Mark Your Calendars – June 20-23, 2011

The 12th Annual WIFLE Leadership Training Conference is scheduled to be held at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach in sunny Long Beach, California, from June 20-23, 2011. Regularly check the WIFLE website at www.wifle.org for further details as conference plans finalize. Be sure to save the dates for what should prove to be a memorable event. See you at this important leadership training program!

Long  Beach Lighthouse	Long Beach Aerial View	Long Beach Hyatt	Long Beach, Bicycle Friendly
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Searching for a New Career?

• The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking women to fill positions in its Office of Criminal Enforcement at various locations around the country.
• The Federal Reserve Bank of Miami is currently looking to fill the Lieutenant position.
If the above positions look interesting to you, check out the “Career Corner” page on the WIFLE website  for further information on these jobs, as well as links to several federal law enforcement agency recruiting sections.  Also, for the complete listing of all federal positions, be sure to see the Office of Personnel Management’s official government recruiting site.

Forget About Fighting!                        By June Werdlow Rogers

It was a real pleasure and honor for me to speak with many of you during the WIFLE conference in Atlanta. As your columnist, it is important to me that I address issues that are important to you. When I explained this after our “work show” presentation designed to prepare women for navigating the double standard; I was thrilled that one participant sought me out with a request. She said she wanted me to address the concern centering around the perception of in-fighting amongst women.

As I informed her, I have already written some about “cat fighting” - Chapter 6 in my new book Cracking the Double Standard Code and a piece entitled Catfights are only for Entertainment which presents advice on this troubling phenomenon. I believe people are more likely to stop this contentious behavior when they can get a glimpse behind-the-scenes. Now, on to the point about the really destructive tearing down that comes with competitive battles among women.

Read complete article here

Marist College Prepares WIFLE Members for Career Advancement with Online Master of Public Administration

The Master of Public Administration degree (MPA) is especially relevant for law enforcement, human service, and government professionals, as well as those interested in non-profit administration. Public Administration programs typically stress three important areas:
1) understanding the political, legal, ethical and social context of public sector administration;
2) achieving proficiency in a full range of management techniques, as well as developing an understanding of organizational behavior;
3) developing the ability to apply quantitative and qualitative methodologies to solve important problems, conduct policy analysis, and program evaluations.

Read how Marist is your partner through WIFLE.
 

New OPM Regulations Updating Definition of Family Member

90th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment: Guaranteeing Women the Right to Vote

August 26, 2010, marked the 90th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which guaranteed women the right to vote. This major milestone for women was achieved in 1920 after a 72-year-long civil rights struggle. Each year on August 26, the United States celebrates the ratification of the 19th Amendment through Women’s Equality Day.
For further information on this interesting subject, see the synopsis here.

For additional reading, see the PDF file here.

U.S. Justice Department Reports on Trends in Women in Federal Law Enforcement
By Lynn Langton, Statistician
Bureau of Justice Statistics

     Among the 53 federal agencies that were consistently organized and consistently provided gender data, the percentage of female sworn officers increased by about 1% over 10 years, from 14% in 1998 to just over 15% in 2008. Between 1998 and 2008, the average increase in the percentage of female officers in federal agencies was just over one-tenth of one percent per year.
In 2008, an average of 20% of the sworn law enforcement officers working for all federal agencies in the United States and the territories were women.

(WIFLE Editors Note: There were five major federal law enforcement agencies that did not report statistics to BJS for the 2008 study, thereby skewing the numbers upward and only accounting for a total of 90,000 federal law enforcement officers. Of the 90,000 sworn officers, BOP employees represent 17,000 and the AOUSC account for 4,800 sworn personnel.   The total sworn federal officer population in 2004 was 105,000 federal officers. Four of the five missing agencies reported an estimated 11,000 sworn officers in 2004.

The missing data is crucial to accurately measure the numbers of women in federal law enforcement. WIFLE is working closely with BJS to gain a more accurate accounting of the numbers. Even without statistics from these five agencies, WIFLE is concerned that the report indicates the total increase of female sworn officers among the consistently reporting agencies was only 1% in the past 10 years. However, WIFLE is encouraged that some federal agencies did show an increase, particularly the Inspector General agencies and certainly with the IRS, USPIS, FBI, U.S. Park Police and U.S. Capitol Police. See Table 1 of BJS report for your agency’s representation.)

Read complete article here

The New Consumer Protections on Credit Cards: An Overview
by Saundra Harmon, Harmon and Associates 

Bio

Prohibitions and Restrictions on Interest Rate Increases: Card issuers generally can’t increase the interest rate on a credit card for one year after an account is opened, and after that, the rate can generally only rise on transactions. However, there are several exceptions that allow for rate increases during the first year and on existing balances. For example, card companies can increase the interest rate on an existing balance when the advertised, market-based “index” (such as the prime rate) that a variable-rate card is tied to goes up, a promotional rate expires or the consumer is more than 60 days late on payments. Card issuers also must generally provide a 45-day notice before applying an interest rate increase to new transactions (those made more than 14 days after the date of the notice). For example, if customers receive a notice from their card company stating that the Annual Percentage Rate will increase to 24.9 percent, and the notice is provided July 1, that higher rate would apply to transaction made on or after July 16. However, interest on new transactions would only be charged at the higher rate if there is still a balance due after August 15 (the close of the 45-day notice period). As always, if you pay the balance in full by the due date, you can avoid interest charges. Read complete article here

CALIBRE PRESS TRAINING – WIFLE MEMBERS RECEIVE 20% DISCOUNT
By Kisty Fairchild

Calibre Press offers training specifically for female officers and agents from all areas of law enforcement including federal, state, and local agencies in the “Street Survival for Women” seminar. WIFLE members qualify for a 20 percent discount to attend this popular seminar and any other Calibre Press course.

Calibre Press is one of the leaders in law enforcement training and the “Street Survival for Women Seminar” is the ONLY law enforcement seminar of its kind. This GSA-approved course will deliver the tools you need to not only survive on the job, but to excel in your career and in your personal life! The curriculum is based on the most up-to-date information on tactics and equipment to fit the female mind and body, as well as the most current issues facing women in all walks of law enforcement today.

By attending this seminar you will develop the tactical awareness and mindset necessary for your ultimate survival, as well as examine training and equipment issues specific to women, learn off-duty survival skills, and develop skills for balancing your career and home life, including managing a pregnancy on the job, plus much more.

There are three “Street Survival for Women” seminars scheduled for 2010-2011. Don’t miss the opportunity to attend the one nearest you!

November 3-4, 2010       February 16-17, 2011       October 19-20, 2011
Stockton, CA                    Las Vegas, NV                  Atlantic City, NJ

For more information on Calibre Press seminars or to register for a seminar, please visit www.calibrepress.com or contact Kisty Fairchild at kisty.fairchild@calibrepress.com.

UNREASONABLE EXPECTATIONS OF PRIVACY –
Personal Use of Government Email Systems and the Internet.
By Peter J. Jeffrey, Esq., Member and Director of Litigation
Mahoney & Jeffrey, PLLC, The Federal Employee’s Law Firm®

Many Federal departments and agencies have generally adopted policies that authorize employees some limited personal use of government email systems and/or the Internet. For example, Department of Justice employees generally may use most office equipment, including email and Internet, where the cost to the Government is negligible and the use occurs on an employee’s own time. See 28 C.F.R. § 45.4. Nevertheless, such authorized personal use normally comes with great limitation and risk.

While Department of Justice employees may make personal use of the Internet, they may not send “personal files that could slow the delivery of the Department's official Internet e-mail,” and must ensure “any personal files [sent] through the Department's Internet connection are appropriate to the Department of Justice workplace.” http://www.justice.gov/jmd/ethics/docs/personal.htm. Further, while Department of Justice employees “may send a short, personal message to another employee . . . personal messages sent to groups of people and messages sent to disseminate information on non-Governmental activities, such as charitable events, religious observances and personal businesses, are prohibited.” http://www.justice.gov/jmd/ethics/docs/restatement.htm.

Read complete article here