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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.

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. 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 haev 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.

The first law enforcement simulators were 16 mm projectors that flickered their filmed images onto sheets strung across shooting ranges. When the bad guy went for his gun, the officer had to fire and then await the judgement of his trainer as to whether it was a good shoot. Today's simulators are high-tech computer systems with digital projectors that play complex interactive scenarios. They are designed not only to teach officers when and how to shoot guns and less-lethal weapons but also how to talk to suspects to avoid escalation and confrontation.

The Aryan Brotherhood, which is also known as "AB" or "The Brand," is a primarily white prison gang with about 15,000 members in and out of prison. According to the FBI, the gang makes up only one percent of the prison population, but is responsible for 18 percent of all murders in the federal corrections system. Members use symbols in their tattoos such as swastikas, SS lightning bolts, the number 666, and Celtic imagery.

In addition to advertising gang membership, tattoos provide other details about the bearer.  For the incarcerated, images of chains and locks represent the loss of freedom; an hourglass or clock face without hands indicate doing time; a string of numbers may be an inmate's prison ID; one laughing face, one crying face means play now, pay later or my happy life, my sad life; a tombstone with numbers may indicate years of incarceration; the face of a female crying usually means someone on the outside is waiting for them. Caption information provided by POLICE gang expert Richard Valdemar.

You might not be Cinderella or even Prince Charming, but you deserve a pair of boots that meets your finicky standards. Good looks are only part of the criteria that need to be met. Your boots should provide proper fit, comfort, and durability, in addition to any other personal preferences. New footwear styles for patrol include such features as side zippers, new waterproofing technologies, and improved shock absorption, not to mention good-looking designs.

Tattoos are an excellent tool for law enforcement and corrections officers to use to identify known or suspected gang members. This gallery includes examples of tattoos worn by predominanly Hispanic gangs such as the Mexican Mafia, MS-13, and the Latin Kings. The number "13" is used because M (or La Eme) is the thirteenth letter of the alphabet and is used to signify the Mexican Mafia, which uses Sureños—gangs that swear allegiance to the Mexican Mafia—to carry out its orders from prison.

Cable network TLC has debuted "Police Women of Broward County." The network returns to the Florida county that spawned police reality pioneer "Cops" for a show that follows female law enforcement deputies from the Broward Sheriff's Office, as they pursue suspects, make arrests and hone their skills at the firing range. Photos courtesy of TLC.

Each year, at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Conference in the fall, computer manufacturers introduce their new ruggedized laptops designed for in-vehicle use by law enforcement officers and deputies. View a photo gallery of several of the models that arrived for 2009, such as the Amrel Rocky RT-M, Dell Latitude E6400 XFR, Getac V100, Itronix GD6000 and Panasonic Toughbook 30F.

The first female police officer in the country with arrest powers, Alice Stebbins Wells, arrived in 1910 with the Los Angeles Police Department. By 1937, the department employed 39 policewomen. Women are serving in most areas of the department; they have yet to crack the elite SWAT unit, but a 2008 report led to 12 women being accepted into the training program that feeds the unit. These photos, which show several of the pioneering police women of the department, have been provided by the Los Angeles Police Historical Society.

If you think robots are just for bomb disposal, think again. Police robots are often used to handle IEDs, but they can be used in other arenas that are inhospitable to humans. Robots can be used to reach a barricaded subject or hostages and carry information or evidence back out without sending an officer into the line of fire. They can also provide enhanced surveillance and deploy lethal or less-lethal weapons.

In the past decade, a new wave of commercial ARVs specifically built for law enforcement has hit the market. Few agencies could afford these big-ticket items prior to then, so initially the expense made it slow-going for the police armored vehicle industry. Then 9/11 changed law enforcement's attitude, and the formation of the Department of Homeland Security and its grant programs led to unprecedented funding for local law enforcement equipment, including ARVs. Responding to this increased demand, ARV manufacturers are developing the next generation of ARVs to meet the needs of contemporary tactical officer.

Ford's Police Interceptor is a workhorse patrol car for big-city and small-town LE agencies. The automaker has committed to producing it through 2011. Known as the CVPI, it has been a staple in the fleets of the Los Angeles Police Department and New York State Police, as well as the South Dakota Highway Patrol and Sandy Springs (Ga.) Police Department.