Tag: Harrisonburg Police Department
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This is only a drill – though an invaluable one for local first responders
“This is an exercise,” Stephanie Harris told the crowd about to take part in a Monday morning training exercise with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Around her were about 160 volunteer “victims” of a simulated gas explosion at JMU’s Bridgeforth Stadium, along with dozens of rescue and security personnel that would be responding to the disaster.
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City’s groundbreaking restorative justice program offers second chances and accountability as alternative to criminal charges
Pierre Mbala and two friends were headed to get pizza on an overcast, chilly Thursday in late March, 2018. On the way, they stopped at a convenience store for a soda or maybe some candy, and to taste the freedom that comes with being 17.
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Police prepare for first community walk of 2019 on Wednesday as some residents voice concerns
Harrisonburg police officers on Wednesday plan to mingle with residents in the neighborhood surrounding the Salvation Army Emergency Shelter on Jefferson Street off of North Main Street in what will be the police department’s first “community walk” event of 2019. But some organizations in the area approached the community walk idea cautiously.
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Keys to stemming rising jail population could be in the numbers. The question now is how to find them.
While the local jail population continues to grow, the record-keeping systems used by law enforcement, the courts and other pieces of the local criminal justice system remain stuck in the past, complicating efforts to understand what’s driving that population growth or to begin addressing it. Within a year, however, new insight into local criminal justice trends could be coming from two different sources.
Strained by overcrowding, Middle River Regional Jail begins planning for expansion
The Middle River Regional Jail Authority took a first step this week toward expanding its overcrowded facility in Verona, by voting unanimously to hire Moseley Architects to conduct a needs assessment for the jail. The move comes as jail officials have warned that overcrowding in the jail is having a ripple effect on both the facilities’ budget and infrastructure.
Police chief wants officers to better connect with the community. Here are some ways he plans to do it.
As Harrisonburg Police Chief Eric English outlined his policing philosophies and answered questions from about 30 community members at his first town hall meeting Monday, he kept returning to a central theme.
HPD Chief Eric English to field questions from residents at Monday’s town hall forum
On Monday evening, Police Chief Eric English will introduce himself, take questions and talk about policing in Harrisonburg at a public meeting at Thomas Harrison Middle School.
“A lot of people still have not met me,” said English, who was sworn in as Harrisonburg’s police chief last September. “I’ll talk about my philosophy and some things that we’ve already implemented, [as well as] things I’m looking to do going forward.”
After reviewing police body cam footage, NAACP leaders walk back criticism of weekend arrests but continue to seek ‘wider discussion’ on police relations
Hours before a rally organized to seek answers about police officers’ conduct while arresting two black women over the weekend, leaders of the NAACP withdrew from the event. Their decision came after Police Chief Eric English showed several of the organization’s leaders police body camera footage of the entire incident over the weekend — including what led up and what followed the cell phone video taken by party goers and circulated on social media.
