AGENDA
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
BAIL ENFORCEMENT AGENTS
MEETING
THURSDAY
AUGUST 28, 2014
10:00 A.M.
TATNALL BUILDING
150 MARTIN L. KING, JR. BOULEVARD, SOUTH
ROOM 112
DOVER, DE
I. Call To Order
Major Zebley called the meeting to order at 1003 hours and subsequently turned the meeting over to Ms. Anderson. The meeting is being recorded and will be maintained by the Professional Licensing Section.
The following members of the Board of Examiners were in attendance:
Major Melissa A. Zebley
Director John Yeomans
Ms. Robin David
Rebecca L. Byrd, Esquire @1025
Mr. R. Dale Hamilton
Mr. Lorin Jones – Proxy for Mrs. Brunilda Luna-Mercado
The following members of the Board of Examiners were absent:
Mrs. Jennifer Esposito
Mr. Jack McGhee, II
The following staff members were in attendance:
Sergeant Matthew M. Zolper
Ms. Peggy L. Anderson
Mrs. Lisa M. Trolinder
The following individuals were in attendance:
Mr. Michael Terranova
II. Review and Acceptance of Minutes
A. May 29, 2014
Mr. Hamilton, with a second by Major Zebley, made a motion to approve the minutes from 05/29/14 as presented. The motion was carried.
III. Appeals & Action
A. Rusty W. Parks
Ms. Anderson presented the background on Mr. Parks as follows:
· 04/16/14 – Called and stated that he had been arrested in MD. MD website revealed conviction of Regulated Firearm: False Application to Purchase on 04/14/14
· 05/28/14 – Certified notification of intent to suspend or revoke sent
· 06/26/14 – Certified notification returned – Unclaimed
· 06/28/14 – Deadline for hearing request – none received
Mr. Parks did not request a hearing.
After discussion, Mr. Yeomans, with a second by Mr. Hamilton, made a motion to revoke Mr. Parks’ BEA license/ID card/badge. The motion was carried.
IV. Old Business
A. Professional Licensing
1. Initial Classroom Training
Ms. Anderson presented the numbers for attendance in the last 2 years:
Ø 08/06/14 class had 8
Ø Decline each year
o 08/08/12 – 43
o 04/30/13 – 33
o 08/07/13 – 18
o 04/23/14 – 19
o 08/06/14 – 8
With the decline in attendance and from a discussion with Mr. Terranova and Ms. Cathy Rash from DTCC, Ms. Anderson presented the idea of only having one initial classroom training session a year. DTCC’s breaking point is 10. August suits DTCC better for classroom and instructor accommodations. The Board was in full agreement with this.
Ms. Anderson also explained that there were two individuals that had failed the test. DTCC has agreed to the policy to allow anyone that fails to re-take the test with two weeks at no charge. If they fail it again a second time, they must pay to re-take the class. The Board was in full agreement with this also.
The courses of instruction that are currently required are:
o Constitution/Bill of Rights
o Laws of Arrest
o Laws of Search & Seizure of Persons Wanted
o Police Jurisdiction
o Use of Deadly Force
And the following topics are suggestions from previous discussions:
o Bail Bondsmen
o Mental Health Issues
o Film from the field of captures
o Court Representatives
o What to expect from different law enforcement agencies/holding facilities
o Transportation of fugitive/medical treatment responsibility
o PD/DSP Representatives
o Negotiation Tactics
o Skip Tracing
o Professional Liability
o Investigations Tactics – Best Practices
o Public Interaction
o Supreme Court Cast – Taylor vs. Taintor
o Control Techniques – Pressure Points
The Board members were positive in their responses to the new topics.
2. Continuing Education
Ms. Anderson informed the Board that there is only one more continuing education class for 2014 as the scenario instructor will be out of town for the remainder of the year. The class size is limited to 30 and there are 60 BEA’s that have not had the class yet this year. Ms. Anderson presented the numbers for the classes for 2014 so far as follows:
o 02/24/14 – 12
o 06/11/14 – 17
o 08/13/14 – 23
o 09/24/14 – 4 so far
There was discussion regarding the 4th Amendment issues being one of the main topics that the BEA’s want to discuss in class, their rights and what powers they have. This topic should have more emphasis placed on it as it would be most beneficial to the BEA’s and give them a better foundation to work with. It was determined that search & seizure should be kept in the continuing education somewhere.
The idea of having the continuing education cut back to four hours rather than eight was discussed. Mr. Hamilton believes that the training should be yearly instead of every other year. Mr. Terranova brought up the idea of possibly having a class on-line one year and in the classroom the next year. There were positive remarks as this shows that the Professional Licensing Section is willing to work with the BEA’s for the flexibility and cost effectiveness for them.
Mr. Jones stated that he had heard complaints that the training every year is too much – time-wise and cost-wise. However, he does see the real need for continuing education.
Mrs. Trolinder brought up the idea that if a BEA misses an on-line class one year, they would not be able to be re-instated until they take the on-line class two years later and the same with the classroom attendance. This will keep someone from just skipping taking training one year and be reinstated the following year.
After discussion on how this should work, Ms. Anderson suggested that a sub-committee meet between now and the next meeting in November to come up with suggestions for topics and the possibility of the on-line classes. Mr. Terranova, Mr. Yeomans, Mr. Hamilton and Ms. Byrd volunteered to be on the sub-committee with Professional Licensing Section.
3. Current BEA’s
Ms. Anderson stated that the current list of licensed BEA’s is in the back of the notebooks and can be taken with them. The list is not going to be sent to the courts as she had spoken with JP Judge Murray from Dover and was told that the BEA’s are sent to Dover PD if they just show up at the court with an apprehension. He did suggest that the list of Bail Bondsmen be sent to the courts. This is already being done.
4. Board Members
Ms. Anderson presented the following Board members as either re-appointments, new appointment or up for renewal:
Ø Mrs. Jennifer Esposito re-appointed until 10/11/16
Ø Ms. Rebecca Byrd re-appointed until 10/11/16
Ø Mr. Jack McGhee, II appointed until 10/11/17
o James R. Dean’s replacement
Ø Mr. R. Dale Hamilton exp 10/14/14
Ø Mrs. Brunilda Luna-Mercado exp 10/14/14
Ø Mr. Kevin C. Jones exp 10/14/14
Ms. Anderson asked Mr. Hamilton if he wished to be on the Board for a second term and he does. She will reach out to the other two Board members to see if they want the same. If so, the procedures will be sent to each of them via e-mail.
B. Board Members
The Board members did not have any old business at this time.
C. Major
Major Zebley did not have any old business at this time.
V. New Business
A. Certified Instructors
1. Ms. Anderson passed out the list of current instructors and noted to the Board that the instructors for the security guard training and shotgun are on the list also. This is to eliminate having several lists of instructors. They are all on one list and are easier to obtain. This list is available on the website.
B. Rule 2.0 – Badges, Patches, Advertisements
1. Phillip Shores - Shirt
Ms. Anderson passed around the picture of the silk-screened t-shirt that Mr. Shores would like to have approved.
Mr. Hamilton, with a second by Major Zebley, made a motion to approve the shirt. The motion was carried.
C. Professional Licensing
1. Rules & Regulations
a. Final Adoptions
Ms. Anderson stated that the rules that were adopted at the last meeting will need to have signatures for final approval. They will be passed around at the end of the meeting for time sake.
b. New Amendments
Ms. Anderson informed the Board that the rule amendments have been reviewed by DAG Mims and her input has been noted in each one. They were handed out to each Board member.
Rule 0.0 – Electronic Control Device (ECD) – this is the new rule that will allow the use of ECD’s and has been discussed at several previous meetings. The rule number will change with the addition/deletion of rules and will be given a proper number upon completion.
Ms. Byrd, with a second by Mr. Yeomans, made a motion to approve Rule 0.0 as presented. The motion was carried.
Rule 2.0 – Badges, Patches, Advertisements – it was requested that the Board take this rule home for review to be discussed at the next meeting in November. There had been previous discussion regarding making outer identifying markings mandatory.
Rule 3.0 – Use of Animals – this amendment is to clean-up the verbiage and stay consistent throughout the rules & regs.
Ms. David, with a second by Ms. Byrd, made a motion to approve Rule 3.0 amendments as presented. The motion was carried.
Rule 8.0 – Apprehension Procedures – this amendment is to clean-up the verbiage and stay consistent throughout the rules & regs.
Mr. Hamilton, with a second by Major Zebley, made a motion to approve Rule 8.0 amendments as presented. The motion was carried.
Rule 9.0 – Notification of Arrest – per an order by Governor Markell this rule needs to be eliminated as it is redundant with the law. The BEA’s will be informed that this is still in the law when the updates of the rules are sent out.
Major Zebley, with a second by Mr. Jones, made a motion to delete Rule 9.0 as directed by Governor Markell. The motion was carried.
Rule 10.0 – Suspensions and Revocations – this amendment is to clean-up the verbiage and stay consistent throughout the rules & regs.
Ms. Byrd, with a second by Mr. Yeomans, made a motion to approve Rule 10.0 amendments as presented. The motion was carried.
Rule 12.0 – Prohibited Acts – this amendment is to clean-up the verbiage and stay consistent throughout the rules & regs.
Mr. Hamilton, with a second by Ms. David, made a motion to approve Rule 12.0 amendments as presented. The motion was carried.
2. Law Amendment
Ms. Anderson asked permission from Major Zebley to discuss the law amendment as it was left off the agenda.
Ms. Anderson passed out Title 24 Chapter 55 Section 5504, specifically subsection (f)(2), for the Board to review. This came as a suggestion from DAG Tom Ellis with issues of Board members coming in late and/or leaving early. DAG Mims has also reviewed this amendment. If approved, this piece of legislation would be sent through the proper channels to be presented to the Legislators.
Ms. David, with a second by Mr. Hamilton, made a motion to approve the law amendment as presented. The motion was carried.
D. Board Member’s Comments
Mr. Jones inquired about the use of tint on the windows of their vehicles when performing surveillance.
DMV has strict restriction on this and he must abide by the DMV laws.
C. Major
Major Zebley introduced Sgt. Matthew M. Zolper to the Board as the newest officer in the Professional Licensing Section replacing Sgt. Whitmarsh who went to Troop 2.
VI. Adjournment
A. Schedule Next Meeting
1. Tuesday, November 25, 2014 @ 10:00am
Tatnall Building Room 112
Major Zebley, with a second by Mr. Yeomans, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion was carried. The meeting adjourned at 1059 hours.
7