LOS ANGELES SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
RECEIVES 2003 ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

On July 13, 2003, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was recognized in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by the National Association of Counties (NACo) as a 2003 Achievement Award Winner. Sergeant George Grein accepted the award on behalf of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) was created in 1935 when county officials wanted to have a strong voice in the nation's capital. More than six decades later, NACo continues to ensure that the nation's 3,066 counties are heard and understood in the White House and the halls of Congress. NACo, the only national organization that represents county governments in the United States, continues to follow the traditions established by those early county officials. NACo is involved in a number of special projects that deal with such issues as the environment, sustainable communities, volunteerism and intergenerational studies. NACo's membership totals more than 2,000 counties, representing over 80 percent of the nation's population.

The annual Achievement Award Program began in 1970 and is a non-competitive awards program which seeks to recognize innovative county government programs called County Model Programs. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department won the award for developing the Emergency Communications and Information Technology Program.

The Los Angeles County Emergency Communications and Information Technology Program will provide an understanding of emergency communications, situation awareness, and threats to survival through advanced Internet tool research. The project found that many law enforcement agencies are communicating ineffectively across the board, from the California Highway Patrol, Los Angeles Police Department, to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, specifically in response to critical incidents. All become inefficient when attempting to communicate either by radio transmission or face-to-face and often resort to using land lines to relay vital information.

Awards are made in more than twenty categories, ranging from Arts and Historic Preservation to Volunteerism. All counties and state associations of counties are eligible to apply. In this 34th year of the program, NACo was extremely proud to recognize counties' hard work to promote responsible, responsive, and effective county government. This year's winners represent 24 states and 107 counties.

SHB-78A-03

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July 17, 2003