POSA Cops4Kids program raises $35,000 in its first year

The new POSA Cops4Kids program raised $7000 in its first year (2007), while annual Louder Than Words raffle, of which the Cops4Kids program is the beneficiary, raised $28,000 for a total of $35,000.  All proceeds are donated to the Jimmy Fund/Dana Farber Cancer Institute, which seeks a cure for pediatric cancer.  This brings the total that we've raised for this cause to $83,000.

PoliceOne.Com Partners With POSA to Expand its Video Training Library

Cops4Kids Match Now a National Program

New England Match Expands nationwide

The Isabella de Bethencourt Memorial POSA Cops4Kids Match Against Cancer program is a way for shooting enthusiasts and law enforcement officers to join together to raise contributions from the shooting community to this most worthy of causes: finding a cure for pediatric cancer.

This program is a national expansion of the Cops4Kids pistol matches run in New England by the non-profit Police Officers Safety Association, Inc. (www.posai.org) in 2005 and 2006 which raised over $48,000 to help children with cancer.

Any gun club, shooting league, police department, any organization, or any group of shooters can hold a match, a single stage at a match, or any other event, charge whatever amount chosen for participation, and send a check for the proceeds to the program.  This program is a natural complement for IDPA, ISPC, Cowboy and police competition, and any other organized shooting sports. Proceeds can be generated from shooting fees, donations, raffles, or any other method. 

Or, organizations  may choose to run a special type of fun and educational action shooting match, designed by the Police Officers Safety Association, specifically for this program—the POSA Street Action Match, in which all stages are shot without seeing them ahead of time, photo-realistic targets are used with threat/no-threat overlays attached, and a street-realistic scoring rules are employed.  Judgment is highly emphasized in the Street Action match format.  All details can be found on the program website, www.posacops4kids.com

Why would a club or organization donate to pediatric cancer research through this program, rather than simply send a check to the Jimmy Fund themselves?  The main reason is that by donating to this worthy cause with a large combined donation, the extraordinary generosity of the shooting community is clearly demonstrated.  Additionally, a national program such as this will encourage more fund-raising events than would otherwise occur. 

Police Officers Safety Association’s Cops4Kids Match Raises $32,000 for the Jimmy Fund/Dana Farber Cancer Institute

The Isabella de Bethencourt Memorial POSA Cops4Kids Match Against Cancer raised over $32,000 for the Jimmy Fund/Dana Farber Cancer Institute as a result of it’s 2006 pistol match and the associated Louder Than Words raffle.

The Match Against Cancer was held at the Harvard Sportsman’s Club in Harvard, Massachusetts in October and hosted by the Harvard Action Shooters.  Fifty shooters from law enforcement agencies and competitive shooting clubs came from all across New England to participate, raising over $16,000.  The Louder Than Words raffle, consisting of a nationwide raffle for a custom-built pistol, knife and holster set, raised another $16,000, and the drawing was held at the 2007 SHOT Show in Orlando, Florida, on January 14.

“We’re extremely pleased with the generosity of the police and competitive shooting community towards this most worthy of causes—curing pediatric cancer,” says David Kenik, the Executive Director of the Police Officers Safety Association.  “As a result of two successful years of running the match as a regional event, we are now expanding it into a nationwide program in which anyone can participate.  We encourage interested agencies, organizations and clubs to visit the program website, www.posacops4kids.com.” 

The 2005/6/7 matchs & program raised over $83,000 to benefit the Jimmy Fund/Dana Farber Cancer Institute. 

On October 11, POSA will deliver two blocks of instruction at the Massachusetts Law Enforcement Instructors annual training conference on essential handgun skills for law enforcement officers.  MLEFI is the premier firearms instructors association in the Northeast, and the annual training conference draws attendees from all over the country.

The Rural Law Enforcement Technology Center (RULETC) provides technology and technical solutions to the Nation's rural and small criminal justice agencies. RULETC concentrates on information technology, communications interoperability, and training and simulation technologies that will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of rural law enforcement. RULETC provides technology assistance via a nationwide network of criminal justice subject-matter experts, engineers, academia, and scientists. The center is developing capacity-building programs for dissemination nationwide that will provide rural agencies with the information they need to better equip officers to serve their communities. Hosted by Eastern Kentucky University Justice and Safety Center, RULETC is located in Hazard, Kentucky.

October, 2004  POSA Training Director Ralph Mroz becomes the only Massachusetts law enforcement officer to be certified as a Taser Master Instructor, allowing him to train and certify Taser instructors.

Spring, 2004  POSA’s mission is to increase the safety of our officers by providing free, advanced training.  The value of such services is reflected in a recent report.

In the Fall of 2003, Ralph Mroz, the Training Director for the Police Officer’s Safety Association, was appointed to Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s Commission on Criminal Justice Innovation, serving on the Training and Education sub-committee. The consensus of the sub-committee was that in-service training in the Commonwealth, when and if it is offered at all, is generally poor.  The report of that commission was recently released and the following quotes illustrate the point.

Currently, however, the MPTC is offering no specialized training courses due to budgetary limitations and alternative priorities. This means that crucial skills are not being taught and, as officers retire or are promoted, a real vacuum of critical law enforcement experience and services exists in many police departments.  (Page 69)

 The in-service curriculum for municipal police officers in all areas of the Massachusetts criminal justice system has not been able to keep pace with the evolving demands being placed upon criminal justice personnel.  (Page 73)

 Individual law enforcement agencies and prosecutorial offices report that they are making efforts to obtain training through creative solutions. By developing local partnerships or utilizing available funding from non-training accounts, some criminal justice leaders have continued to provide varying levels of in-service and professional development training.  (Page 74)

 Recommendations

6. All areas of criminal justice training and professional development could benefit from outreach to the many subject matter experts available in the local community. With its strong educational institutions and private training organizations, Massachusetts has many local experts whose participation could enhance the development and delivery of many curricula.  (Page 79)