October 2012 - Vol.05, No.10 
In This Issue
Nationwide Interoperable Public Safety Broadband Network
Challenge Team Efforts Help to Bring a Community Together
Peninsula Burn Relay
Sunnyvale Public Safety Officer Rescues Adventurous Toddler
Six Time World Boxing Champ Visits Sunnyvale PAL Boxing Club
PAL'oween Dinner and Dance

Events Calendar

 

October 24                            

Family Fun Night at Columbia Neighborhood Center

(408) 730-7800

 

October 26                            

4th Annual Fall Harvest Festival

477 N. Mathilda Ave.

 

October 27                            

Sunnyvale PAL'oween

Dinner and Dance [email protected]

 

October 31                            

Challenge Team Meeting  

                         

Halloween

 

November 4                           

Daylight Savings - Check Smoke Detector Batteries

 

November 6                           

Election Day

 

November 11         

Veteran's Day

 

November 22         

Thanksgiving

 


Message from the Chief 

As a society, we have become dependent upon technology and the use of the Internet. We use a variety of devices (i.e. mobile, tablets, game stations, laptops, desktops, etc.) throughout each day to communicate and stay connected. Advances in technology have greatly enhanced our ability to communicate, share information and receive information in the blink of an eye. We have come to rely upon these connections in our daily life, and there is no arguing the great benefits. However, with all the benefits come some dangers and risks. As a reminder of the risks and dangers, President Obama has designated October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM). This sounds like a heavy topic, and you may wonder what you as an individual can do to safeguard your personal security and assist in National Security efforts. The following is a sample of the information taken from the Department of Homeland Security web page:

 

Americans can follow simple steps to keep themselves, their personal assets, and private information safe online. Here are a few tips all Internet users can do to practice cybersecurity during NCSAM and throughout the year:

  • Set strong passwords and don't share them with anyone.
  • Keep your operating system, browser, and other critical software optimized by installing updates.
  • Maintain an open dialogue with your family, friends, and community about Internet safety.
  • Limit the amount of personal information you post online and use privacy settings to avoid sharing information widely.
  • Be cautious about what you receive or read online - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

More information can be found at this link: http://www.dhs.gov/national-cyber-security-awareness-month

 

In addition to focusing on cyber safety, I would ask that everyone also consider your personal safety when using technological devices in public. If you take a moment to observe people using mobile devices in public, I think you will find numerous individuals completely or partially unaware of their surroundings due to their focus on a connected device. This includes drivers of vehicles. It's important to note that many of our theft reports involve items being stolen from a person who is simply not paying attention. I can be guilty of this myself, so let's work together this month to bring a focus on cyber security and personal safety!

 

Chief Grgurina    

TEL (408) 730-7140
TDD (408) 730-7501            

or email to: [email protected]   

 

Nationwide Interoperable Public Safety Broadband Network

Successful emergency response and management begins and ends with dependable communication for first responders, whether it is by telephone, radio, or data. The nation has been striving for this goal in earnest since September 11, 2001, and there have been significant technological advances during the past decade in addition to financial support from the Federal government.

 

The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 created the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) as an independent authority within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce, and authorized it to take all actions necessary to ensure the building, deployment, and operation of a nationwide public safety broadband network based on a single, national network architecture. This system will transmit high-speed, high-definition data across a protected and hardened infrastructure.  

 

FirstNet will enable police, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and other first responders to effectively communicate with one another during emergencies and to use new technology to improve response time, keep communities safe, and save lives. State and local governments will now have a defined roadmap for planning, designing and purchasing their equipment that will follow the guidelines established by FirstNet.  

 

As the systems are built-out across the Nation, emergency responders will have real time access to data-driven communications, mapping, photos and other critical information across multiple platforms such as smartphones, tablets, and handheld radios. These networks will be interoperable with each other, paving the way for continuity of operations through the seamless dropping of boundaries between agencies, cities, and counties.

 

The future is now!

 

Challenge Team Efforts Help to Bring a Community Together

Each and every day the men and women of Public Safety do a wonderful job of reaching out to the community to forge important relationships and build public trust. As our profession has learned throughout our history, we in the public safety community cannot "go it alone" when it comes to protecting our city. Prevention efforts are the key to protection, and members of the community must be engaged with Public Safety in these efforts.

 

That's where the Sunnyvale Challenge Team comes in....

 

In September of 2007, DPS coordinated the first meeting of a community-based group. Modeled after a similar effort in Mountain View, but with a definite Sunnyvale flair, the Challenge Team is designed to bring leaders of the community together to address some of the issues facing our at-risk youth and their families, leveraging the collective power of public and private industry to effect change in their lives and our community. Five years later, the team is still going strong.

 

September marks the beginning of the Challenge Team's "business year." Meetings are held monthly until our summer break in June. There is great energy around the team this year. The group has brought together a diverse team of educators, judicial system representatives, non-profits and service organizations to help with the challenge of steering kids and families away from the negative influences of drugs and gangs...and we're making a difference!

 

The team has been able to assist in developing mentoring programs in several schools, it has helped to bring counselors and reading tutors to almost all of the schools in the Sunnyvale School District, and it has been instrumental in supporting the Kick, Lead and Dream Summer Soccer Camp for at-risk youth. There have also been great relationships that have been formed that have seen private industry contribute to some of our DPS outreach efforts.

 

The energy is really building around our efforts to bring the Sunnyvale Police Activities League back. The Sunnyvale PAL will be bringing together officers, kids and community members to engage in a variety of activities designed to expose the kids to positive influences in their lives.

 

You can get involved! All it takes is showing up at 7:00 a.m. on the last Wednesday of each month for the meeting held at DPS Headquarters. After that, pick something you're interested in and get to work. There will be lots of opportunities in the near future to help with the PAL program. If you'd like more info on the team go to: challengeteam.insunnyvale.com

 

Peninsula Burn Relay 

On Thursday, October 4, the 19th Annual Peninsula Firefighters Burn Relay made its first stop at Public Safety Headquarters. The Burn Relay, a benefit for the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation (AARBF) consists of antique and modern emergency vehicles that drive up the peninsula from Moffett Field to San Francisco raising funds and awareness for the AARBF. The relay stops at 16 fire stations along the way receiving ceremonial checks representing funds raised over the past year.  

 

AARBF is a California-based nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing burns and fires and providing services to those who have been affected by a burn injury. Programs include Champ Camp, a weeklong residential camp experience for burn survivors five to 16 years old and to help support school-aged burn survivors AARBF provides Back-to-School presentations at the survivors' school to ensure an environment of acceptance by talking about the physical and emotional ramifications of a burn injury, give peers the opportunity to ask questions about burns and burn injuries, and to teach essential burn prevention and fire safety messages.

 

The Department of Public Safety, in partnership with the Public Safety Officers Association, hosts an annual Firefighters Pancake Breakfast to raise funds for the AARBF. Last year's Pancake Breakfast raised $4,240.50 in addition to the $964.30 in - kind donation from PSOA for supplies.  

Sunnyvale Public Safety Rescue Adventurous Toddler

An adventurous toddler with two purses, her favorite baby doll and the garage door remote control decided to see the world on a Sunday afternoon. Thanks to a call from a Sunnyvale resident, the little girl was picked up by an officer and quickly reunited with her mother - but not before charming the officers at Public Safety Headquarters.

 

After 2:00 p.m. on September 29, the three year old with an independent streak had asked to play around the house. Discovering the hiding place of the garage door remote, she stuffed her purses with toys and decided to take her baby doll for a walk. She stepped out onto Sunnymount Avenue and even remembered to close the door behind her. The little girl made it to Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road when the call came into Public Safety about an unaccompanied toddler wandering around a busy intersection.  

 

Of the officers dispatched, Neighborhood Resource Officer Bradley Militano, who is part of the Crime Prevention Unit and assigned to assist schools, found her. Reluctant to give up on her mission, the toddler eventually agreed to take a ride back to Public Safety Headquarters. Tired and fussy, she was unable to help officers with her identity, but she clung to Officer Militano until she calmed down and eventually fell asleep.

 

Meanwhile, the mother, thinking the little girl was hiding in one of her favorite play spots, went to check on her only to discover that she was missing. After looking around the house and then checking with the neighbors, the mom called 9-1-1, gave a description and was told that the little girl was waiting for her at the police station. When the family showed up at the station, the toddler's older sister recognized Officer Militano as the assigned officer to her elementary school and called out, "Look! Officer Bradley has her!"

 

While the adventurous toddler had a big day, it was the Sunnyvale community reporting the incident quickly, the response of the officers and the experience of the Crime Prevention Unit's Neighborhood Resource Officers that worked together to get the little girl home safely.

 

Six Time World Boxing Champ Visits Sunnyvale PAL Boxing Club

On Monday, October 8, Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero, the current six time world boxing champion, came to the Sunnyvale PAL boxing gym to film a music video with Gospel Entertainer Brother IG. The music video was about perseverance through the trials and tribulations that one may come across in life. The underlying story of the song highlights Guerrero's wife, Casey's fight with Leukemia. Now four years since she was diagnosed, she has been in remission for two years. With the video, they hope to bring awareness of the need for bone marrow donors for Leukemia patients at www.bethematch.com

 

Guerrero was gracious enough to take tons of photos with the kids and gave words of encouragement. He talked about the "3 Ds" of a champion, which are the cornerstones of the PAL boxing philosophy "Dedication, Discipline and Desire." He told the kids if you apply the "3 Ds" you could become a champion in the ring and in life.

 

For more information email [email protected]

 

PAL'oween Dinner and Dance

After more than 15 years, Sunnyvale Police Activities League is back in town!

 

Sunnyvale PAL is a youth crime prevention program that relies on educational, athletic and other recreational activities to provide positive role models and to strengthen relationships between police officers and the youth in our community.

 

Treat a special someone to dinner and support the newly revived Sunnyvale PAL  by joining us for the PAL'oween Dinner and Dance on October 27. Learn more about PAL's current offerings and future plans while enjoying great food, fun dance/karaoke music, a silent auction and an awesome raffle! Tickets are only $25 each in advance, $30 at the door. Raffle tickets are $5-$20, so bring some extra cash - there are some great prizes!

 

PAL Programs
Boxing at Gateway Neighborhood Center
  
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