About the Citizens Police Academy
News and Alerts
2010 SCHOLARSHIPS TO BE AWARDED!
Something new has been added!
For the eighth year in a row, CPAAAN has provided Scholastic Scholarship awards to children of Norfolk Police Officers. The three John Roger Scholarships will be presented to the 2010 winners at our general meeting on June 15th. See Scholarship page.
Click on the CPAAAN Newsletter link in the left column of the page.
Someone’s Following Me! Now What?
Fortunately, we see it a lot more in the movies than in real life, but for some there are times when the movies come to life.
Imagine driving late at night and you see a set of distinctive headlights right behind you. You feel nervous, so you take a right turn, then a left turn, and another right. The same headlights are still behind you now what?
In many cases, these types of suspicious circumstances turn out to be someone you know, but in rare cases it’s not. Sometimes it’s a form of road rage, where a driver feels offended because of a driving maneuver that you’ve made and they feel the way to intimidate you or drive home their point (no pun intended) is to follow you and make you nervous.
Don’t stop! In the event it is someone you don’t know, make sure that you don’t stop to talk with them. Go to the nearest law enforcement station or other emergency services facility (i.e., fire station). If you are unable to find a public safety facility or you feel the situation is getting very suspicious, call 9-1-1 from your cell phone or, better yet, call the local law enforcement agency direct.
Don’t go home! In the event the person following you is not an acquaintance, don’t show them where you live by going home. If you can’t find an emergency services facility and you don’t have a cell phone with you, go to the most public place possible (i.e., shopping mall), park your vehicle, go into the business, and ask to use the phone.
Don’t Let Warming Your Car Be an Invitation to a Thief!
The Norfolk Police Department reminds drivers that though cold temperatures make it tempting to leave cars warming (unattended), this can be an invitation to auto thieves.
We don’t want drivers to make it easy for auto thieves by leaving their cars unattended while running with keys in the ignition. Not only could it cost you your car, but leaving keys in the ignition while the car is unattended is also against the law (City Code 25-278).
Norfolk Police remind you to keep your vehicle’s contents secure.
Car breaks-ins continues as a crime
of opportunity that residents can help prevent.
Avoid further increase of these break-ins this year by being mindful
of the following tips.
Two of Norfolk Finest and Their K-9 Partners
Bring Home
the Bone
Officer Jerry Nowell and Officer
Robert Chambers know exactly who has their backs on any given day; a
couple of red tongued, four legged, loud barking good ole boys named
Rufus and Deuce. The 19 and 11 year veteran officers, respectively,
of the Norfolk Police Department are members of the K-9 Unit, and were
recently awarded for their handling skills at the Virginia Police Work
Dog Association’s, Iron Dog Competition last month in Blacksburg,
Virginia. The Officers and their dogs took on a mile and a half course
with mountainous terrain, and several tough obstacles. Officer Nowell
and his dog Deuce secured 1st place in the over 40 bracket
of 20 participants. Officer Chambers and his dog Rufus, placed twelfth
in the overall bracket of 40 participants. Both Officers were also recognized
for their competitive efforts by the departments Chief of Police, Bruce
P. Marquis.
Most people would concur that
when they see K-9 on TV, or on their own city streets, thoughts often
race to Hi-Def like images of drug busts or bomb searches in buildings,
in the wake of 911. While its true canines handle those duties, they
are also charged with other responsibilities. Officer Nowell explains,
“These dogs also supplement the patrol divisions and help execute
search warrants, the dogs are trained for a purpose.” Officer Chambers
believes there is often a misnomer that K-9 dogs are vicious. Not true,
say Chambers, “The dogs have sociability. Working with and training
a dog is like working with a three year old. To see them evolve in their
work everyday is incredible, and depending on their health they can
work up to ten years. They have great longevity!”
Officer Nowell, who has worked
in the K-9 Unit for nearly half of his 19 years with Norfolk Police,
says hands down that, “this is the best job in the department!”
Officer Chambers agrees, and both men speak to the camaraderie and tight
bonds that develop in a specialty unit like K-9. “This is my family”,
says Nowell. Ironically enough Chambers and Nowell didn’t know until they became friends in the unit, that they graduated from the same Virginia Beach High School and grew up just minutes from one another.
The Norfolk Police Department and CPAAAN members joined forces to solve a crime!
Click
CPAAAN Investigation: Norfolk to discover what occurred at the crime scene, at each of the installments, and the verdict!
NEWS FROM THE 911 CENTER
ABOUT THE CERT TRAINING PROGRAM
The training is a TWO day weekend class held at the Emergency Operations Center
(EOC) 3661 East Virginia Beach Blvd. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class is from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and includes all
supplies, materials and lunch both days.
Norfolk CERT Mission and Program Overview
Norfolk’s Department of Emergency Preparedness & Response, Norfolk Fire, Norfolk
Police, Norfolk Public Health, and Norfolk Human Services Departments strive to
promote proactive involvement of private citizens to better prepare their
families and neighborhoods for emergency or disaster situations. Through the
CERT program we hope to identify and provide citizen volunteers special skills
to enable them to prepare, respond, recover and mitigate all hazards either
natural or man made.
The department has partnered with organizations, institutions and agencies to
deliver an established CERT program which meets the guidance established by the
US Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
and the Norfolk Citizens Corps Council.
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training involves 9 modules which
include 16 hours of course instruction and practical exercise. Our CERT trainers
are City of Norfolk emergency management, firefighters and paramedics.
You, your family members, and friends are invited to become part of Norfolk’s
CERT program. To sign up for a CERT Training class please call 441-5600 or
e-mail james.talbot@norfolk.gov , tynisha.brewer@norfolk.gov
or scott.mahone@norfolk.gov.
To view a CERT Training Exercise held at Lakewood Park, please click CERT Training Photos to observe the response to a simulated plane crash.
CERT OFFERS AMATEUR RADIO CLASSES Congratulations to the newly licensed Amateur Radio operators who attended the CERT sponsored classes and passed the qualifying exam. In the event of an emergency these operators will be able to maintain critical communication with first responders and assist in coordinating rescue efforts.
Want to know what these folks are digging for?
Click 
to see why.
CERT Training
