Two years ago, TASER International launched the first-ever RISE Awards in partnership with Police1. This program was designed to honor the extraordinary effort of a select group of individuals and agencies whose contributions to the police community exemplify heroism and leadership, and to serve as a counter to the negative coverage of policing in the mainstream press.
The awards have been a huge hit, with nearly 200 nominations last year alone for those who have risen above the call of duty to better their towns and cities. We’re delighted to announce the official opening of nominations for the third annual RISE Awards. Appropriately, today is Flag Day, and what better way to honor American heroes than recognizing the men and women who serve and protect their communities every day?
What’s New
Last year, the nominations covered four categories: Protecting Life, Police Leadership, Agency of the Year and Community Leadership. This year, the Community Leadership Award has become the Community Impact Award and recognizes an officer or department that has gone above and beyond to serve the community in a variety of ways. Also new for 2016, we are accepting nominations from Canada.
The RISE Awards do more than acknowledge tremendous efforts; they provide an opportunity for law enforcement to share their stories and strive for continuous success.
We’re excited to read your nominations for this year’s awards. Last year, we were proud to present the following awards to these exceptional leaders in law enforcement:
- Protect Life Award to Corporal Les Munn of the Texarkana (Arkansas) Police Department
- Leadership Award to Sgt. Felicia Pecora of the Tampa (Florida) Police Department
- Agency of the Year Award to the Redlands (California) Police Department
- Community Leadership Awards to the Ada T. Payne Friends of the Urban Libraries (Florida), the Yavapai County Coordinated Community Response Team (Arizona) and the Blue Line K9 Foundation (Arizona)
RISE Categories & Details
This year, we’ll be rewarding all RISE winners with a $5,000 Axon Technology grant, a free trip to the 2016 IACP conference in San Diego with VIP access to all TASER events and a one-year subscription to Police1 Academy, our certified online training system.
The details for each category are as follows:
1. Protecting Life: This category will focus on individual acts of heroism under fire, such as helping to ensure the safety of a fellow officer or civilian in peril. Tell us how someone on your shift rose above the “routine” and put himself or herself in harm’s way to protect another.
2. Law Enforcement Leadership: Leadership and honesty is of the highest value in law enforcement, no matter what rank an individual holds in the agency. In this category, we’ll look at individuals who are dedicated to the training and education of their fellow officers in order to create a more effective police force and a safer community.
3. Agency of the Year: Some organizations find clever ways to address familiar problems and adapt to the changing needs of their communities. Has your department employed an innovative strategy to reduce crime, harnessed technology in a unique way or overcome a significant obstacle in the past year? We want to hear about it.
4. Community Impact Award: This year, we honor an officer or department that has gone above and beyond to serve the community in a variety of ways, from helping individual citizens to working with community groups and causes.
From June 14 through August 19, we’ll be asking you to nominate exceptional individuals and departments. Think about your agency and all the times you’ve observed your colleagues doing something selfless, special or spectacular. Then submit a nomination for us to consider. We’ll be writing profiles of some exceptional nominees from each category along the way. Winners will be announced September 1.
If you have any questions about award eligibility, send TASER | Axon an email. Otherwise, we look forward to teaming up with TASER | Axon once again to share your stories and highlight the very best of our profession.
