NovDec Associate Magazine.2018.

VETERAN CENTERED POLICING The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employs about 3700 police officers in over 150 facilities nationwide including Puerto Rico. VA police work alongside other VA employees to fulfill the VA’s overall mission created by President Lincoln during his Second Inaugural address when he included the responsibility “[…] to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan […]”. VA Directive 0730 (2012) requires VA police per- sonnel be tasked “[…] for the main- tenance of law and order and pro- tection of persons and property on Department property” (p. 3). BRIAN GRAJEK uational Law Enforcement concepts to focus on gaining voluntary compliance, deference to a competent medical authority, or use of the criminal justice system. Veteran Centered Policing is aligned with the 8th Peelian Principle which states, “To recognise always the need for strict adherence to police-executive functions, and to refrain from even seeming to usurp the powers of the judiciary, of avenging individuals or the State, and of authoritatively judging guilt and punishing the guilty. (Lentz & Chaires, 2007)” The VA police are trained to gather facts and understand the availability of alternative programs before deciding to proceed with criminal justice actions if feasible. VA police Training Unit #8 (Situational Law Enforcement) explains, “[s]ituational law enforce- ment requires the application of common sense by the officer when deciding whether formal enforcement (arrest or citation) or informal enforcement (advice or warning) will obtain the most positive results in a given situation” (p. 5). The VA police are not alone in recognizing the need for veteran- centric law enforcement programs. An emerging trend in criminal jus- tice systems are Veterans Courts to address crime committed by for- mer military servicemembers. These courts are recognizing veterans’ crimes may be connected to combat experiences or related to mental health issues. “This cause is unique to veterans, and other problem- solving courts do not adequately address this trauma because other specialty courts have no inherent measures in place that are sensitive to or cognizant of combat trauma” (McCormick-Goodhart, 2013).

DeAngelis (2016) noted, “[…] veterans treatment courts have become so popular that what started in 2008 as a single pilot pro- gram in Buffalo has swelled to 435 programs around the coun- try—348 more than existed in 2012” (p.20). The Veterans Courts and the VA’s Homeless Programs Office both use Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO) as a rehabilitative tool. “The Department of Vet- erans Affairs (VA) Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO) Program is a prevention-focused component […]” that “provided outreach and linkage to VA and/or community services for justice-involved Vet- eran in various settings, including jails and courts” (VA, 2017). This enhancing of partnership between the criminal justice system and the VA creates a pathway to rehabilitate our nation’s military veter- ans using a multidisciplinary team approach. In April of 2017 during the first session of the 115th Congress, House Resolution 2147 was introduced by Colorado Representative Mike Coffman. HR 2147 is titled the Veterans Treatment Court Act of 2017 and states, “This bill requires the Department of Veterans Af- fairs (VA) to hire at least 50 Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists, place each one at an eligible VA medical center, and ensure that each one serves as part of a justice team in a veterans treatment court or other veteran-focused court” (HR 2147, 2017).

T he VA police role is outlined in Training Unit #1 (Role of the VA Police Officer) referring to the American Bar Associations study of police in American society (1980) and focusing on items VI and XI: to assist those who cannot care for themselves and to pro- vide other services on an emergency basis, respectively (pp. 7-8). These concepts were not created by the ABA but merely a restating of principles developed over 150 years earlier. Sir Robert Peel authored his Nine Principles of Policing and they were issued to each officer of the Metropolitan Police in Lon- don starting in 1829. The Peelian Principles are as relevant today as they were in the early 19th century and include ideals we recog- nize as “modern” community policing. The VA police are currently using the concept of Veteran Centered Policing that falls in line with their motto, “Protecting Those Who Served”. This model of policing goes beyond traditional law enforcement and requires VA police use good independent judgment in assessing situations and deter- mining appropriate responses. Veteran Centered Policing uses Sit-

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