Sergeant James Post GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS AND REALLY GOOD NEWS Okay, I’m one of those guys who likes to get the bad news out of the way first. Then, I have something good to look forward to after I’ve had the rug pulled out from under me. Unless you’ve been on the International Space Station for the last six months, you know that the bad news comes from Ford® Motor Company. Yes, the folks who gave us the Edsel,…
Larry E. Holtz, Esq. A First Amendment Right to Record the Police “Every Circuit Court of Appeals to address this issue . . . has held that there is a First Amendment right to record police activity in public.” With major advances in technology and the widespread ownership of smartphones, civilian recording of police officers has become common place. Recently, in Fields v. City of Philadelphia (3rd Cir. 2017), the Third Circuit joined a growing array of federal circuit…
Mike Carpenter Moving Up the Ladder What does it take to build a successful career in law enforcement? The answer to that has changed in recent years. “Moving up the ladder” may have a different meaning to different people, but, regardless of your rank or your future aspirations, there are some basic guidelines for reaching your future goals. In the past, good common sense was thought to be the number one attribute necessary for success in policing at any rank….
James L. McClinton, Ph.D Now, he’s wondering if the judge is up for a spirited match of “rock, paper, scissors!”… A 39-year-old man, who was sound asleep at 6:00 a.m. behind the wheel of his car and with the motor running, was in no position to talk his way out of a DUI arrest. However, he did offer a gentle challenge to a Youngstown, Ohio, police officer. According to the police report, the man offered several times to “thumb wrestle”…
Ramesh Nyberg Moving Forward in Reverse Mercifully, the door has closed on a summer which has been tumultuous, frustrating, violent, and divisive. But, even with fall being just around the corner, I can’t help but get the feeling that all of the anger, rage, mistrust, hatred, and misperceptions have only just begun. As I write this, there are reports of Confederate statues coming down and being dismantled in the middle of the night, and more vitriol and finger-pointing on social…
Acting Assistant Attorney General Alan R. Hanson recently announced the launch of the Enhancing Police Responses to Children Exposed to Violence toolkit. The toolkit is designed to equip law enforcement professionals with trauma informed, developmentally appropriate tools to effectively respond to children who have been exposed to violence. Funded by the Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the toolkit contains protocols, checklists and other field-tested and research informed resources to enable law enforcement leaders…
It took four doses of Narcan® to revive an East Liverpool, Ohio, police officer recently in the aftermath of a traffic stop. Officer Chris Green inadvertently got a small amount of fentanyl on his hand after a pat-down and began to suffer its effects after returning to the station; a fellow officer administered one dose at the station and staff at a nearby hospital gave him three additional doses following admission. Guidance for all first responders on best practices in…
A new study about police interactions with autistic individuals who are on the autism spectrum disorder was published in the June issue of Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders. The following is a summary of that research. The Canadian study examined 284 Ontario (Canada) teens and adult caregivers over an 18 month period. The study, conducted by Tint, Palucka, Bradley, Weiss, and Lunsky, was a collaborative effort between Canada’s largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, the Centre for Addictions…
New U.S. Department of Homeland Security Report Shares Best Practices, Guidance and Case Studies for Using Social Media in Public Safety Exercises The Department of Homeland Security has released a new report, Best Practices for Incorporating Social Media into Exercises, which seeks to do the following: discuss best practices for consideration when integrating social media into exercises, including objectives for doing so (e.g., using social media for communications or leveraging information from social media to support operational decision-making); discuss social…
Kathy Marks One of the benefits of this technology is a significant reduction of the suspect pool which can save time, money and manpower. Simply stated, DNA phenotyping predicts the physical appearance of an unknown person from their DNA. This technology helps to generate investigative leads; narrows the suspect list or assists when there are no suspects or database hits; and assists with mass casualty situations and identifying unknown remains. Companies committing resources to developing this technology utilize a number of…