Law & Order

Intelligent Surveillance Systems

Video surveillance has grown into a $160 billion global industry and emerged as one of the pre-eminent high-tech security and crime-fighting tools of the 21 st century. If you're considering video surveillance for your city center or law enforcement operation, here are eight tips you can use to improve your video surveillance solution's success.

Los Angeles Area Maritime Homeland Security Efforts

To counter this threat, the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department (LASD) has combined efforts with the United States Coast Guard, the Los Angeles Port Police, the Long Beach Police Department and other agencies to implement a very robust, proactive port and coastal security program that includes searching high-interest vessels before they enter the heavily populated ports. When the LASD boat crew receives notice of a high-interest vessel entering the waters outside of the Port of Los Angele...

Patrol Briefings Go Mobile

By combining off-the-shelf PowerPoint software with the Lexington Police Department's existing wireless communication system, Stack was able to transmit vital information to each of the patrol vehicles in a format similar to what the officer's see during training and roll call. Rather than spending thousands of dollars on a redundant system and training only a select few people to operate it, PowerPoint software was utilized in conjunction with an existing wireless communication system to de...

Alameda County's Urban Shield

Among the training venues were: an airport, a bank, a bus station, a railroad yard, a shipping port, a large jail facility, a firing range, a laboratory, a nuclear power plant, a reservoir, a military post, a government facility, a university campus, a marina, a public arena and a wilderness setting. Training opportunities included scenarios that involved weapons of mass destruction, linear assault, high-risk service of warrants, ascending, rappelling, leadership reaction techniques, maritim...

Gis and Sandy City, Ut: More Than Just Maps

Today, instead of making a single city map, the collective departments of Sandy City government, including the police and fire departments, have access to more than 250 layers of data that can be queried and massaged into countless maps, tables, charts and other forms of data presentations called "models." A fast-growing database plagued with data entry errors and a challenging user interface caused the address match rate for 9-1-1 calls in the growing city to drop below 75%. In areas known...

Elements for Continuity of Operations

Under "Authorities and References," the COOP plan must list state and local ordinances and statutes that affect government, emergency, and continuity planning, such as the state emergency management acts, local emergency operations plans, authorizing laws and executive decisions, etc. The communications component of a COOP plan should identify protective measures for critical communications systems, establish backup systems, and detail contact lists for key personnel. It calls for the creat...

Tactical Operations Liability, Part 2

If it is an investigative operation, there needs to be consideration of such factors as surveillance, witness interviews, computer work, intelligence gathering, preparation of the criminal case, search / arrest warrants, and preparation for suspect apprehension. There must, therefore, be policy in place about organization of the special team, member selection, training (for new and for existing members, and team review training), supervision, informant procedures, surveillance procedures, an...

On The Job

Use Cit Two Ways

During the month with Police Memorial Week, we need to come to grips with the reality of police suicide, and add it to the training checklist for officer survival. Perhaps 10% of the nation's police force has undergone some form of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training, pioneered by the Memphis, TN Police and popularized by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, www.nami.org.

News

Study Looks at Helmet Laws

The majority of states required motorcycle helmets in 1975, but today, only 20 states have universal helmet laws that require all riders to wear helmets, 26 states have partial coverage laws (usually only for young riders), and four states have no helmet laws.

Oregon Dot Improves Traffic Enforcement Safety

VERNON HILLS, IL-Zebra Technologies, a global leader in specialty printing and automatic identification solutions, announced that its Zebra RW 420 mobile printers are a key component of an electronic citation solution recently purchased and implemented by the Oregon Department of Transportation's Governor's Office of Highway Safety for its public safety agencies responsible for enforcing traffic regulations.

Panasonic Upgrades Rugged Toughbook 19

"Panasonic has always been at the forefront of engineering and building mobile solutions that incorporate enhancements in processing power while advancing durability, screen brightness, battery life and embedded wireless technologies," said Kyp Walls, director of product management, Panasonic Computer Solutions Co.

Open Channels

Iwce and the 700 Mhz Partnership

The annual International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) in February began its meeting with a look at what progress has been made in the 700 MHz Public Safety / Private Partnership project. The partnership must give priority access to public safety, plus access to additional broadband spectrum during emergencies, McEwen said.

Sergeant

Tiger by the Tail

It may be the slightest movement that inflicts the final insult to a back burdened too many years by that heavy gun belt, it may be the silent killer of heart disease that creeps up on you one fast food meal or cigarette at a time. Perhaps in no profession other than professional sports do so many in the career field have so little else to bank their hopes and dreams upon than do law enforcement officers.

Training

Training Police Family Members, Part 2

Denver PD's curriculum includes such topics as use of force; firearms training; arrest control tactics; investigations, internal affairs and the complaint process; dynamics of crime; psychological services; gang unit; volunteers in policing program; media and policing; and a variety of other topics. Gilmartin said, The psychological blowback of hypervigilance after prolonged periods of elevated alertness is that officers transition into their personal lives in a detached / exhausted state th...

Just Handed Down

Supervisory Liability

In Shaw v. Stroud, 13 F. 3d 791 (4th Cir. 1994), the Fourth Circuit United States Court of Appeals listed the elements necessary, in its view, for a finding of supervisory liability, 1 the supervisor had actual or constructive knowledge that his subordinate was engaged in conduct that posed a pervasive and unreasonable risk of constitutional injury to citizens like the plaintiff, 2 the supervisor's response to that knowledge was so inadequate as to show deliberate indifference to or tacit aut...

Recruiting

Recruiting Former Officers

Some suggest that the average employee will change careers seven times over the course of his work life, hi his book "Winning the Talent Wars," Bruce Tulger notes that employers have two groups of employees. In summary, recruiting former employees enable agencies to recoup their original investment in the officer, limit the uncertainty associated with hiring a new employee, and dramatically reduce the time required to bring the new hire up to full speed.

Up-Close

New at the 2008: Shot Show

By selling the rights to Bushmaster, who has long been known to have a significant manufacturing and distribution capability, the Advanced Combat Rifle (ACR) will reach the market place in sufficient numbers and in a time frame that it will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the law enforcement market. FNH recognized that the design of that weapons system was very ergonomie, and while improvements in terms of reliability and durability of the overall weapon have been made, the "feel" r...

Special Report

Body Armor Round-Up 2008

Additional options for the Wolverine DM include: back ballistic split collar; snap and Velcro® attachment system; 1-inch or 2-inch MOLLE webbing attachment system; Uncle Mike's® pockets; Uncle Mike's hydration system; pull-down groin guard (GG); pull-down rear / tail guard (AG) and pocket; ballistic sleeves (upper arm); non-skid yoke with ambidextrous butt stops; customized ID tags; flex cuff pockets; front and back cool pack pocket; hidden front drag strap; removable "C-wing" for extended fr...