September 2020

New PERF Book

In a new, no-cost book from the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), Chapter 2: How Police Chiefs and Sheriffs Are Finding Meaning in Retirement, retired police chiefs and sheriffs share their stories about what they are doing and give advice for how to plan for life after being on a police force. Chapter 2 is intended for everyone in the policing profession, while recognizing that the concept of retirement is changing in many professions. Four short videos featuring retired police chiefs and…


New BJS Report

A new report, Indicators of School Crime and Safety 2019, is the 22nd in a series of annual publications produced jointly by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, in the Department of Education. It provides official estimates of school crime and safety from a variety of data sources, including national surveys of students, teachers, principals, and post-secondary institutions. You can visit https://tinyurl.com/y3bcst4p to download a copy of the new report


Law Enforcement Mental Health Learning Sites

Jurisdictions around the country are exploring strategies to improve the outcomes of encounters between law enforcement and people who have mental health needs. In an effort to expand the knowledge base for law enforcement agencies interested in starting or enhancing a comprehensive police/mental health collaboration, the Council of State Governments Justice Center, with assistance from a team of national experts and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, selected ten law enforcement agencies to serve as national law…


New Brief on Reducing Repeat Encounters

Law enforcement agencies across the country are facing the challenge of how to efficiently respond to people their officers frequently encounter and spending an enormous amount of time and resources ineffectively responding to these individuals. Often known as “high utilizers,” these individuals are typically well known to law enforcement agencies and many times have serious mental health concerns, substance use disorders and other significant health and social service needs. Developed with funding support from the US Department of Justice’s Bureau…


Funding Toolkit

Local leaders face plenty of hurdles in funding and sustaining their efforts to reduce the number of people in jails who have mental illnesses or substance use disorders. They might struggle to work across sectors to leverage available resources or encounter difficulties interpreting complex regulations about federal funding eligibility and usage. Meanwhile, the sheer number of available federal funding opportunities can be overwhelming. To respond to this need, The Council of State Governments Justice Center created “Financing the Future of…


William D. Siuru, Jr., Technology Editor, Police and Security News

It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of P&SN’s Technology Editor, William D. Siuru, Jr. Bill passed away on July 12, 2020, in Banning, California. He was born on January 29, 1938, in Detroit, Michigan, to William B. Siuru and Bertha Siuru. Like most kids who grew up in Detroit during the golden age of the American automobile, Bill loved cars – not just driving them, but taking them apart and putting them back together. His fascination…


The Wheels of Justice September/October 2020

Sergeant James Post SUMMER SPECIALS (AND IT AIN’T ICE CREAM) Nat King Cole once sang about “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer,” but who would have guessed that the new “lazy” is because of the never-ending COVID-19 lockdown and the new “hazy” is the tear gas and arson smoke hanging over almost every major American city? My job as a columnist for this magazine is to report on the latest LE vehicles and equipment and those of you who have followed…


Scheduling Software Essentials

Lt. Steve Lynk (Ret.) Along with saving you time in developing the initial schedule, your chosen software should make it easier to fill open shifts and ensure proper coverage. Law enforcement administrators have a lot on their plates. From recruiting and training officers, to coordinating meetings and responding to daily disruptions, their list of duties is extensive. Of these, ensuring adequate shift coverage to meet their department’s requirements is one of the most critical. It also can be one of…


NRA Supports Retired Law Enforcement Officers’ Right to Carry

Recently, the NRA and the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs filed an amicus brief in support of retired, federal law enforcement officers, who brought suit against the state of New Jersey under the Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act (“LEOSA”). LEOSA allows current and retired qualified officers with identification issued by their agency to carry a concealed firearm nationwide, regardless of state law. The plaintiffs here meet those qualifications. Yet the state of New Jersey, in violation of…


The New “Reality”: How Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) Impact Law Enforcement Training

Todd Brown As this technology continues to develop, there will be more realistic, more accurate, more valuable, and more “real” training available to our officers than ever before. Virtual reality is exploding all over. From entertainment to training NFL quarterbacks, new “reality” technologies are poised to change the way we accomplish many training goals in law enforcement. In fact, as a result of the worldwide pandemic we are dealing with, online, AR, VR, and MR technologies are quickly becoming a…