Denton County Law Enforcement Building Stronger Connections | WPN World People News

When it comes to disasters, man-made or natural, emergency management and law enforcement experts say it is the advance planning, developed partnerships and information sharing that ensures collaborative response and recovery operations.

This concept prompted the creation of a collaborative group in Denton County, Texas called the Denton Police Intelligence Council (DPIC). The council, which consists of law enforcement personnel from the state, local governments and private businesses, allows for more eyes and ears out in the community and the development of a stronger intelligence force.

"It is our attempt to make sure we do the best job possible of sharing intelligence information with all members of our community," said Denton Police Chief Roy Minter. "We realize that in law enforcement, we do a really good job of sharing information, and the private sector also does a really good job of sharing information with their stakeholders, but as a whole, we need to make a better connection and bridge the gap between us."

The most recent meeting of DPIC took place on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010 and included participants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 6 office also based in Denton.

FEMA Region 6 Deputy Administrator Gary Jones called Chief Minter's leadership and foresight in developing the council a step in the right direction and communicated his appreciation that the council included the federal agency. "FEMA is only a part of the emergency management team; we are not THE team," said Jones. "It takes the whole community to remain prepared for the unexpected and FEMA is proud to be a part of this innovative law enforcement council."

DPIC organizers hold bimonthly meetings and expect to grow the council's membership as its collaborative initiatives continue to evolve.

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency