Platform for Candidate for Sheriff Kevin Rhodes Integrity: • As a thirty-three year veteran of Law Enforcement my ethics and integrity have never come into question. I have, and continue to conduct myself to the absolute highest ethical standards and behavior. This of course based on my actions as a Law Enforcement Officer, but it also extends into my private life. To enforce and uphold the Laws of this State it is absolutely imperative that the Sheriff lead a moral exceptional life both on and off-duty. As the next Sheriff of this great County I can assure you that the safety of the citizens is of the utmost importance. They can count on the fact that my moral compass has been developed in the most professional, most elite Police force in this state. • I plan on instilling a level of ethical integrity within our Sheriff’s Office that will be second to none. I will hold every Deputy accountable for their actions. But, within that same vane I will not discourage my men and women, I will motivate and encourage lawful, aggressive police work, rooted in solid policing principles that I have learned and practiced for over thirty years. • If you break the Law in Queen Anne’s County you will be held accountable by my Agency. I will enforce the laws without partiality or prejudice. Your position within the community will not have influence over how we investigate and adjudicate a case. I am not a politician, I will not extend favors to people that have ran afoul of the law. My enforcement will be consistent and fair. • I would never, ever do anything to shame this County or this Office. It’s as simple as this: I can assure the Citizens of Queen Anne’s County that I will not use this Office for personal gain or profit. My only goal is to bring my talent and the talent of my team to this agency to restore TRUST…CONFIDENCE…and INTEGRITY to this fine agency. Community Policing Initiatives • Community Policing is, and should be more than a catch phrase: I have ideas to help restore trust and confidence in the Sheriff’s Office. These are just some of my initiatives: Instituting the SARA model of Community Policing (See attachment for the Model). This will empower deputies assigned to service areas or beats to identify a problem through analysis. Then they will plan and coordinate a response to the problem. Finally they will assess the success of the action plan. My initiative is to have all Deputies within the Sheriff’s Office taught the model and then be given the tools and time to institute the strategy. I have identified an expert in this area and would bring him in to train the entire agency on this very effective method of Community Policing. • Institute the Sheriff Service Area (SSA) this initiative is simply rooted in investing a deputy to a specific area of the County. Then encouraging him or her to immerse them in every aspect of the community. Truly old school policing where we for all intents and purposes have the old time beat cop on the proverbial corner. The long term advantages of this are huge: Once the Deputy becomes well versed on the problems specific to their Service Area, they are then able to institute the SARA model to plan an effective response to the problem. These Deputies will be encouraged to get off the main highways and interstates and begin focusing on quality of life issues. They will be given time to spend in the neighborhoods, parks, shopping centers to conduct Personal Deputy Interactions with the citizens of our County. Deputies will become more of problem solvers and de-emphasize a culture where the Citizens are afraid to approach and engage a deputy in friendly conversation. • As important as it is to make sure our agency has the best and most technologically advanced equipment that help us do the most efficient job in fighting crime, it is of equal importance to make sure that we don’t unintentionally wrap ourselves in a cocoon (That being the Patrol Car) and remove ourselves from the citizens we protect. One of the initiatives I plan to institute is simple old school police tactics: When the weather permits my Deputies will patrol neighborhoods with their windows down, operating the patrol vehicle at “Approach speed” meaning they will prowl through the communities actively looking and listening for any abnormalities or suspicious circumstances. This harkens back to the old days of prowl cars that idled through the neighborhoods. Looking and LISTENING for trouble. • This is Community Policing at its finest, our deputies will not just be responding to calls for service, but instead will be directed to use this very simple, very effective method of Police Patrol Tactics. • Effective and detailed Crime Analysis: I will have my Commanders conduct weekly crime analysis that will help us distribute Special Operations Group (SOG) Deputies. This analysis will identify what areas of the County will get the services of this highly trained, well equipped, highly mobile field force. • Special Operations Group (SOG) The SOG deputies will be pulled from each area of the Office, they will be staffed by tactically trained Deputies, Deputies trained as investigators in crimes against persons, as well as Deputies specializing in Narcotics Investigations. Lastly I will also assign a Deputy that is well trained and well versed in DUI and traffic enforcement. This specialized team will have all the assets within one unit or Group to handle just about any type of Law Enforcement situation. They in turn will be used to supplement and assist Deputies assigned to specific Sheriff Service Areas (SSA). Fiscal Initiatives/Responsibilities • Within the first 90 days of my Administration I will assemble a team to conduct a top to bottom analysis of the agency. This analysis will consist of an examination of the current policies and directives. An examination of current manpower deployment strategies. Disbursement of funding to all Units within the agency to assure that the County is getting the optimum return of investment on the manpower, equipment and strategic deployment of assets. • I will conduct a detailed examination of how the agency uses its operational assets. And ask for recommendations as to increasing the efficiency of our resources. • I will conduct a review of the current work schedule and visit other possible schedules to determine if the current deployment schedule optimizes manpower and keeps unnecessary overtime in check. • Look for and identify ways to make the budget go farther and do more, to include the possibility of adopting a Utility uniform for patrol use. This would be a uniform that would be far cheaper, more comfortable and more applicable for daily street duty. I will use creative ways to do more with our current funding. Putting the money where it’s needed most…in the patrol division of the Sheriff’s Office. Training Initiatives • I will restructure and invest in a full time training staff. This staff will also be tasked with Research and Development of new policies, general orders, and patrol strategies. • The Office of Training & Development will also be tasked with identifying areas within the agency that lack training. They will subsequently be tasked with developing training programs to fulfill these needs. • They will also be responsible for Staff Inspections. In this role they will identify shortcomings in each unit within the Sheriff’s Office and then make recommendations for correction and improvement. • I will institute training specifically focused on School Security, and the response to Active Shooters within our community and specifically our schools. I will mandate yearly full scale mock training scenarios that will include surrounding jurisdictions (MSP, Centreville, and MDTA). This in turn will identify our needs and shortcomings and provide us a starting point for developing an Enhanced Tactical Action Plan for an Active Shooter. • I will ask my training group to identify ways to improve and fine tune our interoperability with other emergency services within Queen Anne’s County. • Institute training for assembling and deploying Tactical Immediate Action Teams for extraordinary incidents within our community. • Rebuild a well-trained, fully certified K-9 Unit. Identify funding and personnel to create a well-trained, fully certified K-9 Unit trained in Patrol, Narcotics Detection and Explosive Detection. • Institute a comprehensive Less Lethal Force Policy. Author a state of the art policy that best represents the interests of the Community. Providing the full complement of Force Options to each and every street deputy. To include the recently upgraded and improved TASER, to the newer more dependable model X2, the deployment and use of the shotgun launched flexible baton round (beanbags). • And evaluate the purchase and use of the FN303 pepperball launcher for use in certain tactical applications.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 01:10:09 +0000
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