Articles by publisher

Weaponry January 24, 2018

Looking to the Future: Duty Guns and Firearms Training

Todd Fletcher When I started out as a young, wet behind the ears police officer, I never imagined many of the advancements in technology and training which are available today. Back in “the good old days,” in-car computers were a distant dream. Cell phones were bulky and expensive. Firearms training was nothing more than static shooting on stationary paper targets. Patrol rifles were unheard of outside of special teams and assignments, and the only optics anyone talked about were the…

Training & Education January 24, 2018

Online Education: How to Make It Work for You

Dr. Stephenie Slahor Management of your time is critical to your success if you decide to obtain your higher education through an online distance learning program. Way back when, there were “correspondence courses” in which a course curriculum was set by a university and a faculty member directed a student, by mail, in study, readings, assignments, and exams. The idea worked well for people who lived far from a university, but who wanted to study a particular course. It also…

Training & Education January 24, 2018

The Basics of Higher Education

Dr. Stephenie Slahor Your reasons for higher education may be connected to the opportunity for promotion, advancement or better salary. Or higher education may be a long held desire to acquire knowledge in your career or your specialization. So, whether your goal is “earn,” “learn” or a combination of both, decide the degree and subject area which will be your focus and which colleges or universities offer the better, or best, programs in that field. Degree Programs An associate two…

SWAT & Tactical January 24, 2018

The Tactical EMS School: Delivering Realistic Training for Tactical Medical Operators

 Todd Burke, Jim Weiss and Mickey Davis Having a solid medical component integrated into your tactical team is not just an option. According to the National Tactical Officers Association’s (NTOA’s) list of “best practices” in 2003, it is a standard. Sixteen years before the NTOA’s best practices were presented, the “Tactical EMS School” was created by four active police paramedics who recognized the need to deliver true medical support into the inner perimeter. The school offered a way to bring…

SWAT & Tactical January 24, 2018

SWAT Standards and Performance

Mickey Davis, Jim Weiss, Bob O’Brien, and Mark Prince P&SN looks at the SWAT standards and performance of three separate law enforcement agencies in the US. How might these compare to your own department or agency? Although there may not be any current national or state SWAT officer standards in the United States, recommendations and guidelines are put forth by organizations such as the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA), the Ohio Police Officer Training Academy and California POST Commission on…

Picture of a gun

Equipment & Apparel January 24, 2018

Selecting a Light Bearing Holster

Mike Boyle In recent years, the use of Weapon Mounted Lights (WMLs) has become prevalent in law enforcement. Ultimately, the holster you select to accommodate this accessory is just as important as the gun itself and is no place to cut corners. Integral accessory rails on popular police service pistols were introduced in the late 1990s and this enabled the end user to affix either a weapon mounted light or a laser aiming device. While both of these technological innovations…

Picture of a bullet

Technology January 24, 2018

BallisticSearch™ Delivers Faster Ballistics Analysis and More

Bill Siuru, PhD, PE When a gun is fired, it leaves a distinct impression on the ejected shell casing, a   “fingerprint of sorts,” which is unique to that weapon. The marks found on the cartridge case, which are created by the firing pin, breech face and ejector, can be analyzed to trace the spent case back to the exact gun from which it was fired. Upon verification by a professional forensic examiner, this information can be used as evidence to…

Police vehicle

The Wheels of Justice January 20, 2018

The Wheels of Justice January February 2018

SERGEANT JAMES POST THE 2018 DODGE DURANGO SSV In addition to the pursuit-rated vehicles tested each year by the Michigan State Police (MSP), occasionally, manufacturers will submit prototypes for evaluation and testing. Normally, these results are not published or included in the test results released to Law Enforcement (LE) agencies and the media. This is understandable because these vehicles can rightfully be called “works in progress” and the grueling MSP tests can frequently reveal areas which need more attention. Such…

Apple iPhone

Legal Update January 20, 2018

Legal Update

Restricting Sex Offenders’ Access to Social Media Web Sites Violates First Amendment Larry E. Holtz, Esq.  “To foreclose access to social media altogether is to prevent the user from engaging in the legitimate exercise of First Amendment rights.” In Packingham v. North Carolina, 137 S.Ct. 1730 (2017), the United States Supreme Court addressed a North Carolina statute making it a felony for any registered sex offender to gain access to “a commercial social networking Web site where the sex offender…

Man's head buried in paperwork

Law Enforcement Leadership January 20, 2018

Law Enforcement Leadership January February 2018

Mike Carpenter DELEGATE (BUT DO IT RIGHT!!!) Do you have too much work to do and too little time to do it? You are not alone! Administrators of all ranks, from sergeant through chief, all have this same complaint. However, the smart ones have found a solution to ease their time crunch. It’s called delegation. Some of what creates your time crunch is work which could be done by someone with a lesser rank. Even when a project requires your…