Have you renewed your membership for 2004?

AVCAW

April 2004

Anti Vehicle Crime Association of Wisconsin, Inc.

 

 

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9) This pearl of wisdom was written more than 3,000 years ago, and it still applies today. Fraud keeps evolving, but the basic goal is always the same – to cheat honest people and companies. As technology advances, the criminals get more sophisticated, requiring us to update our methods for catching them.

At our last meeting, NICB Special Agent Laurance Burzynski gave an update of current fraud practices under NICB investigation. I joked with another board member that sometimes ignorance is bliss, because the extent of fraud can seem overwhelming at times. It is at these times that AVCAW’s mission comes into sharp focus – specifically crime detection and prevention of insurance fraud.

AVCAW depends on the membership to help spread our message of crime prevention. I would challenge each member to approach a coworker and try to help our organization grow. AVCAW dues are an incredible bargain at $15 per year. In addition to a quarterly newsletter filled with witty banter and clever anecdotes, members receive a directory to facility investigations and a free spring training seminar.

Our spring seminar promises to be another highly informative program. Troopers Duane (Dewey) Meyers and Tim Austin will be presenting "Crash Data Retrieval Systems." Their presentation last fall was one of the highest rated sessions at our seminar. On May 11th, they will have an entire day to address this topic. Both Dewey and Tim are certified by the Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstruction (ACTAR), and they have worked many high profile cases, including the Cedar Grove crash on October 11, 2002, the deadliest crash in Wisconsin history. They will be providing training on how to recognize when useful data might be available from a vehicle, and expand on methods to properly collect that data.

Our seminar committee is also hard at work developing this year’s fall training seminar. The tentative theme is Organized Fraud, and it promises to be very informative for law enforcement and insurance investigators alike. The seminar committee has brought many talented and informative presenters to our previous seminars, and I am confident this year will be another extraordinary educational event.

I am optimistic that the next two years will continue to see AVCAW grow in membership and influence. With the support of the Board and membership, we can achieve these goals, and minimize fraud in Wisconsin.

See you in May!

Glen

 

 

 

 

AVCAW QUARTERLY MEETING

February 3, 2004

Kenosha County Sheriff

Kenosha, WI

 

 

Members present: Bob Suehring, Brian Bettinger, Kurt Klapperich, Karen Bird, Kelle Taylor, John Finnegan, Glen Jones, Don Sebetic, Sue Cox, Fred Haas, Greg Peterson, Will Tingue, Janine Brown, Mark Abrahamson, Mike Stagliano, Rich Waldherr.

 

  1. SECRETARY’S REPORT:

    Secretary Karen Bird had nothing new. The reading of last meeting’s minutes was waived.
    Fred Haas made a motion to accept the Secretary’s report, John Finnegan seconded. Report seconded.

    2.  

  2. TREASURER’S REPORT: Sue Cox went over all the reports.

    3. Mike Stagliano made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s report, Kurt Klapperich seconded. Report accepted.


  3. FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT:
    4.

    Karen Bird and Kurt Klapperich discussed using last year’s amounts to request, as the new figures will not be available until July. Letters should go out by end of February. There will be a new company to solicit funds from, Hawkeye Security. Glen Jones made a motion to accept, Don Sebetic seconded. Report accepted.

     

  4. MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE REPORT: Per Don Sebetic, total renewal is 47 (44 regular and 3 life). Please call Don Sebetic if you have a change to the AVCAW directory. The second renewal notice went out end of January. Brian Bettinger made a motion to accept, Fred Haas seconded. Report accepted.

    5.  

  5. HOT LINE & TIP AWARD REPORT: Larry Burzynski was not present.
    6.

     
  6. PUBLIC RELATIONS/NEWSLETTER REPORT: Bob Suehring stated that we can always use articles to put in the newsletter. Please feel free to give suggestions and recommendations. Editorial date is approximately 30 days prior to next meeting. There were good comments received for Tim Austin’s article from the last newsletter. March 1st is the deadline for the Spring newsletter and information for the Spring Seminar. Glen will get seminar information into the DOJ Bulletin for the Fall Seminar. Kurt Klapperich made a motion to accept. Kelle Taylor seconded. Report accepted.
  7. SEMINAR/EDUCATION REPORT: Per Kelle Taylor, the seminar meeting is scheduled for 2/3/04. The Chula walk-thru will be August 10th. The contract is signed for this year. There are good responses about the facility.

    8.  

  8. BAIT CAR COMMITTEE REPORT: Per Rich Waldherr, there were no responses to the article in the December newsletter to see if a department was interested in the Bait Car. Bait Car agreement was reviewed. Fred Haas had reviewed it with Bob Burrell and revised to cover anyone affiliated with AVCAW for anything related to Bait Car. The Bait Car we have is currently with the ************* PD. Rich, Larry, Glen and Fred will present the agreement to the ************** PD to see if they are interested. There was a brief discussion about using a tracking device to let car go and track to chop shop vs. shutting car down right after it starts. Bob made motion to accept, Brian seconded.
  9. BY-LAWS COMMITTEE REPORT: Lee Jones is no longer on the committee. Will Tingue announced his retirement on April 30th. He will no longer be on any committees. Confirmed that this committee only meets by request. Mike Stagliano will join this committee.

    10.  

  10. AWARDS COMMITTEE REPORT: Fred Haas will order 20 2004 stickers.
  11. NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE: No activity.
  12. OLD BUSINESS: The Auto Theft Task Force that the Attorney General is forming was discussed. AVCAW will come up with the concept, get the Troopers Association to participate and then glen Jones can lobby for a bill. Hopefully AVCAW can be the administrator. Greg, Bob, Brian and Glen will work on this. Glen will speak with Steve about it this week and hopefully meet with the Attorney General. Glen will get a copy of other states language and introduce the bill into the legislative session next January.

    13.  

  13. NEW BUSINESS: Bob Suehring discussed putting some money into a CD in order to earn more interest. Discussion ensued about whether or not to do this. Bob made a motion that we put $5000 into a CD that is no longer than 12 mos term. Greg seconded the motion.

    14. Sue recommended doing $2000 for up to 6 mos. Fred said that Wauwatosa Savings bank has a special for 2% for 10 mos. Penalty for early withdrawal is 6 months interest. Kelle suggested revisiting this at the next quarterly meeting. A vote was taken, motion did not pass. Kelle Taylor will research this one week prior to next meeting for a follow-up discussion.

  14. ADJOURNMENT OF GENERAL QUARTERLY MEETING: Meeting adjournment motioned by Brian Bettinger, seconded by Don Sebetic.
  15. The next AVCAW Board meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 10, 2004 at Brian Bettinger’s home in Marshfield, WI. Exact location and time TBA. Any suggestions, recommendations, or newsletter information should be forward to AVCAW via e-mail: avcaw@avcaw.org.

 

FREE TRAINING

 

The Anti-Vehicle Crime Association of Wisconsin Inc.

 

Presents its Annual Spring Training Seminar

 

Tuesday May 11, 2004

 

BLACK BOX TECHNOLOGY

 

"I thought only airplanes had black boxes?" Well, you’re right. In actuality, vehicles have AIR BAG SENSORS. These sensors (computer modules) make the decision if the airbags will be deployed. In deciding if the airbags should deploy, there is a plethora of information stored for future analysis in the sensor modules. Retrieving some of this information has proven to be a benefit for officers involved in investigating/reconstructing motor vehicle crashes.

 

Wisconsin State Patrol Troopers Tim Austin and Duane Meyer are Certified Crash Reconstruction Specialists who have advanced training in "black box technology." Training will consist of class time as well as "field testing" vehicles. This will be a totally FREE training opportunity – tuition and lunch will be provided by AVCAW and is only available for current AVCAW members and any certified law enforcement officer. Training and lunch will be held at:

 

                                        Best Western Clearwaters Convention Center

2700 S Roddis Avenue (Business 13)

Marshfield, Wisconsin

 

0800 – 0900 Registration

0900 – 1500 Seminar

 

Must pre-register before Friday, May 7, 2004

 

1) E-mail: Avcaw@avcaw.org. Include ALL of your contact information. You will receive a return email confirming your registration.

2) Mail: Brian Bettinger

Marshfield Police Dept

110 W 1st St

Marshfield WI 54449

AVCAW Spring Training Registration

 

Tuesday May 11, 2004

(Pre-register by May 7, 2004)

 

Marshfield Clearwaters Convention Center

2700 S Roddis Ave (Business 13)

Marshfield WI 54449

Please Print

 

 

NAME: _______________________________________________________

AGENCY/ _______________________________________________________

COMPANY

TITLE: / _______________________________________________________

POSITION

ADDRESS: _______________________________________________________

CITY/ZIP _______________________________________________________

PHONE: _______________________________________________________

FAX: _______________________________________________________

E-MAIL _______________________________________________________

 

Questions?

 

Bob Suehring – Sentry Insurance

800-532-2525 ext 6490

 

Brian Bettinger – Marshfield Police Department

715-384-3113