Latest news with #policesafety
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Yahoo
No students, no problem: WVU police stay busy during the summer season
May 25—MORGANTOWN — When the halls of West Virginia University are mostly empty for the summer, the West Virginia University Police Department does not slow down—it's just shifting gears. Chief Sherry St. Clair, who began her career with the department in 1994 and has worked her way up to the top job, says summer is a time of preparation for university police. While the academic year may be their busy time, summer is when the department gets tactical. Just last week, WVU officers participated in a multi-day Radiological Response Exercise Program (RADRx), a highly specialized training provided by the Office of Radiological Security at Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The training, tailored specifically for WVU's campus, included a three-hour tabletop scenario followed by two days of field exercises simulating real-world radiological threats. "This kind of training is invaluable, " St. Clair said. According to the chief, this training helps officers understand how to protect themselves and others in the event of an incident involving radiation, whether a known or unknown hazard. The program also included local first-responder partners from the Morgantown Fire Department, Monongalia Emergency Medical Services, and the Monongalia County Health Department. Officers learned to apply techniques like time, distance, and shielding—all critical to staying safe during potential events. "This is our time to train, review, and prepare, " St. Clair said. "When students come back in late July and August, we want to be more than ready. "June is a big month for us with new student orientation. Every group gets to meet one of our officers. This is our way of introducing ourselves to parents and students, and letting them know we are here if they ever need anything, " she said. Theft and break-ins become the primary concerns once students leave, so officers work to keep campus secure and organized during the quieter months. Summer is not all go, go, go for police. "This is also when we encourage our officers to take time off with their families, " St. Clair said. "It's important to take time before the busy season starts—especially with Welcome Week in August." Summer is also the time for recruiting. The department is currently short four officers and interviews are being conducted during the break to ensure they're fully staffed for the fall semester. Collaborations continue year-round, as well. University police regularly coordinate with the Morgantown Police Department. Detectives from both departments meet monthly to compare notes to be sure no case details are overlapping.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- BBC News
Bomb squad called to Barwell over item inside crashed car
The bomb squad was called in after police found a "suspicious" item following a crash.A car had left the road and ended up in a hedge in Ashby Road, Barwell, at about 18:25 BST on Tuesday, with two occupants fleeing the Police attended and while the crashed vehicle was being recovered, what the force described as "a suspicious item" was found in the rear of the car.A cordon was put in place while the Army's Explosive Ordnance Disposal team attended to confirm the item was "not of concern". The force would not confirm what the item was later identified as.A spokesperson said: "While the vehicle was being recovered, a suspicious item was found in the rear of the car."In the interest of public and police safety, a cordon was put in place and contact was made with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, who attended."The item was examined and confirmed not to be suspicious and not of concern and the road was reopened shortly after."A search for the two people who left the area was carried out with assistance from the National Police Air Service but they were not found, and investigations were ongoing, police said.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Police Union: Baltimore County Police buildings' drinking water unsafe
Baltimore County Police officers stationed in older buildings are concerned about the safety of their drinking water after testing found unsafe amounts of lead in the water in one building. Now, their union says, they're being ignored. 'An employer's job is to provide a safe working environment,' said Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 4 President David Rose. 'They can't even provide clean water.' Rose said over the past month, officers have raised issues with the union over water at three buildings: the North Point Government Center in Dundalk, as well as the department's precincts in Essex and Cockeysville. While testing has and is still being conducted at North Point, a former junior high school, the FOP president said the precincts haven't been addressed. At all three locations, several officers bring drinking water from home or rely on donations for their shifts, Rose said, and their attempts to have the department supply bottled water have failed. The most immediate concerns seem to surround the Dundalk government building, where Rose said the police's K-9 and SWAT units are stationed — 51 officers in total. According to an April 23 water analysis report reviewed by The Baltimore Sun, testing found lead in two areas of the building: the 'Men's Locker Room' and the 'Women's Restroom Right Sink.' The analysis, conducted by KCI Technologies and Home Land Labs, showed three testing locations within the North Point building. The last of them, a water fountain on the second floor, detected no lead. While the EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agree there is no safe level of lead in drinking water, the amount of metal in the women's sink was faint enough to pass its April 22 test. But samples taken the same day from the men's locker room failed with lead units nearly 10 times the limit. According to the analysis paperwork The Sun reviewed, using the EPA 200.8 method, which uses plasma and mass spectrometry to analyze trace elements present in water, the company allows a reading of .0005 milligrams per liter of lead in water. The amount of lead in the men's locker room failed with .148 milligrams per liter, the test shows, while the women's sink passed with .0027 milligrams per liter. Police department spokesperson Joy Stewart said several water sources were tested last month at the North Point Government Center and a sink in the men's locker room was the only one that failed. Additionally, the county only allows the second floor of the building to be used, she said, and the problem sink is located on the first floor. 'Upon learning of employee concern, the department acted immediately and contacted property management to initiate testing at the North Point Government Center,' Stewart wrote in a statement Monday to The Sun. 'Tests were conducted at multiple locations. Two of the locations tested, including a drinking fountain, passed EPA potable water standards. One recently replaced sink faucet, in the unoccupied first floor, showed lead levels above EPA standards. 'To prevent the consumption of non-potable water, a sign was placed at the sink to ensure that water from the faucet is not unintentionally consumed,' Stewart wrote. 'Results of the initial tests were provided to the [Fraternal Order of Police].' Stewart said the county also procured a water consultant to perform additional testing at 14 locations within the North Point Government Center, including testing the main line. The latest testing results are expected within two weeks. Neither Home Land Labs nor KCI Technologies responded to questions or requests for comments. According to the EPA, lead can enter drinking water when pipes made from it begin to corrode. Though Congress began requiring 'lead free' plumbing materials in 1986 for public water systems, homes and facilities built before then are more likely to have lead piping, the federal agency states. Rose said while the water failure at North Point, which closed as a school in 1981 before becoming a public park, may be isolated on paper, officers are concerned about its cleanliness throughout the building. 'These guys don't even know if it's safe to shower,' he said. According to the EPA, lead from shower water cannot penetrate skin. Both the police union and department said further testing on North Point's main water line is underway and that the county's Property Management Division is awaiting the results. Meanwhile, according to Rose, officers at the Cockeysville and Essex precincts — which opened in 1969 and 1973, respectively — are left largely without options. A water machine in Essex doesn't work, he said, while a request for bottled water at Cockeysville was denied. The water concerns at Essex run in concert with spacing problems, as well, as somewhere between 20 and 30 staff members have to work offsite because there isn't enough room in the main precinct building. The county government is planning a mammoth expansion and renovation project at the precinct, one that will add more than three-times as much square footage to the 52-year-old building. Before then, however, Rose said while it is the government's responsibility to test the water at the Essex station and other facilities, the union is prepared to pay for its own testing if need be. Have a news tip? Contact Luke Parker at lparker@ 410-725-6214, on X as @lparkernews, or on Signal as @parkerluke.34.
