Policing Matters

Solving the police recruitment crisis

It's no secret that police agencies across the country are seeing a massive downturn in the number of people who want to join the ranks. Millennials entering the workforce look at policing — with diminishing pay, vanishing pensions, high risk of death or great bodily harm, and of course, a hostile public — and are deciding en masse to choose another career. Policing is not an 8-5 job with weekends off and unlimited yogurt parfaits and protein bars in the galley. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the problem of recruiting new officers, and address some of the things that can be done about it.

The value in participating in the #LipSyncChallenge and other viral crazes

There have been dozens — if not hundreds — of videos posted to the Internet of individual officers and whole departments dancing and lip-syncing to popular music. It's become "a thing" with multiple mainstream media outlets picking up on the craze and reporting on their local agency's entry into the challenge. Do they do anything to "move the needle" in reducing anti-police sentiment? Probably not (or at least, not much). But they do serve some purpose. In this podcast segment Jim and Doug discuss the pros and cons of cops caught on video, singing and dancing their hearts out.

How the new SCOTUS rulings on warrantless searches may impact LE

The United States Supreme Court recently ruled on two cases involving police officers conducting warrantless searches. One case involved a stolen motorcycle secreted under a tarp near the offender’s girlfriend’s residence. The other involved a man driving a rental car that had been rented in the offender’s girlfriend’s name. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the impact these two cases may have on law enforcement.

What does de-escalation really mean?

De-escalation is the latest buzzword. A couple of weeks ago, we spoke about a Seattle officer who faced some manner of “disciplinary action” for taking down an axe-wielding man because he failed to de-escalate the situation. But de-escalation is not a tactic like Verbal Judo utilizing Dr. George Thompson's concepts or some other communications wizardry. De-escalation is a desired end state. It is doing what is necessary to take a volatile and/or violent situation and making it less volatile and/or violent. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the fact that cops have literally talked people off of ledges and into handcuffs for decades, and the fact that de-escalation requires the willingness of the other participant in a situation — the offender.

Are prison reform efforts working?

The DOJ recently released an updated study from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) showing that 83 percent of prisoners released by states under so-called “jailbreak” programs were re-arrested within nine years of their release. Astonishingly, just days after the DOJ report was released, the House of Representatives passed a “prison reform” bill by a margin of 360–59. Dubbed the First Step Act (short for Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person Act), the bill seeks to incentivize federal inmates to participate in rehabilitation programs that ostensibly would give them skills to re-enter society without committing more crimes. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the topics of re-entry and recidivism.

Is de-escalation getting more cops in trouble?

Video recently surfaced showing a Seattle officer taking down an axe-wielding man with a come-from-behind open-field tackle worthy of a Sportcenter highlight. The officer subsequently faced some manner of “disciplinary action” for the apprehension. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the overreaction of supervisors to harshly remind us that no good deed ever goes unpunished.

How should cops handle bad 911 calls?

In mid-April, cops were called to a Philadelphia Starbucks because two patrons who happened to be black refused to either make a purchase or leave the establishment. A Yale University student who was napping in a common room was awakened and questioned by police after a fellow student called 911 and said that the woman didn’t look like she belonged there. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the fact that cops are increasingly called to various non-events and how they should handle them.

Smarter policing with the ASEBP

For the past three podcast segments Jim and Doug have been joined by Vallejo Police Lieutenant Jason Potts, who brought to the table the value of scientific method in determining policing strategies and tactics. Those conversations have (hopefully) increased listeners' interest in finding ways to use concepts like SARA (Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment) and POP (Problem-Oriented Policing). In this podcast segment, Dudley, Wyllie, and Potts talk about The American Society of Evidence-Based Policing, a 501(C) (3) national non-profit, non-partisan organization that can assist you in quickly leveraging these methodologies at your department.

Problem-oriented policing and crime prevention

During the 2017 holiday shopping season, Vallejo (Calif.) police conducted a crime prevention campaign aimed at reducing auto burglaries in the parking lots of the major shopping centers in their jurisdiction. The campaign, entitled “Hide it, Lock it, Take it” included crime awareness fliers and billboards, undercover surveillance, increased marked patrols, and even decoy cars. Following the campaign, VPD utilized the SARA (Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment) concepts developed by Herman Goldstein in 1979 to scientifically determine their effectiveness in reducing crime. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug are joined by Vallejo Police Lieutenant Jason Potts in a discussion about problem-oriented policing (POP) and the use of scientific analysis in law enforcement.

How evidence-based policing helps agencies do better work

When the Vallejo (Calif.) Police Department began considering the purchase of Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs), they didn’t just take the vendor’s word that the equipment would be successful in helping to capture criminals and reduce crime. Command Staff wanted to have proof, so with the assistance of a group of researchers from New York University, they employed what has become known as Evidence-Based Policing. They conducted a randomized control trial, which allows researchers to prove or disprove a theory. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug are joined by Vallejo Police Lieutenant Jason Potts in a discussion about the VPD experiment, as well as Evidence-Based Policing in general.