Policing Matters

Facial recognition software in law enforcement

Last year, rights groups and even Amazon employees and stockholders sought to stop that company from providing its Rekognition software to law enforcement agencies. By all accounts, that effort has failed, as police are using the software—as well as solutions from other vendors—more and more to identify wanted criminals, missing people and suspected terrorists spotted on video. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the use of the technology, its limitations, and its potential for the future.

Traffic stop safety: Tactics to keep officers safe

Traffic stops are one of the most common activities for law enforcement officers on patrol. They are the epitome of proactive, self-initiated policing. They are also, however, sometimes deadly. Officers can be struck by passing vehicles, dragged by a vehicle fleeing the stop, assaulted physically either with personal weapons (fists and feet) or by weapons up to and including firearms. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the benefits of things like the passenger side approach and waiting for backup to arrive before even initiating the stop.

Police responsibility to regularly maintain equipment and gear

In New York, some 20,000 DUI arrests are in jeopardy because of false verifications due to aging and inaccurate equipment. Agencies are required to conduct regular maintenance of a variety of types of equipment, and yet it would appear that in some cases, that regular maintenance is not being conducted, putting not only convictions at risk, but possibly even lives. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the responsibility for agencies to check to be sure their gear is in good working order.

2018 in Review: From legal weed to lip sync battles

The end of the year is upon us, and looking back it is clear that 2018 zipped by like lightning. During the year, Jim and Doug covered many topics in the weekly Policing Matters podcast. In this special segment, the pair takes a look back at some of the trends and events that mattered in law enforcement in the past 12 months—from lip sync battles to policing the homeless to immigration enforcement.

Why officers should regularly shun ‘screen time‘

Too often, when we get off work and out of whatever uniform we wear during the day (or night, depending on your assigned shift), one of the first things we do is to plop ourselves in front of a screen of some kind. We open up the laptop, the tablet, or even our phone, and voluntarily allow ourselves to be assaulted by millions of relentless pixels. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the benefits of "unplugging," such as strengthening interpersonal relationships, reducing overall stress, and increasing emotional intelligence. Unplugging can even lead to better physical fitness and weight loss.

Living Hell: How police and firefighters render aid in wildfires

The Camp Fire in Northern California is the deadliest, most destructive wildfire in the state's history. The entire town of Paradise was destroyed, displacing as many as 50,000 people who now find themselves homeless, possessing only the clothes they wore in the hasty exodus from the disaster area. Among those who lost all their material possessions are some of those first responders fighting the fire and delivering people to safety. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss how first responders deal with such massive operations.

How one Calif. SRO is helping kids be safer on social media

Young people are on social media for many hours a day — posting on sites and apps such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. Social media posts — even those that have been deleted — live forever, and inappropriate posts can have an adverse effect on a kid's future many years down the line. Furthermore, many online interactions can turn ugly. Too often, a social media post can influence young people to contemplate dying by suicide. In this podcast segment, Doug Wyllie sits down with Brentwood PD Officer Mitch Brouillette, who serves as the SRO at Heritage High School, to discuss a program he created — Pause Before You Post — aimed at keeping kids safer online.

How cops‘ interactions with kids can help resolve the recruiting crisis

Police officers have a unique opportunity to positively influence the lives of countless children — many of whom do not really have very many positive role models in their lives — to become productive members of society when they grow up. Significant opportunities exist for those officers to not just help kids see what "doing good" looks like, but to influence them to have the desire to "do good" themselves. In this podcast episode, Doug Wyllie sits again with Brentwood PD Officer Mitch Brouillette, who serves as the SRO at Heritage High School, to discuss how cops can be their department's best recruiters.

How one Calif. high school uniquely thanked their SRO

Officer Mitch Brouillette of the Brentwood, California Police Department was the subject of a heartwarming "practical joke" executed by the students of Heritage High School, resulting in a video posted to the Internet that quickly went viral. The students concocted an elaborate ruse, coupled with a live song and dance performance, as well as some incredibly thoughtful gifts in thanks to "Officer Mitch" for all the things he does for them. In this podcast episode, Brouillette sits down with Doug Wyllie at the school to describe that day.

How a 9th Circuit ruling could impact sit-lie laws

The Ninth Circuit Court of appeals unanimously ruled in favor of a lawsuit by people experiencing homelessness that challenges laws making it illegal to sleep on public property overnight. The constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment prohibits "criminal penalties for sitting, sleeping, or lying outside on public property for homeless individuals who cannot obtain shelter," the court said in its decision. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss how the decision could impact cities with sit/lie laws, which prohibit sitting or lying on the sidewalk.