I testified before a legislative committee yesterday in St. Paul on the need to update our privacy laws related to police body cameras. In many cases police video recordings are considered public; even in someone’s residence or while recording someone during one of the worst points of their life. This simply should not be considered […]

FEATURED BLOGGER Gordon Ramsay Chief of Police Duluth Police Department, Minnesota

As you may be aware, in the past two years heroin has become a major problem in Minnesota and across the nation. As the Star Tribune reported last week, deaths from prescription painkillers and heroin exceeded the number of deaths from motor vehicles in 2013. There were 374 deaths related to motor vehicle accidents in […]

FEATURED BLOGGER Eden Prairie Police Department Eden Prairie, Minnesota

In a recent opinion commentary submitted by a guest in a local newspaper, a number of issues are raised (related to whether police need AR15’s) that compel me to provide our community with a different perspective. A perspective that is coming from a career police officer of over 30 years; and now I live a […]

FEATURED BLOGGER Michael Koval Chief of Police Madison Police Department, Wisconsin

For almost fifteen years, the Gulfport Police Department has maintained a policy forbidding officers from having exposed tattoos while in uniform. Starting today, that policy will change. Under the new rules, tattoos are not allowed on the hands, neck or face, and any other exposed tattoos must be able to fit under a 3-inch by […]

FEATURED BLOGGER Robert Vincent Chief of Police Gulfport Police Department, Florida

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month — what are you doing to support victims? Throughout the month of October we will be highlighting the efforts of three departments that have implemented innovative practices to respond to domestic violence and partnered with local advocacy organizations to increase awareness about the crime and impact of domestic violence. […]

FEATURED BLOGGER International Association of Chiefs of Police IACP Alexandria, Virginia

All week long I’ve laid out my belief that racial disparity in traffic stops and in the outcome of those stops is being driven primarily by racial disparity in income, and to a lesser extent by police deployment practices — not, by and large, racial prejudice by the police. While my own analysis of the […]

FEATURED BLOGGER Tom Casady Director of Public Safety Lincoln Department of Public Safety, Nebraska

This morning I posted an article on my Facebook page written by Mary Anne Case, a Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, where she cited lessons from the 1991 Christopher Commission after the investigation into the police practices that led to the Rodney King beating by LAPD officers. In her article, she claims […]

FEATURED BLOGGER Kristen Ziman Commander Aurora Police Department, Illinois

I had a speaking engagement yesterday morning with a business association. One of the topics that came up was the proliferation of panhandlers in Lincoln. The attendees told me stories about annoying and aggressive panhandlers. Some of what they described was completely legal, some illegal. Illegal panhandling is a difficult offense to prove without a […]

FEATURED BLOGGER Tom Casady Director of Public Safety Lincoln Department of Public Safety, Nebraska

I’m sure everyone who is reading this can remember where they were and what they were doing 13 years ago today. I was on the fifth floor of Headquarters serving as acting deputy chief of the Patrol Bureau because the regular deputy chief was on vacation that week. I was looking out the window when […]

FEATURED BLOGGER Darryl Forté Chief of Police Kansas City Police Department, Missouri

A few weeks ago I was watching a “dash cam” video from one of our cars. The video came from a sergeant’s car as he was in route to intercept the pursuit of an armed robbery suspect. The sergeant’s role is to supervise the pursuit — it is his/her responsibility to make sure our policies […]

FEATURED BLOGGER Doreen Olko Director of Public Safety Auburn Hills Department of Public Safety, Michigan