September 2025

News September 30, 2025

Updated 2025 Law Enforcement Quick Reference Guides for All 50 States

Pocket reference guides provide law enforcement officials with up-to-date state election law information to help protect against violence, threats and intimidation. The Committee for Safe and Secure Elections (CSSE) announced the release of its updated 2025 law enforcement quick reference guides in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. These pocket-sized resources are a collection of each state’s election security laws, providing officers and government officials with a convenient resource which helps them to protect election operations, voters and…

How AI and Training Safeguard lead image

Technology September 26, 2025

How AI and Training Safeguard Law Enforcement Against Ransomware

Carl Mazzanti Ransomware remains a persistent threat, but proactive prevention, continuous monitoring and tested response plans can keep your agency prepared. In 2024, ransomware continued to impact US local governments, with the average recovery cost for affected municipalities reaching $2.83 million. Nearly all attacks – 98 – resulted in data encryption, forcing many cities to adopt multifaceted recovery strategies, including both backup restoration and ransom payment. Ransomware is a type of malware which locks a victim’s data and the cybercriminals…

When Something Isn't Right child drawing scared

Training & Education September 23, 2025

When Something Isn’t Right: A Patrol Officer’s Role in Identifying Child Abuse and Neglect

Michael T. Rayburn Abuse and neglect don’t discriminate. Whether it’s a family living on the streets or in a mansion on the hill, we’ve seen the signs in every corner of society. In this profession, we interact with people from every possible background: the most upstanding citizens; the most dangerous offenders; and, sometimes, those who are normally good people, but find themselves at their absolute worst. It’s part of the reality of law enforcement: We see humanity at every level….

Weaponry September 19, 2025

Shotguns in the Squad Car: Still a Tactical Asset?

Mike Boyle For over 50 years, the shotgun was the dominant police shoulder weapon. After WWII, it reigned supreme, until recently, when the patrol rifle became more common, leading many to view the shotgun as obsolete. The move away from the traditional shotgun to a patrol rifle got me thinking about an old quote attributed to Mark Twain in which he stated, “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” Much of the same can be applied to the shotgun. I…

....and nothing but the truth September 16, 2025

…AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

Ramesh Nyberg A Badge by Any Other Name: 60 Years of Law Enforcement Rebranding In September of 1982, I could not have been more excited in my young police career. I was leaving the North Miami Police Department, a 90 man agency in the north central part of a sprawling county, then known as “Dade County.” For those of you who enjoy history, the name came from Major Francis Langhorn Dade, an army commander who was killed during the mid-1800’s…

Busted September 11, 2025

Busted!

James L. McClinton, Ph.D. “Umm, it’s not mine. It’s his!”… Police in Springfield Township, Ohio, recently had an interesting experience during a traffic stop. Officers crossed paths with a “bandit” holding a meth pipe in its mouth during an arrest. The miscreant was not arrested because he is a raccoon. Officers had pulled over a vehicle whose owner had an active warrant and a suspended driver’s license. The driver, a 55-year-old Akron woman, was detained. But, when an officer walked…