Policing Matters

How ‘officer-created jeopardy’ is framing discussions about police use of force

There is currently a shift away from holding suspects responsible for the consequences of their decisions to placing blame on the officer's use of force. This concept of “officer-created jeopardy” is being debated among academics and used to inform changes in police training and response. In this episode, Jim Dudley talks with Lewis “Von” Kliem, editor of the Force Science Institute’s FSI Newsletter bulletin, about police use of force training, de-escalation, qualified immunity and other use of force issues, as well as a recent article he authored about a new report that shows San Francisco police peacefully resolved 99.9% of crisis-related calls.

Below 100: A commonsense approach to officer safety

This week, host Jim Dudley reports from the FBINAA 57th Annual National Conference in Orlando, Florida. In this episode, he chats with Below 100 instructor Sergeant Jeff Welch about the tenets of this officer safety initiative that aims to eliminate preventable line-of-duty police deaths and serious injuries through training that focuses on areas under an officer’s control.

How emotional intelligence benefits officers both on and off duty

Policing often involves personal communications between the officer and a variety of other actors including peers, supervisors, citizens, crime victims and offenders, yet development of communication skills receives little attention in the police academy. Emotional intelligence is a key part of being a successful communicator, as well as providing benefits in many areas of your life. On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with Dr. Michael Goold and Dr. Obed Magny about the need for agencies to provide training for officers to develop their emotional intelligence skills.   ABOUT OUR GUESTS Dr. Michael Goold retired as a chief of police after 23 years in law enforcement. He served in many capacities including patrol officer, communications center supervisor, corrections watch commander and CSI/detective division assistant commander. His doctoral dissertation examined traumatic stress and 9-1-1 personnel. He is a certified executive coach and certified facilitator in emotional intelligence. Most importantly, he’s a husband, father and grandfather.  Dr. Obed Magny is the founder and CEO of Magny Leadership, a service offering emotional intelligence training and coaching for law enforcement and justice professionals. Obed is an international keynote speaker and advocate for evidence-based policing. He helps police organizations become transformative in building trust and legitimacy by creating innovative strategies to reduce negative interactions between public safety officers and the public, all of which are part of his mission to change the perspectives of public safety from negative to positive. Dr. Obed is a police officer with 17 years of experience.

Dr. David Black on how the Cordico app provides wellness support for cops

It cannot be overstated that 2020 was a tough year for anyone connected with public safety and 2021 seems to be on par for the same level of stress, although hopefully to a lesser extent, experienced by our police, sheriffs, 911 emergency communications personnel, firefighters, EMS providers and others. There is good news that comes in the form of support and wellness for these heroes and their families and support groups. Cordico is a wellness application that addresses the needs of our public safety family.  On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with Cordico founder and president Dr. David Black about his work to provide customized, confidential, mobile wellness applications for law enforcement agencies nationwide.

Policy-based recording is a gamechanger for police bodycams

Body-worn cameras first began to be deployed in the mid-2000s in the UK and the early 2010s in the United States, primarily to capture on-scene statements and video evidence relating to domestic violence incidents. The use of these cameras soon morphed into a police “monitoring” tool in order to “catch” officers doing something wrong. In reality, the majority of body-worn camera videos show officers doing professional and heroic work while facing extreme danger, as well as dispute fraudulent citizen complaints against LEOs. On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with Jason Dombkowski, who serves as director of law enforcement relations for BodyWorn by Utility, Inc., and Bill McAuliffe, the director of professional services for Lexipol, about new BWC technologies and policy-based recording that are helping improve officer safety. Jason retired as Chief of Police in January 2019 after 25 years of service with the West Lafayette (Indiana) Police Department. Under his leadership, his agency was the first law enforcement agency to deploy police body-worn cameras in Indiana in 2012. Bill is a 22-year veteran of law enforcement who served in positions including patrol watch commander, professional services lieutenant, chief pilot and jail commander.

Why PDs must open their doors to build community trust

As the policing scrutiny continues around issues such as use of force and broken windows policing to traffic stops and other enforcement operations, communities say they are left out of the loop when it comes to how their local law enforcement agencies operate. Is it time to provide more interaction and transparency in how we deal with policing policies and the community? On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with two experts in the field of police and public policy, Dr. Darl H. Champion, Sr., Professor Emeritus of Justice Studies at Methodist University in Fayetteville, NC, and Chief Harold Medlock who served as chief of police for the Fayetteville Police Department and for over two decades with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Discussion points include the importance of police transparency, how to conduct meetings with the public and the topics police departments should consider for discussion.

How a former LEO became part of the Tom Clancy universe

Has your career been just like a crime novel? Are you working from whodunnit to whodunnit? Are there really crime masterminds, syndicates and secret organizations intent on doing harm? Marc Cameron was a law enforcement officer and detective with the Weatherford Police Department before accepting a position with the United States Marshals Service, where he served as a deputy, fugitive task force commander, supervisory deputy, senior inspector and chief. He is also an award-winning author known for the Jack Ryan series, which is part of the Tom Clancy universe, as well as for the critically acclaimed Jericho Quinn series of action-adventure novels. On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with Marc about how he made the transition from police work to crime writing, how much of his own experiences go into the novels, and how he is living up to the expectations of carrying on the mantle of Tom Clancy.

How tech can improve in-custody health monitoring

Once an individual is taken into custody it is the responsibility of officers to protect and ensure the well-being of that person. It is common for offenders to have pre-existing medical conditions, general poor health, or be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. However, these conditions may not be apparent until it is too late. Even medical pre-screenings may not give us the full picture of an incarcerated person’s health outlook. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with John DeFalco, CEO of 4Sight Labs in Silicon Valley, who has brought together a team of artificial intelligence engineers, law enforcement and military veterans to build public safety solutions. The company’s “Custody Protect” device aims to monitor custodies in real-time to alert officers of any health emergencies.

The toughest job in law enforcement: Investigating online child sexual exploitation

Megan Kanka, Adam Walsh, Polly Klass, Jacob Wetterling – these are names you should know. They are children who were abducted, assaulted and murdered, even before the ubiquity of the internet and world wide web. There have been countless other children and youth who have become victims of sexual offenders and online predators via the internet. Are we doing enough to protect our children from the risks they face online? The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC Program helps state and local law enforcement agencies develop an effective response to technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and internet crimes against children. This assistance encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim services, and community education. On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with a hero in the fight to track and bring sexual offender predators to justice, one of the toughest jobs in law enforcement. Michael Sewall has been an ICAC investigator for the past eight years with the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He helped revolutionize online undercover work through exploiting new avenues and personas that have resulted in hundreds of child enticement, child pornography and child sexual assault arrests both domestic and abroad.

Dr. Frank Straub on the LAPD response to George Floyd protests

The National Police Foundation (NPF) recently released a report of its independent assessment of the Los Angeles Police Department’s response to mass demonstrations, protests and First Amendment assemblies that occurred between May 27, 2020, and June 7, 2020 in the City of Los Angeles. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with lead author of the report, Frank Straub, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Mass Violence Response Studies at the National Police Foundation, about key findings of relevance to all agencies as they review their protest response policies and training.