C-NOTES- January 21, 2022
Executive Director's Report

I'm pleased to report progress in our push to hold county attorneys, particularly in the metro area, more accountable for their charging decisions. You may recall that in December our association wrote a letter to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman and Ramsey County Attorney John Choi expressing our collective concern and outlining our Transparency in Charging Act, a legislative strategy to address what we believe is a growing and troubling trend. The Hennepin County Chiefs Association also wrote a similar letter to the Hennepin and Ramsey County Attorneys.  Read the MCPA's letter here. 

This week, in response to those letters, Maple Grove Police Chief Eric Werner, Crystal Police Chief Stephanie Revering, Orono Police Chief Correy Farniok and I met with the Hennepin County Attorney. I would characterize the conversation as productive, and we agreed to continue to work together to find common ground. We do plan to meet again in the near future as County Attorney Freeman promised to take a closer look at his charging %. Chief Werner and I also met with the Ramsey County Attorney last week. That meeting produced similar outcomes.

With the 2022 Legislative Session right around the corner, we also anticipate this issue to continue to be top of mind. We will keep you posted on any and all progress both with our discussions with county attorneys and at the Legislature. 

Jeff Potts 
Executive Director  

MN Chiefs of Police Foundation Receives $20,000 donation 

The Minnesota Chiefs of Police Foundation, the 501C3 fundraising arm of the MCPA, this week received an extremely generous donation of $20,000 from the Heart Ministries and Hosanna Church.

The Shakopee and Lakeville campuses conducted a special week-long offering specifically to fund the Foundation. The purpose was to promote community policing initiatives and community police partnerships via grants through these funds.

Shakopee Police Chief Jeff Tate (pictured at the far right), a long-time MCPA Board member, was instrumental in putting together the special offering. 

 A message from the League of Minnesota Cities 

The League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust has launched a partnership with Benchmark Analytics to advance the knowledge and identification of risk factors driving increased liability and workers’ compensations loss costs in the area of policing. This partnership will enhance the Trust’s unique and extensive loss control program, with a goal to help prevent claims before an incident occurs – potentially saving money for cities. The Trust’s partnership with Benchmark is designed to simplify risk assessment and provide evidence-based recommendations to help Trust members prioritize effective risk management practices.

Benchmark Analytics has a demonstrated record of success working with law enforcement agencies to identify and mitigate risk. Cities and their agencies across the county are implementing Benchmark’s First Sign® Early Intervention system enabling them to proactively support their officers by identifying risk factors and positive corrective actions before adverse events occur. Our partnership with Benchmark will aggregate these risk analytics to the member level and provide a “high definition” view of actionable risk factors that will inform topics for our Loss Control Workshops, new content for PATROL and individual member loss control recommendations.

The team at Benchmark has decades of experience in risk management, policing, and predictive data modeling. Founded on innovative research from the University of Chicago, Benchmark operates the world’s largest database on officer performance. Together with the American Institutes for Research, the Joyce Foundation, and seven research universities, Benchmark’s National Police Early Intervention and Outcomes Research Consortium publishes foundational research that informs the dialogue on modern police reform.

Questions, contact Tracy Stille at [email protected] or 651-215-4051.

Virtual Lunch and Learn: Permit to Purchase Process 
Jan. 26th @ 12 pm

The decision to approve permits to purchase can be complicated, cumbersome and time-consuming. It's a process that both new and veteran police chiefs can often struggle with.

The MCPA's next free virtual Lunch and Learn will help address these issues.

Rick Hodsdon, general counsel for the Minnesota Sheriff's Association and a leading expert on this topic, will share how the process for purchase permits works and also focus on disqualification issues. Additionally, Hodsdon will address what is now permissible with regard to electronic processing of permits and the length of time agencies have to approve or deny applications.

As always with the Lunch and Learn series, participants will be encouraged to ask questions. The MCPA is encouraging chiefs, command staff and any other staff that work on gun permits to attend, including, detectives and record techs.

Again, the FREE training is January 26th at 12 pm via Zoom.

Here's the link.

  

Message from Paul Hoppe, Police Chief - Wyoming MN - Retired 

After many great years, I have recently retired as Wyoming, MN Chief of Police, and have taken on a new role in the private sector. Thank you to all of those who have so graciously helped me throughout the years.

My commitment to the public sector is not over, just shifting my mission of duty. After 10 years of being a ProPhoenix Public Safety Software user myself, I have decided to join the company, primarily influenced by the great relationships that I have built with them.

During my time as Police Chief, I learned first-hand what a difference that up-to-date software can mean for a department. I would be happy to speak with anyone about the time and resources that are saved when your department is using the most current technology that’s available.

We offer a full software lineup of CAD, Mobile, Law RMS, Fire RMS, EMS and Jail, all fully integrated to ensure that one single entry is all that is needed. Software can be purchased as a full package, or stand-alone depending your needs. Data conversions are not a problem, and installation can be equipped on-premise or software run from the Azure and AWS Cloud.

Here are some important features that ProPhoenix has to offer:

  • Browser based, Microsoft ready technology means instant access without needing to install software on every workstation.
  • Data entered once (Mobile, CAD, Law RMS, Jail or Fire RMS)
  • never needs to be entered twice.
  •  Direct access to live support 24/7.

Keep in mind that these are just a few highlights of ProPhoenix. We encourage you to visit our website www.prophoenix.com or give us a call at 609-953-6850 to learn more. If you like what you see, schedule a demo on our website to see for yourself what ProPhoenix can do to help your department.

Once again, I would like to personally thank the MN Chiefs of Police Association and its members, and I hope to talk to you again soon.

Paul Hoppe
Director of Sales of Marketing, ProPhoenix Corporation
www.prophoenix.com