Lake County law enforcement receives firearm restraining order training

WAUKEGAN – The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office Gun Violence Prevention Initiative was honored to host faculty members and researchers from the Johns Hopkins Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center in Lake County and lead trainings for local law enforcement officers and service providers about the Firearm Restraining Order.

The ERPO Resource Center is part of the Center for Gun Violence Solutions at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, which addresses gun violence as a public health emergency and uses objective, nonpartisan research to develop solutions that inform, fuel and propel policy to measurably lower gun violence.

“Our Gun Violence Prevention Initiative is saving lives by actively addressing the root causes of gun violence,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said in a news release. “By limiting access to firearms through this type of court order, we can protect the public and prevent violence from those exhibiting dangerous behavior. This is our mission: to strategically increase resources and be proactive in crime prevention.”

On Aug. 13, the GVPI, accompanied by the Johns Hopkins ERPO Resource Center, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and Illinois State Police, attended and presented at the monthly Lake County Chief of Police meeting. During this presentation, Assistant Attorney General-Law Enforcement Training Coordinator Cordelia Coppleson led a training on FROs and shared particulars as it relates to usage in Illinois.

“One of our main goals in the GVPI is to prevent homicides, suicides and incidental shootings by restricting access to firearms by children and individuals who are at a high risk of harming themselves or others,” Tierra Lemon, director of the GVPI, said in the release. “The GVPI is extremely grateful for the support of our local community leaders and both statewide and national partners like the John Hopkins ERPO Resource Center as we continue to identify and implement best practices for spreading awareness and increasing the usage of FROs.”

After the presentation, the GVPI and the John Hopkins team met with physicians and medical students from Lake County medical institutions and facilitated a conversation to better understand how local medical professionals can use the FRO to support patients in crisis and the unique role clinicians play in raising awareness about the tool.

On Aug. 14, law enforcement officers and service providers from throughout the county were invited to a breakfast and roundtable event at Rosalind Franklin University. At the breakfast, law enforcement officers discussed FRO use, shared what is working, identified challenges they are seeing in implementation and learned from experts in this field who shared key trends and best practices from localities across the country.

The FRO Roundtable brought together social workers, advocates, attorneys, law enforcement officers, educators, physicians, public health experts and students to discuss how to promote education and awareness, overcome challenges in implementation and emphasize the unique role of law enforcement in executing the Firearms Restraining Order.

“It is important to remember that when someone is in a crisis, they need time to seek help and support,” Rachel Jacoby, gun violence prevention specialist, said in the release. “Tools like the Firearm Restraining Order allow residents of Illinois to hit pause on a situation so the individual in crisis can heal. The GVPI team is excited to strengthen the partnership with Johns Hopkins ERPO Resource Center and local practitioners in Lake County as we continue to invest in a holistic approach to public safety and gun violence prevention.”

The GVPI will continue to be a resource for Lake County residents, law enforcement and stakeholders to promote public safety through education and implementation of the Firearms Restraining Order tool, according to the release.

For more information on the Firearm Restraining Order, visit lcsao.org/FRO.