For communities susceptible to instances of human trafficking for sexual purposes, preventative measures are crucial to proactively addressing the issue. Recently, members of the Albert Lea School Board received a presentation recommending the implementation of a prevention education program for the district’s middle and high school students. This prevention program offered by the Minnesota Department of Health’s organization, Safe Harbor, has already successfully reached thousands of students in southeast Minnesota.

On June 27, 2017, Fayetteville City Manager Doug Halewett named former Georgia deputy chief Gina Hawkins as Fayetteville’s new police chief. Chief Hawkins previously led the field operations and support services commands in Clayton County, Georgia, a county of more than 260,000 residents. As Fayetteville’s police chief, Hawkins will oversee 433 sworn officers and 187 other non-sworn personnel starting August 14 For more information on the new Fayetteville police chief, read this article.

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) publishes a monthly column featuring innovative and creative law enforcement strategies from practitioners across the country. This month, the column explores the Vallejo, California Police Department’s Employee Wellness Program. The Vallejo Police Department (VPD) is known for being a fast-paced and demanding work environment and recognizes the importance of physical fitness to employee heath.