613 Seconds

Sponsored By Sam Rosenblatt

Mortgage Planner I NMLS# 75844 (410) 375-4447

Sam@TheRosenblattGroup.com www.TheRosenblattGroup.com

State Lic: DE: MLO-75844; NJ: 75844; NC: I-109203; MD: 237; FL: LO31872; PA: 28407; VA: MLO-6487VA; DC: MLO75844 | Corp Lic: DE: 010825; NJ: 3113; NC: L-143680; MD: 12423; FL: MLD241; PA: 22177; VA: MC-5196; DC: MLB3113; www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org l Equal Housing Lender l Corp NMLS #3113

Chief Melissa Hyatt, Baltimore County Police Department

What made you decide to become a police officer?

My father was a police officer in the Baltimore City Police Department for 31 years. I can remember as a young child, watching him in his uniform getting ready to leave the house for work. I was always interested in law enforcement and knew that was the career path I wanted to follow.

Tell us about your career and how you ended up as Chief?

I joined the Baltimore City Police Department after graduating from the University of Delaware. I retired as a Colonel after a more than 20-year career. I then went to work in the private sector as the Vice President of Security for Johns Hopkins Medicine and Johns Hopkins University. I really enjoyed this new role and learned a lot, but I missed police work. When I heard about the opportunity to become Chief of Police in the county where I grew up, I jumped at the opportunity and a little more than three years later, here I am.

What part of Baltimore County are you from?

I grew up in Randallstown and I am a proud graduate of Randallstown High School. Go Rams!

With the upcoming High Holidays approaching, what is the police department doing to keep people safe?

Since becoming Chief in 2019, we identified several areas where a more robust and intentional deployment would increase the safety and security of the community during the high holidays. This includes increasing patrols and bringing in additional resources.

We are very fortunate that in our region, law enforcement works collaboratively throughout the course of the year with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners. In addition to our deployment, we will continue to share information and work closely with our public safety partners within the community.

about your role as police chief?

I am incredibly proud of the work our police officers do on a daily basis. What is most rewarding to me is seeing their efforts paying off in such positive ways throughout all of Baltimore County. Whether it’s crime prevention, dealing with quality of life issues, or spending time engaging with the community, the men and women of our Department truly care about making Baltimore County a better place to live, work, and visit.

What has been the most difficult challenge during your time as Chief?

The pandemic really changed things for us as an agency. In addition to adjusting our daily operations, our police officers provided support at food sites, testing sites and later, vaccination sites. We also had to adjust how we traditionally engaged with members of the community. All of those changes and so many others from the pandemic were really challenging for our police officers, who care tremendously about the community and thrive on engagement in the neighborhoods they serve. Throughout the pandemic, our officers continued to come to work each day, putting themselves and their families at great risk. I am extremely proud of each member of our Department.

2516 Quarry Lake Drive (410) 486-Wine

RubyLaskerDesigns

Stop in & check out 100+ Kosher Wine options as well as a great selection of Artisanal Spirits & Craft Beers

KEEPING OUR JEWISH COMMUNITY SAFE

It’s High Holiday time again, and for the past month, Keith Tiedemann, The Associated’s Director of Security, has closely collaborated with local police departments to make sure our synagogues remain safe. Yet, although this is a busy period, his work doesn’t end here. For Tiedemann, protecting the Jewish community is a year-round job. A former major with the Baltimore Police Department, Tiedemann talks about how The Associated, through the Baltimore Jewish Council (BJC), is protecting our Jewish organizations.

What is the BJC’s role during the High Holidays? This year, we met with local law enforcement to discuss the best ways to ensure our community’s safety during the High Holidays. We work with them on their deployment plans, which include bringing in foot patrols. I’m also available during the high holidays, if there are questions or concerns that need to be addressed immediately.

Yet the Jewish community’s safety doesn’t end with the holidays. Part of my job involves overseeing security and setting up trainings for the security professionals throughout The Associated system, which includes both JCCs (Park Heights and Owings Mills), CHAI and the Myerberg Center. The bulk of what I do is providing security assessments and trainings to synagogues, day schools and other Jewish organizations across the state. Last year, I worked with nearly 200 Jewish organizations.

Specifically? I help synagogues, day schools and Jewish organizations with security assessments, and emergency planning. I also assist them with their applications for security grants from MEMA (Maryland Emergency Management Agency) and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). Through BJC’s advocacy work, we secured significant security funding to combat terror. This year we received a big increase in grants to help our Jewish organizations. FEMA and MEMA awarded more than $8 million in federal and state grants to religious institutions, schools and childcare centers at risk of hate crimes. I’m always available to consult with organizations to help them secure this funding. (JFNA) partners with the Department of Homeland Security and the Secure Community Network (SCN) to ensure the safety of Jewish organizations in the U.S. They will alert us if they hear of a threat. I then have more than 300 people on my emergency response list – a list that includes synagogues, schools, organizations like the Northwest Citizen’s Patrol and Shomrim Baltimore and local law enforcement – and I make sure everyone is aware of what is going on.

Anything else? We are fortunate to have great relationships with the law enforcement community. They are true partners, who respond quicky and effectively to any concerns we have. I cannot thank them enough for their role in keeping the Jewish community safe and secure.

What happens if there is a threat in our community? The Jewish Federations of North America