Policing Matters

For the past several years, interest in Evidence-Based Policing has skyrocketed. An extension of evidence-based medicine, this form of analytical research (using control groups and other scientific methodologies) has helped forward-thinking agencies to better understand the challenges they face, and the solutions that make the most sense to solve those problems. In this week's podcast, Jim and Dou...

Kids have been abusing various substances for decades. Tobacco, marijuana, hashish, and cold medications top the list. Kids have been "huffing" inhalants (gasoline, ammonia, glue, and even spray paint) for years. Kids have gotten into heavier drugs like barbiturates, cocaine, meth, heroin, codeine, oxycodone, Vicodin, and a host of others. A new high popular with young people is pharmaceutical-str...

Back in September 2016, 11 SWAT cops were hospitalized after a flash-bang tossed into an alleged stash house kicked up powdered fentanyl and heroin. This deadly opioid poses real risks to police officers, as fentanyl can be compared to taking 500 to 1,000 codeine pills – or fifteen times more potent than heroin. In this week's podcast, Jim and Doug discuss what officers need to keep in mind with r...

In December 2014, President Barack Obama signed an executive order establishing the Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The president charged the task force with identifying best practices and offering recommendations on how policing practices can promote effective crime reduction while building public trust. The task force released its final report in May of 2015. In it was what the task force c...

In December 2014, President Barack Obama signed an executive order establishing the Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The president charged the task force with identifying best practices and offering recommendations on how policing practices can promote effective crime reduction while building public trust. The task force released its final report in May of 2015. In it was what the task force c...

In December 2014, President Barack Obama signed an executive order establishing the Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The president charged the task force with identifying best practices and offering recommendations on how policing practices can promote effective crime reduction while building public trust. The task force released its final report in May of 2015. In it was what the task force c...

In December 2014, President Barack Obama signed an executive order establishing the Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The president charged the task force with identifying best practices and offering recommendations on how policing practices can promote effective crime reduction while building public trust. The task force released its final report in May of 2015. In it was what the task force c...

In December 2014, President Barack Obama signed an executive order establishing the Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The president charged the task force with identifying best practices and offering recommendations on how policing practices can promote effective crime reduction while building public trust. The task force released its final report in May of 2015. In it was what the task force c...

In December 2014, President Barack Obama signed an executive order establishing the Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The president charged the task force with identifying best practices and offering recommendations on how policing practices can promote effective crime reduction while building public trust. The task force released its final report in May of 2015. In it was what the task force c...

In December 2014, President Barack Obama signed an executive order establishing the Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The president charged the task force with identifying best practices and offering recommendations on how policing practices can promote effective crime reduction while building public trust. The task force released its final report in May of 2015. In it was what the task force c...

One need look no further than the comments section beneath just about any article on PoliceOne to see the divide between the rank-and-file officers and the men and women who hold leadership positions at an agency. This divide has been around forever, of course, but the question becomes, is it getting better, or worse? The issue that may be the most contentious is use of force. Jim and Doug discuss...

As we wind down 2016, we reflect on all of the events and trends which made headlines and shaped the national conversation about law enforcement. In this special end-of-year Policing Matters podcast, Jim and Doug discuss four things they identify as the biggest trends of the year: the increase in the number of opioid deaths (which now exceeds the number of homicide deaths), the number of peaceful...

Depending on whose data you cite, somewhere between 125 and 150 officers reportedly kill themselves annually. Conventional wisdom states that the holiday season presents an uptick in the yearly numbers. The CDC says that this is not the case, but regardless, we hope to prevent any suicide from occurring within the holidays. Jim and Doug discuss the need for officers to be vigilant about speech and...

In an historic surprise victory, Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election. What can police officers expect from the White House after his inauguration on January 20, 2017? Having already telephoned the families of officers killed in the line of duty, one might rightly surmise that Trump will demonstrate more support for law enforcement than the outgoing Democrat whose two terms saw police a...

The 2016 election will surely be remembered most for the unexpected victory of Donald Trump in the race for the White House, but another potentially game-changing matter was on the ballot in nine states — marijuana legalization. Voters in California, Massachusetts, and Nevada approved recreational marijuana initiatives, joining the 25 states and the District of Columbia which already had laws allo...

According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, the number of officers shot and killed in ambush attacks now totals 20 — the highest since 1995. NLEOMF reports that 44 officers have been killed in fatal ambush shootings since 2014. Jim and Doug discuss this troubling trend, and what officers can do to protect themselves from ambush.

There’s no denying that there are private security people who have absolutely no business being in any way involved in law enforcement efforts. However, there are opportunities for sworn law enforcement professionals to develop relationships with the individuals in private security who are diligent about their chosen career, and who can provide excellent information to help prosecute cases. Jim an...

With a growing number of citizens listening to the Policing Matters podcast, we want to take this opportunity to directly address that segment of the audience. When a police officer stops a person for any reason — a traffic stop, a field interview, or another scenario — the cop wants one thing from the subject: compliance. Jim and Doug discuss what people can do to ensure that whatever the circums...

In watching the audience of the Policing Matters podcast grow, we have observed that a considerable portion of the people clicking and listening to the show are civilians. We theorize that among this group of listeners are police supporters and people who just want to know more about policing. We also believe there may be individuals who want to become a cop. With this in mind, Jim and Doug discus...

During a standoff in Baltimore County (Md.) in August 2016, local police were able to convince Facebook to deactivate the account of a woman who was eventually shot in a confrontation with police. The online social network was largely lauded for their assistance to police in that matter. Meanwhile, during the Occupy movement several years ago, BART Police in California were widely criticized for s...

At the 2016 International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Doug and Jim took the opportunity to speak to police leaders about some of the most important issues facing law enforcement today. From creating a Citizens Advisory Board to adopting the recommendations in the Task Force Report on 21st Century Policing, listen to what these very special guests had to say.

This weekend, law enforcement leaders from across the globe will descend on San Diego (Calif.) for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Annual Conference and Expo. During the four-day event, more than 14,000 public safety professionals will have the opportunity to continue their education at more than 200 different seminar sessions. Further, a great deal of learning takes place...

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, so it’s an opportune time to discuss the threat to law enforcement posed by hackers both foreign and domestic. Police agencies have fallen prey to ransomware, which locks the owner of the data out until a fee is paid to the attacker, and have had personal information about officers made public by individuals who identify as being part of the group Anonymo...

Enforcing laws that address citizens’ quality of life has had a historically positive impact in preventing more serious crimes in areas not already rife with violence and lawlessness. For decades, the concept of Broken Windows Policing has successfully prevented increases in crime — in fact, it has been credited with widespread reduction in crime — in cities across the United States. Jim and Doug...

As we have recently seen in Charlotte (N.C.), a city can be torn apart overnight by looting, arson, and violence if a peaceful protest devolves into rioting and mayhem. Even in cities where police-community relations are good, there are often outside agitators who suddenly appear in town to cause chaos. Doug and Jim discuss how police leaders can prepare for the worst, which could be just one cont...