Message From the Chief - February 2006

[Chief Ron Levine]

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FOOTHILL-DeANZA COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT POLICE DEPARTMENT
"MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF"
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F E B R U A R Y 2006

Greetings from the men and women of the Foothill-DeAnza
Community College District Police Department. The following
is the monthly update for February 2006. We hope you find
the information useful.

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CHIEF'S MESSAGE - "No such thing as routine....."

The media likes to use the phrase, "While on a routine
traffic stop...." As the California Highway Patrol will
attest to, there is NOTHING routine about making a vehicle
enforcement stop. During the past five months, six CHP
officers have been killed in the line of duty, most while
on traffic stops. While some of the deaths were caused by
traffic accidents, others were caused by criminal activity
(shootings, DUI accidents, etc.). The truth of the matter
is, when a police officer pulls over a car, he or she has
no idea who the person in the car is - and if the person
is wanted, or if they have just committed a crime. That
speeding car on Stevens Creek Blvd. could be a student
running late for classes at DeAnza, or by someone who had
just burglarized a home and stolen the car - just as was
the case with Officer Costa's situation last month (Refer
to January's Case of the Month).

If you are driving on a city street, or on the highway and
see a police car on a traffic stop, please be careful as
you pass by (in some states, you are required to change
lanes away from the police car). If you are stopped by
a police officer, please remember the officer has no idea
who you are - not until they have talked with you and
determined that you are not a threat to his/her safety.
A good rule is to keep both of your hands on the steering
wheel until the officer asks you to get your drivers
license, registration and insurance card. Please don't
reach under the seat or into the glove box while the
officer is approaching your car. That makes us VERY
nervous!

The primary goal for each police officer is to go home
to their family at the end of the shift. While this
goal is met by most officers on a daily basis, please
realize that on average, 164 officers DON'T make it
home every year.

I would encourage you to join the men and women of the
Foothill-DeAnza CCD Police Department in keeping the
families, friends and co-workers of the 6 CHP officers
recently killed in your thoughts and prayers

Take care, stay safe and thank you for your support of
the Foothill-DeAnza CCD Police Department!

Chief Ron Levine

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SPOTLIGHT - "Identity Theft"

What is Identity Theft?

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your name, Social
Security number, credit card number or some other piece
of your personal information to apply for a credit card,
make unauthorized purchases, gain access to your bank
accounts or obtain loans under your name. Unfortunately,
most people do not know that they have been victims of
identity theft until mysterious charges appear on their
credit card bills or they are rejected for a mortgage
because unpaid bills appear on their credit report.

Identity Theft Protection Tips

1. The next time you order checks have only your initials
(instead of first name) and last name put on them. If
someone takes your checkbook,they will not know if you
sign your checks with just your initials or your first
name, but your bank will know how you sign your checks.

2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead,
put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED".

3. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card
accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the
"For" line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The
credit card company knows the rest of the number, and
anyone who might be handling your check as it passes
through all the check processing channels won't have
access to it.

4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your
home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your
home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work
address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks. You
can add it if it is necessary. But if you have it printed,
anyone can get it.

5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine.
Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will
know what you had in your wallet and all of the account
numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the
photocopy in a safe place. Also carry a photocopy of
your passport when you travel abroad.

If you think your identity has been stolen, here's what to do:

1. Contact the fraud departments of any one of the three
consumer reporting companies to place a fraud alert on your
credit report. The fraud alert tells creditors to contact
you before opening any new accounts or making any changes
to your existing accounts. You only need to contact one of
the three companies to place an alert. The company you call
is required to contact the other two, which will place an
alert on their versions of your report, too. Once you place
the fraud alert in your file, you're entitled to order free
copies of your credit reports, and, if you ask, only the
last four digits of your Social Security number will appear
on your credit reports.

2. Close the accounts that you know or believe have been
tampered with or opened fraudulently. Use the ID Theft
Affidavit when disputing new unauthorized accounts.

3. File a report with your local police or the police
in the community where the identity theft took place.
Get a copy of the report or at the very least, the number
of the report, to submit to your creditors and others that
may require proof of the crime.

4. File your complaint with the FTC. The FTC maintains
a database of identity theft cases used by law enforcement
agencies for investigations.

For more information, please see;
http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/
http://onguardonline.gov
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/idtheft.html
http://www.idtheftcenter.org

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UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL - Sergeant Al Asuncion

Al Asuncion is a fairly new member to the Foothill-DeAnza
family. Al has been with the District since June of 2005
and is filling in for Stan Cross, who is on a 10 month
Staff Development Leave. Prior to coming to FHDA, Al spent
30+ years as a police officer in Salinas, CA. He worked a
variety of assignments and has garnered a great wealth of
knowledge.

Al grew up and attended school in Monterey County, where
he earned an A.A. degree in Administration of Justice. He
has continued his education with the on-going professional
training required by the California Commission on Peace
Officer Standards and Training (POST). He holds the Basic,
Intermediate and Advanced POST certificates.

When asked about what he likes most about the Department,
Al said he enjoys "challenges at all levels, especially the
opportunity to help the Department grow. The personnel are
dedicated to doing a great job". He also said that his one
wish for the Department is that it had more staffing.

Off duty, all likes collecting M&M candy memorabilia. Guess
we know what to get Al at Christmastime! He is married to
Natalie, who is an investigator with the West Valley-Mission
College District Police Department. The couple resides in
Monterey County.

All can be reached at (650)949-6246 or asuncio...@fhda.edu

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Q & A - "Police Authority off Campus "

Q: Do District police officers have police authority to
enforce the law off campus?
- Anonymous community member

A: The California Penal Code is where all peace officers gain
their authority to enforce the law. Community College
police officers fall under Penal Code Section 830.32, which
states in relevant part, campus police officers are "peace
officers whose authority extends to any place in the state
for the purpose of performing their primary duty or when
making an arrest... to any public offense with respect to
which there is immediate danger to person or property, or
of the escape of the perpetrator of that offense.." In
essence, campus police officers have the same authority
as any city police officer or deputy sheriff to enforce
the law anywhere in the State of California.

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CASE OF THE MONTH - 02/27/06 Indecent Exposure

On 02-27-06 at 1115 hours, a 27 year female old student was
studying in a cubical located in the Learning Center West,
upper level study area, at DeAnza College. While sitting at
the cubical, an unknown black male approached her from behind
and exposed his penis while masturbating. The unknown suspect
then fled the area in an unknown direction of travel. He is
described as a light complected, African-American male, 18-20
years of age, 5'6"-5'8" tall, 140-150 pounds, 3/4 inch curly
black hair (Afro style), last seen wearing a long sleeve dark
knit shirt with a pink horizontal stripe, dark pants and
carrying a dark backpack. The suspect is still at large.

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DID YOU KNOW???

Did you know that 44% of the Police Department is of Asian/
Pacific Islander decent? In a recent demographic survey of
Department, 16 of the 36 members responded they were of
Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Asian Indian or Japanese decent.
11% reported they were of Hispanic origin, 6% African-American
and 3% Arabian. 35% responded that they were White or Non-
Hispanic. Of the 36 people in the Department, 4 or 11% are
Female and 32 or 89% are Male.

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IN THE NEWS - Foothill-DeAnza Police in the press

Citation process makes a mess of parking fines
http://www.lavozdeanza.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/02/27/440317e12f5c8

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Questions, comments and suggestions can be sent to;
levine...@fhda.edu or call (650)949-7514
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Search the "Message From the Chief" Archive at:
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