Policing Matters

Crime in America is either rising, or is low, depending on where you get your news and information. One source that disseminates crime rates, statistics, reports and other information is CrimeinAmerica.net run by Leonard A. Sipes, a former police officer who worked his way through top positions within the justice system. Sipes retired in June 2016 as the Senior Public Affairs Specialist and Social Media Manager for a federal criminal justice agency. He was the primary spokesperson for crime prevention for the federal government for 10 years as the Senior Specialist for Crime Prevention for the National Criminal Justice Reference Service and the Director of Information Services for the National Crime Prevention Council (both funded by the US Department of Justice). In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley chats with Leonard about understanding crime in America.

Long before we hit the wall with police officer recruitment, Sgt. Justin Collins, an 18-year veteran of the Rochester Police Department, co-founded Police Exam Career Prep (PECP) with the goal of mentoring and guiding a new generation of law enforcement officers. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with Sgt. Collins about how PECP has been able to help more than 75 dedicated men and women prepare for the police hiring process and make their dream of becoming a police officer come true.

Across public safety, personnel work in conditions that range from boredom to sudden periods of extreme stress. In addition, it’s no secret that officers don’t get enough quality sleep or meals and work ungodly hours, as well as excessive overtime. But what are the lasting, long-term effects of these occupational hazards? In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with Dr. John Violanti, noted police wellness researcher and LE veteran, about the increased risks police officers face from stress and cardiovascular disease.

In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with Chief Carmen Best, who recently released her memoir, “Black in Blue: Lessons on Leadership, Breaking Barriers, and Racial Reconciliation,” about the leadership lessons she learned as Seattle’s first Black woman police chief charged with steering the agency through some of the most critical events in policing history.

On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley is joined by attorney and former deputy sheriff Bridget Truxillo, who now works to bring wellness and support to the public safety community as founder and CEO of Protective Wellness. Jim and Bridget chat about how law enforcement officers can apply wellness principles to improve their emotional health.

According to Bureau of Justice statistics, nearly half of all local police departments have fewer than 10 officers. Three in four of the departments (75%) have no more than two dozen officers. And nine in 10 employ fewer than 50 sworn officers. Policing is tough, but even more challenging when you consider the many responsibilities officers face in smaller departments, often responding to calls without backup and across large geographical distances. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with Police1 columnist Kathleen Dias, who writes features and news analysis on topics of concern to law enforcement professionals serving in rural and remote locations. She uses her background in writing, teaching and marketing to advocate for professional levels of training and equipment for rural officers, open channels of communication for isolated departments, and dispel myths about rural policing.

We are all better off reading books, whether to expand our knowledge learn or just to relax. On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley is joined by fellow podcaster, detective and Police1 columnist Christopher Littrell to share some book recommendations, both texts that will improve your performance as an LEO and recommended books to read for leisure. What books would you add to this list? Email [email protected]. Check out Police1.com for the full list of books mentioned in this episode.

In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with Pocatello Police Department Chief Roger Schei about how this mid-sized agency in the fifth largest city in Idaho is addressing defensive tactics training, police recruitment, law enforcement leadership and community engagement. Chief Schei has a widespread training background that includes the FBI National Academy, FBI Command College, and several other leadership courses. His management certificate in high liability instruction through Idaho Police Officers Standards and Training (POST) has assisted in implementing several progressive programs for the department, including training from Rener Gracie and embracing the leadership principles of Jocko Willink’s Extreme Ownership Academy. The chief is a resolute protector of children’s rights and takes pride in serving as the President of the Board of Directors for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). In 2016 he was honored to receive the Ron Timpson award from the local branch of the NAACP for human rights advocacy, volunteerism, and commitment to the improvement with the Pocatello community.

The City of Irving (Texas) Shop Talk program is a community outreach program designed for residents who would not normally attend community town halls but have a desire and need to have their voices heard. The program provides police officers with the opportunity to talk with barber shop clients and workers to facilitate honest and genuine dialog and may be a vehicle that helps build trust in communities. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with Irving PD Officer Jon Plunkett who oversees the program and facilitates opportunities to use barber shops and beauty shops for outreach efforts. Since the start of this program, which is partnered with OneCommunityUSA, more than 30 shops are currently participating. Officer Plunkett recently received a US Attorney’s Distinguished Service in Policing award for the program.

On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with Axon President Luke Larson about the cutting-edge technology that is bringing relevant, realistic and efficient virtual training to law enforcement. Luke joined Axon in 2008 and has filled a variety of executive and management roles before being appointed president in April 2015. Prior to joining Axon, Luke served two tours in Iraq as a Marine Corps infantry officer and was awarded the Bronze Star with V for valor on his first tour.

Recruitment and retention are huge issues in policing and whether you are trying to get into law enforcement, applying as a lateral transfer to another agency, or if you are a recruitment officer, this is a show you will not want to miss. Rob Cate is the CEO and co-founder of Interview Now, a modern recruitment system for law enforcement. The company makes it easy for agencies to recruit, communicate and manage the next generation of law enforcement officers using automation, modern communication tools and analytics. Interview Now’s text-message-based software is already helping agencies both large and small in 20 states, including the New York State Police, the Memphis Police Department, the Dane County Sheriff’s Office and the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with Rob about how his software solution streamlines the policing recruitment process, making it more engaging for potential candidates and more effective for law enforcement agencies.

In this special episode of the Policing Matters podcast, law enforcement, fire and EMS leaders from across the Lexipol media sites come together to reflect on the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Policing Matters podcast host Jim Dudley looks back on the industry-altering event with Inside EMS host Chris Cebollero, Side Alpha Podcast host Fire Chief Marc Bashoor and EMS One-Stop host Rob Lawrence.

Dr. Ervin Staub studied the roots of violence between groups after living through the horrors of Nazism and then communism in Hungary. His best-known book is “The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence,” in which he explores the psychological, cultural and societal roots of group aggression. After the Rodney King incident in 1991, Dr. Staub was invited to create a peer intervention training program for the LAPD with the goal of lowering the number and degree of uses of force. Then in 2014, he and other consultants assisted the New Orleans Police Department’s in developing EPIC (Ethical Policing is Courageous) training, designed to educate, empower and support patrol officers to play a meaningful role in “policing” each other. Georgetown Law's Project ABLE (Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement) peer intervention program builds upon EPIC and Dr. Staub’s research to prepare officers to successfully intervene to prevent harm and to create a law enforcement culture that supports peer intervention. In this podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Dr. Staub about how law enforcement can develop a culture that supports active bystandership.

Over the past year, we’ve seen school districts nationwide scrutinize the deployment of school resource officers, with several cities moving to remove SROs from schools. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers, about the critical role SROs play, including addressing student mental health issues as children return to the classroom following a year of virtual education.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that has contributed to many of the 91,000 overdose deaths in America over the past year. This Schedule II drug is said to be 80-100 times more potent than morphine. A recent video of a San Diego sheriff deputy who collapsed after he was exposed to fentanyl in the field went viral and led to much discussion about the risks of exposure. In this episode of Policing Matters host Jim Dudley chats with John M. Williams, Sr., MD, MPH, about the hazards of fentanyl and how officers can minimize risks.

As Lexipol’s own Gordon Graham is wont to say, “Predictable is preventable” and that is probably true when it comes to the homicide spikes nationwide in 2020 and 2021. In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, former Baltimore Police Department officer and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice Peter Moskos wrote, “Civil unrest and calls for police accountability don’t directly cause an increase in murders and other violence. The danger is when antipolice sentiment rises to the point where policing is seen as the primary problem to be solved rather than as an essential part of maintaining public order and safety. Onerous restrictions on the police can lead to the worst of both worlds: poorer policing and more violence…Mayors, city councils and police chiefs must accept responsibility for dramatic increases in street violence under their leadership, and they must be ready to defend the legal and necessary use of force by police.” In this episode of Policing Matters host Jim Dudley chats with Peter, who launched the Violence Reduction Project in late 2020, about the strategies cities and communities can deploy to address the rise in violent crime.

You may have seen the viral video of a masked suspect in San Francisco astride his bicycle deep down an aisle of a retail drug store, corralling armloads of expensive makeup and sundries into a plastic garbage bag on his bicycle handlebars. There is a security officer in the frame, recording the brazen grand theft burglary with his cellphone. He even takes a swipe for the bag as the criminal escapes with his loot. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with consumer finance expert Erica Sandberg about how the increase in property crimes and retail theft impacts business districts and erodes community safety and quality of life.

If you review the FBI report on active shooter incidents from 2000-2019, you will find that in 277 incidents, there were 2,430 casualties, including 1,546 wounded and 877 deaths. We have seen recent spikes in mass shootings in 2021 already. What is the answer? How can we limit or stop the increasing number of mass shooters? In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with attorney Katherine Schweit, who spent 20 years with the FBI as a Special Agent executive. After the Sandy Hook massacre, she was assigned to head the FBI’s active shooter program where she authored the FBI’s seminal research, A Study of 160 Active Shooter Incidents in the United States, 2000-2013. Through her extensive experience, Schweit has become an expert in active shooters, mass shootings, and security policies and procedures. She is the author of the book, “Stop the Killing: How to End the Mass Shootings Crisis” set to be released by Rowman and Littlefield on August 15th, and runs Schweit Consulting LLC, providing leadership counseling, security advice and safety training to hospitals, businesses, religious organizations, educators and government clients.

Host Jim Dudley continues his reports from the FBINAA 57th Annual National Conference in Orlando, Florida. In this episode, Jim speaks with former past president of the IACP Chief Don De Lucca, who now serves as a public safety ambassador for WRAP Technologies, about how the company’s device – the BolaWrap – aids law enforcement officers in safely restraining resistant subjects.

There is currently a shift away from holding suspects responsible for the consequences of their decisions to placing blame on the officer's use of force. This concept of “officer-created jeopardy” is being debated among academics and used to inform changes in police training and response. In this episode, Jim Dudley talks with Lewis “Von” Kliem, editor of the Force Science Institute’s FSI Newsletter bulletin, about police use of force training, de-escalation, qualified immunity and other use of force issues, as well as a recent article he authored about a new report that shows San Francisco police peacefully resolved 99.9% of crisis-related calls.

This week, host Jim Dudley reports from the FBINAA 57th Annual National Conference in Orlando, Florida. In this episode, he chats with Below 100 instructor Sergeant Jeff Welch about the tenets of this officer safety initiative that aims to eliminate preventable line-of-duty police deaths and serious injuries through training that focuses on areas under an officer’s control.

Policing often involves personal communications between the officer and a variety of other actors including peers, supervisors, citizens, crime victims and offenders, yet development of communication skills receives little attention in the police academy. Emotional intelligence is a key part of being a successful communicator, as well as providing benefits in many areas of your life. On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with Dr. Michael Goold and Dr. Obed Magny about the need for agencies to provide training for officers to develop their emotional intelligence skills. ABOUT OUR GUESTS Dr. Michael Goold retired as a chief of police after 23 years in law enforcement. He served in many capacities including patrol officer, communications center supervisor, corrections watch commander and CSI/detective division assistant commander. His doctoral dissertation examined traumatic stress and 9-1-1 personnel. He is a certified executive coach and certified facilitator in emotional intelligence. Most importantly, he’s a husband, father and grandfather. Dr. Obed Magny is the founder and CEO of Magny Leadership, a service offering emotional intelligence training and coaching for law enforcement and justice professionals. Obed is an international keynote speaker and advocate for evidence-based policing. He helps police organizations become transformative in building trust and legitimacy by creating innovative strategies to reduce negative interactions between public safety officers and the public, all of which are part of his mission to change the perspectives of public safety from negative to positive. Dr. Obed is a police officer with 17 years of experience.

It cannot be overstated that 2020 was a tough year for anyone connected with public safety and 2021 seems to be on par for the same level of stress, although hopefully to a lesser extent, experienced by our police, sheriffs, 911 emergency communications personnel, firefighters, EMS providers and others. There is good news that comes in the form of support and wellness for these heroes and their families and support groups. Cordico is a wellness application that addresses the needs of our public safety family. On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with Cordico founder and president Dr. David Black about his work to provide customized, confidential, mobile wellness applications for law enforcement agencies nationwide.

Body-worn cameras first began to be deployed in the mid-2000s in the UK and the early 2010s in the United States, primarily to capture on-scene statements and video evidence relating to domestic violence incidents. The use of these cameras soon morphed into a police “monitoring” tool in order to “catch” officers doing something wrong. In reality, the majority of body-worn camera videos show officers doing professional and heroic work while facing extreme danger, as well as dispute fraudulent citizen complaints against LEOs. On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with Jason Dombkowski, who serves as director of law enforcement relations for BodyWorn by Utility, Inc., and Bill McAuliffe, the director of professional services for Lexipol, about new BWC technologies and policy-based recording that are helping improve officer safety. Jason retired as Chief of Police in January 2019 after 25 years of service with the West Lafayette (Indiana) Police Department. Under his leadership, his agency was the first law enforcement agency to deploy police body-worn cameras in Indiana in 2012. Bill is a 22-year veteran of law enforcement who served in positions including patrol watch commander, professional services lieutenant, chief pilot and jail commander.

As the policing scrutiny continues around issues such as use of force and broken windows policing to traffic stops and other enforcement operations, communities say they are left out of the loop when it comes to how their local law enforcement agencies operate. Is it time to provide more interaction and transparency in how we deal with policing policies and the community? On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with two experts in the field of police and public policy, Dr. Darl H. Champion, Sr., Professor Emeritus of Justice Studies at Methodist University in Fayetteville, NC, and Chief Harold Medlock who served as chief of police for the Fayetteville Police Department and for over two decades with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Discussion points include the importance of police transparency, how to conduct meetings with the public and the topics police departments should consider for discussion.

Has your career been just like a crime novel? Are you working from whodunnit to whodunnit? Are there really crime masterminds, syndicates and secret organizations intent on doing harm? Marc Cameron was a law enforcement officer and detective with the Weatherford Police Department before accepting a position with the United States Marshals Service, where he served as a deputy, fugitive task force commander, supervisory deputy, senior inspector and chief. He is also an award-winning author known for the Jack Ryan series, which is part of the Tom Clancy universe, as well as for the critically acclaimed Jericho Quinn series of action-adventure novels. On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with Marc about how he made the transition from police work to crime writing, how much of his own experiences go into the novels, and how he is living up to the expectations of carrying on the mantle of Tom Clancy.

Once an individual is taken into custody it is the responsibility of officers to protect and ensure the well-being of that person. It is common for offenders to have pre-existing medical conditions, general poor health, or be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. However, these conditions may not be apparent until it is too late. Even medical pre-screenings may not give us the full picture of an incarcerated person’s health outlook. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with John DeFalco, CEO of 4Sight Labs in Silicon Valley, who has brought together a team of artificial intelligence engineers, law enforcement and military veterans to build public safety solutions. The company’s “Custody Protect” device aims to monitor custodies in real-time to alert officers of any health emergencies.

Megan Kanka, Adam Walsh, Polly Klass, Jacob Wetterling – these are names you should know. They are children who were abducted, assaulted and murdered, even before the ubiquity of the internet and world wide web. There have been countless other children and youth who have become victims of sexual offenders and online predators via the internet. Are we doing enough to protect our children from the risks they face online? The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC Program helps state and local law enforcement agencies develop an effective response to technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and internet crimes against children. This assistance encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim services, and community education. On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with a hero in the fight to track and bring sexual offender predators to justice, one of the toughest jobs in law enforcement. Michael Sewall has been an ICAC investigator for the past eight years with the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He helped revolutionize online undercover work through exploiting new avenues and personas that have resulted in hundreds of child enticement, child pornography and child sexual assault arrests both domestic and abroad.

The National Police Foundation (NPF) recently released a report of its independent assessment of the Los Angeles Police Department’s response to mass demonstrations, protests and First Amendment assemblies that occurred between May 27, 2020, and June 7, 2020 in the City of Los Angeles. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with lead author of the report, Frank Straub, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Mass Violence Response Studies at the National Police Foundation, about key findings of relevance to all agencies as they review their protest response policies and training.

Combining their passion for forensic science with their love for educating the public about their jobs, criminalists Brittney Chilton (Bodean) and Darby Stienmetz from the Washoe County (Nevada) Sheriff's Office Forensic Science Division came up with an idea for a podcast that would explain forensics in an easy-to-understand way. On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with Brittney and Darby about their podcast, “Coffee with a Criminalist,” which aims to take listeners on an audio tour of forensic science in Northern Nevada while highlighting notable true crime cases.

The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), was created in 1979 as a credentialing authority through the joint efforts of law enforcement’s major executive associations. The Law Enforcement Accreditation process focuses on standards that provide best practices related to life, health and safety procedures for the agency. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with Major Steve Runge, the assistant chief of police at Berkeley Police Department in Berkeley, Missouri, where he served as the CALEA Accreditation Manager for six years, about the benefits of accreditation for law enforcement agencies. For more information on CALEA, visit https://www.calea.org.

There are approximately 173,000 women in American law enforcement today, but that only represents about 12% of all LEOs. The 30x30 Initiative aims to address this imbalance and is challenging police departments nationwide to recruit classes of at least 30% women by 2030. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley chats with the co-founders of the 30x30 Initiative, Ivonne Roman, former chief of Newark (NJ) Police Department, and Maureen McGough, chief of staff at the Policing Project at the NYU School of Law, about how the initiative aims to assist departments in recruiting more female officers.

Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops is an HBO documentary showcasing the efforts of two Texas police officers who are helping change the way police respond to mental health calls. The film takes audiences on a personal journey, weaving together these two officers' experiences during their daily encounters with people in crisis as part of the San Antonio Police Department’s Mental Health Unit. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley talks to Ernie Stevens and Joe Smarro about the origins of the Mental Health Unit, how the documentary came about and how law enforcement agencies can best tackle the mental health crisis in their communities.

By now, everyone has told us how the war on drugs has failed so miserably. Drug advocates have convinced lawmakers and voters in some states that our only way out of our drug problems is by legalizing drugs. Some areas of the country have adopted harm reduction policies to allow for illegal or illicit drug-related behavior in order to minimize risks to the greater communities. Yet clearly those strategies leave much to be desired with drug overdose fatalities at all-time highs across America. What is the answer? That is the question our Policing Matters host Jim Dudley poses to this week’s guest, district attorney Brian Surber, who has prosecuted thousands of narcotics cases and recently authored Injustice for All: The (Familiar) Fallacies of Criminal Justice Reform.

Communication within an organization is critical, but especially so within law enforcement, where leadership and command must convey crucial information to their officers on the street. But cops are bombarded daily with memos, bulletins and orders, so how can we make a connection that seems more personal? In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Tim Paul, co-founder and CEO of The Critical App, a messaging application that ensures leaders stay connected with all of their personnel at every location to instantly share news and updates, identify urgent issues and build the right culture for their department.

The Broken Windows theory, introduced by George Kelling and James Wilson in 1982, and the tenets of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Control (CPTED), demonstrate the need to address disorder, blight and low-level environmental disruption as a deterrent from larger crimes and gathering points for criminal activity. Code enforcement officers are an invaluable part of preventing those environmental disruptions from coming to fruition. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Code Enforcement Manager Justin Edson, who serves as president of the Code Enforcement Officer Safety Foundation, about how law enforcement can collaborate with code enforcement officers to address crime prevention, plus the safety risks facing code enforcement officers.

The Chula Vista Police Department (CVPD) in Southern California is a pioneer when it comes to using new technologies and tools to create a stronger and more cost-effective emergency response ecosystem. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with Captain Don Redmond, a returning guest, who heads up support operations for CVPD including the 911 communications center, and CVPD Police Communications Manager Carla Even, about the agency’s deployment of Live911, which live-streams 911 calls to officers in the field.

In December 2020, Police1 asked LEOs to weigh in on COVID-19 vaccination mandates, ethical obligations and whether they will be vaccinated. More than 3,300 officers responded to a survey, with 38% saying yes to vaccination. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with John M. Williams, Sr., MD, MPH, a physician and reserve deputy sheriff in southern Colorado, about some of the concerns people have expressed regarding the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine, the reasons why LEOs should consider getting vaccinated and how police leaders can improve officer vaccination rates.

Recent high-profile events have led to legislative changes that are limiting police use of force options and the deployment of less lethal tools. Some cities, for example, have banned the use of pepper spray and tear gas at demonstrations and riots. Now, more than ever, it is critical for law enforcement professionals to understand and deploy force options wisely and appropriately, and help educate the legislators, the media and the public about the impact of restrictions on the tools available to officers. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with a combat veteran and veteran police commander with extensive knowledge and expertise in force options. Commander Sid Heal, who retired from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department after 33 years, shares his expertise in his latest book titled “Concepts of Non-lethal Force: Understanding Force from Shouting to Shooting,” in which he explores the ever-growing array of nonlethal options and implements that promise to restore order to out-of-control situations.

Law enforcement officers are often placed in situations where they encounter individuals with mental illness. There are varying degrees of response to a law officers’ presence, from compliant and docile, to combative or assaultive. Training that equips officers with the skill set required to deal with these individuals appropriately is important. Once an individual has been controlled or transported, they may be taken to a professional psychiatric detention and treatment facility, or to a locked detention facility for processing. What happens next varies from agency to agency. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Dr. Nikki Johnson, the first chief of mental health services for the Denver Sheriff Department in Colorado. Dr. Johnson was hired in January 2021 to drive the strategy and performance of the mental health services provided within the Denver Sheriff Department, which is the largest provider of psychiatric services in Denver.

There is a popular perception that police officers and investigators have exciting lives, getting into vehicle and foot pursuits, tackling suspects, and solving complicated crimes by examining evidence or through interviews and interrogation. In truth, most crime is solved by the effectiveness in documenting the crime from its first report to law enforcement. While some may not view police report writing as exciting, it is a keystone to any investigation and prosecution of offenders. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Janay Gasparini, Ph.D., former police officer and current assistant professor of criminal justice at Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, West Virginia, about how to write an effective police report.

No one understands a police officer like their significant other and no one understands what it takes to be the significant other of a cop more than other police officer spouses. Connecting spouses is the goal of Rebecca, the creator behind the Proud Police Wife website and virtual conference. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Rebecca, who is married to her childhood sweetheart and LEO officer of 14 years, about why she started her blog and website and how she helps connect police spouses to support each other and their police partners.

In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Guillermo “Gil” Witte, a published polygraph examiner and an instructor for the world-renowned PEAK Credibility Assessment Training Center, about some of the misunderstandings, myths and urban legends surrounding polygraphs. Gil Witte is a member of the American Polygraph Association, American Association of Police Polygraphists and the current president of the California Association of Polygraph Examiners. Enjoying the show? Please take a moment to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Contact the Policing Matters team at [email protected] to share ideas, suggestions and feedback.

In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Nicole Florisi, a law enforcement professional and domestic violence survivors advocate in northern Arizona, about how police can improve response to domestic violence calls. From beginning the assessment of a domestic violence call from the point it comes into dispatch to working with victim advocates, Nicole shares best practices for handling these challenging calls.

As an active and healthy police and tactical flight officer, Marc Geiger experienced symptoms of atrial fibrillation (AFib) and a transient ischemic attack (TIA) while on duty, resulting in hospital visits, medical tests and numerous doctor appointments. According to research, having a stressful job such as a police officer is associated with a higher risk of developing AFib. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Marc, who works for the Henderson Police Department in Nevada, about his journey navigating his heart condition, plus heart health and tips for other officers.

With police use of force under the spotlight, many agencies are updating their policies involving the carotid hold and some state legislatures are looking to redefine what is considered “objectively reasonable” use of force. On this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley chats with Adam Kinakin, founder of the International Law Enforcement Training (ILET) Network and host of the Tactical Breakdown podcast, about whether criticisms of police use of force are warranted, UOF terminology officers should be using, the effectiveness of DT training for cops and the adequacy of less-lethal options available to officers.

With 4,300 missions under its duty belt, the Chula Vista Police Department's drone program isn’t just breaking deployment records, it is also reinventing how law enforcement agencies use UAS and drone technology. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with retired Chula Vista PD Captain Don Redmond about how the agency is using drones as first responders.

With the right mindset and tactics, it is possible to get into incredible shape, own your police career in a sustainable way and connect better with your family, says Marc Hildebrand. A sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department, Marc struggled through a 100-pound weight loss journey to get into the best shape of his life at age 43, and now shares what he learned on that journey with other officers through his company, First Responder Fitness. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Marc about the importance of setting goals and surrounding yourself with people who will hold you accountable for your actions.

It is believed that many cases of child abuse, including physical and sexual abuse and neglect, could be the dark figure of crime during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many mandated reporters being denied the usual access and observation they have during “normal times.” Since the coronavirus pandemic and associated national shutdowns began in early 2020, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has seen a drastic spike in the number of cases and reports of child sexual abuse materials online and online grooming of children. From March through December, NCMEC received 21 million CyberTipline reports, which is up from 18 million for the whole of 2019. “We see a correlation between the pandemic and people being homebound and connected on mobile devices,” says NCMEC President and CEO John F. Clark. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with John Clark about the work of NCMEC, which serves as the nation's clearinghouse and comprehensive reporting center for all issues related to the prevention of and recovery from child victimization. Is a child being sexually exploited online? Call 1-800-THE-LOST.

“A year like no other” could be the epitaph for 2020, along with words like unprecedented and unrelenting. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with fellow podcaster Patrick Fitzgibbons, host of the CJ Evolution podcast. Critical issues up for debate include recruitment and retention, law enforcement mission creep, the decriminalization of drugs, officer wellness, and how police leaders can improve morale in the coming year. Patrick Fitzgibbons is a retired police commander from Colorado with over two decades of experience in many different roles. He is also an adjunct college professor and enjoys teaching the next generation of criminal justice professionals. Patrick holds advanced degrees in Business and Organizational Leadership. A former Army Paratrooper with the elite 82nd Airborne Division, Patrick is an avid supporter of active military members and veterans. Patrick is a personal coach, speaker and is the host and creator of CJEvolution.