A free lunch? Well, sort of.
The San Diego Police Foundation (SDPF) will hold its annual Beyond the Headlines fundraiser luncheon Wednesday, Sept. 12, 1 to 2 p.m. at the Town & Country Resort and Convention Center in Mission Valley.
The event, which is open to the public and charges no admission fee, is the primary fundraiser for the nonprofit organization that purchases sorely needed equipment for local police officers.
Beyond the Headlines guests mingle with San Diego police officers, the mayor and local community and business leaders while learning about the foundation and the needs of local law enforcement that are not covered by the city’s lean budget.
At the event, guests can make donations for their lunches and the foundation.
At last year’s Beyond the Headlines event, Qualcomm donated $1 million towards communications and tracking equipment for police officers, the single largest donation the SDPF has ever received.
More than 300 handheld communications devices have since been put in the hands of officers as a result of Qualcomm’s donation.
Many of the officers with these new handhelds do not patrol in vehicles with mounted computer systems and otherwise would not have access to vital databases of information.
Wenda Alvarez, president and CEO of the SDPF, cited a recent case where a motorcycle officer made a major identity theft bust from a minor traffic violation stop because he was able to use the device to tap into DMV data and noticed discrepancies in the suspect’s identification.
Qualcomm’s grant money will also be used to put GPS capability into police vehicles.
Currently, San Diego police vehicles are not all equipped with GPS tracking equipment, and officers must continuously report their locations so that dispatchers can determine where they are posted and traveling.
This tracking technology has been utilized by fire department and ambulance emergency responders for years, and is also available to other law enforcement agencies in the county, according to Alvarez.
Alvarez said full implementation of this tracking technology in 549 police vehicles, including helicopters and command vans, is anticipated to be up and running by the end of the year.
The SDPF is a nonprofit organization formed in 1998 under then Police Chief Jerry Sanders.
It has since helped raise more than $2.2 million to provide needed equipment for a department beset with budget and staffing deficiencies.
The foundation does not raise money to cover costs of personnel, vehicles, uniforms or standard police equipment.
In addition to purchasing equipment and police dogs, SDPF helped facilitate donations from the District 2 council office and several private donors to cover the cost of five video surveillance cameras that were installed in the Mission Beach area after a brutal sexual assault in October 2006.
The SDPF also runs several community outreach and education events throughout the year.
One such program, “Inside SDPD: Use of Force,” will be held Saturday, Oct. 27 at Miramar College, where participants get a behind-the-scenes peek inside the life of a police officer and learn about the rules and regulations dictating use of force in the line of duty.
SDPF is also about to launch an extensive education campaign on Internet safety for children.
RSVPs for Beyond the Headlines are requested.
For more information about the luncheon or how to support the SDPF, visit www.sdpolice
foundation.org or call (858) 453-5060.