TAVTI/SCRC Texas Association of Vehicle Theft Investigators IAATI - S. Central Regional Chapter

2011/2012 SCRC/TAVTI President - Wayne Browning, Fort Worth Police Dept.

Greetings to everyone!  I would like to start by saying how honored I am to be elected as the SCRC/TAVTI President for 2011 – 2012.  This organization is unlike any other I have ever been associated with.  In some ways, it is like many professional organizations, with great training provided to the members, and sharing of information on auto theft issues.   On the other hand, it is like a big family that takes care of each other, and genuinely looks out for the needs of the members.   I will try my best to fill the big shoes of past presidents who have built this organization.

The 2011 Annual Training Conference in San Marcos is behind us.  Wow, what a success!!   We had the most attendees ever, most vendors ever, most golfers ever, the largest scholarships ever and took care of our own in grand fashion.  I was really proud of how the conference turned out.  Thanks to all of the on-site people, which included the Sheriff’s Combined ATTF, Bill Skinner and Jim Woods, and all of the board members and past presidents who helped put together such a great conference.  These things don’t just happen by accident.  There are countless hours of hard work and planning that go into each conference.  As an indicator of that, we have already started planning next year’s conference in El Paso.

I would like to share with you my goals for the coming year.   Some of these are old initiatives that I will be continuing.  Some may be new takes on things.  I believe we have to constantly strive to increase our membership, to stay viable as an organization.  We can never allow ourselves to become stagnant and not continue to grow.  In addition to the efforts of the membership committee, I would like to really reach out to partner with the insurance SIU industry and the trucking industry.  We are all in the same fight, from different angles, and the more we work together and understand each other, the better our results will be.  We also have to reach out to all of the surrounding states and try to increase our membership there.  We need to support efforts in those states to revive their auto theft investigations community.  We are, after all, one big organization as the South Central Regional Chapter of IAATI.  As you probably all know, last year we were in a legislative fight for our lives over the ABTPA funding issue.  I believe we were scrambling so hard because many people in the legislature, and even in our own departments and communities, did not really know what we do on a daily basis.  I know it’s not nice to brag, but I have learned that we have to promote ourselves better, and be proactive about it, so this never happens again.  The legislative committee did a fantastic job last year, and they are already working hard toward the coming years to insure this is never repeated.   Along those lines, I have resurrected a program I saw done by Past President Jim Woods.  That is sending letters to the chiefs of police, sheriffs and/or county commissioners of all of the board members who were elected or appointed to our board of directors.  They need to know what a fine job you do, and we have to enlist their help to support involvement in our organization for present and future board members.  We also need to do a better job of nominating people for the various awards given out by TAVTI and IAATI.   There is a lot of fantastic work being done out there that is going unrecognized.  That is not acceptable.

In closing, there is an often-used phrase that is thrown out all the time -- “If there is ever anything I can do for you, just ask.”   I have found that many people utter that phrase without really meaning it.  I have never found that to be the case in SCRC/TAVTI.  When any one of us reaches out for help, the help is always given!  Please continue to take care of each other in that way.  That is part of what makes us special.  And, as always, be safe out there.  It is a violent world in which we live.

Sincerely,

Wayne Browning
Detective, Commercial Auto Theft
Fort Worth Police Department
President, TAVTI/SCRC IAATI
(Office) (817) 392-4414
Wayne.browning@fortworthtexas.gov       

ADDITION:  Please click HERE to see Wayne's letter to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles regarding the use of matriculas to obtain titles.