Talking the beat to cover what matters to you as an LEO. Join deputy chief Jim Dudley (ret.) every weekly as he sits down with law enforcement leaders and criminal justice experts to discuss strategy, challenges and trends in policing.
Episodes
Friday Feb 28, 2020
The end of gang injunctions?
Friday Feb 28, 2020
Friday Feb 28, 2020
Despite their effectiveness in helping police agencies—especially in densely populated urban areas—reduce the threat of criminal gangs to public safety, some places are pulling back on utilizing gang injunctions. For example, in San Francisco, newly elected District Attorney Chesa Boudin has declared that he will end the practice of gang enhancements when pressing charges against known gang members accused of a host of different crimes related to the gang's criminal activities. Gang enhancements have drawn increased opposition in California, driven by a belief among police critics that they are disproportionately applied to people of color in poor neighborhoods.
Friday Feb 21, 2020
Preparing officers for dealing with offenders trained in MMA
Friday Feb 21, 2020
Friday Feb 21, 2020
With the ever-increasing popularity of mixed martial arts as a spectator sport, just about every jurisdiction in America has seen the opening of a training facility—a dojo or a gym—specializing in teaching individuals how to fight in this potentially deadly style of combat. Indeed, many police officers are regulars at these gyms, learning everything from the grappling and submission techniques, hand striking of traditional boxing, and kicks from a variety of martial arts from around the world. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the potential threat officers face when dealing with a subject who is trained in this fighting style, as well as the upside—and possible downside—of officers participating in this training.
Friday Feb 14, 2020
Friday Feb 14, 2020
In large-scale emergencies, police, fire, EMS, and a wide variety of other governmental organizations and private enterprises need to pull together and work as a single organism. At some major catastrophes, you might have city departments such as public works and social services racing to a scene alongside the electric company, the American Red Cross and others. This requires that police leaders and command staff must first establish relationships with those many organizations long in advance of an actual catastrophe. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss how some of those relationships are formed and maintained over time through communication and shared training exercises.
Friday Feb 07, 2020
Dissolving police departments
Friday Feb 07, 2020
Friday Feb 07, 2020
In late January, the Rio Vista City Council voted to dissolve its police department following the abrupt departure of the police chief, a commander, and a sergeant that left the agency all but gutted. The small city about of roughly 9,000 residents—located approximately 60 miles east of San Francisco—will now receive its police services from the Solano County Sheriff's Office. Rio Vista is not alone. Late last year, the town board in Deposit, New York, held a meeting to discuss with interested citizens the proposal to dissolve their police department. A few months before that, the Ridgetop Police Department in Tennessee suffered a similar fate. The town of Freedom, Wisconsin voted to disband its police department—consisting of two full-time and one part-time sworn officer—last year as well. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the shuttering of doors at police agencies, usually in smaller jurisdictions.
Friday Jan 31, 2020
The hazards of policing in the political season
Friday Jan 31, 2020
Friday Jan 31, 2020
This Monday, thousands of the citizens of Iowa will gather in churches, schools, public buildings, and even individuals' homes to try to convince each other who should be the Democratic nominee to face off against incumbent President Donald Trump in November's general election. This election is sure to be a hotly contested one, with passions running high on both sides. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the role of law enforcement in the political season.