Policing Matters

Preparing officers for dealing with offenders trained in MMA

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.

How to form relationships for multi-jurisdictional, multi-disciplinary emergency response

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.

Dissolving police departments

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.

The hazards of policing in the political season

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.

Traffic enforcement strategies: Zero tolerance, high visibility and targeted enforcement

Traffic enforcement is one of the most common activities for many line officers. Code violations can lead to significant drug busts. Traffic violations can get dangerous drivers to change their ways. DUI check-points save an unknown number of lives. From speed traps to self-initiated stops, it's a big part of policing. But there are different methods that meet different objectives. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the various ways law enforcement officers can make the roadways safer.

Trauma-informed police interview effectiveness

Interviewing victims of violent crime is a vastly different enterprise than interrogating the suspected perpetrators. Victims of violent crime—as well as witnesses—are likely to have suffered trauma that can impact their recall of the events. Vital elements may be erased from memory, while they may recall things that aren't precisely what happened. Victims of trauma also often recall events not in the order that they actually occurred, potentially causing an inexperienced interviewer to conclude deceptions. Further, traditional interview techniques can cause the victim to feel re-victimized. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss how Cognitive Interviewing (CI) can help investigators gather detailed and accurate information from victims of trauma that can lead to an increase in guilty pleas.

What do Americans want from their cops?

Cops must be all things to all people. They're drug counselors, child protectors, criminal investigators, social workers, and enemies of evil. This has been dumbed down in recent years into the debate over whether or not cops are "warriors" or "guardians"—a debate that is rendered meaningless by the use of the word "or." Cops are BOTH of those things and more. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss how the American people perceive police officers, what they truly want from law enforcement, and frame the conversation within the context of what's happened in recent years in San Francisco, where Jim worked as a law enforcement officer for three decades, and where Doug has called home for nearly two decades.

How a Citizens‘ Police Academy can strengthen community relations

Many police agencies across the country host an annual (or even more frequent) Citizens' Police Academy with the intention of connecting with the communities they serve and helping to increase understanding among civilians about the ins and outs of law enforcement. Given the fact that there is so much widespread misinformation about what police officers do on a daily basis, this is probably a good strategy for educating the public. What goes into creating such a program? What are the benefits? Who should be the instructors? In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss best practices for putting on a Citizens' Police Academy.

End of Year 2019: The top trends in a tumultuous year

This is the final Policing Matters podcast segment of 2019. With what is sure to be a tumultuous 2020 about to commence, Jim and Doug reflect on some of the topics that rose above the rest in the past 12 months, including police officer suicide, the impact of California's AB-392 on the use of force and officer safety, active shooter response during some of this year's tragedies, the use of facial recognition software and artificial intelligence, ongoing anti-police sentiment — and the opposing force of police supporters — as well as the use of CBD oils, and the impact of legal marijuana on recruiting.

Officers and animals

Police officers in Alaska are unlikely to encounter an alligator, and officers in Alabama are unlikely to come upon a moose, but in every state in the union officers routinely come into contact with all manner of animals. There are some very important rules of the road when dealing with wildlife, as well as so-called domesticated animals that can turn suddenly dangerous. Generally, police officers are not equipped with tranquilizer guns, control poles, and animal cages, so it's ideal to call in your animal control partners, but there are times animals must be dealt with. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss dealing with wildlife on patrol.