Topeka.org: Applications being taken for Law Enforcement Partnership Panel

The City of Topeka and the Topeka Branch-NAACP announces that applications are now being accepted for the Law Enforcement Partnership Panel (LEPP).

 The application is available to all citizens of Topeka and Shawnee County at the NAACP office, 501 Southeast Jefferson, the HRC office, 620 Southeast Madison, second floor, the Law Enforcement Center, 320 South Kansas. They are also available on-line at the City of Topeka’s website, www.topeka.org. To have one mailed, please call the HRC at 785-368-3606. For Kansas Relay Assistance, dial 7-1-1.

 “I encourage any citizen of Topeka and Shawnee County who is concerned about crime in the community to consider applying for this panel,” Topeka Police Chief Ron Miller said. “This is a great opportunity for the community to work together.” Read the rest of this entry »

Topeka.org: TFD Responds to Fire

The Topeka Fire Department responded to a fire at 5:07 a.m. on Saturday, October 3, at 1440 SW Tyler St. 

All occupants had safely exited the building before fire personnel arrived on the scene. 

The fire, which originated in the basement, was determined to be intentionally set and caused an estimated $1,000 in damages to the structure and contents. 

Fire investigators are asking anyone with information about this fire to contact the Topeka Fire Department Tip Line at 368-2488 or Crime Stoppers at 354-0007.

A Thankless Job

I personally know 7 active duty police officers (5 of them are with the Topeka Police Department).  On a personal note, I wanted to be an Law Enforcement Officer for many years, but dreams changed through the years.  Following some of the recent negative press that the Topeka Police Department has received, I thought it would be a great opportunity to ride-a-long with an officer and talk about the positive.  I contacted my friend’s husband (an officer with TPD) and was told that anyone can do this, and to contact the shift commander to schedule one.

On Friday April 17, 2009, I had the opportunity to ride-a-long with an officer in the Topeka Police Department during the 2nd shift.  Our day began in the Shawnee County Courthouse.  Occasionally, officers are subpoenaed to testify in cases that they responded to.  The officers were there to testify in a domestic disturbance case, but were relieved of their duty when the victim didn’t show up.  We, then went to the station (3rd and Monroe) to get me signed in and start the shift.  During the 8 hour shift, we pulled over two speeders (and issued citations), responded to two domestic disputes, responded to a shoplifting call, filed a dog bite report, and set up a speed trap.  But there were three related calls that were most intriguing. Read the rest of this entry »

Article about Decrease in Crime in Topeka

The city of Topeka is breaking trends when it comes to violent crime, so much so that we have gained the interest of researches from Michigan State University.

Since 2000 most cities with a population greater than 100,000 have seen an increase in violent crimes, Topeka breaks that trend and the researches want to discover why.

“What we’re trying to do in the study is to try to find out what are some of the strategies put into place here in Topeka that might be able to account for some of this positive news,” Dr. Ed McGarrell with Michigan State University said.

What they found in their two day study is good communication between law enforcement agencies, informed media outlets, and strong community involvement. Dr. McGarrell says it goes farther than just police responding.

Read the rest of this entry »