Greetings; I hope this finds everyone well. I want to use this opportunity to discuss the LVPPA’s member database, to provide an idea of what we use it for and why it is important to keep it updated. Additionally, I would like to explain a new tool we are offering with the database and how it may benefit you.

We have a licensing agreement with a software company that has been in the customer management and record retention business for more than 30 years. The program was implemented about 10 years ago. The software is encrypted, and the LVPPA office staff and Executive Board members are the only people who access the information within the database. We do not disclose the information maintained within the file.

Currently the file maintains basic member information, including name, home address, phone numbers, email, hire dates, beneficiaries and whether or not you are a member of the LVPPA. Most of the information on file is provided by you when you complete the Academy and join the LVPPA. We do not share files with the LVMPD. If you change your address, telephone number, name or beneficiary information with the LVMPD, they will not notify us. It is incumbent upon you to contact our office or a Board member with any changes in personal information.

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of keeping the LVPPA up to date on your personal information. Our staff will reference the information in the database on a daily basis. When you receive a notice from IAB regarding an interview, our office staff will look up your phone number and contact you regarding representation. The staff will then send a member of the Executive Board an email with your notice and the phone number on file so we may contact you. If you are involved in a critical incident, we look up your phone number so we can call you, check on your well-being and let you know that we are on our way.

We use your email address weekly to send out information. The emails you probably see the most are for jiu-jitsu training with Chad Lyman, discount codes for merchandise or complimentary tickets for movies and shows. However, we also use your email address as an alternate way to contact you if we can’t reach you by phone. Hopefully, both aren’t outdated. We recently sent out a leadership survey. Our staff received numerous calls from members who wanted to participate but hadn’t received the email. A check of the database revealed most of the members who had called us had changed their email addresses and did not update the LVPPA. Lastly, at the time of writing this article we are in contract negotiations. In the event that we come to a tentative agreement with the Department, we will email a link for the ratification vote. Based on past history, most members are eager to participate in contract votes.

Beneficiary information is the information we use least, but is arguably some of the most important information the LVPPA maintains. In the event that a member dies, it is extremely important that the beneficiary information is current for the insurance company to make the payouts to the appropriate people.

We also use the database to memorialize internal investigations. When we receive your notice of an IAB investigation or a CIRT interview, we scan the document and enter it into your file. After the interview, we download the recording of the interview into your file. We may use the notice and recording at a later date if we grieve the investigative process or the discipline you receive. Our experience has shown that audio recordings possess emotion and inflection a transcript doesn’t.