Proactive policing major focus this year, chief says

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second installment of a two-part series looking at the Hot Springs Police Department's accomplishments over the past year, and its future plans.

Steven Mross

The Sentinel-Record

One concept that dominated 2017 and will continue to be a major focus of the Hot Springs Police Department throughout 2018 is proactive policing, Hot Springs Police Chief Stachey said in a recent interview discussing the department's future plans.

Last week, Stachey and Capts. Walt Everton and Billy Hrvatin sat down with the newspaper to review 2017 and discuss goals for 2018.

"Our arrest rate went up 66 percent," Hrvatin said. "That's overall arrests for all patrol staff. They took a much more proactive approach to policing last year and we had a lot of preplanned operations we did throughout the year."

Hrvatin said these included stepped up crackdowns on intoxicated drivers and patrols concentrated "around certain areas of the city we knew we were having problems in, things of that nature."

He said there were also marked increases in citation numbers and warrant services "all across the board," but there was also a large increase in calls to service officers had to respond to throughout the city.

"We answered over 50,000 calls for service last year," Hrvatin said, noting that covers "anything and everything you can think of from a fender bender to an aggravated robbery and everything in between."

Everton stressed that they encourage the public to call the police. "We want the public to call us more," he said. "We want to know what's going on in the neighborhood. That's how we're able to be successful."

He said while they encourage organized Neighborhood Watch groups which are helpful to the department, he stressed, "We want everyday citizens calling to report any suspicious activity. That's what we need to do our jobs."

Stachey noted they plan to continue the Citizen's Police Academy and Teen Police Academy, which had 86 participants in 2017, but this year they plan to "switch it up" and hold one Citizen's Academy and two Teen Police Academy sessions, the opposite of what they did in 2017.

"The Citizen's Police Academy program was very successful, but one of the things we really want to concentrate on is the Teen Academy. We want to focus our efforts to build relationships with the young people in our community."

In 2017, the department provided "up-to-date and progressive training" focused on crisis intervention and cultural diversity, Stachey said, and "this year we will continue along those lines."

He said they want to also focus on dealing with people suffering from mental illness which is "something we're seeing increasing as police officers. We want to make sure our officers understand what to do and how to communicate with those individuals and how to find the resources they need to assist them."

Stachey noted the entire department also completed Narcan (Naloxone) training and CPR training/certification. Narcan is a nasal spray designed for the emergency treatment of suspected opioid overdose.

"That's part of a pilot program sponsored by the Criminal Justice Institute," he said. "It can provide a reversal for someone who overdosed on opioids. Each officer will have it in their unit and will know how to administer it."

Stachey said one of the biggest changes in training will be the implementation of a five-day, 40-hour in-service training session covering all aspects of annual training that each officer will go through. "It basically condenses everything we normally do in a year into one five-day period," he said.

Everton said officers will go through the training in groups of 10 or 12 each month. "This way they get it all at once while they're fresh instead of spreading it out over a year."

One particular focus of training will be dealing with active shooters. "All officers have undergone preparation training, but that's something we will be refreshing," Stachey said, noting it will be part of the five-day training cycle.

Hrvatin said they will be using the ALERRT model, which is Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training. "It's a program that's been around for several years." Hrvatin and three other officers trained as ALERRT instructors about five years ago.

"All our personnel will be trained in these principles which is now the nationally accepted method. It's at the federal level now as the standard of how to respond to active shooter events. We were already training our people in it and now they have started using it at the (Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy in Camden)."

Hrvatin said they have also partnered with the community for CRASE (Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events) training. "It gives civilians rules of thumb to use if they are at a location when an active shooter incident takes place. It offers dos and don'ts. We're offering it to churches, schools, businesses and such."

Hrvatin said officers are also being trained with patrol rifles again "to deal with situations." He said all officers carry them and "it gives them more capacity and it's a weapon that gives more distance if they need it."

"It offers more separation between them and the bad guys," Everton added. "And gives them a second weapon they can carry instead of just having a handgun," Hrvatin said. "We're trying to keep the officers prepared."

Stachey said they are building their new dispatch center this year, which will be located behind the department building. "It will be 2,200 square feet and seismic compliant. It should be able to withstand any natural disaster. Earthquakes, tornadoes. It will have eight dispatching stations and LifeNet will be joining us.

"We're really excited about it. It will go hand in hand with our new radio system," Stachey said.

"Communications are key to everything we do," Everton said. "It can be life or death. We have to have communication. You have to be able to talk to each other in order to respond to situations. It's been needing some upgrading for a long time and will really help us out there."

The search for a location for a new police firing range continues, Stachey said, noting Everton and Hrvatin are both on the committee conducting the search.

"We have looked at several pieces of property," Everton said. "We're looking for the perfect spot. Something with the least amount of population that will hopefully not disturb any of the public. We will be diligent in our search to find something that benefits everyone."

The HSPD is also actively working with the Arkansas ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) Task Force with one of its detectives "trained and currently investigating cases of child porn," Stachey said. "Only a select few in the state are doing it. We have the computer software which allows a trained individual to track anyone who has downloaded or is viewing child porn images."

Stachey noted, "It's important in this day and time that we address issues such as cyber-related crimes, concentrating on child porn. It's a resource that will prove to benefit the entire community."

Stachey said the department always tries to be as progressive and "cutting edge" as possible. "We want to be the most professional and well-trained agency in Arkansas. That's our goal that we continually strive for every day."

Local on 03/12/2018

Upcoming Events