Photo Galleries

From basic training to field training, officers are told, "Watch the suspect's hands." But you are not taught how to do it. Why haven't law enforcement trainers developed an easily understandable method to teach you the specifics of hand-movement awareness? Mike "Ziggy" Siegfried explains how, and shows three scenarios – reaching for a gun, reaching for a knife, and reaching for a wallet to show ID. Also, please view "How to Watch the Hands" for an in-depth article on this topic.

Cable network TLC returns with "Police Women of Maricopa County," following its airing in the fall of "Police Women of Broward County." The sequel is a similar reality show featuring four female deputies policing the nation's fourth-largest county (3.9 million residents) southwest of Phoenix, Ariz. These deputies work for "America's Toughest Sheriff," Joe Arpaio. Photos courtesy of TLC.

The Rock River Arms PPS carbine employs the company's patent-pending Performance Piston System (PPS) to reduce recoil, as well as residue in the upper receiver. It features a purpose-designed bolt carrier, an adjustable gas piston, and an over-the-barrel spring and guide rod arrangement. The result is a departure from the traditional recoil system associated with AR-style firearms. Rock River Arms is expected to offer its PPS carbine to law enforcement later in 2010; the rifle carries a suggested retail price of $1,685.

The Mossberg 590A1 is an ideal platform for personalizing a pump-action shotgun, says Mike Shain of AIMPRO Tactical. Shain is one of several shops that offer action jobs, Magnaporting, accesorization and cleaning, polishing and refinishing of police scatterguns. Vang Comp and Wilson Combat are two others that offer shotgun modifications. For less than $250, Shain can reduce felt recoil and muzzle jump, giving operators a shot pattern of 4 inches or less from 50 yards. "What can we do to hot rod this gun," Shain asks, not needing an answer. "It's a great gun out of the box, but how can we squeeze every last drop of performance out of this gun."

Have you ever wondered why gang members wear the ridiculous costumes that they do? Why do they wear their pants sagging below their butts exposing their underwear? There's actually a company that stitches boxer-type underwear into the baggy pants to achieve the baggy pants clown look. POLICE gang expert Richard Valdemar explains the information to be learned from gangster clothing. Valdemar provided the images.

Now that computers have become commonplace in law enforcement vehicles, the depth and breadth of software for the police market has ballooned. A wide variety of enterprise and standalone products are now available to help officers identify threats, manage case information, administer and schedule personnel, and perform just about any other public safety duty.

What should you consider when looking at outerwear for duty or most any foul weather? First, versatility. Because quality outerwear is expensive, it needs to serve for at least three seasons out of the year. The second item to consider is whether the outer jacket is truly waterproof or just water resistant; there is nothing worse than being cold and wet. Last is the price. If the clothing breaks the bank it will cause issues.

Discovery's Planet Green channel will feature the officers of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in a new reality show scheduled to air beginning Jan. 8. "Operation Wild" follows the duties of officers who enforce the state's wildlife and boating laws. The show will air at 10 p.m. Eastern on Fridays.

A Texas Chrysler dealer is offering a powerhouse law enforcement version of the re-introduced Dodge Challenger muscle car that can reach 165 mph. The vehicle is available with a variety of custom options and is currently being used by several Texas agencies as a highway car for drug interdiction duty in solid black. We've blogged about the Challenger. Now, take a more in-depth tour with this gallery. Photos courtesy of Group 1 Automotive.

Nearly 20,000 officers from Washington state, the nation, and Canada gathered at the Tacoma Dome to pay homage to the service of the four Lakewood Police Department officers who were killed in a coffeeshop in late November, before their shift. The memorial service featured tributes to Sgt. Mark Renninger, Tina Griswold, Ronald Owens, and Greg Richards. The officers were remembered for their commitment to public service.

Magpul Dynamics offers firearms training that is in many ways tailored to law enforcement personnel. Magpul instructors teach skill-based firearms training they call weapons manipulation that's designed for "prioritizing efficiency and consistency in mindset, fundamentals and stress conditioning." The courses run the gamut from basic weapons skills to advanced dynamic assault in complex urban environments. Several courses are marked "LEO Only." Photos courtesy of Magpul.

In his movies, Steven Seagal usually plays a special agent or cop with martial-arts skills who, when pushed to the edge by baddies, responds with deadly force. Turns out, Seagal knows more about law enforcement that we thought. For the past two decades, he's been working as a fully commissioned deputy with the Jefferson Parish (La.) Sheriff's Office. Here are a few images from his new police reality show, "Steven Seagal: Lawman," which debuts Dec. 2 on A&E. Images courtesy of A&E.

A good duty light should be easily carried on a duty belt, provide adequate illumination up to 50 yards away, and be long enough that it protrudes from both sides of a fist so the light can act as a last-ditch impact weapon. The light should also be able to be used in conjunction with a sidearm in the Harries or Rogers technique. Xenon bulbs put out a tight beam and mega amounts of lumens; but they eat batteries and the lamp assemblies are expensive when you need a new bulb. LEDs, on the other hand, are rapidly approaching the light output of xenon at 50 yards or so. These models became available in 2009.

Although the Daniel Defense M4, or DDM4, is a factory rifle, it looks like it was built by a custom shop. This carbine ships with quad fore rails, a removable backup sight, Magpul MOE adjustable stock, Daniel Defense vertical fore grip, a flared/beveled trigger guard, a flared mag well, and a Magpul 30-round PMAG.

The gun manufacturers have been busy building some truly innovative firearms for law enforcement in 2009. The following is a quick look at some of the more interesting handgun models that have come to the attention of POLICE in recent months. Some of these weapons have been featured in our "Arsenal" firearms review features. Others are on our radar for future articles.

Good photographs documenting physical injuries start even before the camera is out of the bag, because you need to have the proper mindset. These photos aren't just for police departments. They'll be viewed by the prosecutor, defense attorney, judge and, most importantly, the jury will scrutinize your work. Good composition, proper exposure and attention to detail speak volumes about your skill and dedication. Sloppy, out-of-focus images give the impression of incompetence.

An annual California police motorcycle skills competition drew almost 500 officers to a sun-drenched parking lot along the Huntington Beach sand to compete for top-rider honors, train on patterns of neatly arranged orange cones and share a few moments of levity about their specialized patrol work. The Orange County Traffic Officer's Association hosted the annual skills competition, which nearly doubled in attendance from a year ago. Read our extended account of the event.

This week's announcement that General Motors is bringing back the Chevy Caprice patrol car, an officer favorite it stopped producing in 1996, put the editors of POLICE Magazine in the mood to remember the Chevy patrol cars of years past. Chevy has a strong legacy in the patrol car market, and the reintroduction of the Caprice patrol car has excited officers who remember the hot pursuer of the 1990s. We'll start off with the 1954 Chevy Bel Air, a patrol car that was affordable and powerful.

General Motors executives announced they plan to begin production of a new rear-wheel drive Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle today at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Denver. The 2011 Caprice PPV will be available in two configurations: a 355-hp V8 that generates an estimated 384 lb-ft of torque and a tamer V6. An undercover version will also be available. Regardless of how it is configured, the sleek Caprice PPV is likely to make an impression on traffic scofflaws. Revealing the concept car, GM executive Jim Campbell touted the car's bold and commanding presence. He asked, "Can you imagine this baby in your rearview mirror?"

Officers patrolling for agencies that purchased motorcycles from the 2009 model year will be riding one of six models. Harley-Davidson, which began producing police motorcycles in 1908, offers the Road King and Electra Glide (identical engine with sidecar mounting). BMW's R1200 RT-P is a favorite of the California Highway Patrol and Los Angles Sheriff's Department. The company also offers the G650. In 2007, Honda began producing its ST1300, a compact, performance bike. And H-D subsidiary Buell began producing a police version of its Ulysses sportbike in late 2008. Roads can't contain that bike, which has already been put to use by several rural departments.