rural law enforcement

On Thursday, July 6, at 2:00pm ET, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative (RVCRI) is hosting a webinar on providing victim services in rural communities, best practices, and lessons learned.

Attendees will hear from Caroline Huffaker, Senior Program Manager at the National Policing Institute and former Victim Services Director of the Chattanooga, Tennessee Police Department, and Amy Durall, Office for Victims of Crime fellow. During the event, attendees will:

Monticello requested sample forensic extraction software policies for the development of their program.

The RVCRI team provided Monticello with several policy resources, including the AR State Crime Lab Digital Evidence Manual, the Madison, WI policy, NIST guidelines for extractions, the WV State Police policy, and the San Diego, CA policy.

Tremonton-Garland, UT requested SRO MOU examples o assist with the planning of hiring and deploying an SRO. The RVCRI team provided several resources to Tremonton-Garland, including sample MOUs and NASRO best practices.

On May 25, 2023, at 2:00pm ET, the RVCRI team will host the second Rural Roundtable – a peer networking event for RVCRI grantees to come together and discuss narcotics trafficking.

The RVCRI team will host an Orientation Event on February 16 to orient new RVCRI grantees under both LISC and the Institute. The Orientation will:
1. Provide a high-level overview of the program
2. Split into organization-specific breakout rooms to discuss specific grant management reimbursement guidelines
3. Give agencies the opportunity to learn which agencies are joining them in RVCRI
4 Ask questions of BJA, the Institute, and LISC

Hancock County requested sample AED policies for the development of their new AED Program, which they were able to begin with RVCRI funding.

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The RVCRI team provided Hancock County with several law enforcement policy samples, the State of Tennessee requirements, and program guidelines and lessons learned.

Violent crime is on the rise in many jurisdictions, including rural communities. Rural law enforcement agencies are left to tackle these issues, often with a decreasing tax base, personnel shortages, expansive geographic territory, and lack of access to medical treatment that can make violent crimes more fatal than in urban settings.

Presentation Title: Tech Talk: Technology in the (Rural) Fields to Reduce Crime and Enhance Investigative Capacity

Duson, LA requested resources related to the development of policies and procedures for the new dual role crime analyst. The RVCRI team had Kerry Yerico, a crime analyst, expert join the April 2023 check-in call. Mrs. Yerico provided several resources, including sample policy and procedures manuals, links to free mapping and analysis softwares, one-pagers on analytical tools, trainings, and shortcuts, and a sample report.

Frederick requested assistance with developing their policies, procedures, and onboarding training for the new Victim Advocate and Victim Services Unit.

Caroline Huffaker will be providing this TTA. Caroline is the former Director of the Chattanooga, TN Victim Services Unit, which she stood up.

Frederick used VAWA funded support to assist with this review.