Policing Matters

Increasingly, law enforcement agencies are utilizing social media to solve (and in some cases, prevent) crime. Whether via automated software tools or individual investigators and detectives digging into the internet manually, social media has become an invaluable investigative resource.

Jim and Doug offer key tips for making the jump up to the next level in the chain of command.

Doug and Jim discuss the impact officers can have in saving lives as the country faces a growing heroin epidemic, keys that allow cops to make the jump up to the next level in the chain of command, and how police use social media to solve crimes.

In what can be charitably called an innovative approach, police in Richmond (Calif.) and other places across the country are paying monthly stipends to known criminals in return for the promise that they not commit crimes. Jim and Doug examine how the program came to be.

Social media sites have claimed the job of more than one police officer — even a chief can get bagged for their “free speech” on the Internet. Jim and Doug discuss where things can go wrong, as well as positive ways in which police are utilizing these web-based instant communications tools.

Jim and Doug discuss how the first responder disciplines can work better together, and just as importantly, train together for more effective multi-disciplinary response.

Jim and Doug discuss law enforcement's role in preventing and responding to terror attacks, how the first responder disciplines can work better together, crime prevention, and the use of social media in law enforcement.

With four states — Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington — and the District of Columbia allowing individuals to possess and consume marijuana for recreational purposes, as well as other states allowing for its medical use, officers are tasked with keeping the roads safe and free from drivers impaired by the drug. While companies like Hound Labs are working toward developing breathalyzers to detect THC, officers on the road have to rely on experience and expertise to determine impairment. Another issue for law enforcement is just on the horizon: How do you deal with police applicants who admit to prior use in states where such use is completely legal? Jim and Doug examine these and other issues related to the legal availability of pot in an increasing number of states.

Critics of the so-called “Stop and Frisk” have effectively ended the practice in places like New York City. But the fact is that when an officer conducts a field interview or makes contact with an individual who they reasonably suspect to possess a weapon, conducing that search is an officer safety issue. The tactic has been held to be Constitutional in the 1968 case Terry v. Ohio, which was based on a stop conducted by Cleveland Police Department Detective Martin McFadden. Jim and Doug discuss how the tactic is used, and consider ways to better educate the public that it’s not a matter of police arbitrarily stopping people on the street, but based on the officer’s articulable observations.

Doug and Jim discuss why it’s critical to achieve a fine balance of having an adequate level (and type) of presence without creating more tension between opposing groups in a crowd control situation, how the stop-and-frisk tactic is used, and issues related to the legal availability of pot in an increasing number of states.

Jim and Doug discuss issues related to suicide by cop, from recognizing the warning signs to dealing with the psychological aftermath.

Doug Wyllie and Jim Dudley discuss the ongoing battle between Apple and the FBI, discuss issues related to suicide by cop, and offer tactics for conducting safe traffic stops.

Conducting a traffic stop entails a good amount of forethought. Officers have to be tactical about the location of the stop, and calling in the stop to dispatch. Another consideration is whether you are going to use a passenger-side approach. Note what’s happening with the tail lights. The right turn signal still blinking could be an indicator that the driver is thinking so hard about what he’s going to do next that he forgot to turn it off. The brake lights remaining on may indicate the driver is going to slam it into drive and take off. Jim and Doug offer some safety reminders.

Doug and Jim offer lessons from law enforcement’s handling of Super Bowl 50 that agencies can use when preparing for their own large scale event, analyze PERF’s controversial new report on police use of force, and discuss some ideas for better educating the public on use of force.

How can law enforcement better educate the public about police use of force? There continues to be a widespread lack of understanding among citizens about police work despite moves by many departments to redouble their efforts in hosting Citizens' Academies and working with local media. What more can be done? Jim and Doug discuss some ideas that may help have an impact for the future.

In Episode 4 of 'Policing Matters', we tackle use of force reform concerns, lessons learned from an attack on a Philly cop, and the threat of terrorism to officer safety.

In our special year-end episode of Policing Matters, PoliceOne Editor in Chief Doug Wyllie and retired San Francisco Deputy Chief Jim Dudley take a look back at 2015 and discuss trends.

Part One: News analysis on the Paris attacks and what they mean for U.S. cops. Part Two: Lowering hiring standards for police agencies. Part Three: Considerations for off-duty carry.

Introduction: Who we are and what "Policing Matters" is. Part one: News analysis on Quentin Tarantino's "cop murderer' comments and the Lt. Charles Joe Gliniewicz scandal. Part two: Active Shooter — Scenarios and what we learned from Umpqua Community College shooting. Part three: Active Shooters — Prevention and how law enforcement can try and evade a mass casualty incident.