Summer brings a lot of lovely things. It provides an excuse to go to the beach, take some time off and catch some rays. It’s a beautiful thing; a staple in the Floridian experience. But along with it comes another Floridian tradition - hurricane season. It wasn’t too long ago that Charley, Ivan and Jeanne left their devastating marks on the area. And just a little farther back in time is our old friend Andrew, who in his day, was the biggest, baddest hurricane Florida had ever seen. With hurricane season rapidly approaching yet again, the Orange County Office of Emergency Management stands at the ready with a plan and the experience of past storms on their mind.

Preston Cook, emergency manager of Orange County, stresses that the Emergency Management Team is just that - a team. Over 40 agencies are a part of that team, and Cook says there is a constant flow of coordination and communication. “This insures that we can respond collectively as a county,” he says. Cook, who has been with the Office of Emergency Management for 20 years, says that it’s important to have a large amount of people assisting with creating and maintaining a master plan. “It’s a very comprehensive process, so we need as many members of the team as possible because our responsibility is huge,” he says. “The Office of Emergency Management is really just the glue that holds all the other agents together.”

Some of the players are the Red Cross, the Public Works Department of the City of Orlando and citizens - to name a few. “Residents are definitely a part of this team,” Cook says. “They have a role to play in their family, their office, their community. The government can only do so much and they need to be prepared to respond appropriately. They need to be aware of their surroundings so they can be a good part of the team.”

The best way to do this is to learn as much as possible about how to handle different kinds of disasters. Cook emphasizes the importance of going to the Office of Emergency Management’s website -www.OCoEm.com - to become well versed in what to do in the event of a catastrophe. There is also a phone number to call for questions, and a Disaster Assistance line through the counties’ 3-1-1 service for those looking for shelter, sandbags, tarps or any other disaster-related assistance.

Disasters are no stranger to the news, and certainly no stranger to the world at large. “It’s a proven need that there should be a plan,” Cook says. “It’s just a given that we need to be prepared to pull resources because unfortunately it’s not always ‘if disaster strikes…’ it’s ‘when.’”

One of the newest ways that the Office of Emergency Management is helping to insure that Orange County citizens are informed when disaster strikes is an upcoming application for smart phones. This proactive outreach program is embracing the new technology of today. “The app will literally provide information to resident’s fingertips,” Cook says. “It’s all the information a citizen would need in major disasters. From open shelters to what resources are available - it will be updated live so everyone’s getting the latest information.”

Orange County is working hard to prepare for every type of disaster, and the best thing to do for yourself is to get as educated and prepared as you can and as early in the game as possible. “It’s important that every member of the team work together and plan together,” Cook says. “And that includes citizens.”

Article by Katelyn Schmidt

The FBI reported in the Preliminary Semi-annual Uniform Crime Report in January through June 2010, that “as a whole, law enforcement agencies throughout the Nation reported a decrease of 6.2 percent in the number of violent crimes brought to their attention in the first six months when compared with figures reported for the same time in 2009.” But what about in our backyard specifically and what are our local agencies doing about it moving toward the future?

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the southeastern United States with a budget of more than $180 million dollars and over 2,400 sworn and civilian employees covering 1,004-square-miles. Orange County’s statistics indicated an overall drop in reported crime, with the exception of homicide, from a 6 percent drop in residential burglary to a 27 percent drop in auto burglaries.

Statistics provided by Orlando Police Department (OPD) reflect a similar overall drop in crime. By comparison, Orlando is approximately 104-square-miles and is protected by slightly over 800 sworn and civilian employees. According to the 2009/2010 adopted budget, approximately 32.64 percent of the roughly $359,000,000 budget went to the Police Department.

Statistics are gathered and sorted by crime type; assaults, burglaries, homicides, etc. at a global level. Gone are the days are Crime Analysts gathering staff in a room for an exercise of sticking pins in a map to determine crime patterns in specific neighbourhoods or sectors. As part of the City of Orlando’s Technology initiative, OPD has begun using www.CrimeReports.com. The online application provides simple analytics that give citizens and community groups an overall snapshot of their community. The graph and pie charts provide a breakdown of recent crime by type and percentage, and the crime trend graph gives citizens a quick view of crime trends in their area.

At no charge, members of the public can sign up for automatic email alerts customizable by location and crime type. The system generates emails, at intervals determined by the user, which advises residents when a crime occurs near their home. According to CrimeReports, their network provides software tools to help agencies understand crime tends “empowering users to make informed decisions o help improve safety of neighbourhoods and community.” The application does not replace Crime Analysts, but savings are recognized in public funds as CrimeReports hosts the application, reducing some of the city’s information technology costs.

Both the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Orlando Police Department have lost some staff due to budget cuts. So how are they managing to reduce crime in spite of it all? Through use of tools such as CrimeReports, social networking and community initiatives, law enforcement has become more proactive. Proof of this was supported by some of the information on tactical units and initiatives supplied by OPD’s Sgt. Barb Jones. “Tactical Units are proactive, self-initiated units that are assigned to the Patrol Services Bureau,” she says. “Of the three, one is focused on East Orlando, working a flexible schedule adjusting days and hours to address developing crime trends and seek out people wanted for violent offenses. They also participate and assist in several specific crime operations and initiatives through the city to combat violent crime trends that develop with particular focus on getting guns off the street.”

For readers who prefer the social networking as their technology application of choice, both the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and OPD have Facebook sites used to distribute criminal information to the public and relay items of information for each organization focused on teens and young adults who frequent the web.

Article by Monica King

Make room, ladies and gentlemen - there’s a new Sherriff’s Office in town.

After being in the works since the mid-nineties, the Lake Underhill substation opened in late February to help better serve the growing East Orlando population. According to Lee Massie, Orange County Sheriff’s Office captain of Sector 2, East Orlando is the largest of the 6 sectors within Orange County and answers the most calls annually. Sector 2 currently has about 165 deputies assigned to answer calls for service, patrol areas and keep the community safe.

“To have a facility like this affords us an opportunity to be more involved in the community we serve,” Massie says. “It also builds moral for our troops and makes them more positive.”

One of the things that makes the Lake Underhill substation so special is the emphasis on making it environmentally friendly. The building has natural lighting, storage for bicycles to encourage alternative transportation to work, water efficient landscaping and several other green initiatives. In fact, the new Sector 2 substation received 34 LEED points, which is an energy and environmental rating system for buildings. A building must only earn 26 points to be considered a LEED facility, of which the substation is only one of three LEED certified county facilities.

Instead of stark white walls, the substation is painted in calming green and blue hues. Also, a majority of the rooms in the substation are multi-functional. “Most rooms are set up to do just about anything,” Massie says. There is an on-site fitness facility that is open to all Orange County Sheriffs and a laundry room.

Another unique thing you’ll find at the Lake Underhill substation is empty offices and open rooms. “This building was built for anticipated growth,” Massie says. “So as the area grows, so will we.”

Despite being in a substation, Massie emphasizes the importance of being connected and working hand-in-hand with the Sherriff’s Office. “We’re not going to be two separate entities - we’re a continual seamless operation,” Massie says. This is done through the utilization of technology, which Massie says needs to be embraced in order to be effective. Through an online Orange County map viewer, Massie can view recent crimes that have occurred in specific areas, and then conclude where to send his deputies. If he starts to notice trends of suspicious people, he can post this on a virtual bulletin board that all sectors of the Sheriff’s Office are privy to, in an effort to share information.

“There’s a way to be both efficient and effective,” Massie says. “I have so many resources at my disposal. We can now merge crime analysis with enforcement - instead of looking for a needle in a giant hay stack, I can make the hay stack a little smaller.” Massie, who grew up in East Orange County and whose parents still live in the area, says he has a vested interest in keeping this community safe.

According to Massie, the next step is getting the citizens involved.  The Orange County Sherriff’s Office website - OCSO.com - provides a wealth of helpful tips and information, as well as the opportunity to sign up for crime alerts. “We really want to reach out to citizens,” Massie says. “They know what’s suspicious in their neighborhoods, and when they see it they can tell us so we know what to look for. That way there’s this seamless flow of information.”

Article by Katelyn Schmidt

Hurricanes. Floods. Earthquakes. Tornados. Whatever the disaster, they all have one thing in common: to save lives and put the pieces back together, it takes an elite team of disaster management professionals to respond quickly with a strong plan of action. In the past, training these unsung heroes was costly, sometimes even inefficient - but not anymore, thanks to one Orlando-based simulation company, who was just chosen by FEMA to deliver innovative training and assessment tools beginning later this year.

Engineering & Computer Simulations (ECS) announced recently that FEMA has selected them to help emergency planners obtain real world experience and measure performance to gain certification through its simulation training tool, Emergency Management Staff Trainer (EMST).  The FEMA version of EMST will address critical cognitive and behavioral tasks that will contribute to the design and delivery of new technology components leading to enhanced learning and certification for emergency management personnel.

“EMST is a web-based simulation tool that allows individuals to train on their own or in a team-based environment anywhere in the world with an internet connection that basically trains emergency response decision making,” says Jeff Sestokas, senior research scientist/instructional designer and project manager at ECS. Upon entering the simulation and choosing their role in a disaster scenario, users are immediately dropped into an emergency scenario, complete with news clips, phone calls and e-mails to replicate their real world counterparts. They must prioritize, react and make decisions on the fly that will affect the outcome of each simulation.

Scenarios come from countless hours of research and interviews with seasoned emergency management personnel, some of which have more than 40 years of experience. “They are from the school of hard knocks,” says Sestokas. “A lot of them have failed in the past and through those failures, we’re able to assess cognitive drivers and create a scenario around them to train the current and future personnel in hopes they won’t repeat the same cognitive breakdowns.”

The system will now be part of the FEMA certification process for all individuals performing emergency operations. By combining the traditional, instructor-led classroom lecture learning environment with EMST, users gain invaluable experience, living through situations they would’ve never had the chance to know outside of the real thing in the past. “Combining the classroom setting with a deliberate, more interactive system can make all the difference in the world in the case of a disaster,” says Sestokas.

In addition to all of the added simulation time, the program also dissects decision making as a process. “Research shows 87 percent of all decisions are intuitively-based, with only 13 percent being analytical,” says Sestokas. “In the past, we were just training to a textbook rather than looking deeper and examining how these decisions are made at an intuitive level and that’s something we can do with EMST.”

By recording decisions in real time and providing instant feedback, users learn what they did right or wrong immediately in an effort to be better in the next disaster situation. “It provides FEMA emergency responders with more realistic training and feedback they can use right away to create clear procedures that help correct faulty mental models,” says Sestokas. “Essentially, they train to acquire expert skills by engaging in tasks that promote active learning in their domain of specialty from a computer making the process cost effective, timely and effective.”

“We’re continually looking at what expertise really is and how we can train more effectively with innovative technologies to save dollars and lives,” says Sestokas. “For FEMA, this is their next step in doing just that, and we’re honored to help.”

Article by Corey Gehrold

Insight Online Exclusive

For the 11^th straight year, identity theft topped the list of complaints received by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). More frightening than that, Florida is the number one state for identity theft in the nation. As scary as it may be knowing someone could have your credit card and social security information, there are some proactive steps you can take to ensure you have less of a chance of being a victim.

One of the most common types of complaints filed with the FTC are related to government documents or benefits fraud, such as someone collecting your social security benefits or even filing your taxes before you and directly depositing the refund into their account.

But why has identity theft become so prevalent today? “We look at some of the technologies we have in place from Bluetooth to wireless internet at fast food restaurants to 35,000 feet up on an airplane, these conveniences make it easier for thieves to access your data,” says Tami Nealy, senior director of corporate communications for Lifelock, a company specializing in proactive identity theft protection. And if that doesn’t work, there’s the old fashioned way: scare tactics.

Nealy says that one tactic that identity thieves have used for years involves posing as a government organization to establish trust, instilling fear and then providing a solution. For example, they may call and say they’re with the county court system and you missed jury duty. As a result, there is a bench warrant out for your arrest. By now you’re most likely upset or panicked and when you say you never received a summons, the theif-in-disgusie will say they can correct the issue if you can verify your name, home address and social security number. Just like that, your identity has been stolen.

“The thing to remember in these cases is that you didn’t make that phone call,” says Nealy. “What did you do to verify the person on the other end of the line is who they say they are?” That’s exactly what Jane Smith* of Waterford Lakes learned when she gave her information over to an identity thief posing as a financial aid specialist for the University of Central Florida. “I just assumed they were legitimate when they said they couldn’t read my file correctly,” she says. “I gave them whatever information they asked for and a few months later, I went to use a credit card and it was maxed out. I had never really used it and when I looked into it, I found out that they had about $6,000 worth of things charged between a few cards.”

To protect yourself, Nealy suggests taking inventory of who you’ve given your social security number too. Of course your dentist and employer have it, but who else? “The truth is many of the organizations we give our social security number to, such as a local grocer when signing up for a discount card or a public library, don’t need the number at all so always ask what it’s for and what you won’t get if you don’t give out the number.”

You can also check your credit score every four months without negatively hurting your score for free by visiting www.AnnualCreditReport.com, according to Nealy. “If I had known about the service back then, you can bet I would’ve been checking viligently like I do now,” says Smith, referencing the credit reports. “It would’ve saved me so much headache.”

In early March, one of the nation’s largest e-mail marketing firms, Epsilon Marketing, was breached giving thieves millions of e-mail addresses from around the nation. You may recall seeing an e-mail from Target, Best Buy, xxx or one of the other 2,500 companies Epsilon has a client informing you of the breach and instructing you not to open any e-mails with links or provide any personal information through e-mail. This means your e-mail may have been compromised in the breach.

“The good news is, all they got were names and e-mails,” says Nealy. “The bad news is that unless we all change our e-mail addresses, they’re going to try to lure us into a deal that’s too good to be true and the next thing you know you press ‘Checkout’ on a website that looks just like the retailers and you’ve given them your address, credit card information and who knows what else.” Nealy expects that the thieves will wait until November or December to cash in on the data they’ve received and cautions everyone to be weary of what you open via e-mail.

“We’re vulnerable every day, and I say that not as a scare tactic, but, unfortunately, as the truth,” says Nealy.

*Name changed at the request of the source.

Article by Corey Gehrold