MEETING MINUTES—2/9/17
Location: Lincoln, Nebraska – The Pizza Ranch -84th & Lexington | 11:30am-1:00pm
Present: 24 in attendance
Members: Amy Fish; Dian Schilf; Mindy Lubeck; Joe Willard; Larry Gadeken; Tim Kirkpatrick; Kolleen Meyer-Krikac; Sherri Recker; Barb Tyler; R.J. Lipert; Mark Whitehead; Kyle Kudron; Carl Tesch; Sydney Stanard; Steve Maly; Julie Robinson; Aaron Sundberg; Ben Petersen; Patty Gerlach;; Doug Larkins; Michaela Judd;
Guests: Jeff Bliemeister; Kris Routh; Robbie Nathan
Introductions
January 2017 minutes were moved, seconded and approved by the members.
Please sign in and mark whether you are a guest or a member
Member Spotlights
Membership Chair – Sydney Stanard
Sydney will be reaching out to new and existing members to give a spotlight.
Social Chair Update
Sherri is recruiting help for the social committee. Julie Robinson agreed to help. Also Joanne Bartels has agreed to help as well.
Treasurer’s Report:
The Checking account now has about $3000 and $3000 in CD’s.
Police/Fire Update: Captain Anthony Butler
Captain Butler was absent due to speaking at a startup Kiwanis club.
Featured Speaker
Police Chief Jeffrey Bliemeister
Police Chief Bliemeister shared two stories concerning mental health. He shared that 3000 calls came in concerning mental health, which is an 82% increase. This increase may be due to a lack of funding for programs that help people with mental issues. The police are trained to de-escalate situations but that is the extent of what they can do. Without programs to help these individuals it becomes a cycle of situations with these folks. Overall, violent crimes are down, however, murder and sexual assaults are up. As a result of what a sexual assault is defined as in law enforcement the statistics are up. All eleven of Lincoln’s murders have been solved either by arrest, prosecution or death.
Highest location of accidents is 27th and Hwy 2 so far this year. LPD investigated 9000 accidents in 2016 that includes having to write up a report. There are 120,000 calls that come into LPD a year. This is causing Police Chief Bliemeister to consider how to best use the resources of the LPD.
Population wise, Lincoln has added the equivalent of Kearney and geographically Lincoln has expanded the size of Fremont. Comparatively to Omaha and K.C., Lincoln doesn’t have the violent crime other cities have due to several facilities both governmental and private that can help individuals.
Hiring can also be a challenge. Out of 621 individuals that applied at LPD only 175 ended up testing. In January’s training class there were only 11 individuals. It takes about 2 years to train an individual before they actually hit the streets as a police officer. Police Chief Bliemeister also talked about the restrictions on applicants.
A member brought up the LJS article about sex trafficking. PC Bliemeister said this not a one-time sting. There is an emphasis on sex trafficking and how individuals get involved in this crime.
Police Chief Bliemeister also discussed the impact of immigration and the refugee population has on the LPD after a member asked.
He also spoke about community policing. It was pointed out that he met with Whitehead Oil and Union Bank about alternative ways robberies can be solved and prevented.
Q & A
Are the reports and statistics shared with a planning department to better improve our roads? Yes, they are shared locally and with the state.
Kaplen has a program, does LPD partner with higher education? Yes, LPD works with schools both local and others within the state of Nebraska.
Next meeting – City Council
Other Topics
A special recognition was given to Amy Fish for serving as President the last two years.
Tim Kirkpatrick asked if anyone had suggestions on speakers to please give suggestions.
NLBA Meetings:
Next Association meeting:
March 9th, 2017 at THE PIZZA RANCH – 84th & Lexington | 11:30am- 1:00pm
Next Board meeting: Kyle Kudron – Kidwell March 23rd from 11:30am-12:30pm
Meeting Adjourned.
Respectfully submitted by Kyle Kudron NLBA Secretary kkudron@kidwell.us.com
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