Policing Matters

The gunman in the Las Vegas shooting in October reportedly had equipped several AR-15 rifles with what is called a bump stock, which effectively turns a semi-automatic rifle into a weapon capable of automatic fire. Following that tragedy, there has been a great deal of discussion around the legitimate purpose a bump stock might have, as well as the need for a gun owner to equip their firearms with a suppressor. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss those issues as well as the emerging threats posed by 3-D printers and so-called ghost guns.

As we do every December, the Policing Matters Podcast looks back on the year that was. Probably the biggest single event of the year was the Las Vegas mass shooting, but Jim and Doug also discuss how police responded to natural disasters — particularly Hurricane Harvey in Houston and the widespread wildfires in Northern California. Other major trends were cops in the middle of First Amendment assemblies, the debate over sanctuary cities, and the fallout of decriminalization of various offences. As we close out 2017 and move forward into 2018, Jim and Doug wish every one of you health, happiness, safety and success.

Drug overdose is reportedly the leading cause of death for Americans under 50, and according to a recent report from PERF, more than 64,000 people died by overdose in 2016 alone — that's more than three times the number of Americans killed in the Vietnam War. Doctors have been prescribing opioids too generously, and addicts are still successfully "doctor shopping" to load up on pills. Further, Heroin is easier to acquire than ever. In this segment, Jim and Doug revisit the topic of cops carrying Naloxone, and sometimes administering it multiple times per shift.

In late November, US District Court Judge William Orrick in San Francisco issued a permanent injunction blocking President Donald Trump's executive order to deny sanctuary cities a variety of federal funds. Less than a week later, a jury in San Francisco acquitted the illegal immigrant who shot and killed Kate Steinle on all but one charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Following that jury’s ruling, a federal grand jury has indicted the Mexican man on immigration and weapons charges. Clearly, state and local governments are on a collision course with the federal government (especially the executive branch). In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the issue.

How do we even define de-escalation? Isn’t this really the same thing as Verbal Judo? Does de-escalation policy put cops in danger? When does de-escalation actually work? In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the fact that you cannot talk everyone into handcuffs — some will always resist, and how that reality negates some of the training and philosophy around de-escalation.

For 100 consecutive weeks, Jim and Doug have cranked out podcast segments on topics as varied as suicide by cop, stop and frisk, Apple vs. the FBI, officer suicide, gang injunctions, and "contempt of cop." They've also covered some lighter topics, assembling lists of their favorite police books, as well as best cop movies and cop shows on TV. In this 100th podcast segment, Jim and Doug revisit the topic that generated the most listener feedback: vehicle pursuits.

In Sutherland Springs, Texas, 26 people were killed at a small church. The killer was reportedly neutralized by an armed citizen who shot the subject as he fled in his vehicle. Of course we also recall the recent tragedy in Las Vegas that left 59 dead and hundreds injured at an outdoor concert. After events like the slaughter of 20 children between six and seven years old in Newtown, Connecticut, an inevitable debate about guns in America ensues. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss mental illness, gun control, and other topics tied to recent active shooter incidents.

Too many training budgets in law enforcement continue to suffer cutbacks. Meanwhile, police critics demand that cops get more and better training. You can’t have it both ways. If you want more training, you have to fund it. But failing that, many officers are choosing to train in their off time and on their own dime. Training companies run by retired police and military personnel are seemingly popping up on a daily basis. In this week’s podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss how to evaluate and choose the best options for you and your career.

A few weeks ago we did a podcast on the best cop shows in TV history, but what about movies? In this week’s podcast, Jim and Doug discuss the merits of films ranging from Dirty Harry to Blade Runner to The Naked Gun to Chinatown.

A few weeks ago, an article called "The 'SWAT nod': How to tell other cops what your duty assignment is without saying a word" ran on PoliceOne. It was essentially a list of how to make it clear to everyone in your department (as well as any other department) what your duty assignment is. In this week's podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss when it makes sense (and when it doesn't) for departments to have specialists like SWAT, Motors, Narcotics, Foot Beats, Bicycle Patrol, Marine Units, Equine Units, and the like.

On July 26th, a nurse in Utah named Alex Wubbels was arrested for refusing to draw blood from an unconscious patient who had suffered severe injuries from a car crash. Wubbels argued that she wouldn't allow the blood to be drawn unless the man was under arrest or there was a police warrant. This was despite the fact that Section 1.3 of the Utah Commercial Driver’s License Handbook states that “If you operate a CMV [commercial vehicle], you shall be deemed to have given your consent to alcohol testing.” The video of the incident sparked a national outcry. In this week’s podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the balance between enforcing the law and falling prey to the “contempt of cop” trap some subjects will set.

From a corner suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, a 64-year-old gunman — whose name merits no mention in this space — unleashed a hail of gunfire on an innocent crowd of 22,000 people attending a county music festival. He fired on the crowd for roughly ten minutes, killing at least 58 and injuring 527 others. In this week's podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss what we know so far, and what the tragedy means for the future.

Urban Shield is one of the largest training exercises for police, firefighters, and paramedics in the country. Started several years after the September 11 attacks, it is designed to prepare first responders for a host of potential threats to public safety. But the event has drawn criticism over the years from activists who say police training is too militaristic. In this week’s podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the ways in which Urban Shield improves inter-agency communication and preparation for response to everything from a natural disasters to a terrorist attack.

In 2013, researchers from the Arnold Foundation studied 153,000 bookings into Kentucky jails over a two year period and found that the longer low-risk defendants were held in jail the more likely they were to engage in criminal activity. Now, we have to separate correlation from causation — we cannot go leaping to the conclusion that if-this-then-that. However, there has been some criticism that the cash-bail system disproportionately affects lower-income individuals, and that it makes no sense to decide whether someone should be held in jail awaiting trial based solely on how much money they have. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the movement in recent years to discontinue the cash-bail system at least for offenders who are evaluated to be low-risk of flight or reoffending.

Ambush attacks on police officers are undeniably on the rise in the United States. In 2016 alone, at least 20 officers were fatally shot in ambush attacks. In this week's podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss some of the ways in which officers can "harden the target" and prevent such tragedy from befalling them on patrol.

We all remember the story of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman, but there have been other less-famous incidents in which non-sworn personnel attempted to do the work of a sworn law officer that resulted in unintended and unwanted consequences. Vigilantes are criminals and should be prosecuted as such, but where do people like bounty hunters and neighborhood watchmen fit into the mix? In this week's podcast, Jim and Doug discuss the upsides and the downsides of these well-meaning but potentially dangerous individuals and groups.

There have been dozens of terrible police procedurals, but we've had some good cop shows too. That list includes Southland, Streets of San Francisco, Hill Street Blues, Barney Miller, and The Wire. What are the best cop shows in television history? What makes those good shows good? In this week's podcast, Jim and Doug go to Hollywood and talk about their favorites. Add your favorites in the comments section below - movies too, if you want.

A white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in mid-August left a 32-year-old woman dead and nearly two dozen other people injured when a deranged white nationalist drove his car into a crowd of anti-racist protesters. There were other violent clashes in the streets that saw too little separation between the opposing factions. At the time of this recording session, there is a far-right rally planned in of all places, San Francisco. The city is organizing a “block party” to give the opposing side a place to gather. It’s nearly five miles away. Whether or not the rally in the City by the Bay is kept peaceful, law enforcement must continue to develop new ways to deal with the threat. In this week’s podcast, Jim and Doug discuss how crowd control is changing.

Because cops have a tendency to retire at a younger age than people in other careers, a cop pulling the pin on a 30-year career is likely to have a second career in mind. Lay the groundwork for that next phase of your working life, whether it’s consulting with a LE-related vendor, establishing your own training company, or working as a criminal justice professor. In this week's podcast, Jim and Doug discuss how to lay the foundation for a long and enjoyable retirement.

According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, public pension plans need an additional 1.1 trillion dollars just to meet current expected obligations. This is, as the mayor of Dallas recently said, untenable. Meanwhile, pensions are one of the most important incentives for police (and fire) to put their lives on the line to serve their communities. How can states resolve this looming issue? Something has to give. But how? And when? Jim and Doug discuss the prickly issue of public safety pensions.

New Jersey is considering legislation (Assembly Bill A1114) that would require schools to teach children how to interact with police "in a manner marked by mutual cooperation and respect." But can we really legislate civility? And what about compliance with lawful commands? Just because a kid has been told what to do, will they when they become adults actually do what they’ve been told? In this week's podcast, Jim and Doug discuss the potential such a law would have, as well as the ways in which it could go totally sideways from its intended purpose.

Some of the most important people in policing are the teachers, trainers, and mentors. Whether those are assignments (the academy, FTO, and other roles that focus on teaching) or informal relationships that develop organically, the police mentor is vital in helping officers to be safer and more successful on the streets. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the role of the mentor in law enforcement.

For many — if not most — agencies, the act of drawing the service pistol from the holster and pointing it at a subject is considered a use of force. However, context should be considered. Is the firearm out and hidden behind the leg upon approach at a traffic stop? Is it out and at the low ready during a building search for a suspect known to be armed and dangerous? In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss what constitutes force, and what constitutes sound tactical judgment.

The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear a 9th Circuit case involving two Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies who shot and wounded a man who pointed a gun — later found to be a BB gun — at them. The premise of the 9th Circuit decision is a "provocation" theory — followed by no other federal courts — that essentially undermines the objectively reasonable set forth by Graham v. Connor. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the case and the ramifications it may have on law enforcement.

In many lines of employment, the advent of high-speed internet and the cellular phone network has made “the office” obsolete — people can successfully do their work from a coffee shop or from their living room. Police work is obviously much more dependent on being present out in the public, but cops too can do a number of tasks remotely. They can file reports via computer and phone, do forensic analysis, do research and planning for special events, and a host of other duties. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the future of telecommuting in law enforcement.

According to the Los Angeles County Probation Department, transit fare evasion is the number one cause of juvenile citations in Los Angeles County. The California Senate recently passed legislation that prohibits youths from being charged with a criminal violation for transit fare evasion and instead treats the offense like a parking ticket. California State Senator Robert Hertzberg — who introduced the legislation — said, "No kid should go to jail or be charged with a crime simply because he or she can’t pay to ride the bus or train." Kids will receive a fine, similar to parking tickets.

A new non-fiction book entitled "The Valley of the Shadow of Death — A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption" is a riveting read about crime, race, gangs, the death penalty, and African American victims of violent crime. It was co-authored by former NFL defensive back Kermit Alexander, with Criminal Justice Professors Alex Gerould and Jeff Snipes. Alexander’s mother, sister, and two nephews were brutally murdered on August 31, 1984. Publisher’s Weekly called the book a “compelling narrative that rivals a first-rate thriller,” and that description is completely accurate. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug sit down with Professor Gerould to discuss how the book came to be and what lessons it offers for readers.

Body cameras, drones, Shotspotter, analytics, GPS … police work has evolved significantly over the past couple of decades as new technologies such as these have been introduced, adopted, and utilized. In this podcast episode, Jim and Doug discuss some of the top technologies that have helped improve police work, and what may be on the horizon.

The 1968 Supreme Court Decision in Terry v. Ohio held that a person’s Fourth Amendment rights are not violated when a police officer stops a subject and frisks him as long as the officer has a reasonable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime and has a reasonable belief that the person may be armed. However, some civil rights organizations contend that a number of agencies took advantage of this ruling to inappropriately stop and frisk people without being able to articulate that reasonable suspicion. In this podcast segment, Jim and Doug discuss the fact that officers must be able to report in detail (in a narrative form, not just check boxes) what led them to stop and frisk an individual.

Gang injunctions prohibit illegal activities and impose restrictions on behavior of named gang members such as displaying colors or associating in public with other gang members. Gang injunctions restrain the movement of named gang members in certain areas, typically called safety zones. Gang injunctions are the result of significant investigative legwork by the police, who have to provide the court with detailed documentation about the individuals named in the injunction. However, organizations like the ACLU say that gang injunctions lead to “serious civil liberties violations” and suggest job programs and job training instead. In this week’s podcast, Jim and Doug discuss the efficacy and fairness of gang injunctions.

In California there is a proposal to allow bars to keep serving until four o’clock in the morning. Other states have similarly late (or early, depending on how you look at the clock) last call times. Alaska has last call at five in the morning, for example. Most cities in Florida close at 3AM — it's up to the communities to decide. In Louisiana, bars can technically serve 24 hours a day if there's no local law stating that they can't. In New York City closing time is four in the morning, but most municipalities throughout the state close at two. Jim and Doug discuss how much trouble tends to happen at closing time — disputes, altercations, DUI arrests — and why four o’clock last call is not a good idea.

Try to think if you’ve heard this one before: A man uses a vehicle as a weapon in a terrorist attack. That sounds familiar because this method of has become commonplace ever since ISIS and Al Qaeda began promoting it in their online instructional magazines. It recently happened in Stockholm, Sweden — an attack that left four people dead. In December 2016, a truck plowed into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and wounding nearly 50 others. A Somali-born student at Ohio State University crashed his car into a crowd of pedestrians in November before getting out and stabbing several of them with a butcher knife. Meanwhile, agencies across America are instituting policies that all but prohibit shooting at violent subjects in vehicles. Jim and Doug discuss why they feel “no shooting at vehicles, ever” policies don’t make sense.

Police Week, the annual event that honors all of the fallen officers throughout American history, is arguably the most powerful event LEOs can attend. Doug and Jim discuss the importance of the gathering, and why all police officers across the country should go at least once.

In April 2017, a man named Steve Stevens murdered an elderly man out for a walk. Stevens then posted a video of his crime on Facebook, where the footage remained visible for hours. This is not the first time that a criminal has posted pictures or video of their criminal acts on social media. Jim and Doug discuss the prevalence of these types of incidents, as well as some ideas about how to deal with them from a criminal prosecution perspective.

Individuals and groups who staunchly support the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms it affords have in recent years taken to carrying their firearms openly in public. They do this in order to visibly call attention to rights that they believe are in jeopardy of being taken from them by politicians who race to the television cameras every time a high-profile shooting happens. The trouble is, many Americans have never even held a gun, much less shot one. And people tend to fear what they don’t understand. So when six “guys with guns” show up at the coffee shop, police are usually called. In this podcast episode, Jim and Doug discuss the issues in play when police respond to calls involving open-carry advocates.

On April 15 (tax day) pro-Trump individuals wearing American Flags and “Make America Great Again” baseball hats held a rally in Berkeley, California. They had notified Berkeley Police in advance of their intention to rally. However, when anarchists clad in black masks and wielding various weapons showed up, officers from the Berkeley PD stood back and allowed the two sides to get involved in a prolonged violent confrontation. This is not what most police agencies would call crowd control. Jim and Doug talk about what should have happened but didn't.

Some of the most important U.S. Supreme Court cases for law enforcement are either misunderstood or entirely unknown by the average American citizen. Meanwhile, law enforcement officers are generally very much in tune with the cases which govern how officers’ actions — everything from use of force to search and seizure activities — are judged. In this podcast episode, Jim and Doug talk about a host of cases that cops know about and wish that the public did too.

We've seen a significant increase in news articles on PoliceOne about civilians coming to the aid of officers involved in violent confrontations with resistive subjects. Are there more of these incidents happening, or are they just getting more attention in the media? Jim and Doug offer thoughts on whether or not there’s an increase in such events.

Earlier this year, Kate’s Law was reintroduced to Congress, which is now controlled by Republicans. President Donald Trump has vowed that he will sign it. The law is named for Kate Steinle, a 32-year-old woman who was fatally shot by Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican national and convicted felon who had been deported but returned — illegally — to the United States. Steinle is not the only high-profile victim of crime committed by people here in the United States illegally — there are many other tragedies like hers. But how big an issue is criminal activity committed by illegal immigrants? Jim and Doug discuss the issue in detail.

Elections have consequences, and President Donald Trump's pick to serve as Attorney General and lead the Department of Justice may be one of the biggest consequences for American law enforcement. Put simply, Jeff Sessions represents “a new sheriff” at DOJ. It’s likely that Sessions will take resources that under Loretta Lynch — and Eric Holder before her — had been put toward initiatives related to things like same-sex marriage and gender identity, and reallocate those resources toward efforts on national security, terrorism, organized crime, and international gangs. Jim and Doug discuss other ways in which the DOJ will differ in the next four years from the DOJ of the previous administration.

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 Doug welcome guests Renee Mitchell and Jason Potts, co-founders of the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing, to discuss what EBP actually is, and why line-level officers should not only care about it, but actively work to use it.

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-strength Promethazine and Codeine. In this week's podcast, Jim and Doug discuss the dangers of "Purple Drank."

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 regard to handling fentanyl.

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 called the “Six Pillars of 21st Century Policing.” Over the course of the last six weeks, Jim and Doug have discussed each of the six pillars. In this week’s podcast, Jim and Doug each offer thoughts on what they would add as the seventh pillar.

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 called the “Six Pillars of 21st Century Policing.” In this week’s podcast, Jim and Doug discuss the sixth and final pillar — Officer Wellness and Safety.

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 called the “Six Pillars of 21st Century Policing.” In this week’s podcast, Jim and Doug discuss the fifth pillar — Training and Education — and next week will tackle the final pillar.

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 called the “Six Pillars of 21st Century Policing.” In this week’s podcast, Jim and Doug discuss the fourth pillar — Community Policing and Crime Reduction — and in coming weeks will tackle each subsequent pillar in turn.

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 called the “Six Pillars of 21st Century Policing.” In this week’s podcast, Jim and Doug discuss the third pillar — Technology and Social Media — and in coming weeks will tackle each subsequent pillar in turn.

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 called the “Six Pillars of 21st Century Policing.” In this week’s podcast, Jim and Doug discuss the second pillar — Policy and Oversight — and in coming weeks will tackle each subsequent pillar in turn.

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 called the “Six Pillars of 21st Century Policing.” In this week’s podcast, Jim and Doug discuss the first pillar — Building Trust and Legitimacy — and in coming weeks will tackle each subsequent pillar in turn.