Blog: DPS Dispatch

Disaster can strike at any time, in any season. Practicing emergency plans regularly and updating emergency supplies semi-annually is an important and even lifesaving habit to keep. Clocks will be moving backward by one hour at 2 o’clock on Sunday (November 3) morning, signifying that we’re inching closer to winter. Daylight Savings Time happens twice a year and are perfect times to check through your home to ensure you have the proper tools to help you through an emergency. 

More North Carolina counties have been designated as StormReady by the National Weather Service (NWS), as part of the Service’s program to help communities across America mitigate the effects from natural disasters. Twelve more counties joined 74 counties and nine communities in North Carolina already recognized as being StormReady. This year’s additional StormReady counties are Halifax, Macon, Gaston, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Montgomery, Northampton, Perquimans, Rowan, Sampson and Watauga. 

It doesn’t matter whether one walks on two legs or four in the Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice’s Special Operations and Intelligence Unit (SOIU); all beings need the most up-to-date protective safety equipment. 

All too often, we find news media covering tragic shootings in communities across the nation. Senseless gun violence has become a part of everyday dialogue in American society. But some positive efforts of dedicated people working within Juvenile Justice are ongoing to educate kids and keep North Carolinians safer.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol is participating in Operation Stop Arm during Oct 21-25 to enforce stop arm violations and other traffic violations in and around school zones. The campaign hopes to raise awareness of school bus safety. Follow the tips below to help ensure every stop is a safe school bus stop for children. When to stop: Two-lane roadway – All traffic from both directions must stop Two-lane with a center turning lane – All traffic from both directions must stop Four-lane roadway – All traffic from both directions must stop

Always searching for opportunities to conserve its financial and natural resources, Department of Public Safety leaders embraced Gov. Roy Cooper’s Executive Order 80 as a way to do just that. The order, signed Oct. 29 2018, calls for the state to transition to a clean energy economy, establishes the N.C. Climate Change Interagency Council and strives to accomplish the following goals by 2025: Reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 2005 levels. Increase the number of registered zero-emission vehicles, or ZEVs, to at least 80,000.

She remains unnamed, saying the entire staff should be considered Employee of the Year Central Prison has named its annual Employee of the Year.  With that honor comes respect, some glory, $100 in cash and a designated parking space for a year. She remains unnamed, asking not to be identified to the staff or the public. She said everyone at Central Prison deserves to be considered the Employee of the Year, and someone else deserving should get the designated parking spot perk.

Governor Roy Cooper proclaimed this week, Oct. 13-19, as Juvenile Justice week in North Carolina. What is Juvenile Justice, though? Let’s take a quick look at this section within the Department of Public Safety and learn about the special work it carries out for the children, families and communities of our state. What is Juvenile Justice?

The Great Southeast Shakeout is a week away and you can be part of the growing crowd to participate in the world’s largest earthquake drill on Oct. 17 at 10:17 a.m. Join the more than 2.1 million people in the southeast who have registered their organization, school, agency, business or family and are ready to perform a ‘Drop, Cover, and Hold On’ drill, the recommended action for people to take during an earthquake. Among those joining in the Shakeout are more than 100 North Carolina K-12 schools and districts, which accounts for more than 347,000 of the 364,000 registered participants in the state.

Even though it’s been more than a month since Hurricane Dorian wreaked havoc over the Bahamas, there hasn’t been a single day where the storm hasn’t weighed heavily on Joseph Styles’ mind. The Correction Enterprises’ job placement coordinator was born and raised in Freeport, the main city on the northwest island of Grand Bahama. His family still lives in the island country. Over the years, he and his family dealt with their fair share of hurricanes, but Styles said his family has never seen – or lived through – a catastrophic storm like Hurricane Dorian.

D.J. Loftis could not hold back her tears as she said thank you to a team of people for training her family’s service dog, Apollo. Apollo is a recent graduate of the “At Both Ends of the Leash” (ABEL) program at Warren Correctional Institution and is able to recognize her son’s seizures before they occur. “You don’t realize the positive impact these dogs have on our lives,” Loftis said. “Our son is in a much safer place with Apollo around. He can alert us to a seizure within one to 55 minutes before it happens. That means so much. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

State Highway Patrol troops across the state participated in “Operation Clear Track” on Tuesday, Sept. 24, as part of 2019 Rail Safety Week (Sept. 22-28). “Operation Clear Track” is the largest railroad initiative in the U.S. and saw more than 600 law enforcement agencies in 48 states participate this year. During the initiative, troopers were staffed at crossings to distribute safety cards and enforce grade crossings and trespassing laws.

The Department of Public Safety’s participation in La Fiesta del Pueblo 2019 did not disappoint as thousands of people packed Fayetteville St. in downtown Raleigh on Sunday, Sept. 22 to celebrate the Hispanic community during Hispanic Heritage Month. DPS representatives were on hand to share information and educate attendees about the many services the department provides. 

North Carolina’s Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) bring a variety of skills as well as resources and come from all over to help rebuild communities. A VOAD is a volunteer agency that responds to disasters as part of their overall mission. NC Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry notes that North Carolina’s VOAD program plays a key role in disaster response and recovery.

Duplin County deputies drove the mother to the hospital with military surplus high-water rescue vehicle obtained from LESS. Through the federal 1033 program, the DPS Law Enforcement Support Services office provides excess federal property to law enforcement agencies in North Carolina to enhance their capabilities and reduce costs to taxpayers. That equipment goes out all year long but some of it is especially welcome during times of natural disasters—like during hurricane season.