2015 National School Safety Award Nominations Open

The National School Safety Conference will be held July 27-31, 2015 in Las Vegas. Do you know someone in your school or community who has risen to the top in terms of keeping students, teachers and school safe? What about a school resource officer that perhaps stopped what could have been the next Columbine High School shooting? What about a school administrator who went above and beyond to save a life at school? If you know such individuals or programs that fit this criteria, please visit the School Safety Advocacy Council website and nominate them to be honored at the conference in July. All nominations must be received by June 15, 2015. To submit a nomination, visit http://www.schoolsafety911.org/PDF/2015SSAC_NationalSchoolSafetyAwardNomination.pdf . For information on the conference, visit http://www.schoolsafety911.org/event.html#Att.

Minnesota National Guardsman Indicted for Producing Child Pornography While Deployed to Afghanistan

A Minnesota National Guardsman was indicted last week for inducing a 14 year-old girl to send him nude photos over the Internet while he was deployed to Afghanistan, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota.

Andrew Schiller, 28, of Lakeville, Minnesota, is charged with one count of production of child pornography.  Schiller was ordered detained pending trial today by U.S. Magistrate Judge Becky R. Thorson of the District of Minnesota.

According to allegations in the indictment and the government’s request for pretrial detention, between Sep. 23, 2013, and Jan. 12, 2014, Schiller contacted a 14 year-old girl from Minnesota via Skype.  During repeated communications with the girl, Schiller allegedly requested that she send sexually explicit photos of herself to him.  The victim allegedly sent several images in response to Schiller’s requests, including at least one sexually explicit image. 

According to additional allegations in the government’s request for pretrial detention, Schiller used various social media platforms to communicate online with dozens of girls between the ages of 13 and 17.  Among those platforms were MyLOL (“funinlife”), Skype (“thriller_a_schiller3”), Meet Me (“mnfuntimes”) and Facebook.  Schiller also allegedly used KIK, an instant messaging application for mobile devices that allows users to share photographs and other content.  After establishing online contact with the girls, Schiller allegedly directed the conversation to sexual topics and attempted to convince the girls to send sexually explicit videos or images of themselves to him.  Schiller allegedly shared sexually explicit images of himself to encourage the girls to send photographs and videos of themselves, and he sometimes promised money or alcohol in exchange for sexually explicit images or live video chats.

The charges contained in the indictment and the allegations contained in the government’s request for pretrial detention are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Anyone with additional information about this case can call the FBI Minneapolis Field Office at 763-569-8000.  If you know of any child who may have been a victim of exploitation, please call the National Center for Missing or Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or visit NCMEC’s web site at www.missingkids.com [external link].

This case is being investigated by the Army Criminal Investigative Division and the FBI.  This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jeffrey H. Zeeman of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine T. Buzicky of the District of Minnesota.

Department of Justice Releases Report on Philadelphia Police Department's Use of Deadly Force

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Releases 48 Findings and 91 Recommendations to Implement Best Practices at the Philadelphia Police Department

Note: The report, Collaborative Reform Initiative—An Assessment of Deadly Force in the Philadelphia Police Department can be found HERE  on the COPS Office website.

The Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced the release of its initial report on the Philadelphia Police Department’s use of deadly force policies and practices.

In 2013, in response to an increase in officer-involved shootings, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey requested technical assistance from the COPS Office.  Launched in November 2013, the Collaborative Reform Initiative in Philadelphia focuses on the use of deadly force over a seven-year period.

“I applaud Commissioner Ramsey for stepping forward to take a more critical look at the use of force policies and practices within the Philadelphia Police Department,” said COPS Office Director Ronald Davis.  “Through enhanced training, improved transparency of deadly force investigations, and strengthened use of force review processes, I am confident the Philadelphia Police Department will see great improvement to its law enforcement policies.  The recommendations presented today benefit not only this department, but can serve as a guide for other police agencies across the country facing similar challenges.”  

The COPS Office’s training and technical assistance provider for the assessment, CNA, reviewed hundreds of departmental policies, manuals and training plans; conducted 164 interviews with community members and department civilian and sworn personnel; facilitated focus groups with city and department stakeholders; and directly observed operations, including the use of force review board hearings of 20 officer-involved shooting incidents.

Through its 48 findings, the assessment identifies serious deficiencies in the department’s use of force policies and training, including a failure to maintain a certified field training program; deficient, inconsistent supervision and operational control of officer-involved shooting investigations and crime scenes; and oversight and accountability practices in need of improvement, the most notable being the need for the department to fully cooperate with the Police Advisory Commission.

To address these issues, the report prescribes 91 recommendations to help the department improve with respect to the use of force and implement industry best practices.  The COPS Office will work with the Philadelphia Police Department over the next 18 months to help them implement these recommendations and will provide two progress reports during this time.

The report, Collaborative Reform Initiative—An Assessment of Deadly Force in the Philadelphia Police Department can be found on the COPS Office website.

The assessment was administered as part of the COPS Office's Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance, designed to provide technical assistance to agencies facing significant law enforcement-related issues.  Using subject matter experts, interviews and direct observations, as well as conducting extensive research and analysis, the COPS Office assists law enforcement agencies with enhancing and improving their policies and procedures, their operating systems and their professional culture.  The COPS Office can issue a series of recommendations and be instrumental in assisting agencies with the implementation of those recommendations.

The COPS Office, headed by Director Ronald Davis, is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide.  Since 1995, COPS has awarded more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 126,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training and technical assistance.  For additional information about COPS, please visit the COPS Office website.