Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Guard Enlisted Leaders Get Lesson in Nonlethal Weapons

By Army Master Sgt. Bob Haskell
Special to American Forces Press Service

April 29, 2008 - It was 20 times more painful, more debilitating, than any electrical shock she had ever experienced. Yet, a few minutes later, Arkansas National Guard state Command Sgt. Maj. Deborah Collins was walking and talking as normally as if she had never had a shocking encounter with one of the newest weapons available to the National Guard. Collins took part in a demonstration of nonlethal weapons during the National Guard Bureau's first Senior Enlisted
Leaders Conference here in mid-April. She let herself be zapped, or "tased," for a single second by a Taser X26, one of the devices the Guard now has for controlling unruly people without badly hurting them.

Nonlethal weapons, the
Army Guard's state command sergeants major and the Air Guard's state command chief master sergeants were told, give suitably-trained Guard personnel the ability to protect property after a hurricane or tornado, for example, without resorting to deadly force.

Every state Guard organization now has a nonlethal weapons kit that includes heavy plastic shields,
Tasers and weapons that can fire blunt-force rounds and tear-gas grenades designed to control crowds without inflicting serious injuries. The kits are stored in green, mobile containers.

"The policies and practices are still being developed, and our Guard people still need proper training," explained Maj. Tom White from the National Guard Bureau. "All but six states have nonlethal weapons instructors," added White, noting how seriously the Guard is subscribing to this idea of alternative force.

"Under United States law, the National Guard of each state is the only entity that can employ
military force in support of civil authorities unless the president declares martial law," the group was reminded.

"These nonlethal weapons are not a substitute for firearms. You don't take a
Taser to a gunfight," White observed. "But if they are used early enough, we can prevent the escalation to violence."

Collins discovered that for herself during the very long second that she was tased with the X26.

"I really didn't know what to expect. That's why I wanted to do it. It was immediate, intense pain," she explained. "For that one second, I don't remember anything but that pain. I had no thoughts about anything else. You know how you get shocked sometimes? Multiply that by at least 20 times."

The
Taser technology, which has been used since the late 1970s, is described as an electrical muscular disruption device. A one-second jolt will bring a grown man to his knees. The standard charge from an X26 lasts for five seconds, which can be administered in one- to two-second increments with a pistol grip to keep a subject under control.

Collins fared better than the three Guardsmen who also subjected themselves to the device, perhaps because women can withstand that kind of pain better than men, it was explained. She remained on her feet. The men fell to the ground.

"It's a good idea to use this equipment. You can control the situation without doing permanent damage to somebody, especially during a civil disturbance," she observed later. "The Guard is charged to help maintain order, but [those creating the disturbance] are citizens, too."

The nonlethal weapons are to be used with discretion by trained personnel, cautioned Command Sgt. Maj. David Ray Hudson, the National Guard Bureau's senior enlisted leader and a retired Alaska State Trooper captain.

"We have equipment out there that we are not adequately trained on," Hudson told the state enlisted leaders. "It's up to you to make sure your people get trained."

(
Army Master Sgt. Bob Haskell serves with the National Guard Bureau.)

Monday, April 28, 2008

Pelkington, Alexander and Erler

April 22, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added three law enforcement officials from the State of Florida.

Chief
Joe Pelkington’s 43 year career in law enforcement began with the Tampa Police Department, in 1960. As a member of the Tampa Police Department, he commanded the Patrol Division, Detective Division and the Selective Enforcement Bureau. In 1985, he retired from the Tampa Police Department as a Deputy Police Chief. He then began an 18 year career with the Treasure Island Police Department (Florida) as their chief of police. Joe Pelkington is the author of Shades of Blue.

According to the book description of Shades of Blue, “The early 1960's were the years that segregation started to wane and civil disobedience tested police
leadership. The police had broad discretion on the use of force including deadly force. Society demanded and pressured police to exhibit restraint and improve professional conduct. Police violence, tragedy, courage, dedication, compassion and misconduct are all revealed in this book. There are stories of police responding to dangerous encounters, humorous cases involving humans, animals and about police officers themselves.”

Dr.
John Alexander is a senior fellow with the Joint Special Operations University. For more than a decade, Dr. John Alexander has been a leading advocate for the development of non-lethal weapons. At Los Alamos National Laboratory, he organized and chaired six major conferences on non-lethal weapons, served as a U.S. delegate to four NATO studies on the topic. He wrote many of the seminal articles on non-lethal weapons and was a member of the National Research Council Committee for Assessment of Non-Lethal Weapons Science and Technology.

Dr.
John Alexander entered the U.S. Army as a private in 1956 and rose through the ranks to sergeant first class. He later attended Officer Candidate School and retired as a colonel of Infantry in 1988. During his varied career, he held many key positions in special operations, intelligence, and research and development. Academically, he holds an MA and a Ph.D. from Walden University. He has attended the Anderson School of Management, the Sloan School of Management, and the Kennedy School of Government.
Earlier in his life, Dr.
John Alexander worked five years as a deputy sheriff for the Dade County Sheriff’s Department. He is the author of Winning the War: Advanced Weapons, Strategies, and Concepts for the Post-9/11 World and a co-author of The Warrior's Edge and Future War: Non-Lethal Weapons in Twenty-First-Century Warfare.

According to Publisher’s Weekly, Future War: Non-Lethal Weapons in Twenty-First-Century Warfare, “In a thoughtful examination of the future of military doctrine, Alexander takes a hard look at what options might be available to the American
military in a world in which the rules of warfare have changed. Non-lethal weapons, he argues, will become more important for both political and practical reasons. Americans have grown increasingly aware of and sensitive to all casualties on any side in even the most just wars.”

Bob Erler, an ex-Green Beret, became a police officer Hollywood Police Department. One day he came home and found his wife and son had left him. Suffering from the effects of a high speed pursuit crash, Bob Erler went into depression. Later, on a day off, he came across a lady and her 12-year old daughter with no place to stay. He invited them to stay in his trailer but once there the lady told him she would call the police chief and tell him Bob was entertaining two women in his trailer unless he gave her $75.

Bob Erler shot the lady and her daughter dumping their bodies and calling the police station and saying "I've just shot two people, please catch me." From that day the suspect was known as "The Catch Me Killer." The next day he was assigned to investigate his own homicides. Bob Erler is the author of They Called Me the Catch Me Killer.

Police-Writers.com now hosts 987
police officers (representing 413 police departments) and their 2090 police books in 35 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Police Books from Florida

April 22, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added three law enforcement officials from Florida who have written books.

In 1996,
Robin Powell began her law enforcement career with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office (Florida) as a Detention Deputy Sheriff. In 1999, she became a regular deputy sheriff, assigned to patrol. After the birth of her daughter, she transferred to a civilian position as a Detention Program Specialist. In 2006, she left the criminal justice field. Robin Powell is the author of Girl Power: Saving Our Daughters Movement.

According to the book description of Girl Power: Saving Our Daughters Movement, “In today’s society, young girls are faced with many challenging issues for example peer pressure, school safety, chatroom safety, personal safety, love of self, education and HIV/AIDS. Many of these pressures draw girls to choosing the wrong paths. This book is an educational and empowering tool for young girls, parents, families, educators, coaches and many others.”

Vern Thornton is a retired Chief Deputy from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. In his retirement he founded Seniors Vs. Crime, in 1989. Vern Thornton is the author of
Not Today Buster! and And Today is only Monday.

According to the book description of And Today is only Monday, “Going back to the 1920s the book follows the life of a man in a small New England town as he gives up a secure government job to become a newspaper reporter, then an editor, with dramatic and often humorous accounts of events of the times. Hoodwinked into a new profession, this time in law enforcement, examine his career in Connecticut and Florida that followed.”

Vincent Van Hasselt is a professor of psychology and director of the Interpersonal Violence Program at Nova Southeastern University (Florida). He began his law enforcement career in 1995, when he joined the Plantation Police Department (Florida) as a part-time, certified police officer. In addition to his academic career, he has worked in the criminal justice field as: an instructor at the Criminal Justice Institute, Broward County Police Academy (Florida); a consultant to the Major Crimes Unit of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office; lecturer and consult to the FBI Behavior Science Unit; and, to a variety of law enforcement related crisis response and negotiation teams.

Vincent Van Hasselt is the author of Handbook of Adolescent Psychopathology and he is a coauthor of Basic Interviewing: A Practical Guide for Counselors and Clinicians.

According to the book description of Basic Interviewing: A Practical Guide for Counselors and Clinicians, “This book offers clear and direct answers to the questions most frequently asked by students and trainees learning how to talk to clients and extract critical data from them. Its development reflects the old adage that "necessity is the mother of invention." For many years, the editors taught beginning level mental health clinicians. They found, however, no text to be satisfactory--including a number that they themselves were involved in producing. Some were too difficult; some were too simplistic; some were too doctrinaire; still others had missing elements.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 984 police officers (representing 412 police departments) and their 2085
police books in 35 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Praise for Villains

April 22, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website also has separate listings for federal and international law enforcement officials. One author listed, Dick Kirby, recently released his new book Villains.

Dick Kirby was born in the East-End of London, England in 1943. He joined the London Metropolitan Police in 1967. Dick Kirby worked as a detective sergeant in east and north London and served on Scotland Yard's Serious Crime Squad and the Flying Squad for half of his 26 years of service. Throughout his career he was commended on 40 occasions for courage, leadership and his detective ability. He retired from the police force in 1993. Dick Kirby is the author of Rough Justice, The Real Sweeney, You’re Nicked and his most recent release Villains.

Dirk Kirby’s latest book is received strong praise:

“All of the stories are told with
Dick Kirby’s acerbic, black humor in a compelling style by a detective who was there.”
American Police Beat, April 2008 edition.

“ … a great collection of true stories that rival the best of the fictional yarn spinners.”
Joseph Wambaugh.

“I’m a huge
Dick Kirby fan … this is a fast-paced, riveting read, made even more enjoyable by Kirby’s trademark humor.”
Tangled Web Website, March 2008.

“This is magic. The artfulness of these anti-heroes has you pining for the good old days.”
The Daily Sport, 28 February 2008.

According to the book description of Villains, “
Police officers are now no longer encouraged to talk to criminals, and that’s a pity. Wonderful stories once were shared as a result of a quick pint with a snout down the pub, or as a respite during interrogation, when both copper and criminal would stop for a fag. Those were the glory days, where gripping accounts of slashings, fit-ups, dodgy deals, blaggings and petermen would filter through and become folklore. These days such intimacy is frowned upon (and smoking in interrogation cells is of course banned) so it is only here that these stories can be recounted. In Villains’ Tales the reader will be introduced to the bad, the mad and the dangerous to know, recounted in gripping style by those who had intimate dealings with the shady characters, both criminal and copper, from London’s underworld, long ago.”

More information about
Dick Kirby is available at www.police-writers.com/dick_kirby.html

Police-Writers.com now hosts 981
police officers (representing 411 police departments) and their 2079 police books in 35 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Creech, Miller and Katz

April 16, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added two law enforcement officers from Texas and one from Florida.

Paul Creech began his 40 year law enforcement career with the Texas Highway Patrol which became part of the Texas Department of Public Safety. After ten years as a Highway Patrol Officer, Paul Creech began to fly aircraft for the Texas Department of Public Safety. Paul Creech is the author of Eagle with a Badge.

According to the book description of Eagle with a Badge, it “is the true story of pilot Paul Creech, who flew state police helicopters and other aircraft for thirty years, preceded by ten years as a highway patrolman. It was a life of extreme danger, with times of stark terror, interspersed with the routine that all police officers know. By day, by night, in weather ranging from floods and tornadoes to snowstorms, Paul rescued people, and helped ground officers apprehend bank robbers, murderers, and escaping convicts.”

After graduation from high school,
Rick Miller served three years as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division. He served almost twelve years as an officer, detective, and supervisor with the Dallas Police Department, after which he was the chief of police for the Killeen Police Department (Texas) and the Denton Police Department (Texas). After receiving his juris doctorate from Baylor University in 1983, Rick Miller entered the private practice of law in Killeen. Rick Miller is the author of Sam Bass & Gang, Bloody Bill Longley: A Biography, The Train Robbing Bunch and Bounty Hunter.

According to the book description of Sam Bass & Gang, “the legendary Sam Bass refused to give up his companions to the trailing lawmen. In 1878, the chase ended with the famous gunfight on the streets of Round Rock, Texas.”

Marty Katz is a retired sergeant from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. Marty Katz is the author of Past the Uniform. According to the book description, “Ever wonder what it is like to be on the other side of a 9-1-1 call? Come along for the ride. View the world through the windshield of a patrol unit and behind the yellow tape of crime scenes.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 978 police officers (representing 409 police departments) and their 2074
criminal justice books in 35 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Two Rangers and a Marine

April 15, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added two Texas Rangers and one police officer who is a former Marine.

W. J. L. Sullivan was a sergeant with the Texas Rangers from 1889 to 1901. He is the author of Twelve Years in the Saddle with the Texas Rangers.

Captain
Daniel Roberts joined the Texas Rangers in 1874 and served periodically until 1882. Captain Daniel Roberts’ autobiography, Rangers and Sovereignty, was published in 1914.

David Cortez is a former United States Marine who served one year with the Third Reconnaissance Battalion in Okinawa, Japan. David Cortez is a graduate of Dallas Baptist University and holds a BA in business administration. He is a twenty-four year veteran of the Fort Worth Police Department, where he currently serves as a sergeant in the Patrol Division. Among his many assignments in police work are the Patrol Division, Vice, Intelligence, Narcotics, Burglary, Detective, Gang Unit, Federal Drug Task Force, (known as Weed-n-Seed) and the Training Division. David Cortez is the author of A Personal Guide for Cabin and Cockpit Self Defense.

According to the book description of A Personal Guide for Cabin and Cockpit Self Defense, “This book outlines a variety of self defense related issues. First it recognizes terrorism profound impact on the flight industry and the American way of life. Secondly, it draws informal parallels between the current flight industry and our system of policing while defining some
terrorist methods of operations. Moreover, the book addresses a need for a change in attitude and purpose as it relates to flight personnel. Varied issues involving fear, emotional control, legality, personal attitudes, edged weapons defenses, and personal weapons, are delineated in this book.. What’s more, realistic self-defense measures are clarified for Cabin and Cockpit Defense. This book is a classic "HOW TO" on Self-Defense and a must read for airline personnel, police and the military.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 972
police officers (representing 408 police departments) and their 2065 criminal justice books in 35 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Protective Equipment for Law Enforcement

Attacks or accidents involving chemicals, biological agents, or radiation likely are the most dangerous a law enforcement officer could ever face. The protective equipment the officer relies upon in such incidents must meet the highest standards. The law enforcement community asked the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to develop a standard specifically for CBRN protective equipment used by law enforcement officers. The standard will focus on protective ensembles, which are designed to provide full-body protection against exposure to CBRN hazards. NIJ has been working particularly closely with the National Fire Protection Association and the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense to leverage related efforts where possible in order to expedite release of the new NIJ standard. When completed, the standard will be published by NIJ and available on the JUSTNET web site. For additional information regarding the standard, please visit www.justnet.org/testing/cbrn.html.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

True Crime and Horror

April 14, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added two law enforcement officials who have written in the true crime genre and a third who has written in the horror arena.

Chief
Russell Smith’s law enforcement career began as a reserve deputy with the Tom Green County Sheriffs Department in 1977 and ended when he retired as the San Angelo Police Department (Texas) Police Chief in 1999. This experience spurred his professional writing career when he sold his first article to a police trade magazine in 1980. Russell Smith spent five years as an outdoor columnist for the San Angelo Standard-Times and several magazines. He received numerous awards for his writing and photography from the Texas Outdoor Writers Association. Chief Russell Smith is the author of The Gun That Wasn't There.

According to the book description of The Gun That Wasn't There, “meticulously outlines the true story of rural West Texas communities under attack by an armed criminal in the 1960s. At times graphic, this vivid true crime story is an unusually perceptive assessment of the criminal mind as told with the surprising empathetic voice of both survivors and victims of crime.”

While serving as Sheriff of Lincoln County (New Mexico),
John William Poe became friends with Pat Garrett and John Chisum. His most famous experience occurred when he accompanied Garrett to Pete Maxwell's ranch near Fort Sumner. Garrett went inside. Waiting outside, Poe saw William Bonney (Billy the Kid) enter the ranch house, though he did not recognize him. He heard the gunfire when Billy the Kid was shot and killed by Pat Garrett. John William Poe’s originally authored Personal narrative or reminiscence which relates the main facts and circumstances which led up to the killing of Billy the Kid, which was most recently rereleased as The Death of Billy the Kid.

Joe McKinney is a homicide detective for the San Antonio Police Department. Joe McKinney has a Master's Degree in English Literature from The University of Texas at San Antonio. Before joining the Homicide Division as a detective, Joe McKinney worked on the San Antonio Police Department's Critical Incident Management Team, where he received training in dealing with a variety of natural and manmade disasters, such as floods, fires, and train wrecks, and that training figures prominently in his fiction. Joe McKinney is the author of Dead City and a coauthor of The Sound of Horror.

According to the book description of Dead City, “Battered by five cataclysmic hurricanes in three weeks, the Texas Gulf Coast and half of the Lone Star State is reeling from the worst devastation in history. Thousands are dead and dying--but the worst is only beginning. Amid the wreckage, something unimaginable is happening: a deadly virus has broken out, returning the dead to life – with an insatiable hunger for human flesh.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 966 police officers (representing 407 police departments) and their 2054
law enforcement books in 35 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Crime and History in Texas

April 13, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books.

Dale Hinz was a 30 year member of the Fort Worth Police Department and retired in 1999 at the rank of Sergeant. He started a career in law enforcement as a civilian dispatcher and during his career he worked patrol, as a member of the first SWAT Team, a robbery detective and was promoted to sergeant in 1987. Dale Hinz helped develop the first Officer Survival School and taught several different subjects to new recruits. Dale Hinz is the author of Panther's Rest: History of the Fort Worth Police Department 1873-21st Century.

Nelson Zoch served the Houston Police Department for thirty-six years from 1968 to 2004. His service included assignments on the night shift in Radio Patrol as a street officer in the Third Ward of Houston and later as a Park Place Radio Patrol Shift Lieutenant. He also served in the Homicide Division from 1972-1977 as a Detective investigating murders and other Homicide related investigations. Nelson Zoch returned to the Homicide Division in 1980 continued a distinguished career in the Homicide Division where he served as a Murder Squad Lieutenant for over twenty-four years until his retirement in 2004. Nelson Zoch is the author of Fallen Heroes of the Bayou City: Houston Police Department 1860-2006.

Mark Dantzker, Ph.D. began his law enforcement career in 1981 when he joined the Terre Haute Police Department (Indiana). In 1984, he joined the Fort Worth Police Department and worked patrol and in the Criminal Investigations Division as a crime scene search officer. In 1998, he entered the academic world as the Program Director of the Texas Southmost College Criminal Justice and Fire Science Program. As Mark Dantzker continued with his academic career, he continued to participate in law enforcement. He has worked as a Certified Police Officer on a university campus, and until 2003 he was a reserve deputy sheriff for the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Department. Today, Mark Dantzker is a full professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Texas Pan American.

Mark L. Dantzker has a BS in Criminology; and MA in Criminology and a Ph.D. in Administration. He is the author of Understanding Today’s Police; Research Methods for Criminology and Criminal Justice; Police Organization and Management: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow; and, Criminology and Criminal Justice: Comparing, Contrasting and Intertwining Disciplines. He is also the co-author of Crime & Criminality: Causes and Consequences, Contemporary Police Organization and Management: Issues and Trends; and, Policing and Training Issues.

According to the book description of Crime & Criminality: Causes and Consequences, “This concise but thorough textbook, bridges the gap between theory and the real world of crime and
criminal justice. The emphasis is on clarity and brevity in explaining core theories and issues, while avoiding the superfluous gewgaws and distractions found in many other textbooks.

Police-Writers.com now hosts 960 police officers (representing 403 police departments) and their 2044
law enforcement books in 35 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

Leadership Book is Hoffer Award Finalist

April 12, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Leadership: Texas Hold ‘em Style was a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book Award. According to the Executive Editor of Writers Notes & Best New Writing, Christopher Klim, “While it did not win a category distinction this year, it fell within the top 10% of entrants to be considered for prizes. With respect to the competition, we consider this an honor of its own merit. Less than 50 books each year are dubbed with the title of “Eric Hoffer Award Finalist.”

About the Award
The Eric Hoffer Award honors the memory of the great American philosopher Eric Hoffer by highlighting salient writing. The Hoffer Award honors freethinking writers and independent books of exceptional merit. The “Hoffer” honored books are chiefly from small, academic, and micro presses, including self-published offerings. The books and prose of the Hoffer Award are nominated by the people and judged by independent panels. Since its inception as the Writers Notes Award, the Hoffer Award has grown in prominence. Winners of the “Hoffer” are given prizes, honors, and worldwide media exposure, as well as being covered in the annual anthology, Best New Writing.

About the Leadership: Texas Hold ‘em Style
Using poker as analogy for
leadership, Captain Andrew J. Harvey, CPD (ret.), Ed.D. and Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA found the right mix of practical experience and academic credentials to write a definitive book for leaders. Working together, Harvey and Foster have written Leadership: Texas Hold ‘em Style. Most often leaders find they are given a set of resources people, equipment, funds, experience and a mission. As Foster noted, "You're dealt a certain hand. How you play that hand as a leader determines your success."

About the Authors
Dr.
Andrew J. Harvey served in law enforcement for 25 years, the last 12 as a captain with a Southern California police agency. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cal State Los Angeles, and an educational doctorate in the field of organizational leadership from Pepperdine University. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the California POST Command College, the West Point Leadership Program, and is recognized in California as a master instructor.

Dr. Harvey is an experienced college educator, currently serving as a professor at the University of Phoenix, and as a faculty advisor at the Union Institute and University. He has been published numerous times in national and international publications. He is a recognized expert in
leadership and career development, and has served as an instructor in command leadership at the Los Angeles Police Department Academy. He has appeared as a leadership authority on television and radio, including the internationally-broadcast Bloomberg Business Television Show, and the nationally syndicated Joey Reynolds Radio Show.

His first book, The Call to Lead: How Ordinary People Become Extraordinary Leaders, received national attention. The book shows the way for leaders toward ethical and competent
leadership. Through his company, Andrew Harvey Seminars, he provides leadership training and consulting to individuals and organizations throughout the nation.

Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton. He has completed his doctoral course work in business research. Raymond is a graduate of the West Point Leadership program and has attended law enforcement, technology and leadership programs such as the National Institute for Justice, Technology Institute, Washington, DC.

Raymond is currently a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in
law enforcement, public policy, technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in law enforcement. His first book, “Police Technology (Prentice Hall, July 2004)” is used in over 100 colleges and universities nationwide.

Contact Information
www.pokerleadership.com
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Civilian, Military Defenders Gather for Vehicle Bomb Demonstration

By Jennifer M. McCarthy
Special to American Forces Press Service

April 11, 2008 - Federal and state
law enforcement personnel joined servicemembers at the explosive ordnance range here April 9 for a vehicle bomb demonstration. FBI agents based in New York and New Jersey, New Jersey State Police, Defense Department police, and Army and Air Force personnel saw a large box truck, a sport utility vehicle, two sedans, and a minivan ripped asunder by explosives and sent soaring into the air.

The vehicles were rigged with controlled explosive devices detonated as part of a week-long joint training course that helped hone the
law enforcement officials' skills in the tools and techniques used to identify and neutralize vehicle bombs.

As well as allowing participants a chance to earn a certificate from the FBI Bomb Data Center, the course provided real-world experience, particularly to soldiers and airmen deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.

"The training was good. It is useful in principle," said
Air Force Staff Sgt. Michael Bramble of the 305th Civil Engineer Squadron's explosive ordnance disposal flight. Bramble recently returned from a deployment in Afghanistan. "This training is geared towards populated areas," he said. "It decreases collateral damage."

Terrorists have adopted vehicle bombs as a prominent weapon of choice, but they are not a new tactic. One of the earliest uses of a car bomb was the attempted assassination of Sultan Abdul Hamid II in Istanbul in 1905 by Armenian separatists. Since then, terrorist groups have used vehicle bombs as a way to try to cause chaos and destruction.

Don Breecre, a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and environmental bomb technician, said the Fort Dix demonstration was "a chance for bomb techs, EOD, to train on the tools we use to defeat vehicle bombs."

"Perfect practice makes perfect," he said.

(Jennifer M. McCarthy works at Fort Dix Public Affairs.)

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Williams, Hatley and Capwell

April 8, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added three law enforcement officials.

Howard Williams began his 30 year law enforcement career as a cadet for the Austin Police Department (Texas). Working a variety of assignments he rose through the ranks of the department to become the commander of the Organized Crime Division in 2002. In 2003, Howard Williams accept the position as Chief of Police for the San Marcos Police Department (Texas).

Howard Williams completed his Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Southwest Texas State University in August 2002 and a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in August 2000. Howard Williams is the author of Asset Forfeiture: A Law Enforcement Perspective.

According to the book description of Asset Forfeiture: A
Law Enforcement Perspective, it “reviews the myriad statutes, rules, regulations, confusing and often contradictory judicial decisions, and detailed processes to outline forfeiture procedures for law enforcement administrators, investigators, and officers. The text consists of three principal sections: the development of modern asset forfeiture policy, asset forfeiture law, and administering forfeiture programs.”

Allen Hatley was a freelance writer and twice elected constable in Bandera County (Texas). Allen Hatley served in the US Army and saw service in Korea from 1951 to 1952. He holds a BS and MS in Geology and an Advanced Peace Officer Certification from the State of Texas. In addition to his 30 year career in the petroleum industry, Allen Hatley has an active and varied law enforcement career.

In 1988, he graduated from the Middle Rio Grande
Law Enforcement Academy and received his Basic Peace Officer Certificate. He worked as a criminal investigator for the district attorney’s office and as a narcotics agent in the Southwest Narcotics Task Force. In 1993, he was elected as Constable, Precinct Number 4, Bandera County and re-elected in 1997. He retired in 1998. Allen Hatley is the author of Bringing the Law to Texas: Crime and Violence in Nineteenth Century Texas; The Oil Finders: A Collection of Stories About Exploration; Early Texas Indian Wars 1822-1835; The First Texas Legion During the American Civil War; The Indian Wars in Stephen F. Austin's Texas Colony, 1822-1835; Reluctant Rebels: The Eleventh Texas Cavalry Regiment; The First Texas Legion; and, Texas Constables: A Frontier Heritage.

According to the book description of Texas Constables: A Frontier Heritage, “Though a host of Texas Rangers, U.S. marshals, and even town marshals populate the legends and annals of law enforcement, the stories and exploits of constables, an equally significant group of peace officers, have gone mostly unheralded. In a long-overdue examination,
Allen Hatley traces Texas constables to their roots in medieval England and colonial America and chronicles a rich history from January 1823, when a constable was appointed as the first law-enforcement officer in Stephen F. Austin's colony.”

Allen Capwell is the former sheriff of the Wyoming County (New York). Allen L. Capwell is the author of The Sheriff of Wyoming County: 150 Years of Protection and Service.

Police-Writers.com now hosts 951 police officers (representing 400 police departments) and their 2024 police books in 34 categories, there are also listings of United States federal
law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

Monday, April 07, 2008

SWAT Operations

April 7, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) The April 9, 2008, program of Conversations with Cops at The Watering Hole focuses on SWAT operations with guest Kevin Barrett.

Program Date: April 9, 2008
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic:
SWAT Operations
Guests: Kevin Barrett

Listen Live: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement

About the Guest
Kevin Barrett is the Chairman/CEO of the International Tactical Officers Training Association and
SWAT Digest. Kevin is currently active duty [15 years] for a municipal police department where he is assigned to a special response team (SWAT) as a primary entry team member. Kevin’s past assignments include criminal investigations, drug task force and patrol. He has participated in hundreds of tactical operations and has specialized training and experiences in close quarter battle (CQB), counter terrorism, dignitary protection, SCBA and linear assault operations. He is a court certified expert in clandestine laboratory investigation and operations (DEA/ CLET certifications.) Kevin attended Indiana State University and is a certified instructor through the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.

About the Watering Hole
The Watering Hole is police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.

About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the
Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in law enforcement, public policy, technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in law enforcement.

Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement

Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster,
LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530

Carlin, Boryszewski and Joseph

April 7, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added three law enforcement officials.

Christopher Carlin is the Chief Deputy of Uniformed Operations with the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department, with more than 24 years of law enforcement experience. Chief Deputy Christopher Carlin began his law enforcement career with the United States Army Military Police in Germany. He joined the sheriff’s department in 1982 as a road patrol deputy. He served in that position until 1989 when he was promoted to Sergeant. In 2004, he was appointed to the position of Chief Deputy

Chief Deputy
Christopher Carlin is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the FBI Law Enforcement Leadership Development Course. He has obtained his Associates in Applied Sciences Degree in Criminal Justice from Niagara County Community College and a Bachelor of Sciences Degree from Empire State College in Criminal Justice Public Administration.

Christopher Carlin is a thirty year veteran of the military, serving on active duty with the U. S. Army from 1976 to 1979. He has served in the NY Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve since 1981. Deputy Chief Christopher Carlin is the author of Protecting Niagara: A History of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office.

Ralph Boryszewski served five years in the US Army and then joined the Rochester Police Department (New York) where his law enforcement career spanned 27 years. Ralph Boryszewski is the author of The Constitution that Never was: How the American People have been Conned by Lawyers and Treason.

Lieutenant
Albert Joseph, Rochester Police Department (retired), has over 32 years of law enforcement experience. During his career he worked a variety of assignments including the tactical unit, narcotics unit, detective bureau and homicide unit. Lieutenant Albert Joseph is a certified instructor in several states and has taught interview and interrogation for over 30 years. He is the author of We Get Confessions.

According to the book description, We Get Confessions uses “actual cases to explain these proven techniques, Lt. Joseph shares his vast experience and insight on the following: Legal issues; Preparing for Court; and, Truth and Deception.

Police-Writers.com now hosts 945
police officers (representing 394 police departments) and their 2010 police books in 33 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

2000 Police Books

April 6, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. With the addition of three NYPD authors and their work, the website now lists 2000 books written by state and local law enforcement officials.

Patrolman
John Hickey retired from the New York Police Department around 1915. He is the author of Our Police Guardians.

In 1985,
James Johnson joined the New York Police Department and served for 20 years. During his law enforcement career, James Johnson worked as undercover in the Narcotics Division, Zodiac Killer taskforce, The Mayor’s Social Club Task Force, and other units within the police department. However, he considers his greatest accomplishment the creation and implementation a gang crime reduction strategy.

In 1995, the
New York Police Department experienced a shift in manpower that created a shortage in the community affairs division. In 1996, James Johnson with the assistance of Denise Johnson founded and ran the Sixty-Ninth Precinct Law Enforcement Explores Youth Program. James Johnson is the co-author of a children’s book, The Adventures of Little Nina.

According to the book description of The Adventures of Little Nina, “This was a very special day for Nina; it was her eighth birthday. When trains in Trainville turned eight they are expected to deliver packages from station to station. Today Nina was going to do it on her own. Her father gave her all the advice she needed and warnings against distractions, but even with the best advice sometimes distractions are too hard to resist.”

Philip Mahony joined the New York Police Department in the early 1980s. As of 1998, he had risen to the rank of Lieutenant. He is the author of volumes of poetry, Catching Bodies and Supreme – Poems. His an BA and MA in English Literature, has taught at New York University, and was the editor of From Both Sides Now: The Poetry of the Vietnam War and Its Aftermath.

According to a reader of Catching Bodies, “With the blast of a 12 gauge point blank. His work comes straight off the street, undiluted by romanticism or the glorification of violence. Its an attempt to convey the life of a beat coop without cliché or comedy. Mahoney’s poetry is a self defense reaction against the unbearable senselessness of suffering. He cannot save souls, he can only catch the bodies”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 939
police officers (representing 394 police departments) and their 2000 police books in 33 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Reducing Gun Violence: Operation Ceasefire in Los Angeles

Operation Ceasefire was developed in response to gang related gun violence in the Hollenbeck area of Los Angeles. Planned by 19 public and private agencies working with researchers, this initiative was intended to send gang members the message that there would be consequences for all members of a gang if any one member committed a crime that involved guns.

The working group, which began meeting in early 1999, examined trouble spots to find a location where an intervention would have an impact. It selected the Hollenbeck section of the city because of its high
crime rate, particularly violent crime. In the community's view, gangs were at the core of homicides and gun violence, and the researchers' confirmed this. An array of enforcement agencies were involved in a coordinated strategy that included stepped up police patrol in five reporting districts; mounted police patrols in the parks and adjacent public housing developments; the County Housing Authority police patrolling in a housing complex that was a hotbed for gang activity; and police and probation officers visiting the homes of several well-known gang members, arresting three who had outstanding warrants or probation violations. Other enforcement levers included inspection by health and child welfare agencies at properties where gang members congregated. The intervention seemed to be most effective during the suppression phase, with the effect declining slightly in the deterrence phase; however, because the decline continued into the deterrence phase, the possibility of a longer term effect cannot be ruled out.

READ ON
http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/192378.pdf

Graffiti

This police training guide addresses effective responses to the problem of graffiti which is seen as a persistent and intractable problem and is often related to other crime and disorder problems. A major factor discussed is what motivates graffiti offenders, including psychological needs, excitement, a sense of control, and elements of risk, and as a form of public communication.

Key questions to ask in dealing with graffiti control are addressed, such as what are the types of graffiti, where is it located, when is it perpetrated, who are its victims, how much is there, how big is it, and how many incident reports are received. Having answered these questions, it is stressed that it is then necessary to measure the effectiveness of responses. Useful measures of response effectiveness include the extent to which graffiti is reduced, moved, or reflects a change in offenders' tactics. Appropriate responses are discussed, including reducing rewards to offenders by detecting graffiti rapidly and routinely, monitor graffiti-prone locations routinely, increase reporting of incidents and offenders, remove it quickly, and increase the risk of detection. Also, increasing the difficulty of offending is recommended by vandal-proofing and/or controlling access to graffiti-prone locations, and focusing on chronic offenders.

Limited effectiveness responses include limiting access to graffiti tools, channeling offenders to more acceptable behaviors, providing alternative services and activities, and involving youth in developing programs, expanding applicable laws, holding parents accountable, using new technologies, establishing juvenile curfews, and warning offenders. The guide concludes with a table summarizing responses to graffiti.

READ ON
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/e11011354.pdf

Theft from Cars In Center-City Parking Facilities: A Case Study in Implementing Problem-Oriented Policing

This project was completed under an Advancing Community Policing Grant made to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Policing. The problem of larcenies from autos (LFAs) constituted a large proportion of all crime reported in Uptown, a recently redeveloped and revitalized area of the city of Charlotte. The LFAs had been resistant to control through conventional police operations and were increasing at a rate faster than economic growth.

Between 1998 and 1999, LFAs jumped from 1,011 to 1,313. These statistics most likely underestimate the problem because vicitimization surveys have found that only 30-50 percent of LFAs are reported to the
police. Analysis of the problem found that police officers tended to blame LFAs on a combination of careless victims, lenient courts, and offenders who were supporting drug or alcohol problems, rather than on the location and security of the facilities. While conventional police operations continued to be used to combat the problem a comprehensive inventory of parking facilities was conducted.

This resulted in the identification of 206 separate parking facilities (39 decks and 167 surface lots) with more than 20 parking spaces at each facility. A detailed analysis of the risks of theft, and the associated
security features, was made for each facility. The analysis revealed that 1) risks of theft were much greater in lots than decks, and 2) higher risks of theft in lots were associated with inadequate fencing, poor lighting, and the absence of attendants.

These data played an important part in obtaining the agreement of lot owners and operators to make
security improvements. Before most of these improvements had been made, however, thefts in the lots began to decline, possibly as the result of more focused patrolling by police and security personnel. This paper concludes with a discussion of the difficulties encountered by police in undertaking problem-oriented projects, and of ways to help them meet these difficulties. 6 tables, appendix, and 40 references

READ ON
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/ric/Publications/e12021833.pdf

CCTV: Constant Cameras Track Violators

The use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to monitor public spaces is increasing, both in the United States and abroad. The Federal government, and NIJ in particular, has funded research into these systems because of their many security applications in both the domestic and international arenas. In England, CCTV systems have monitored public places for many years, partly due to concerns over terrorism. In Israel, police in the old city of Jerusalem use CCTV to monitor every street in many commercial and religious areas.

Many people are wary about the government watching and recording their movements
as they pass through parks, streets, and other public areas. Yet despite the controversy,
CCTV use by criminal justice personnel in the United States may be increasing. Some governmental uses of CCTV technology, particularly in the field of corrections, have sparked little or no controversy. But in other venues, CCTV use is raising constitutional and privacy concerns. For now, the most prevalent use of CCTV by law enforcement in the United States is the taping of traffic stops by cameras mounted in police vehicles. But it is starting to be used more broadly, as it is in other countries. How widespread that use becomes ultimately will depend on how Americans weigh the benefits of CCTV surveillance against its intrusiveness.

READ ON
http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/jr000249d.pdf

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Effective Implementation of New Legislation in Crime Control in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Implementation of legislation in the transition that Bosnia and Herzegovina is currently going through is particularly characterized by two segments: first, adoption of new legislation, and two, reorganization of existing or establishment of new state bodies. Thus, some laws, such as the Law on Criminal Procedure, have been devised in a way totally new in comparison with old laws. Other laws, such as the Criminal Code, were carried over from before, with some changes and improvements.

When it comes to
law enforcement bodies, the situation is rather incoherent. The current police forces, prosecutors, courts and legal practices, have been assigned more or less new roles, different from our earlier tradition, both in terms of organization and in terms of function. With them, judicial, financial and taxation police have been established as a totally new set of law enforcement bodies, though at the local level rather than the state, which would have been logical.

Adding to this the following: (1) in different administrative parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina there are different
criminal codes (a total of four), meaning that identical actions are not unlawful across the state, and (2) new procedural legislation allows for the use of covert investigation and surveillance, though without adequate human resources and equipment, then the picture of overall inconsistency of the legal system and its implementation becomes complete. Contrary to this, the underground functions perfectly and with no administrative barriers, as confirmed by an increase in serious criminal offences such as drug-related crime, trafficking in persons, murders and fraud.

READ ON
http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/Mesko/208014.pdf