Pinpoint by Mark43

It’s no secret that times are tense right now, especially in the United States. In the wake of a year that saw a pandemic sweep across the country, along with racial tensions, not to mention a contentious election, tensions are high. And few places highlight that tension more than the public attitudes towards law enforcement. No matter which side of the discussion you may find yourself drawn towards, we can all agree on at least this one thing: being a law enforcement officer is a difficult job. On this episode of Pinpoint, we talk with Nick Ashton. Nick is a former member of the Metropolitan Police of London, and is currently the Executive Vice President of Entrical, a communications and security company. Throughout our discussion, Nick highlighted: The evolution of law enforcement over the past fifty years Why we need neighborhood and community policing How policing will change moving into 2021 How agencies and departments can use technology to better allow them to serve their communities. For every episode, click here. For Apple Podcasts users, use this link. Suggest Pinpoint podcast topics at pinpoint@mark43.com. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Mark43, Inc.. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by Mark43, Inc. employees are those of the employees and do not necessarily reflect the view of Mark43, Inc.

It’s no secret that in most of the country, firefighting is a largely male-dominated occupation. In fact, nationally women compromise only 11% of the volunteer fire service.  But not so in Frametown, West Virginia. In fact, in Frametown, the volunteer fire service is nearly 60% composed of females.  This caught the attention of our guest on this episode of Pinpoint, Scotty Dunlap, who is a PhD, and a professor at Eastern Kentucky University.  Scotty was curious not only about why this fire department was made up of such a high number of women, but wanted to hear their stories, and help other fire departments around the country learn to implement their strategies. On this episode we talk all about:  -What drove Scotty to devote his time to producing a documentary about women in firefighting -What it is that makes the Frametown Fire Department so special -How other agencies can implement the same model -His plans for a follow up documentary For every episode, click here. For Apple Podcasts users, use this link. Suggest Pinpoint podcast topics at pinpoint@mark43.com.

Imagine that you were stopped as a robbery suspect by the police as a teenager. They beat you up, called you the N-word, and took you to jail without booking you. How likely are you to commit your life to law enforcement? (Actually, 100%, if you’re today’s guest.) In this episode, I interview Dr. Tommy Tunson, Director of Public Safety Training at Bakersfield College, about his transformational policing model. What we talked about: -Change in America comes slowly, but it comes from leadership -The 2 prongs of the transformational policing model — one involves C4 -What police officers & community leaders discover about each other when they communicate Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: -Dr. Tunson’s book, The C.O.P., is forthcoming soon! This post was taken from a Pinpoint podcast interview with Dr. Tommy Tunson of Bakersfield College.  To find every episode, click here. Or, for Apple Podcasts users, you can also use this link.

Arrest a teen, and his family members are instantly primed for radicalization and terrorist recruitment. It's not because they believe in a radical ideology; it's because they love their families.  Recruitment is a process. The question facing us, then, is, how can we interrupt that process and decrease the numbers of new recruits into terrorist organizations, leading to smaller and less powerful terror groups? On this episode of Pinpoint, we sit down with Dr. Ahmet Yayla, director of the Center for Homeland Security and assistant professor of homeland security at DeSales University. Dr. Yayla also spent 20 years in counterterrorism with the Turkish National Police We discussed such topics as: -Potent techniques for interrupting the terrorist recruitment process -How terrorists recruit new members through social networking -Solutions for outwitting terrorist recruiters on social media For every episode, click here. For Apple Podcasts users, use this link. Suggest Pinpoint podcast topics at pinpoint@mark43.com.

We can all agree that mental health is important.  Today, more than ever, it seems like mental health is being pushed to the foreground in a lot of conversations.  Major companies all over the world are offering their employees subscriptions to mental health resources, counseling, meditation apps, and even providing on-site meditation and mindfulness classes.  It’s clear that mental health is crucial to the workforce.  However, it seems like one industry that has been slow to destigmatize mental health issues, and that is law enforcement.  On this episode of Pinpoint, we sit down with Carrie Steiner. Carrie is a licensed clinical psychologist, and the founder of First Responder's Wellness Center. We talked all about  -Why law enforcement can be such a traumatic experience -Why mental health stigma is slowly fading away in the community -Why treatment is becoming more commonplace.  For every episode, click here. For Apple Podcasts users, use this link. Suggest Pinpoint podcast topics at pinpoint@mark43.com.

Let’s talk about drones. It seems like these days (at least pre-COVID19,) you can’t go to a park or public event without seeing those buzzing things flying overhead.  They’re taking pictures & videos, & a lot of businesses are utilizing drones. Marketing agencies, sports leagues, real-estate firms, they’re all using drones.  But what about from a public health and safety standpoint? How are drones helping, or hurting, the public safety specifically here in the United States? Are they helping? Should we all get rid of those flying toys?  On this episode of Pinpoint we talked to Romeo Durscher. Romeo is the Sr. Director of Public Safety Integration at DJI, a world leader in advanced drone technology. We talked with Romeo all about: -How drone technology had advanced in the last 10 years -Why more and more public safety agencies are utilizing drones -How drones have helped during the COVID-19 pandemic For every episode, click here. For Apple Podcasts users, use this link. Suggest Pinpoint podcast topics at pinpoint@mark43.com.

1 in 5 officers report chronic stress. 1 in 6 officers report alcohol abuse. Yet 90% of officers don’t seek help for mental health. On a recent episode of Pinpoint, I interviewed Dr. Rashawn Ray, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, College Park, about identifying implicit bias and normalizing mental health. What we talked about: -Dr. Ray’s VR program to measure implicit bias -What needs to change to improve police accountability -Officer mental health & community connectedness -Policing under COVID-19 For every episode, click here. For Apple Podcasts users, use this link.Suggest Pinpoint podcast topics at pinpoint@mark43.com.

Police leadership may view a legal use of force as upholding policy and the role of policing.  Community members may consider it to be disproportionate. With 18,000 agencies in the United States, there can be starkly diverse perspectives about the same instance of a use of force. In this episode, I interview Seth Stoughton, Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law and principal coauthor of Evaluating Police Uses of Force forthcoming from NYU Press. What we talked about: -The problem of hyperlocalization among 18,000 agencies -The need for evidence-based policing -Pros of body-worn cameras & future applications -Use of force & why it’s such a complex problem Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: -Seth’s forthcoming book -Seth’s 2015 Atlantic article This blog post was taken from a Pinpoint podcast interview with Professor Seth W. Stoughton of the University of South Carolina School of Law.  For every episode, click here. Or, for Apple Podcasts users, you can also use this link.

COVID-19 has thrown the entire world a curveball.  To learn more about the Mark43 Pandemic Preparedness Package, or get started go here: https://www.mark43.com/pandemicpackage/ What used to be normal is no longer normal. What used to be acceptable is no longer acceptable. What used to get the job done no longer gets the job done.  And few industries have been thrown into more of a tailspin than the emergency responders.  They’re on the frontlines of this pandemic, pulling 24+ hour shifts, risking exposure to untold counts of COVID-19, and doing their best to keep us all safe and healthy.  And we at Mark43 want to take this opportunity to issue a heartfelt “Thank You” for everything that they’re doing. From nurses to doctors, from paramedics to 911 operators, you’re truly the people that are keeping our country operating.  We wanted to take a moment and sit down with Scott Crouch, our Co-Founder & CEO, and Megan McDonough, our Marketing Manager, for a discussion around what Mark43 is doing in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic.  For our press release: https://www.mark43.com/press/mark43-offers-to-donate-a-one-year-subscription-to-pandemic-preparedness-package-for-any-public-safety-agency-in-the-united-states/ Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Mark43, Inc.. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by Mark43, Inc. employees are those of the employees and do not necessarily reflect the view of Mark43, Inc.

What was it like to be one of the emergency managers responding to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center?    Well, Anthony Mangeri, who assisted with the coordination of New Jersey’s response to the attacks, came on the latest episode of the Pinpoint podcast to tell us all about it.    Anthony has over 30 years of experience in crisis management and public safety at the federal, state and local levels. He is currently Co-Founder and CEO of the Mangeri Group, which specializes in emergency planning and operations, community health and safety services, and clinical operations.    What we talked about:  His experience responding to the 9/11 attacks How crisis communication has changed over the years The biggest thing emergency managers bring to a disaster What it means to manage data and information sharing in crisis situations  For every episode, click here. Or, for Apple Podcasts users, you can also use this link.

When people think about accountability from the constitutional law perspective, we usually jump straight to elections, the people having a voice, and bringing the public's voice to policy making. On this episode of Pinpoint, I was joined by Barry Friedman, the founding director of the Policing Project, professor of law at NYU, and author of two books and many articles. What we talked about: The difference between front end and back end accountability The importance of transparency, voice, and communication in police departments What Edward Snowden and Ferguson, Missouri, have in common Reimagining public safety Checkout these resources we mentioned during the podcast: Unwarranted: Policing Without Permission by Barry Friedman The Policing Project   For every episode, click here. Or, Apple Podcasts users can follow this link.

People think that correctional facilities and federal prisons must be the most high tech places. Actually, jails are hectic. Everyone's running around because they're doing double the amount of tasks they should be doing. I got to talk with Ethan Aldrich, founder of UNIT Innovations on this episode of Pinpoint What we talked about: Assumptions about correctional facilities Negative factors including outdated JMS technology How inmate suicide could be addressed with govtech For every episode of Pinpoint, click here. Or, for Apple Podcasts users, you can use this link.

A 100% success rate for one year after graduation for women.   An 86% success rate for one year after graduation for men.   Those numbers are amazing enough if we were talking about education, but they’re truly one-of-a-kind for substance abuse programs.   I spoke to Sheriff Craig Roberts and Chief Deputy Jenna Morrison of the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office about the amazing success data of their Clackamas County Substance Abuse Program.   Over the past five years alone, the Clackamas County substance abuse initiative has helped over 500 of the highest risk individuals and reduced crime while improving lives.   Take a look at some of their great work here.

There were 114 officer suicides this year. Which is a horrible, tragic number, but not--and this is important--statistically worse than average for the general population. See, without context, data doesn’t mean anything. On a recent episode of Pinpoint, I got to interview Jerry Ratcliffe, a professor with the Department of Criminal Justice at Temple University, about a slew of things in predictive policing from a data-driven, academic perspective. “You only really understand what a number means when you compare that number to something else,” Professor Ratcliffe said.

Every 911 dispatcher has their own story. How they got involved in dispatch. What drew them in the first place. Why they stayed. Why they left.  There are as many different stories as there are dispatchers, because dispatch is such a deeply personal profession.  On this episode of the Pinpoint Podcast, we sit down with Ricardo Martinez, former 911 Dispatcher, Director of Communications at INDigital Telecom, and host of the Within the Trenches Podcast, for a chat around what got him started, some of the things that have impacted him along the way, why he started his podcast, and the driving force behind the #Iam911 movement. 

The world is changing. We heat our homes from our phones, we lock our doors from our phones, we bank from our phones, we can even start our cars from our phones. Our cell phones do everything these days. They’re cameras, social media machines, file storage systems, and music players. But what hasn’t changed much in the past 50 years is 911 technology. The way you dialed 911 50 years ago is for the most part the same way you dial 911 today. And the way you interacted with 911 back then has remained largely unchanged. Enter Next Generation 911, or NG911. What is it? What does it mean? What are the benefits, and what are the concerns?

Twitter is a waste of time, right? If you spend any amount of time on Twitter, it may seem like all it’s good for is arguing about politics, discussing sports scores, or getting the latest celebrity gossip. But what if your Police Department could leverage Twitter to make a difference? What if you could use Twitter to better establish your place in your community, humanizing your precinct even more, and thereby creating a closer bond with those that you’re dedicated to serving? How would you even go about that? Raymond Foster is a retired LAPD officer, consultant, author, and expert in the field of police technology. He was recently a guest on the Pinpoint Podcast and had some great advice about establishing a useful, engaging Twitter presence for your precinct.

Whom do you call when you spot a flying saucer in the sky? Policing can be a pretty crazy profession. If there is somebody breaking into your house, you call the police. If there's a loose dog in the streets, you call the police. And if you spot a flying saucer and think there are aliens inside, you call the police. Law enforcement has to be the Swiss army knife of all emergencies. Maj. Russell Conte has seen it all. A 34-year veteran of the New Hampshire State Troopers, Conte now works in peer counseling and behavioral mental health for first responders and sits on the board of directors for NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. He visited the Pinpoint podcast recently to talk about mental health issues and first responders.

Police departments across the country are dreading a huge crime wave that may strike in January, 2021. The truth on the streets won’t be changing. This feared new crime wave is a statistical one. After the 2021 deadline, police departments will have to change how they report crime from the 111-year old Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) to National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). For example, if there is a murder and a rape, with UCR you just record the murder. With NIBRS, you record both crimes. Back when UCR was devised in 1908, it was an analog time where all the numbers were crunched by hand. Today’s technology can handle all the crime data you can throw at it. On this episode of the Pinpoint podcast, we do a deep dive into the changes police can expect from the NIBRS changeover. We spoke with Ellie Bennett, a Product Manager at Mark 43, who also happens to be one of our in-house NIBRS experts.

If you watch too much news, you may believe communities across America are at odds with their local police agencies. But on this episode of the Pinpoint podcast, we highlight one area where the agency and community aren’t just coexisting, but cooperating in harmony. Chief Carter of the Sand Springs Police Department in Oklahoma has led the town in creating a community policing plan that aligns policing plans to the values of the community. In 2018, Chief Carter accepted the IACP/Cisco Leadership in Community Policing Award on behalf of the agency. His agency proactively set a plan in motion after the 2014 Furgeson incident to ensure a safer, more vibrant community. Chief Carter gave us his plan, and how we can all learn from their strategy. Chief Carter has been with the Sand Springs PD for over 26 years, and he was also a graduate of the 221st FBI National Academy.

Why is a data forensics computer program named after a tenacious hunting dog? Jay Koven, a PhD candidate at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering helped create the forensic visual analytics tool called Beagle. It has an incredibly powerful query language for the searches, but the language is very simple so that anybody can easily create very complex queries.  

How would you like your community to lower: overall crime by 34% violent crime by 53% youth recidivism by 50% runaway/missing children by 64% It starts by asking, what do you do besides arrest people? Harry Earle is Chief of the Gloucester Township Police Department in NJ. Earle has introduced a new model called the Third Gear Policing Model of Intervention.  Listen to learn more.   

South Carolina is regularly hit by hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters that can compromise or overwhelm traditional 911 phone service. The emergency dispatch center wanted to provide an alternate means of communication for the public. They decided to offer it via the Internet. James (Jim) Lake, Director at Charleston County Consolidated Dispatch Center in Charleston, SC, is a true tech forward 911 leader. Charleston County has rolled out a first of its kind website called 911HelpMe.com. Residents can use this website to contact emergency services when 911 call volume is too high, phone services otherwise unavailable, or an emergency situation makes it advisable. It's designed in such a way that during an emergency, administrative staff, who are not trained dispatchers, can easily and appropriately route the overflow from 911HelpMe.com.

I spoke with Dr. Howard Henderson of the Center for Justice Research. The center has a unique mission: To help the police and the community advance their relationship To understand how prosecutors make their better decisions. Understanding predictive bias and what algorithms can be used to predict future behavior. Examining the new notion of pretrial assessment to keep people out of the system but yet still maintain public safety. If you’re in the Houston area, join the free Big Data and Community Policing Workshop on 4/27/19. This podcast includes topics such as: How to Ease Community and Police Divides TV and Social Media Provide Bad Data for All Sides Changing Police Culture with New Messaging and Data Creating Alternatives to the Criminal Justice System Big Data and Community Policing Workshop on 4/27 in Houston

There’s a knock on your door. It’s George Washington and Ulysses S Grant. They want to give you practical, tactical advice. You’d listen, right? Behind them are the winning and losing generals of all of our wars. They also want to teach you how to become a better leader. This offer is so appealing that there is already a waiting list of police chiefs who want that experience. For the last 15 years, Mitch Sklar, Executive Director at NJ State Association of Chiefs of Police, and William “Pat” Schuber have designed a “staff ride” graduate-level program for law enforcement professionals from all over the country. While war tactics in a pitched shooting battle may seem far removed from our era of community policing, there are many lessons to apply to law enforcement.   If you’re interested in joining the October 2019 staff ride, check out Antietam Leadership Experience: a Staff Ride for Law Enforcement Leaders.

The future of public safety is in your hands. (Literally — the future is the smartphone in your hands.) Dale Stockton joined us on this episode of Pinpoint, to discuss the intersection of mobile devices and public safety. Dale has 32 years experience in the field as a law enforcement officer and retired as a police captain in Carlsbad, California. He’s the former Editor-in-Chief of Law Officer Magazine and founder of the Below100 officer safety initiative. And no, that’s not all: Dale also taught criminal justice for over 20 years, and now consults on large technology projects for agencies today. He has quite the resume — and quite the idea on where smartphones are taking law enforcement.

Some police department improve faster than others. Which programs provide the most impact? To understand how police departments can create a space for innovation to appear, we asked Chief Brandon del Pozo of the Burlington Vermont Police Department.

They say everything is bigger in Texas, except the police budgets. Houston, Texas is a policing challenge, to say the least. The city will soon be the third largest in the country. It has 500,000 more people than 20 years ago, but 300 fewer police officers. There are 20,000 registered gang members (and many more that are unregistered). The city’s truly under-resourced police department has learned how to operate very leanly. But since a new police chief arrived in late 2016, homicides are down 15% since last year. To understand how Houston is doing it, we asked Chief Art Acevedo of the Houston Police Department.

Leveraging data and analytics can be a powerful way to make communities safer. But police departments have to build a culture surrounding the use of data and analytics that involves the communities they are serving from day one. Jonathan Lewin is the Chief of the Chicago Police Department Bureau of Technical Services, and his department has seen an improvement in Chicago’s public safety since implementing their Strategic Decision Support Centers (SDSCs).   The SDSCs are the result of a collaboration between the Chicago Police Department, the University of Chicago Crime Lab, and the Los Angeles Police Department. The goal of these centers is to integrate the newest public safety technology and processes to provide better and more precise information on criminals and develop targeted intervention strategies that are informed by data.   Chief Lewin joined us on this episode of the podcast to talk about the use of data in engaging the community, embedding changes into the DNA of his police department, and protecting civil liberties.

The role of a police officer in the United States is more complex than it has ever been. That’s because these officers are being asked to be more involved in their communities by focusing on engagement rather than enforcement.   Carmen Best is the Chief of the Seattle Police Department and she describes this approach as “holistic policing.”  Best has always felt a calling towards public service and she believes firmly that policing isn’t worth anything if it’s not about service to the community.   Best was enlisted in the Army for 3 years where she was committed to representing her country well.  The pillars of leadership she learned translated well into her current role as she learned how to leverage teamwork and camaraderie into establishing a good, fair, and safe society.   Best joined us for this episode of the podcast to talk about her department’s current initiatives, the idea of holistic policing, and the importance of transparency.  

In 1989, Peter Newsham started as a beat cop in the Washington, DC Police Department. He was on the front lines when, in 1991, Washington, DC, in addition to being the nation’s capital, was also its murder capital. In 1999, he saw the Justice Department take over the department after a pattern of excessive force. Today Newsham is the police chief. Under his watch, the city’s dramatic policing transformation is a national success story. Listen to this episode to see how the DC department went from the nation’s most challenging to a great model for change.

Welcome to the introductory episode of Pinpoint, a podcast from the public safety tech startup, Mark43. In this episode, podcast producer Keri Roberts interviews Mark43 co-founders Scott Crouch, Matt Polega, and Flo Mayr to give listeners a snapshot of what to expect from this exciting new podcast series. We're going to bring you interviews with technology and data pioneers in public safety. You'll also be getting a behind the scenes look at how certain agencies are tackling challenges. There are so many fantastic experts in this field. Everyone from police chiefs to researchers, and one of the best things we can do is help make sure that their voices, their opinions, and their expertise is heard and is easily available for law enforcement departments around the world.