To Protect and Serve...Drive to Survive!

To Protect and Serve...Drive to Survive!
Train as if your life depended on it! It does!

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Ford Police Interceptor Reveal SUV Package Sept 1st

Ford Motor Company will be revealing their new Police Interceptor SUV on September 1st at 3pm EST.  Click on the link  http://www.fordpoliceinterceptorreveal.com/ for details.

Friday, August 20, 2010

EVOC Facility Progress Report

Over the last several weeks, the PSTI EVOC Project Workgroup has been meeting and fine tuning our planning and development of the new EVOC Facility.  As briefly as possible I'd like to share where we are at:

Our plans have been submitted to the City of San Diego Development Services Department as part of the Preliminary Review Process application.  The City will evaluate our application and report back to us in a few weeks.  Once we receive the City's report, we will fine tune our design plans for the next phase (design/build).

The PSTI member agencies have collectively completed development of our Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU), a document which will guide the ongoing planning, building, operation and maintenance of the PSTI site at NTC.  Each entity is now briefing their respective executive and legal staff to ensure their respective administrative and operational needs have been met.  Ultimately, the Project Workgroup will present the MOU for formal approval and signatures at a future PSTI Board of Directors Meeting.
 
We were recently notified by staff from the San Diego Coastal Commission Office that previously obtained demolition permits were still, in fact, vested and valid for the majority of the buildings PSTI has identified to be razed next year.  The validity of these permits was a major concern to us due to their age.  Although we have some modifications to run through the City's Development Services Department due to our new project scope, the news that our demolition permits were valid was quite refreshing for the Project Team. 

Where does this leave us?  First, the MOU must be approved by our legal advisers and ultimately the PSTI Board of Directors.  Second, a separate college district project (Fire EMT Program Relocation) is awaiting approvals for planning and development.  Miramar College's Fire EMT Program currently resides in the Phase II demolition area of EVOC and must be moved to make way for construction.  Thirdly, once the City returns their report on the Preliminary Review of our plans, we will regroup to address each issue and assemble the Design/Build team.  Each one of these processes will take substantial time and effort to complete.

So when do we anticipate the Groundbreaking?  Our best estimate right now is in April of 2011, barring any complications.  We'll let everyone know as we get closer so keep an eye out for periodic updates on planning. 

Thursday, August 19, 2010

COPSWEST Law Enforcement Expo and Vehicle Test Day

REMINDER:  The COPSWEST Law Enforcement Expo is coming to Ontario in November.  For EVOC instructors, check out the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Police Vehicle Test Day at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA on November 18, 2010.  See the latest display and testing of emergency vehicles from all the major manufacturers.

COPSWEST is produced by the California Peace Officers' Association and is endorsed by the California Police Chiefs and California State Sheriff's Associations.

Click on the link (http://www.copswest.com/) for registration information.  See you in Fontana on November 18th!

Monday, August 2, 2010

POST LD19 Pilot Program Workshop

During the week of July 26-29, I attended meetings and a workshop in Sacramento with the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST).  The purpose of this meeting was to participate in the first development workshop for a pilot program to revise Vehicle Operations Training in the Regular Basic Course (Learning Domain 19). This workshop included members of the Pilot Program, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in the field of Vehicle Operations, Law Enforcement Driving Simulators (LEDS) and Directors, Coordinators, and SMEs representing Academy Programs from around the state. 

At its October 2008 meeting, the POST Commission received the Driver Training Study, Volume I and approved implementation of the recommendations in the report. One of the recommendations included  enhancing driver training curriculum in the academy. The Commission directed the implementation of an academy-based Pilot Program which would incorporate four components into LD 19:  Law Enforcement Driving Simulators, a speed component, night driving and the use of interference vehicles.

The San Diego Regional Public Safety Training Institute was selected as one of seven Pilot Program training sites in California.  Earlier this year, members of POST's SAFE Driving Campaign/VOTAC had visited and surveyed our EVOC basic academy driver training program and observed we were delivering training that closely modeled what they were trying to develop statewide.  They asked us to join in the Pilot Program along with six other locations: the Alameda County Sheriff's Department, Butte College, California Highway Patrol, Los Angeles Police Department, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department and the South Bay Regional Public Safety Training Consortium. 

Throughout the week we met to review current curricula and develop strategies to implement the LD 19 Pilot Program.  With such a wide variety of EVOC training sites throughout the state, it was a challenge to develop strategies that would enable most, if not all EVOC sites the ability to deliver a higher level of driver training without compromising safety for our students and instructors.  We were able to gain consensus on most topics and Training and Testing Specifications (TTS) Learning Needs and Objectives were modified to incorporate approved changes for Pilot Program participants.  We still have more work in progress and another workshop is scheduled for October.

For our EVOC Program, this pilot will require us to conduct additonal training with our EVOC instructors to bring them up to speed with the new TTS and evaluation guidelines.  For the students, it will offer a higher level of training designed to save their lives out on the street.  As we continue to develop this statewide Pilot Program, we'll keep you informed of changes coming our way.