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| navigate: home: magazine: fall 2003: article | |
| Confronting Terrorism Deputy sheriffs go through intensive training at Penn State By Melissa W. Kaye | |||||||||||
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Three times a year at Penn State, newly hired deputy sheriffs from throughout Pennsylvania—from urban Philadelphia to rural Elk County—gather together for a course that will help prepare them for their jobs. In the 19-week course that starts in the classroom and moves out to the field, they learn about all aspects of what it takes to be a deputy sheriff—from how to plan for a trial to mastering defensive tactics. The Pennsylvania Deputy Sheriffs’ Training Program, a basic training academy for deputy sheriffs, designed by Temple University and delivered by Penn State at University Park, is now in its fourth year, with a new crop of deputy sheriffs set to complete the program in December. At a spring graduation ceremony for a group of 27 deputy sheriffs, Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency Chair James J. Eisenhower, a former national security aide in the Clinton administration, delivered the commencement address. He said that during a time when there is an increased call for homeland security, training for deputy sheriffs is particularly important. The trainees appreciate the significance of the course. “[It] prepares you 1,000 times over,” said Deputy Sheriff Charles Green of Philadelphia, who has been on the job only four months. “You can’t just go on the job and think you know everything. This program gives you a sense of completion.” Former sex-crimes detective Robin Carrasquillo, now a deputy sheriff just south of Harrisburg, said she finds classes on civil law to be particularly helpful, but she added, “Every block of instruction is going to affect the way we perform on the job.” Deputy Sheriff Jason Corna, from outside of Pittsburgh in Westmoreland County, said, “We’re learning how to make our skills more practical, to both protect ourselves and the public.” Since 2000, Penn State and Temple have worked together on the program for the Pennsylvania Deputy Sheriff Education and Training Board, with an $8 million contract from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. The board created the program in response to Supreme Court rulings saying sheriffs should have training comparable to other law enforcement officers. The program now has been expanded to provide additional training on emergency vehicle operations, protecting and responding to threats against court systems, defensive tactics, and federal requirements for carrying a firearm on an aircraft—reflecting changing law enforcement requirements related to the homeland security effort. This training program has the potential to become a national model, according to Don Zettlemoyer, director of the Justice and Safety Institute at Penn State. “This program is by far the best documented and structured that I’ve seen,” said Zettlemoyer, who has worked in various law enforcement positions. “The deputy sheriffs appreciate its thoroughness and clear application to their roles as law enforcement professionals.” An outreach program of the Penn State Justice and Safety Institute
Major incident response training
If an incident occurs at a major event—be it natural or intentional—law enforcement officials need to be prepared. That’s why the Penn State Justice and Safety Institute offers Major Incident Management and Response, a two-day course designed to teach law enforcement supervisors and command personnel how to respond to and manage a crisis scene.
“They learn how to manage and deploy resources under the most demanding of situations,” Don Zettlemoyer, director of the Justice and Safety Institute, said. “The ability to effectively bring a complex situation under control and respond to victims is very much dependent on assuring personnel are up to the task. That means guaranteeing some level of comfort for the personnel—that they get rest when exhausted; that they have the proper tools; that they’re freed from distractions, such as the media.”
The curriculum is fashioned after the federal Incident Command System for managing emergencies. Most participants are mid- to upper-level law enforcement command personnel from the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions.
While the course had been offered before September 11, it now includes more of a discussion of biological weapons and terrorism.
“The demands on the scene commander can be incredible,” Zettlemoyer said. “He or she has to keep an eye on both the immediate crisis and on all the logistics involved in fashioning a sustained response.” | ||||||||||
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| HOMELAND SECURITY BRIEF | Killing bacteria A high-powered form of noncontact ultrasound has been shown to be effective in killing bacterial spores. In experiments, Penn State researchers used noncontact ultrasound that does not require a gel (for example, a traditional ultrasound imaging of a fetus or tumor requires a gel for transmission) to decontaminate bacterial spores contained in a paper envelope. The researchers said the experiments demonstrate that noncontact ultrasound is a potentially safe, effective, nonradioactive way to decontaminate mail, including packages. Ultrasound waves potentially can penetrate cardboard and other wrappings, just as they do layers of skin and tissue when used to take images of internal organs in the human body. According to the researchers, the technology could potentially sterilize medical and surgical equipment, food materials, air-duct systems of buildings and airplanes. The team used Bt spores in its experiments, a common commercial insecticide, which is a close relative of the deadly anthrax spores. Team members included Penn State’s Dr. Kelli Hoover, assistant professor of entomology, and Dr. Nancy Ostiguy, associate professor of entomology, and Mahesh Bhardwaj, director of research and development for Ultran Labs. |
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