Welcome the nbcc and to welcome to this Years National book. Critics circles awards. The new school and the nbcc have a long standing relationship going back to the very earliest years of the nbcc. Our faculty have been Board Members and awards recipients and our communities have worked together in classrooms and and events since before the memory of anyone here, the annual awards have been hosted at the new school for over 20 years. This few years have been very challenging for all of us with covid, we are finally back on campus for an in real life nbcc simone and of course at the new school we are emerging from last fall when all of us were tested and our ideals and faith in one another and the future working with the nbcc is something to remind us what were here for and were enormously grateful to have a friendship that extends beyond any of us individually. To begin, i have to thank our teams at. T. A. At the new school for bringing us to this evening. Look out for stuart pennebake
Hello, im john reed faculty here in the Creative Writing Program and the director of the creative Creative Writing Program at the new school. The one time i was on this stage, i was a board member of the nbcc chairing a category. Its my great honor tonight to welcome the nbcc and to welcome to this Years National book. Critics circles awards. The new school and the nbcc have a long standing relationship going back to the very earliest years of the nbcc. Our faculty have been Board Members and awards recipients and our communities have worked together in classrooms and and events since before the memory of anyone here, the annual awards have been hosted at the new school for over 20 years. This few years have been very challenging for all of us with covid, we are finally back on campus for an in real life nbcc simone and of course at the new school we are emerging from last fall when all of us were tested and our ideals and faith in one another and the future working with the nbcc is so
Over 146 officer fatalities per year. That is a shocking number. One officer killed somewhere in america every 60 hours. All right. But the good news is that numbers are going down. If you go back to the 1970s we were averaging 231 officers killed in the line of duty each and every year. That means the 146 number i cited is 37 lower than it was 40 years ago. That is at a time we have double number of officers serving and putting themselves at risk. Would you have expected that number would have gone up, not down. There are a number of factors that are responsible for that and i have enumerated some of them in my written testimony. I want to just spend a moment though reemphasizing the leadership that the attorney general of the United States eric holder, has focused on issue of officer safety and wellness. Im not sure he is getting enough credit for his leadership. Just a few years ago, when deaths were spiking, 171 officers killed in 2011 he held a summit in his office with about 40 L
We have one on skype. Well start with chief zachery, the Public Safety director woodway, texas, and immediate past president of the International Association of chiefs of police. Yost, good to have you. Thank you, sir. Thanks for inviting me to testify today. My name is yost zachery, immediate past president of the im sorry i wasnt able to join you in person today. I intended to but my flights were canceled. I began Law Enforcement dispatcher woodway in 1979 and im still there today and currently serve as a chief and a director of the Public Safety department. One of my main duties as a chief is to ensure safety and wellbeing of my officers is there. This means making sure they have the proper training and equipment they need to do their job safely so they can return home each and every day to their loved one. During my time as president iecp, officer safety and wellness was one of my top priorities. Its always been a top priority of iecp. It is the position of that organization that n
Bulletproof vest program, Critical Resources to enable state and local Law Enforcement jurisdiction to purchase their lifesaving vests. It is imperative the program be funded and reauthorized with Adequate Funding. Physical wellness is a huge part of an officers safety. A fit officer will be able to serve his or her Community Better as well as provide better support to his or her fellow officers. It is imperative chiefs promote wellness within their departments and encourage their officers to get regular physical checkups and exercise frequently. The iecp center for officer safety and wellness can be a resource for Law Enforcement in this area. The center promotes health and wellness as part of reducing officer injuries initiative. Iecp released the impact of fitness and weight on injuries fact sheet, reducing officer injuries final report, which highlights the importance of physical wellness. Recently iecp also released two resources examining the importance of officer nutrition. A gu