Policing Matters

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.