By Stephen Owsinski In the months preceding December 2014, Tarpon Springs, Florida police Officer Charlie “K” Kondek, Jr. relished the thoughts of a retirement home built somewhere up in the mountains. A humble abode in which he and his beloved family could switch gears and enjoy solitude afforded by nature, leave long burdensome patrol shifts Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D The Montgomery County, Maryland police recently announced that they are exploring a “lighter” uniform look that is less intimidating. A notable experiment in Lakewood, Colorado put their officers in sportscoats rather than the traditional uniforms. They returned to the uniforms when they discovered that the public wanted their police Read more »
By Steve Pomper Here at the NPA, one of the most important missions is to educate people about what police do, so they can better assess officers involved in “controversial incidents.” But just as important are the others who write about police work but from a more academic perspective. For example, Manhattan Institute scholar Heather Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski With the nationwide manhunt for the Alabama jail escapee and corrections officer garnering tons of media attention, the ill-fated finale evolved in Monday morning quarterbacks questioning how law enforcement and fire personnel handled the scene. Despite reams of media portrayals derived from body-worn cameras delivering hardcore reality and imperfect humans mitigating an Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D When in Washington D.C. or watching newsworthy events on television, it may be hard to keep up with what agency is attending to what event. The plain-clothes and secret agents with law enforcement tasks can’t always be spotted with the ubiquitous earphones and wrist microphones, but they are there! Read more »
By Steve Pomper There are two critical and somewhat linked issues for law enforcement officers to revisit on occasion because if proponents are successful, it’ll be impossible for cops to do their jobs effectively, if at all. One issue has cop-haters taking away a protection and one has them adding a barrier. These are the Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D The dramatic escape of Casey White made possible by her lover, Corrections Officer Vicky White, has focused attention on the field of corrections. Are corrections officers law enforcement officers? These men and women do enforce the laws, even if their citizenry is behind walls, fences, and bars. Their citizens Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski A Florida circuit judge handed down a death sentence for a man who killed two Kissimmee police officers, execution-style. The double-homicide occurred on August 18, 2017. On Friday, mid-way through National Police Week 2022, Osceola County Circuit Court Judge Greg Tynan concurred with a jury that, in 2019, unanimously convicted Everett Miller Read more »
By Steve Pomper Imagine you’re a cop, and you’ve spent over a decade serving under a city attorney who’d rather prosecute cops than criminals. Imagine every time you made an arrest, that “prosecutor” would decline it for some made-up reason. Imagine that city attorney, a walking, talking dereliction of duty, prosecuted (or not) certain crimes Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski Despite the naysayers who believe “scary” surplus military equipment provided to America’s law enforcement agencies ought to be banned forever, one of the latest barricaded subject standoffs illustrates the usefulness of armored apparatus, especially protecting cops extraordinarily well while they defuse situations. In the San Carlos Park community in Lee County, Florida, Read more »