On December 9, 2008, the following members and programs were recognized and celebrated at an awards ceremony in Glen Burnie, MD. :
Members of the Uniformed Auxiliary
The Uniformed Auxiliary is a voluntary organization that assists the agency with handling special events that occur in the City of Frederick. Activities at which the Uniformed Auxiliary has assisted include the Frederick marathon, July 4th Celebration, Youth police Academy, National Night Out, In the Streets Celebration, Sobriety and Seatbelt Checkpoints, and numerous parades, concerts, and charity events. During these Activities they will often distribute or assist in distributing safety and crime prevention information. They also assist with general patrol and act as additional “eyes and ears” for the community.
The Uniformed Auxiliary’s efforts have provided both outreach and education to the public concerning crime education and prevention, assistance to the agency with staffing numerous special events, and assistance with traffic direction during special events, accident scenes, power outages, etc. Their efforts have allowed patrol officers to handle other events and calls for service.
The volunteers have given over 3,768 hours of service to the City of Frederick. Without the dedication, professionalism, and commitment on the part of these auxiliary officers, many of the events that they managed would not have occurred. The Uniformed Auxiliary takes great pride in their position within the Department and in their ability to provide a service to the community and the Frederick Police Department. Their extraordinary efforts and contributions reflect positively on the agency and allow the Frederick Police Department to better serve the community
Mr. Robert Harris (Maryland School For the Deaf Student and Police Intern)
Mr. Harris was the first student to be selected by the Frederick Police Department to participate in the High School Intern Program. Mr. Harris has a strong desire to be a police office or to be employed in the criminal justice field when he graduates from College. Mr. Harris decided to combine his two loves (Criminal Justice and Graphic Arts) during his internship. For the first time in the history of the program Bobby dedicated his efforts on a specific initiative.
Mr. Harris’s assignment included developing a visual language translator similar to the one produced by Quikpoint. Mr. Harris’s goal was to focus on Frederick County and the needs of local First Responders, making this tool specific for Frederick County. In doing this, he interviewed First Responder Command Officials including; Fire Rescue, Police and Emergency Preparedness. Following the interviews he prepared an outline of the needs of the county and designed a picture based interview flip card to be used to aid First Responders in time of critical incidents, where the subject uses English as a second language or not at all.
Mr. Harris donated countless hours to the project during his Internship while completing his senior year in high school. After graduation, Bobby continued his work to ensure the project was completed. Mr. Harris is deaf and uses American Sign Language (ASL) as his primary source of communication. He understands the difficulty in projecting his needs and views to the hearing community that does not know or understand ASL. Bobby wanted to ensure the gap in communication is bridged and all citizens of the County are able receive fair and equitable services from their First Responders.
This project is a prefect example of agencies in Frederick working together to improve services to its citizens. This visual translator will benefit First Responders and citizens during the treatment of injured persons, the investigation of crimes, and crime prevention efforts. Mr. Harris has received an Internship award from the Frederick Police Department for his outstanding participation in the intern program. In addition, Bobby’s efforts have been praised in publications such as Police One Magazine, Baltimore Sun, Frederick News Post, Herald Mail, Washington Post, and the San Francisco Chronicle. In addition, local television networks such as Fox 5, NBC 25 and WBAL Channel 13 have all covered his efforts.
Auxiliary Corporal Robert Heller, Jr.
Cpl. Robert Heller is a member of the Frederick Police Department’s Uniformed Auxiliary Program. This is a volunteer program in which Cpl. Heller has contributed a total of 377 hours. These hours included staffing 50 of the 77 special events handled by the Uniformed Auxiliary. He has assisted with such events as, The Frederick Marathon, July 4th Celebration, Pangaea Celebration, Elks Parade, National Night Out, Kris Kringle Parade, Sobriety and Seatbelt checkpoints, numerous concerts in Baker Park, charity events in and around Frederick, etc. In addition, he has provided general patrol, allowing him to serve as additional “eyes and ears” for the community. During these activities, Cpl Heller will often distribute or assist in distributing, safety and crime prevention information.
When crime trends and areas were identified, Cpl Heller assisted with the investigations by handing out crime prevention material and information. His efforts have provided outreach and education to the public. Cpl Heller often works Monday through Thursday of each week, freeing up patrol officers to handle other events and calls for service.
Cpl Heller’s dedication, professionalism, and commitment to both the agency and the community are phenomenal. He truly enjoys assisting the agency and “giving back” to the community. His extraordinary efforts are a positive reflection on the agency and allow the Frederick Police Department to better serve the community.
GAL PALS
In October 2007 the Frederick Police Department, in conjunction with local community leaders, began a program called GAL PALS. This is a structured program for young girls from age 10-15 attending schools within Frederick City. The program was developed to assist young women in the community reflect on their personal values, build confidence, understand how negative and positive decisions affect themselves and others, and increase awareness about participation in their community.
Ms Connie Castanera, Ms Irene Packer-Halsey and Ms. Lynda Stevanus worked to put this program together for young girls at risk in their community. Working with the Frederick Police Department’s Community Services Division and several additional agencies who assisted with funding, these women put together a diverse group of 20 girls.
The GAL PALS program consisted of, 30 weekly mentoring sessions. It was divided into three distinct ten-week modules, highlighting "YOU!", "YOU PLUS OTHERS!", and "YOU PLUS OTHERS PLUS COMMUNITY!" Each weekly session consisted of inspirational personal discussions, guest mentors and role models, fun exercises, individual journal keeping, weekly rewards, and affirmations of success.
The immediate results of the program were that the young girls who participated learned to increase their confidence in managing everyday issues in a positive way. These areas included conflict resolution, family dynamics, creativity, increased trust of law enforcement, and interaction with peers, just to name a few. The GAL PALS mentors helped and increased the "I can do it" attitude. GAL PALS was specifically targeted to at-risk girls who might not identify with traditional youth or service groups or programs. The program allowed them to "be themselves" and address topics that were relevant to their situations.
Know Five in Frederick
The "Know Five in Frederick" program is a simple concept of knowing five of your neighbors and community involvement! Chief Kim Dine of the Frederick Police Department created this voluntary, community based initiative to combat crime, the fear of crime, illegal drugs, graffiti, and terrorism. Through community involvement we can all promote community safety, community ownership, a sense of well being, and emergency preparedness, thus raising the quality of life in Frederick's neighborhoods.
The program challenges citizens to get acquainted with their neighbors in an effort to help each other. Knowing the children and their parents in a neighborhood can have an immediate positive impact on the community. Instead of being concerned or fearful about a group of unknown youth, people will actually get to know the youngsters, their names, and their families. Through this program communication starts, interaction begins, and the fear of the unknown is gone.
Frederick is organized into Neighborhood Advisory Councils (NACS) which are designed as an information sharing program for each section of the City. Their meetings are attended by police personnel, community leaders, business leaders, etc. in order to communicate information pertinent to that particular section of the City. The "Know Five in Frederick" program and the NACS support each other in the information sharing process.
The promotion and implementation of the "Know Five" program has met with an overwhelmingly positive response from the public. When the Department sees crime trends within a particular area of the City, the Uniformed Auxiliary members go door to door in those neighborhoods handing out the "Know Five in Frederick" information brochures and promoting the program.
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