By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D Kids say the darnedest things, but sometimes they do the darnedest things. A 9-year-old boy in Oroville, CA decided to drive himself to school in the family Volkswagon sedan. When a California Highway Patrol officer saw the car oddly stationary in an intersection, the officer instructed the driver to Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D When New Mexico State Policeman Officer Justin Hare stopped to assist a motorist he was doing what public servants do, helping people when they can. After seeing the vehicle had a flat tire, Hare offered to give the motorist a ride. He was murdered for his efforts. Another New Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski The euphemism You can run but you can’t hide! came to life, once again, when a youngster operating a “crotch rocket” motorcycle bearing a counterfeit license plate “WILL RUN” illustrated reckless behavior and lived up to his brazen advertisement by…running from the police. Little did he know the sheriff’s office eye-in-the-sky aviators Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski Fentanyl is a widely used word lately, stemming from the drug’s highly fatal potency ending the lives of users. While our still-unsecured southern border serves as a facilitator of fentanyl, the Volusia County, Florida, sheriff’s office Overdose Task Force (ODTF) combats the poisons that have made it inland, steadily going after the Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D There was a time when most church doors were left unlocked. If someone needed shelter or a place to pray or contemplate, they could slip into a sanctuary for some quiet reflection. Most of today’s houses of worship are not only locked and alarmed, many have their own armed Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D With all of our understanding of human development, trauma, family dynamics, and psychology some may believe that the concept of evil has been displaced by other explanations for aberrant behavior. I’ll let the philosophers, theologians, and therapists debate among themselves whether evil exists but there is no doubt in Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D The October mass shooting in Maine happened in a state with one of the lowest violent crime rates in the nation and a state with permitless carry. Everytown for Gun Safety cites Main as “a permitless carry state, though it continues to have low gun violence relative to its Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski While first responders are trained to be ever mindful of the dangers of performing duties and to be hypervigilant while providing public safety, lawless cities have become abysmal for our police and fire/rescue professionals, with callous and reckless people blatantly causing harm to heroes on The Job. The tectonic shift from law Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D Beyond the headlines, every October when the FBI releases its annual report on crime in America is real information that should be used in developing criminal justice policy. While there is a sense that crime is on the rise, resulting in greater fear among the public, we need to Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D Each October the FBI releases its annual crime report, known as the UCR. It may not tell us as much as we think. The main benefit of the Uniform Crime Report is the year to year comparison since 1930. While the UCR statistics can be an important barometer of Read more »