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2001 Administrative Excellence Award

2001 Administrative Excellence Award

Officer Dan A. Larson - Purdue University

Officer Larson is a 21 year veteran of the Purdue University Police Department. He has served the department as a Patrol Officer, Community Policing Bicycle Officer, Patrol Shift Sergeant, Patrol Shift Lieutenant. He voluntary returned to the rank of Patrol Officer and is currently serving in the Community Policing Division.

His accomplishments include initiating and developing A.S.A.P. (Alcohol Student Awareness Program); improving and expanding the the Workplace Violence Seminar; and, developing and presenting Children Safety Programs. He is the Departmental Right to Know "DTI" coordinator and the Departmental Blood borne pathogens and Tuberculosis Trainer and he has trained in the DDI Targeted Selection employment procedures.

There are two specific programs Officer Larson has generated that deserve the Administrative Excellence Award: ASAP (Alcohol Student Awareness Program) and Workplace Violence - Awareness and Prevention.

Officer Larson produced the highly successful 50-minute presentation, ASAP, that uses a very special police vehicle as an attention getter. The vehicle is a fully marked police Pontiac Trans Am Ram Air with T-Tops and more that has all the necessary police equipment and strobe lighting. Officer Larson worked hard to have the entire vehicle and equipment, valued at just over $50,000, donated to the department.

However, the car was just the beginning. Officer Larson has developed two specific presentations. One is presented on the street as small groups of bystanders are attracted to the unique police car. The second is presented in classrooms at Purdue University where he is invited to conduct the full ASAP presentation.

ASAP in the classroom is a 50-minute presentation on the dangers associated with the misuse of alcohol. Officer Larson combines the scientific effects of alcohol with a true story that has occurred at the campus. He has spoken to groups of college classes as small as 15 and as large as 600. His most recent presentation was made to the Panhellenic New Members Convocation, an all college women's group that numbered over 500.

Officer Larson has continued to develop this program using classrooms to get his message across on how to test for alcohol poisoning. He has now teamed up with Professor Deely of Purdue University Department of Statistics. Each semester Officer Larson now presents ASAP to the Introduction to Statistics Class (200-300 college freshmen). At the conclusion of all ASAP programs the students complete a presentation evaluation and questionnaire. Professor Deely assigns a graduate student of statistics to conduct a statistical follow-up of all persons that have attended ASAP. At the end of each school semester they turn in their report that includes a follow-up study on the impact ASAP has made to those who have attended. That study is conducted approximately two months after the presentation has been made.

The Workplace Violence seminar uses a very interactive PowerPoint computer generated on-screen presentation in which the audience is directly involved in the seminar. At the conclusion of the seminar, 86 percent of them say they will change their actions in the workplace as a result of attending this seminar. The seminar's popularity has resulted in our agency offering it twice monthly. Officer Larson devoted several months of research, preparation and development for this highly educational and entertaining seminar. He has become so successful that interested parties attend the seminar at our agency. Almost three hours in length, he has successfully maintained audiences without succumbing to shortening the seminar.

In addition, it will was a featured presentation at the 15th Annual Hoosier Safety Council's Safety and Health Conference at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis on April 17, 2001. He has also been invited to companies here in the area to conduct this important seminar for all their employees. All invitations have come without Officer Larson approaching them. They had heard from someone that attended the seminar about its quality and content.

In nominating Officer Larson, Captain Ronald J. Fosnaugh, Special Services Section, Purdue University Police Department, stated " Officer Larson has spoken to literally thousands of students over the past year, providing them valuable information on the dangers associated with the misuse of alcohol. For this program alone, he is deserving of the award; however, his value does not stop there. He has also developed a two-hour and 45-minute seminar on Workplace Violence. Officer Larson's development of computer technology and utilization of the PowerPoint programming has revolutionized our ability to conduct both seminars and departmental training, making them more efficient, educational, enjoyable and effective."

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