Meet EPD's new crime analyst, certified by the DOJ; it is someone you already know, Brittany Powell

Members of the media and law enforcement, especially EPD, need no introduction to Brittany Powell.

She is the one you call, and no matter how busy she is, Brittany is helpful, cheerful and definitely my favorite PIO.

I surprised Brittany today by calling her for an impromptu interview, about her.

This fall, Brittany has not been around some days. Why? It is because she has been travelling to Sacramento.

This has been for a training program. In addition to her PIO duties, Brittany is now EPD's crime analyst. She has to attend "a couple more trainings" until December.

The Crime and Intelligence Analysis Certificate Program is certified by the Department of Justice. "It is recommended for my position."

As EPD PIO, Brittany does a lot more than send out press releases. She takes calls from the public, "usually from the media."  Brittany ccordinates the press conferences, sometimes meetings and events.

 She manages EPD's social media pages, including Twitter, Nextdoor.com and Facebook. Meesages on Facebook can vary from tips, to helpful notes on crime prevention to inquiries from people wanting to work for EPD.

The crime analyst training program involves learning research skills, statistical analysis, critical thinking, predicting and preventing crime, how to forecast future crime and create future tactical plans for police officers and investigators.

Most of her fellow students are from the Bay area. While she is the one who travels "the farthest" for this class, because she has the EPD job, unlike her fellow students, Brittany does not have to do an internship of 400 hours, in addition to the classes.