Policing Matters

Get out of the car: Alternative patrol tactics

The most fundamental aspect of community policing is having cops personally and proactively interacting with the community. That’s mighty difficult to do when you have two thousand pounds of police cruiser wrapped around you, with the windows rolled up and the radio chirping. In recent years, we’ve seen many agencies increase their foot patrols, especially in downtown business districts where there is a lot of pedestrian traffic, and the sidewalk presence of police officers can help to prevent everything from cell phone theft to shoplifting. However, there are other alternatives to explore. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the ways in which police can remain mobile for rapid response, and yet also remain available for affable conversation with the average citizen.

Report writing best practices

JD “Buck” Savage humorously taught officers to write accurate reports when he said, “Saw drunk. Arrested same.” Thorough, well-written reports get results. Sloppy reports with a dearth of information let the guilty run free. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss best practices for report writing, and ponder what the future holds, as artificial intelligence and body-worn cameras may one day lead to semi-autonomous report writing or even fully-autonomous report writing.

Police failures in Parkland

The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida was a failure of law enforcement from start to finish. In January, the FBI received tips that the 19-year-old shooter had expressed a disturbing desire to kill people both verbally and in social media posts. The FBI did nothing. There are reports that as many as 39 calls were made to the Broward County Sheriff's Office about the kid-turned-killer. Many of those calls included details about how the gunman spoke of his desire to “shoot up the school.” In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the fact that, while we cannot have cops snatching people up like “Thinkpol” did in Oceania, or looking for “Precogs” from Minority Report, with such an abundance of inbound calls about an individual, further action should have been taken.

A renewed debate about arming teachers

Following the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, there have been renewed calls for arming teachers who qualify mentally, emotionally, and physically to carry a concealed firearm. Any such program would require careful vetting, police training, constant re-evaluation of the people and the program itself. There would need to be budget put aside for everything from the guns and ammo to the administration of the program. That having been said, three states are now considering legislation to allow teachers to be armed. The president has called for arming teachers and has the power by executive fiat to make it happen. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss whether or not American schools should remain “gun free zones.”

Post-OIS interview procedures that get results

Research from Force Science Institute reveals that in order to get the most accurate and detailed information from officer-involved shootings or other high-intensity events, officers should be allowed a recovery period of at least 48 hours before being interviewed in depth about the incident by IA or criminal investigators. Further, the manner in which the interview should be conducted should not be adversarial or confrontational — instead, a process called the cognitive interview should be used. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss some ways in which police agencies can improve the way cops are treated following a critical incident.

Tactical uses for drones

Until fairly recently, FAA regulations seemed somewhat unclear about exactly when and how law enforcement agencies can use UAVs. Now that there is a little deeper understanding of the legal parameters, police agencies are beginning to adopt the technology. The most obvious use for a UAV in law enforcement is for search and rescue operations. Drones can get under the canopy of thickly wooded areas and see what officers in a helicopter could not. Further, this technology can be helpful in standoff situations and other incidents where getting “eyes on” from a distance provides a tactical advantage for police. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the ways in which police can use UAVs.

Training intensity: Balancing safety with reality

Recently, a news item appeared on PoliceOne about eight police cadets who were injured during defensive tactics training at their academy. This sort of thing is not terribly uncommon. Police training is necessarily difficult, and comes with some degree of danger. But the question becomes, how can police conduct training (both academy and in-service) that is as close to reality as possible, but still safe enough that injuries are minimized? In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the different options police have at their disposal to mitigate this matter.

Social media and cops‘ First Amendment rights

You have the right to free speech. But being a cop is not a right — it is a privilege. That privilege can be taken away from you in the event that you conduct yourself in any way deemed to reflect poorly on the department. This is particularly true of incendiary statements made on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and the like. Cops are held to a higher standard than other government employees and speech on social media is included in that higher standard. As Supreme Court Justice Holmes said way back in 1892, “The petitioner may have a Constitutional right to talk politics, but he has no Constitutional right to be a policeman.” However, the Court has also recently ruled in offices’ favor, saying that some agency policies contain unconstitutionally overbroad prior restraint on protected speech. Jim and Doug discuss some of the pitfalls of posting your opinions to the Internet, as well as some of the nuances of coming up with a solid policy that’s beneficial to all parties.

When the headline is you

Most thoughtful police leaders know that they are in perpetual peril that something so monumentally ugly goes down in their jurisdiction that cable satellite trucks will rain from the sky and take up residence in the parking lot of the nearest big-box store. Whether it is an officer-involved shooting or an active shooter event, the cameras will be rolling and the story will be you and your agency. How do you prepare for this? Jim and Doug discuss some ways to ready yourself and your department.

What does it take to be a good police leader?

Police officers at the line level can demonstrate leadership just as much as the chief in the big office. In fact, line level officers and their immediate supervisors are the raw materials from which the most visible forms of police leadership are formed. What does it take to turn street leadership skills into promotions in rank and responsibility? Jim and Doug discuss the traits of a good leader, no matter what rank they’ve attained.