[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 97 (Friday, June 27, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1388]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               COMMENDING THE SAN MATEO POLICE DEPARTMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 26, 2003

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to applaud the San Mateo Police 
Department, whose creative and effective policing strategies over the 
past decade merit recognition and praise by this body.
  Law enforcement is one of the principal functions of responsible 
government, and the duties of a police department are as vital as they 
are numerous. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the 
enormous strains police departments nationwide are currently 
experiencing, with their budgets shrinking even as their 
responsibilities multiply. New antiterrorism duties have been met in 
many cases not, Mr. Speaker, by additional funds, but by service and 
pay cuts, as the present Administration and Congressional leadership 
undermine our nation's Finest with their irresponsible theology of tax 
cuts.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in thanking the police 
departments of America for their selfless and courageous service in 
this most trying time for our nation, and in offering our sympathy as 
they work hard to make America safe.
  The San Mateo Police Department stands out among police departments 
nationally as a paragon of public service and public sensitivity, and 
has worked creatively to forge partnerships with the community.
  Mr. Speaker, the SMPD has made tremendous strides in recent years. 
During the period from 1997 to 2002, the overall crime rate in San 
Mateo plummeted 8 percent and there was not a single murder in the city 
of nearly 100,000 people. The SMPD's hard work has clearly paid off, 
and in addition to lower crime rates, it has yielded dividends that 
cannot be quantified.
  Ten years ago, Mr. Speaker, the SMPD launched a Community Oriented 
Policing program, with the ambitious goal of improving the quality of 
life for every single person who lives and works in the City of San 
Mateo. The Department sought to accomplish this task by engaging the 
individuals, businesses, and local service organizations of San Mateo, 
as well as appropriate outside governmental agencies, and their 
approach has been enormously successful.
  Indeed, Mr. Speaker, the San Mateo Police Department has been 
incredibly innovative in its efforts to reach out to the community. 
Among the more creative initiatives launched by the SMPD in recent 
years is the Citizen-Police Ride-Along Program, in which San Mateo 
residents accompany an officer in a police cruiser in order to get a 
sense of what a police patrol is like. In addition, Mr. Speaker, the 
SMPD has teamed up with San Mateo Parks & Recreation to form the Police 
Activities League (PAL), an organization with support from the State of 
California that helps promote trust and understanding between cops and 
kids. Six years into the program, the verdict is in and it is 
unambiguous: PAL has been an unqualified success and has contributed to 
a marked improvement in relations between youth and law enforcement.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to single out San Mateo Chief of Police 
Susan E. Manheimer for her leadership and her commitment to the 
principles of equality, professionalism, justice, and the highest 
standards of ethics. I have the utmost confidence that her commitment 
to a focused approach of Problem Oriented Policing will further reduce 
crime in the City of San Mateo and contribute generally to a better 
quality of life in the area, and I congratulate her on the Department's 
accomplishments under her stewardship.
  And finally, Mr. Speaker, I would like to offer my sincerest and most 
heartfelt congratulations to police officers Bob Szelenyi and Fred 
Haney on their promotion to the rank of Sergeant in the San Mateo 
Police Department. I have known Bob personally since his infancy, and 
consider him a man of great character, industry, and integrity. In his 
decade and a half on the force, Mr. Speaker, Bob has established 
himself as a leader in mediation and negotiation, and is held in the 
highest regard for his involvement with San Mateo youth.
  Officer Szelenyi has been awarded multiple public service awards for 
his work with kids, Mr. Speaker, and has earned the respect of his 
colleagues and many others in my district and the entire Bay Area for 
his successful negotiation of a gang truce several years ago. That 
truce prevented countless acts of violence and untold suffering, and we 
are all eternally indebted to him for his hard work on behalf of the 
lives and safety of the people of San Mateo.
  While I did not have the privilege of watching Mr. Haney take his 
first steps, Mr. Speaker, I am familiar with his work because his 
remarkable contributions to the community of San Mateo are so well-
known. I am proud that he is one of the top officers defending my 
community, and I believe his work in preventing gang violence, both as 
an individual officer and as a member of a special gang task force, 
contributed to the drop in crime my community has enjoyed over the past 
five years. Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend Mr. Haney 
on his work at the frontier of digital evidence and high-tech crimes. 
He is a model public servant, and I salute him.
  Mr. Speaker, I offer my warmest congratulations to the San Mateo 
Police Department, Police Chief Manheimer, and Sergeants Szelenyi and 
Haney, and my unending thanks to them for their service to the people 
of San Mateo. I wish them Godspeed.

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