Policing Matters

Advisory: Today’s conversation includes talk about a heinous murderer in the Chicago, Illinois area, and another case of murder in the Portland, Oregon area. In 1994, journalist Nancy Rommelmann accompanied Rick Gaez, a 26-year-old pen pal of John Wayne Gacy, on a road trip from Los Angeles to Illinois to visit the serial killer before his execution. Along the way, she took the moral temperature o...

We have seen consent decrees last a decade, or even two decades at some agencies, while change seems to move at a glacial pace. How do they work, what happens at an agency under a consent decree, and who benefits? These are just some of the questions addressed in this episode of Policing Matters as host Jim Dudley talks to Bob Scales, founding partner and CEO of  Police Strategies LLC .  Previousl...

Is there enough good technology to help police officers train for better outcomes? Are virtual simulators the answer or a supplement to live training?  In a recent Police1 article , this week's guest, Captain Warren Wilson – a writer, firearms instructor and training commander at the Enid (Oklahoma) Police Department – addressed how simulator technology improves police cadet training and more.  In...

During a career in law enforcement, officers are involved in many traumatic incidents. What can police agencies do to help their personnel mentally prepare for those incidents? Building resilience within employees is essential and that responsibility falls to law enforcement leadership. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley reports from the California Peace Officers Association (CPO...

Is your agency at risk of becoming a victim of ransomware? What are departments doing to protect themselves? And what can we do as individuals to protect our phones, tablets and computers from being hacked? In this episode, Policing Matters host Jim Dudley speaks with  Eric Escobar , principal security consultant for  Secureworks , about malicious activity online and how law enforcement agencies a...

Have you ever been investigated by your department’s Internal Affairs office? Was it a pleasant experience? In this episode, Policing Matters host Jim Dudley speaks with veteran LAPD Internal Affairs investigator Marlon Marrache about the inner workings of an internal affairs unit, or what many agencies have deemed the Professional Standards Unit. Marlon, a retired 24-year LAPD sergeant, spent 15...

Policing is a tough job. There can be experiences and incidents that can drive anyone to the edge. The profession gets better and better with training and education to help us respond appropriately and handle most any situation, but do we do a good job at addressing an officer’s mental health wellness?  Today’s show deals with the mental health and well-being of law enforcement officers and their...

In this special crossover episode, public safety leaders come together to reflect on the 21st anniversary of the  Sept. 11, 2001 attacks  and the legacy of 9/11 in the emergency services. Policing Matters host Jim Dudley is joined by Inside EMS  host  Chris Cebollero and Gary Ludwig , of the Champaign (Illinois) Fire Department, the  2022 IAFC Career Fire Chief of the Year . Together, they discuss...

Law enforcement officers are tasked with a difficult mission that, different from so many other professions, causes them to be exposed to the risk of trauma, injury, or even death. Often, the public is unaware of acts of selflessness, courage, resilience and heroism by those who dedicate their lives to protecting and serving their communities.  In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley...

Download this week's episode on  Apple Podcasts ,  Amazon Music ,  Stitcher ,  Spotify  or via  RSS feed . Policing is stressful business. It’s been described as hours of sheer boredom interrupted by minutes of sheer terror. Unfortunately, the moments of terror where officers see horrific trauma and witness death carry a heavy toll. Over the past few years, we have seen some relief in the forms of...

Autonomous cars are no longer futuristic dreams, they are operating on America's roads today. Police have already been recorded stopping autonomous cars with people literally asleep at the wheel and at least once, without any live occupants on board . Autonomous commercial vehicles will also soon be operating, from passenger vehicles to large semi-trucks with huge payloads, potentially presenting...

Over the past few years, we have heard about the need to reform and/or overhaul the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, some of the unintended consequences of reforms put into action have included rising crime and homicide rates. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with  Rafael Mangual , a senior fellow and head of research for the  Policing and Public Safety Initiative...

From reducing the time it takes for a candidate to go through the recruitment process to profiling the unique backgrounds of CHP officers, the nation's largest state police agency is taking a proactive approach to recruiting the next generation of cops.   In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with  Recruitment Officer Caleb Benefiel  about the police recruitment best practice...

Statistically, school shootings are not a regular occurrence, but they are alarming tragedies that we all need to do our best to prevent. Is your agency collaborating with your school district to implement threat assessment programs? Two decades ago, the Orange County Sheriff's Department in Southern California launched its School Mobile Assessment and Resource Team (SMART), a multi-discipline, th...

Are we doing the best job in teaching the current era of law enforcement recruits? Should we change styles and methods of pedagogy to focus on techniques that resonate with Generation Z candidates? These are some of the questions Policing Matters host Jim Dudley and his co-presenter Janay Gasparini, Ph. D., discussed at the recent National Association of Field Training Officers conference in Louis...

Everyone remembers where they were on September 11, 2001. In the aftermath, do you remember the urgency to strengthen our national defenses, plans and intelligence to prevent another such attack on our country, our infrastructure and our cyber systems? Are we doing that today? For law enforcement, fire, EMS and military personnel, there is an excellent opportunity to share your expertise to contri...

There is no national model of police response to active shooter and mass shooting incidents and sometimes we get a less-than-optimum response that invites criticism. It doesn’t help that the public has a dichotomy of expectations from law enforcement: rush in ready to shoot or de-escalate and negotiate, and some agencies are even folding up operations and leaving barricaded suspects if they pose n...

Policing is hard work, but when working in an urban environment, backup is usually relatively close by. Other resources like fire and EMS are only a few minutes away as well.    In rural settings, things are very different. Back-up may be miles away – and we are talking country miles away – so too are other resources. Even a quick trip to book a prisoner or process evidence may take an hour or mor...

"One of the biggest evolutions in field training is that the program molds to the student as adults learn in different ways," says Dan Greene, the executive director of the National Association of Field Training Officers (NAFTO) . As a former FTO and FTO supervisor, Dan knows what FTOs need to become better trainers and educators. At the recent NAFTO conference in Louisville, Kentucky, Policing Ma...

Police officers are often terrific storytellers. Many express an interest in writing a book about their experiences, but life can get in the way and few cops sit down to begin the process. This isn't the case for a guest on this episode of Policing Matters. Jim Calams , a retired member of the Phoenix Police Department and LAPD, recently published “Unwavering Honor,” a book about his career in tho...

Law enforcement officers are exposed to more tragedy and trauma than the general population. What impact does this have on the mental well-being of cops?   In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with Chief Joel Shults, who operates  Street Smart Training  and is the founder of the National  Center for Police Advocacy , about some of the complex issues around officer PTSD and r...

Catalytic converter thefts have soared in recent years, thanks largely to the spiking prices of precious metals contained within them. This sudden rise has created an urgent need for police to find ways to deter thefts. To help law enforcement agencies address the crisis, CARFAX for Police compiled a Catalytic Converter Replacement Report that identifies the most-targeted vehicles nationally, regi...

Following the tragic school shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012, Troy Anderson managed the Connecticut State Police CISM teams that were deployed on-site and tasked with providing interventions and debriefings for the affected members of the State Police, municipal and federal law enforcement partners, first responder staff, support personnel,...

Many of the technologies we have seen in movies about law enforcement in the future are now part of everyday life. "Westworld" featured autonomous cars, while individually focused branding and advertising featured in "Minority Report." In "Blade Runner," retinal scans are used as a means of interview and interrogation.   As life sometimes imitates art, we now have EyeDetect from Converus , an eye...

Digital forensics has been a specialty science in law enforcement for several years now, with emerging technology and investigative revelations happening every year. The science behind digital evidence recovery, be it from a cell phone, computer or even the cloud, takes a skilled investigator who knows what they are doing. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with Deputy Dir...