Leveraging Relationships Among Electric Utilities and Law Enforcement By: Chris Carlson, Major Grand River Dam Authority Police Department E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y
A Little about GRDA • GRDA – Grand River Dam Authority • Non-Appropriated State Agency of Oklahoma • Primarily a Public Power Provider • 3 Hydro Generation Assets – 512MW • 1 Combined Cycle Natural Gas Unit – 495MW • 1 Coal Generation Unit – 492 MW • Wind Generation Assets – 358MW • 36% Interest in Gas Plant – 457MW • 1200 Miles of Transmission Lines E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y
So How Does an Electric Utility Have a Police Department? • Hydro FERC License Requires the Authority to Provide Public Safety on the Waters and Lands within the Project Boundaries • Oklahoma State Legislature Approved Statutes for Powers of Arrest in any County GRDA Owns or Leases Property. • GRDA Power Touches 75 of the 77 Counties in Oklahoma. • GRDA Assets are Primarily within the Northeast 26 Counties. E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y
About our Police Department • Mission and the Reason We Exist is to Protect the Authority’s Ability to Produce Electricity. • Investigate All Crimes Against the Authority. • Public Safety on Three Lakes as well as the Illinois Scenic Rivers. • Assist County and Municipal LE Agencies as a Service to the Community. • 38 Full-time Sworn Officers • 50 Part-time Sworn Officers (Retired or Off-Duty from Fulltime Agency) • 10 Civilian Employees E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y
The Issue Many Utilities (& Industries) Face! • Theft. • Vandalism. • Surveillance (Casing) Facilities. • Expensive to Deter, Delay, Detect, or Aid in Response. • Unimpressive Response from Law Enforcement When Reported. • Lack of Successful Prosecution of Offenders. • Ineffective Statutes or Light Punishments. GRDA Doesn’t Face these Near as Much! E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y
Why GRDA Doesn’t Have as Many of Those Issues as Other Utilities! • Deterrence & Detection: • 24-Hour Police Officers Patrolling Remote Facilities Randomly. • 24-Hour Police Presence at Key Facilities (Control Centers and Main Coal/Gas Generation Facility). • Deterrence & Response: • Immediate Police Response to Incidents • Thorough Investigations, Commonly Leading to Arrest of Offender(s) • Follow Through by Police Officers to Ensure a Successful Prosecution. • Access to LEADS Online (Mandated Database for the Sale of Scrap Copper). • Specifically Targeted Statutes Against Copper Theft. E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y
So What?? So Your Utility Doesn’t Have a Police Department! No Problem! Many Utilities Do Some of the Topics Covered Here… Many Utilities Could Do More! (And For Less Money Than Many Traditional Physical Security Devices and Equipment!) E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y
What To Do? And How? • Meet With the Relevant Law Enforcement Agencies (Jurisdictionally Based)! (Most Have!) • Meet With Them Regularly – Train Them! • Start at the Top! • Walk Them Through Your Facilities! • Teach Them What to Look For! What you Care About! • Teach Them What to Do, or Who to Call At All Hours of the Day If They Find Something! • Teach Them Safety Around Substations! • Show or Remind Them of the Connection of Copper Thieves and the Offenders They are Commonly Out Hunting on Their Shifts. E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y
What Do We Do? And How? (Cont.) • Hire Off-Duty Officers to Work Part-Time! • A Shift a Week! (Armed or Unarmed) • Part-Time Employees with No Benefit Package Overhead! • How is That For Training Them… • What to Look For! • Or who to Call if They Find Something! • Safety and Comfortability Around Your Assets! • The Real Kicker… While They Aren’t On Your Clock When They at Their Full-Time Police Job, Guaranteed They Have More of a Stake in Protecting Your Assets, Responding to and Following Through on Any Incidents. • And Since They Only Work a Shift a Week, You can Employee Several Of Them! Imagine 10 Patrol Officers in a County That Work Different Shifts for the County, All More Trained and More Vested in Your Assets! Its Like you Have A Police Department! E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y
State Statute Involvement • Be Familiar With a Couple of Key Statues • Vandalism • Larceny • Mandatory Logging of Scrap Copper Sales • Any Utility Specific Laws For Those • Educate the LE Agencies, DA’s Office, and Judges If Possible • If No Specific Utility Laws Exist, Maybe Taking an Active Role in Changing or Creating Them. • Oklahoma: • Felony to Damage • Mandatory Logging of Sales of Scrap Copper E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y
Oklahoma Statutes • Copper Sales over 35lbs • Photocopy of DL; Vehicle Desc and Tag #; Date and Time; Desc of Items and Weight; No Burned Copper unless exempted seller; No purchase from Minors • http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/deliverdocument.asp?id=474052&hits= • Receiving or Transporting Stolen Copper • Felony to: Receive, Transport, or Possess, Stolen Copper (known or should have known to be stolen). • 1-5 years imprisonment and $100 - $500 Fine • http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/deliverdocument.asp?id=70087&hits= • Trespass and Damage to Critical Infrastructure Facility • Misdemeanor to Trespass (Not less than $1,000 Fine and/or 6 Months County Jail) • Felony to Damage Vandalize Critical Infrastructure ($100,000 Fine / Not more 10 years) • http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/deliverdocument.asp?id=481112&hits= E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y
Questions / Comments? E L E C T R I C I T Y . E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T . E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T E W A R D S H I P . E M P L O Y E E S . E F F I C I E N C Y
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