By Claudia Loucks
Geneseo Current
Detective Jamie Shoemaker, with the Geneseo Police Department, has been recognized nationally as a winner of the 2023 Flock Safety #Solved Awards.
According to information received from the Geneseo Police Department, nominees were solicited from across the country and over 220 law enforcement personnel from 25 states were nominated by their colleagues.
Detective Shoemaker was recognized for the outstanding work she has done with the Geneseo Police Department’s mental health and substance use initiative – IMPACT (Integrated Model Police And Crisis Team).
The press release from Deputy Chief K. Gene Karzin of the GPD stated that Detective Shoemaker has accomplished the mission of providing a coordinated, professional, and compassionate police response to individuals affected by mental illness, substance abuse or in need of crisis intervention. The award was given to recognize Detective Shoemaker’s efforts in seeking alternative ways to address the mental health and substance use crisis in the community.
The Flock Safety #Solved Award recognizes law enforcement officers who use Flock Safety technology, including Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras and the Raven Gunshot Audio Detection system, to solve challenging and impactful cases, as well as agencies using technology to work more closely with their fellow law enforcement and with their community.
The press release from the GPD stated that Flock Safety cameras are in use in over 3,000 communities across the country. In addition to law enforcement, Flock Safety technology is used by neighborhoods, businesses, Improvement Districts, and schools.
The eight officers recognized nationally are:
] -10+ Vehicles Recovered: Detective Daniel Mendoza, Town of Colma Police.
-Missing Persons Case: Deputy Laura Garcia, La Paz County Sheriff’s Office.
-Violent Crime: Detective Joshua Garabedian, Montclair Police Department.
-Agency Collaboration: Corporal Patrick Naughton, Palm Bay Police Department.
-Public Safety Partnership: Master Police Officer Howard Mergler, Fairfax County Police Department.
-Community Engagement:
-Large Agency: Detective Jamie Shoemaker, Geneseo Police Department.
-Small Agency: Chief of Police Christopher Cook, City of White Settlement.
-Wildcard: Detective Bryan Ashley, Sumner County Sheriff’s Office.
ABOUT GENESEO POLICE DEPARTMENT IMPACT – (INTEGRATED MODEL POLICE AND CRISIS TEAM):
In September of last year it was announced that the GPD had implemented IMPACT - to address mental health/substance use/crisis intervention.
Detective Jamie Shoemaker initially began work to set up a mental health task force within the police department, and it was while she was working in the community and as a result of her training with crisis intervention that she realized more than just help for mental illness was needed.
“During trainings it was brought to my attention that a person who suffers from mental illness can turn to substance use to self medicate, therefore making our task force not just about mental illness, but also substance use as well as crisis intervention. Every person we work with has different needs and different resources they need to help them.”
Detective Shoemaker said it took some time to collect a list of resources- whether it is for inpatient substance use detox, inpatient patient mental health, therapy, food, and possibly housing.
Police Sgt. Ben Sleaford, Officer Amber Berthoud and Detective Shoemaker work with the individuals, families and possible resources to provide the clients with the help they need.
“We follow up with our clients and let them know we are here to help, and that may involve making a phone call, going for a walk with them to de escalate, taking them to the food pantry, helping them find housing and sometimes it is just them calling us and talking about their day,” Detective Shoemaker said. “We are looking forward to making our community better with this program and showing that our department is not just a reactive department, but that we are proactive and want to take an active part to make our community the best that it can be.”
The mission statement of IMPACT:
“The mission of the Geneseo Police Department IMPACT Task Force is to provide a coordinated, professional and compassionate police response to individuals affected by mental illness, substance abuse or in need of crisis intervention. IMPACT officers will work collaboratively with family members and partnering agencies to achieve improved outcomes for individuals affected by mental illness, substance use or suffering a crisis by connecting them to needed services and diverting them away from the criminal justice system whenever possible. IMPACT officers will follow up with individuals and family members to prevent future calls for service. By providing access to professional assistance and crisis resources IMPACT will seek to improve safety for all members of our community.”
VALUES:
-Problem Solving.
-Community Cooperation and Collaboration.
-Diversion.
-Professional development.