posted on the continued lawlessness and outright evil observed in three American cities on a single day – 14 May 2022. The most horrific of the incidents occurred in a Buffalo supermarket. But, evening lawlessness in the entertainment and downtown areas of Milwaukee and Chicago also stood out. Less than a week later, Chicago’s downtown was the scene of yet another mass causality shooting incident. The latest mass shooting left two people dead and seven others wounded outside a major subway stop and a popular McDonald’s restaurant on Chicago Avenue. That shooting incident happened on Thursday night, 19 May 2022. Today, Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez (15th Ward) gathered the signatures of 29 other council members to call a Special Meeting of the Chicago City Council. The focus – Chicago violence and the city administration’s plan to address lawlessness. [Click the link below to read more.]

A Montage of Lawlessness and Violence

It has long been said, “knowledge is power.” It is important to note that the pronouncement is not “information is power.” In the “Bizzaro World” of the news media, so much of what passes as the “news” is little more than information. The rise of 24-hour cable news has provided more time to pass more information. But, often the platform simply passes the same information in a mind-numbing extended loop whose output does not foster actual knowledge. Pseudo-knowledge is advanced through the frequent use of split-screen commentators and political operatives advancing their own narratives. These often competing narratives generally distort true factual analysis, and they often end in an incomprehensible mash of over-talking and shouting. This phenomenon crosses the spectrum of political, social, and daily-life topics, particularly when there is an overlap into politics. Lawlessness is one of these topics. Even the local – allegedly straight news – news programming runs a steady flow of lawless incident-of-the-day segments, particularly when the incidents are violent with shock-seeking video. These segments are generally little more than sensationalized information, and rarely is their presentation one that advances knowledge. Secure 1776 offers this “cops ask questions” question in Latin: “Cui bono?” Translation: “Who benefits?” [Click the link below to read more.]

Something Different to Learn from Harvard

Harvard University is often hailed as the standard in American higher education. It has been an institution of higher learning longer than the United States of America has been an independent nation. Indeed, founded in Massachusetts in 1636, Harvard College was the first such place of learning in the thirteen colonies. Eight future U.S. presidents gained degrees from Harvard. To borrow a phrase, one might say that Harvard has long been a “place of privilege.” Harvard’s Cambridge-area campuses are patrolled by the university’s own police department, and the university is a well-protected, low-crime community. Yet, as in many urban areas, the local police-community relationship at Harvard is far from ideal. In February 2022, the Harvard Crimson, the university’s student newspaper, reported on the announced closure of the university police substation at Mather House. The closure was in response to student and faculty complaints about the on-site visible police presence. Mather is a 19-story residential building for undergraduate students. According to Wikipedia, Mather House historically had a “partying” reputation, and it is currently known for “its social life and a spacious, newly remodeled dining hall with a view of the Charles River.” As reported by the Crimson, the Mather faculty deans expressed “student concerns” about how the university’s armed police officers “regularly ate in the dining hall alongside students.” Exercising their privilege of defining who has access, since the Fall of 2021, the university has barred its officers from eating in student dining halls. Secure 1776 does not find this action to be a particularly positive model for police-community relations. [Click the link below to read more.]

Supervisory Engagement, Lemmer Presenting at ILACP 2022 Annual Conference

The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (ILACP) Annual Conference will be held on 27 to 29 April 2022 in Northbrook, Illinois. Thomas Lemmer, Founder of Secure 1776 and the creator of the “Eight Levels of Supervisory Engagement,” will be presenting at the conference. A fundamental truth of organizations, including law enforcement agencies, is that underperforming and problem employees exist. When the underperforming or problem employee is a supervisor, the need for the organization to respond is elevated. This is true even when supervisors are merely ineffective, as ineffective supervisors foster a less effective workforce. However, the impact on the agency is even worse, when supervisors do not support the organization’s values, goals, and strategies. A 90-minute conference version of the course, “Understanding the Eight Levels of Supervisory Engagement,” will be provided to law enforcement executives. Through this course, leaders will have a solid introduction to the model and enhanced skills from which to foster supervisory excellence within their agencies. [Click the link below to read more.]

Some Clarity on Carjackings and the Complexities of Juvenile Crime

A week ago in our “Editorial: Spectacle Chicago and the Death of the JISC,” our readers were provided several key insights regarding juvenile delinquency. First, the connection between early delinquency and the risks of future violence are clear. Second, the closing of the Juvenile Intervention and Support Center (JISC), without any alternative, weakened the city’s response to juvenile delinquency. It remains another spectacle Chicago moment. Yes, large social forces lay a complex macro-level foundation for crime – particularly juvenile crime. But, we should not be fooled, even in areas where crime and violence are the worst, most youth do not become gang members, and most do not engage in violence. Chicago loses children to gang activity, delinquency, and violence one young person at a time. The explosion of carjackings in Chicago provides us with an opportunity for some clarity relative to juvenile crime. [Click the link below to read more.]

Editorial: Spectacle Chicago and the Death of the JISC

On 4 March 2006, the Juvenile Intervention and Support Center (JISC) became Chicago’s first and only police facility dedicated specifically to address juvenile delinquency. In my 34 years, three months, and two days with the Chicago Police Department (CPD), the JISC stands out for two reasons. First, the fact that the doors opened at all was a historic accomplishment. Second, it is a massive disappointment that the JISC stopped receiving youth, as of CPD’s midnight watch on 21 November 2021. In truth, the JISC was never fully supported, not fully implemented, and was not allowed to meet its full potential. And yet, the JISC did good work and offered a pathway for improved outcomes for thousands of Chicago’s young people. Abandoning the JISC, with no functioning alternative, is yet another spectacle Chicago moment. [Click the link below to read more.]

Forget About It, a Crime Victims Quick Read Update

In the “Men in Black” film series secret agents use a device to erase memories. Those agents sought to conceal the activities of extraterrestrials. In New York, it is not secret agents telling the police to “forget about it,” and the “it” is criminal activity. A ruling by New York Judge Lyle Frank has, in a sense, at least for now, memory holed about half of the arrest records of the New York Police Department (NYPD). As reported by US News & World Report, the issue centers around the sealing of arrest records when the arrest does not end in a conviction. That’s good right? Well, like so much, the answer is both “yes” and “no.” What we can say with certainty, victim’s don’t so easily get to just forget about it. Here we present a “Quick Read” update on our August post entitled, “Crime Victims Are Not the Priority.” [Click the link below to read more.]

Pandemic Restrictions Enforcement, a Quick Read Update

When the police are used as the face and muscle of pandemic restrictions enforcement, the police-community relationship is placed a risk. Relative to policing, even vocal critics of the police speak of “police legitimacy.” Jonathan Blanks is an ardent police reform advocate. While Blanks seems to lay the burden of maintaining legitimacy on the police alone, he has identified legitimacy as the “most valuable” police department resource. When severe Covid restrictions are viewed by a substantial portion of the community as violating the rights of free citizens, community assessments of police legitimacy are diminished. With a damaged police-community relationship, and weakened assessments of legitimacy, overall public safety is placed in jeopardy. Here we present a “Quick Read” and video update regarding pandemic restrictions enforcement in Australia. [Click the link below to read more.]

Assisted Suicide in Minnesota

Do you remember when Dr. Jack Kevorkian and assisted suicide were a major discussion in the medical field? It may be time for us to start having a similar discussion about violence in America’s larger towns and cities. We seem to be witnessing a new type of assisted suicide in far too many communities. Correction the assisted suicide of communities. The Summer 2021 issue of “Thinking Minnesota” provides an excellent summary of the collapse of public safety in the Twin Cities area. In Minnesota, and many other areas of the nation, a cadre of “new Kevorkian” leaders has emerged. These leaders have assisted in creating community conditions more vulnerable to lawlessness. In that wake, deadly violence has dramatically increased. [Click the link below to read more.]

Crime is Out of Control, 70% of Voters Say So – Rasmussen

Americans believe crime is out of control. So say 70% of the respondents in an August 2021 poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports (RR) and the National Police Association. Combined, 90% of likely voters are “somewhat” to “very concerned” about the recent increase in violent crime. Quoting RR: “Voters are overwhelmingly concerned about violent crime and believe many so-called criminal justice reforms are contributing to the problem.” What does this mean?

More Warning Signs: Chicago and Hadleyville

Less than a month ago, Secure 1776 raised the question. Is Chicago a Hadleyville? We highlighted three recent news items which raised warning signs that Chicago was at risk. In light of the murder of Chicago Police Officer Ella French on 7 August 2021, it is worth rereading that post. Officer French was murdered, and her partner critically wounded, while they were conducting a vehicle stop. The shooting occurred in West Englewood, a Chicago neighborhood that has long-suffered the ravages of street crime and gang violence. The murder of a police officer, while she was in the act of keeping her oath to the Constitution, is a tear in the very fabric of the community.

Subway Safety and Proactive Policing

This week Nicole Gelinas, from the Manhattan Institute, authored an insightful opinion essay published in the New York Times: “To Get New York Going, We Have to Address Subway Safety.” Without question subway safety and proactive policing are correlated variables. Gelinas observed that far fewer New York City (NYC) transit riders felt safe in the subway, just 26% as of early 2021. By comparison, in the last quarter of 2019, 65% of riders “felt satisfied with the levels of crime and harassment on trains.” Violent crimes are up and ridership is down dramatically from “pre-pandemic” days. The absence of “safety in numbers” for riders and a turn from active policing on the system are key factors in the subway safety equation. See our analysis.

“Toledo police release body camera video from fatal block party shooting”

At first glance this may not appear to be the type of article that would be posted here on Secure 1776, as this site seeks a higher-level focus than a single shooting incident. However, this incident from 4 July 2021 in Toledo, Ohio connects to several key points nationally.

“From Broken Windows to Broken Streets”

Nicole Gelinas writes about an interview with the late criminologist George Kelling “half a decade ago” that focused on Broken Windows Theory. The analysis is insightful relative to the fundamental role of the community in public safety and how policing is impacted when community involvement is low.