By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D No doubt the Hoover Dam Police are tired of the old joke of the headline, but they exist and represent a critical function of law enforcement. Recent attacks on major power grids have resurrected concerns about protecting critical infrastructure that the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks highlighted over twenty Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D Murders were rare in the city where I first began working. The agency whose uniform I wore had just one full-time detective. When a murder or other major criminal event occurred that required intense investigative effort, the solution was our regional Major Case Squad. Each agency in a multi-county Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D We all know the image of the trooper peering in the driver’s side window asking for license and registration. The stereotype is the officer leaning from the doorpost wearing mirrored sunglasses, no hint of joy in his heart, and a cop mustache. It may not be far from reality Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D Most police officers had some understandable skepticism about body-worn cameras (BWC) recording all of their activity. Despite the critics, the reason was not that police officers were afraid that all of their nefarious, violent, racist, and corrupt activity would be discovered. The reasons were much more practical. The cumbersome Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D No candidate for a police job answers the question of why they want to become a law enforcement officer by saying they really love filling out forms and writing reports. The satisfaction that comes from catching bad guys, intervening in a crisis, and helping the helpless is the meat Read more »