2011 Best of COPSWEST Winners

Best Badge Design    
Orange Co. Sheriff's Department
  This commemorative 9/11 badge reflects “A Decade of Remembrance” in memory of those first responders and citizens who perished in the terrorist attacks on the morning of September 11, 2001.  This highly detailed badge depicts the World Trade Center Towers, along with the Police Shield and Maltese Cross, each inset with the number of the New York police and port authority officers and fire department first responders who perished that morning at “Ground Zero”.  The World Trade Center Towers are the centerpiece of the date and are emblazoned with a banner which reads “A Decade of Remembrance”.  In the background is the waving American Flag honoring all the lives lost in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania on that tragic day.  The badge inset is surrounded by the words “Never Forget”.  This badge may be worn and/or displayed by all Sheriff’s Department personnel.
 
Best Specialty Vehicle    
Arroyo Grande Police Department
  The department was challenged with budget constraints to develop a fully equipped tactical vehicle while not overburdening an already severely restrictive budget.  The department learned that the “1033 Program” of the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) in the Department of Defense provides support for local law enforcement agencies as an alternative cost-effective source of supplies.  The department was able to secure a 1997 former military Humvee.  The Humvee was transformed from what was an aging and neglected military Humvee set aside in a surplus storage lot into a fully equipped light armored specialty vehicle capable of transporting a SWAT team to a tactical operation. 

 
Best Cruiser Design 
Citrus Heights Police Department
The cruiser is a Ford Crown Vic and is the agency’s very first black and white cruiser.  This vehicle is loaded with emergency equipment selected and installed based on exacting standards, the custom designed graphics were, ultimately, voted on and chosen by staff.  The fleet team consisted of a veteran fleet manager, city staff, and police staff from all ranks: officers, sergeants, lieutenants, managers and commanders.  The resulting cruiser is receiving rave reviews from personnel as well as the public they serve.
 
Best Motorcycle Design
California Highway Patrol
  With officer safety at the forefront of designing these motorcycles they are outfitted with emergency intersection lights to the front and rear of the motorcycle.  These additional lights are attached at an angle and when activated, have a much wider viewing angle.  Another method of increasing the safety of the rider is by placing as many controls on the handle bars as practical.  With their hands still on the grips, maintaining control and being able to activate the radio becomes possible.  This custom switch bracket assists the officer with maintaining situational awareness and looking for hazards in the roadway while still operating various systems of communication and motorcycle operation.
 
Best Canine Capture    
Long Beach Police Department
  This canine’s (Ringo) determination, courage and bravery led to the apprehension of a submerged burglary suspect.  Officer Ortiz gave Ringo the bite command and Ringo jumped into the water and swam after the suspect.  Ringo bit onto the suspect’s left shoulder.  The suspect tried to break Ringo free by submerging underwater, but Ringo stayed on the bite, releasing only for a gasp of air then reattached to the suspect’s left shoulder. Officer Ortiz began to reel Ringo in, while Ringo remained attached to the suspect.

 
 Best Cold-Case Solved    
Orange Co. Sheriff's Department - Coroners
   This case dates back to October 24, 1988 when the remains of a male was discovered inside a fully engulfed apartment fire.  The victim had been tortured, stabbed numerous times and nearly decapitated.  Evidence was collected and numerous individuals were interviewed but no suspect was identified.  Forensic technology was not available at the time and the case went cold.

Every year on the anniversary of the victims’ death his mother would call the department hoping the case would not be forgotten.  In the year 2000 that phone call would be answered by Investigator Yvonne Shull.  Investigator Shull was determined to prove that the department was committed to finding her son’s killer. What transpired over the next 10 years was a series of re-submitting evidence collected from the crime scene for analysis using the newest DNA technology.  In addition, the department began re-contacting both old and newly identified witnesses related to the case.  In the year 2009 a DNA hit registered linking a suspect to the homicide.  Ultimately, the suspect was arrested and finally convicted on November 29, 2010 of murder and enhancement for the use of a deadly weapon with the special circumstance of torture.  He received life without the possibility of parole.
 
Best Go Green Efforts
Tacoma Police Department
Automating the collection process for the transactions through the implementation of LeadsOnline, TPD has since eliminated all paper tickets, approximately 1.5 million, in their jurisdiction. Calculating that the average pine tree produces 80, 500 sheets of paper, this values the 1.5 million electronic transactions from Tacoma businesses at 18.6 trees saved in less than 5 years.  The two detectives that were formerly in charge of manually entering the paper tickets are now working cases full time because LeadsOnline allows them to instantly (and paperlessly) search for suspects and stolen property from their computer.  Working cases via LeadsOnline, Tacoma detective are able to notify stores online if property needs to be placed on holding eliminating unnecessary driving that often times took an entire day of driving around the city to visit each business.

While going completely green in their collection of paper tickets, Tacoma Police Department has dramatically increased the number of cases cleared for crimes involving property theft.
   
Photos courtesy of John Standish.

2012 Best of COPSWEST categories: 

Coming soon!