M/O Steve Walden

LETTER OF APPRECIATION

Master Officer Steve Walden

Citizen Compliment from Sheriff Kevin Rambosk

January 2010

We received a letter from Sheriff Kevin Rambosk who wanted to tell us of the excellent way members of our department handles a multiple vehicle, block long accident on Golden

Gate Parkway. He was traveling on the Parkway and came upon the accident. Within one minute, NPD personnel arrived on the scene. NFD personnel arrived shortly afterwards.

He stated that all officers and fire personnel immediately control of the scene, provided aid to the injured, safely controlled the flow of traffic and rendered the area safe for all involved and the public.

With the pro-active and professional direction, coordination and control of the incident by police and fire personnel, the situation was resolved efficiently, effectively and safely.

Congratulations on a job well done.

Florida Retail Federation Honors
Master Officer Steve Walden

Master Officer Steve Walden is the runner-up in for the 2009 Florida Retail Federation Law Enforcement Officer of the Year for his work on combating organized groups of thieves who prey upon retailers which result in an estimated $30+ Billion nationally. He will attend the 2009 awards banquet, to be held on November 10th at the Renaissance Vinoy in St. Petersburg, Florida where he will receive a certificate of commendation.

M/O Walden is assigned to the department’s Community Policing Unit. Part of his assigned area includes the Coastland Center Mall. He began to notice trends in many of the retail thefts being reported at the mall. He looked into the matter in hopes of learning methods of reducing the thefts. During his research he learned about the South American Theft Group Intelligence Network (SATGIN), a group whose mission is to recognize and investigate large-scale organized theft groups.

What M/O Walden found was retail theft was the tip of the iceberg. These groups are also involved in lottery scams, distraction robberies and high-end jewelry thefts.

M/O Walden immediately recognized the importance of this information and started by the process going for training himself. Based on his first training he returned and began to host training classes with managers and staff of retail stores within the mall. Almost immediately following his training Naples Police received calls from stores who recognized some of the tricks they were taught. M/O Walden personally made multiple arrests for group members attempting to use “booster bags”, a common trick but one most store employees were not aware of.

M/O Walden followed up on his success by facilitating department wide training for Naples Police personnel. The Naples Police became the first law enforcement agency in all of Southwest Florida to introduce officers to these organized groups and how they work. In addition to all Naples Police personnel, State Attorney’s sat in on the training session as this concept was new to them as well. Up until now these cases had been handled as separate incidents versus a large-scale coördinated effort.

Shortly following the in-service training, M/O Walden was alerted to a suspicious vehicle occupied by six people. He had been told they were driving through the parking lot of the mall pulling on door handles. M/O Walden located the vehicle in question and made contact with the occupants, who upon investigation it was determined had just broken into a car and stolen several pieces of luggage from a family who was about to leave on a vacation. It was later determined the group were known members of organized theft groups, some of which were wanted in connection to other crimes both in Collier County and elsewhere in Florida.

At first appearance, the Assistant State Attorney who was in court was one of those who had attended the Naples Police training the previous month. As a result of that training the ASA was able to adequately articulate the need for significantly higher bond amounts than would normally be given.

M/O Walden has helped to make significant progress in educating retail organizations within the City of Naples to help them better protect their assets. His dedication to the Naples Police Department and the City of Naples as a whole have been clear his entire career and are very proud of his accomplishment.

LETTER OF APPRECIATION

Master Officer Steve Walden

Youth Academy (August 2009)

August 2009

From August 10^th to August 14^th, 2009, personnel of the Naples Police and Fire Department conducted the second session of the annual Youth Academy. This academy was a success due in part to the time taken by members of the department such as you taking time to share your knowledge with the youth of the community.

Congratulations on yet another successful Youth Academy provided by the dedicated members of our department.

COMMAND RECOGNITION BAR

Master Officer Steve Walden

“Booster Bags” and SATGIN

August 2009

M/O Walden made two separate arrests due to his training and experience in the growing “Booster Bag” trend in our area. These bags are specially modified to defeat retail store security systems. M/O Walden followed up his arrests by contacting the State Attorney’s Office to educate then on this crime trend.

He also recognized the importance of this training for all sworn personnel so he facilitated the in-service training of all personnel. The training was conducted by the South American Theft Group Intelligence Network (SATGIN). SATGIN is a private organization who partners with law enforcement nationwide to help with the flow of communication between different agencies. Several prosecutors from the State Attorney’s Office also sat in on the training. Just a few short weeks after the training had concluded M/O Walden made an arrest of six people for auto burglary.

Most of the six were known to SATGIN and one was already wanted by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office for a distraction robbery which had occurred a week earlier.

M/O Walden should be commended for his excellent police work and dedication to service. He recognized a growing crime trend and took proactive steps to learn about how to combat these organized groups and provide training to both Naples Police and State Attorney’s Office personnel.