Identifying Influentials

• Intelligence gathering starts from day one

• The whole process of identifying and locating influentials should culminate in a meeting with law enforcement and community members with the offender and their influentials.

Influence

• To effect or alter by indirect or intangible means

• To have an effect on the condition or the development of

Who is an influential?

• A positive role model for the offender• Interested in helping the offender to make

positive changes in their life• Loves the offender• Influential can be a grandmother, mother,

father, sister, cousin, mentor, clergy, girlfriend, etc…

• Someone the offender does not want to disappoint

How do we find them?

• Locating an influential is no more than good detective work.

• Law enforcement data bases• Probation and Parole• County Jail & DOC• City/ County Utility accounts• Patrol Officer/Detectives• Informant knowledge• Have a meeting to determine resources

Letter from the Chief

• Important to contain:• Identify the offender as a drug dealer• Community and L. E. together• Stop dealing or face prosecution• Date, time, and location of the call-in• Letter encourages them to bring an

influential• Ensures that they will not be arrested at

the call-in

Small group visits

• Identify community leaders• Three weeks prior to call-in• Teams of 3-4 • Provide offender /influential contact

information• Provide a go-by outline for teams• Meetings can be set up on the telephone, or

by going out and knocking on doors

Small group visits

• At their home, church, etc..• Probation and Parole can mandate meetings• Letter is hand-to-hand to the offender• Let clergy/ strong community member take

the lead• I tell the offender about U. C. operations• Goals of the program- stop dealing or face

prosecution

Small group visits

• Explain the community resources• Encourage the offender to take advantage of

the opportunity given• Encourage the offender to bring the influential• Encourage the influential’s attendance and

participation in the entire process• Gather current addresses and phone

numbers

24 Hours a day

• Small group visit is best case scenario• Drug dealers are transient

• Alert placed in RMS for those slated as call-ins

• My 24 hr contact information• Copies of letters available to Patrol• On-call notification teams

24 Hours a day

• Some offender notifications have been

• Phone contact only • Some call me• Contact with the offender on the street• Contact during other arrests• Contact in the jail• Some never contacted• Remove alerts as contacted

Drug dealers have a short memory

• Make follow up phone calls

• assign to notification team members

• 2 weeks

• 1 week

• Just prior to the call-in

Will they come

Why do they come

HUG-A-THUG