Moreno Valley Learns About Their Public Safety

The City of Moreno Valley recently held a Public Safety Expo for its residents at Calle San Juan De Los Lagos. This was an opportunity for members of the community to meet and interact with officials that help protect local lives and public safety. Children were given the opportunity to examine law enforcement vehicles while parents got the chance to ask questions and sign up to volunteer with groups like the Emergency Response Team. Youth volunteers were also given the opportunity to join the Moreno Valley Fire Explorers. The Explorer Program is a program for youth ages 14-21 that introduces participants to a career in law enforcement. Cedonia Frierson has a son in the program and shares, “It keeps him out of trouble, and has good structure and discipline. I think it’s awesome, it prepares them to go into the community and [gives them an idea] of what they want to do for a career.” Also at the event, the public was able to learn more about the new Citywide Camera System with tours of the Emergency Operations Center and the Public Safety building. There were also demonstrations from the Hazardous Device Team’s use of robotics for their drivable camera, the K-9 and bloodhound training, and fire suppression by the Community Emergency Response Team. Steve Hargis, an employee, demonstrated how the cameras can be programmed with a “mask” over any windows or doorways that the camera might be able to see inside of. “We try to be sensitive to peoples’ rights,” he said on the matter. Hargis also discussed how the network of cameras is of use to officers in the field. One way was that the network allows officials to know what they are going to encounter before they arrive. It helps give them a leg-up as they can tell what weapon a person is carrying. The network also has great value in crime solving. Officials can review footage and identify suspects that they would not have known of otherwise; “the investigative value is huge,” Hargis shared. Butch Rasmussen, the Community Service Supervisor with the Moreno Valley Police Department shares, “We wanted to take the secrecy off the camera system and show what we do and how we can keep the community safe. We wanted to show the camera system because there’s been negative publicity and we’re acutely proud of this thing.” He shared that this is the first year, the expo has been held, but would like to have it annually. In addition to the public safety information officials, the City was present handing out literature on upcoming events and classes during the summer, how to adopt a trail, and the upcoming Memorial Day Celebration. The Citywide Camera System is a relatively new force multiplying tool being used by Moreno Valley Police Department. Utilizing the camera’s pan/tilt/zoom capabilities, residents can view “real time” images from more than 260 cameras at 74 locations throughout the city. The cameras are producing significantly positive results as they have assisted in nearly 200 wide-ranging investigations. Jeff Schmitz, a firefighter paramedic and part of the Riverside County Fire Department/Cal Fire, shared, “it was informative, it was nice to have the public involved and educate them about the services provided by Moreno Valley.” Local resident, Esmeralda Eckenrode, whose husband is in law enforcement, attended the expo with her family. “I loved it,” she shared, “the kids loved it, especially the K-9 Unit performance. We learned a lot of information, especially from the scuba diving program from the police unit.” [END] Members of the community of Moreno Valley got a chance to meet and interact with public safety officials on Saturday April 12th at Calle San Juan De Los Lagos between Frederick St. and Corporate St. The police department and the fire department were there speaking to families and showing the community what they in order to keep the city safe. The public could check out the city’s new Citywide Camera System with tours of the Emergency Operations Center and the Public Safety building. Utilizing the camera’s pan/tilt/ zoom capabilities, residents could view “real time” images from more than 260 cameras. There were also demonstrations from the Hazardous Device Team’s use of robotics, the K-9 and bloodhound training, and fire suppression by the Community Emergency Response Team. Butch Rasmussen is the Community Service Supervisor and works at the Moreno Valley Police Department. He said, “We wanted to take the secrecy off the camera system and show what we do and how we can keep the community safe. We wanted to show the camera system because there’s been negative publicity and we’re acutely proud of this thing.” He shared that this is the first year, the expo has been held, but would like to have it annually. The Citywide Camera System is a relatively new force multiplying tool in use by Moreno Valley Police Department to provide 260 additional "pairs of eyes" at 74 locations in the City. The cameras are producing significantly positive results as they have assisted in nearly 200 wide-ranging investigations. Jeff Schmitz is a firefighter paramedic and part of the Riverside County Fire Department/Cal Fire. He shared, “it was informative, it was nice to have the public involved and educate them about the services provided by Moreno Valley.” In addition to the public safety information officials, the city was there handing out brochures about what is going on in the city during the summer for recreation and classes, how to adopt a trail, and the upcoming Memorial Day Celebration. The Explorer Program is a program for youth aged 14-21 and introduces youth to a career in law enforcement and members from the program came to the expo in their uniform. Cedonia Frierson has a son in the program and said, “It keeps him out of trouble, and has good structure and discipline. I think it’s awesome, it prepares them to go into the community and [gives them an awareness] of what they want to do for a career.” Esmeralda Eckenrode lives in Moreno Valley and was there with her family, her husband is in law enforcement and brought them there, she said “I loved it, the kids loved it, especially the K-9 Performance. We learned a lot of information especially the scuba diving program from the police unit.” [END] Exciting Demonstrations Planned for Moreno Valley's Public Safety Expo Moreno Valley's public safety agencies have several exciting demonstrations slated for the 2014 Public Safety Expo. Residents will not want to miss the opportunity to come out and have some fun by enjoying an interactive day with Moreno Valley's public safety leaders from Moreno Valley's Police Department, Fire Department, and from Animal Services. The event is: Saturday, April 12 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Moreno Valley Civic Center 22850 Calle San Juan De Los Lagos The City of Moreno Valley's public safety partners (Riverside County Sheriff Department and CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire) provide the community with professionally staffed services that benefit residents, businesses, and visitors. The Public Safety Expo is designed to offer the public the opportunity to see and touch equipment, and interact with public safety personnel in a fun way. This promises to be an interactive day as members of the public meet public safety personnel and ask questions and check out equipment they use to do their jobs. Here's what the public can expect to see and do: • Get a "birds-eye" view of the City by watching the City's new Citywide Camera System with tours of the Emergency Operations Center and Public Safety building. Utilizing the camera's pan/tilt/ zoom capabilities, residents can view "real time" images from more than 260 cameras. • Watch exciting demonstrations such as the Hazardous Device Team's use of robotics, K-9 and bloodhound training, fire suppression by the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and meet members of the Mounted Posse. • Interact with personnel and equipment displays from several units including: o Aviation Unit (helicopter). o Several police and fire vehicle displays including a fire engine and aerial ladder truck, multiple police units, the CERT Trailer, Emergency Response Force (ERF) Trailer, and Animal Services/Animal Control truck. o Many live demonstrations including teams and equipment from Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), and several booths with information about volunteer opportunities and various safety related information. o Other displays include car seat safety and car seat giveaways, and finger print kits that will be available to help parents keep their children safe; displays from the Forensics Services Bureau and the Riverside County Coroner. The Citywide Camera System is a relatively new force multiplying tool in use by Moreno Valley Police Department to provide 260 additional "pairs of eyes" at 74 locations in the City. The cameras are producing significantly positive results as they have assisted in nearly 200 wide-ranging investigations. The public will have this exclusive opportunity to see the cameras in action, learn more about the system, and tour the camera operations room. The event will take place on Calle San Juan de los Lagos between Frederick St. and Corporate St. and in the Public Safety parking lot. Public parking is available at City Hall at 14177 Frederick Street. For more information, please contact Shanna Palau at 951.413.3037.