Featured podcasts

Secret Service agents who protect the President and other high-level government officials spoke publicly for the first time to Ronald Kessler for "In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes In the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect." In this month's author interview, Keller discusses the history of the agency, duties of the agents themselves and the men they protected.

The National Broadband Plan will be released by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in March, and is expected to include a request for congressional funding to create a public safety communications network for police and fire agencies. Who will pay for the building out of this network is still an open question. To help explain how this topic relates to officers, POLICE Magazine spoke with Harris Corp., one of the leading suppliers of two-way radios to LE.

POLICE Magazine caught up with actor R. Lee Ermey at SHOT Show 2010. Editor David Griffith interviewed the former Marine Corps drill sergeant who has created memorable portrayals of military and law enforcement men in numerous movies and television shows. He appeared at the show as the new pitchman for SOG knives. Ermey also endorses Glock pistols.

To tell the story of the use of deadly force by law officers, Chris McNab uses a historical narrative that follows Wild West marshals, the posse era, Prohibition gangsters, armed civic protesters, and the drug turf wars of the 1980s and '90s. "Deadly Force: Firearms and American Law Enforcement" also explores the legal and career ramifications of police gunfights and the use of SWAT units with aggressive combatants who are increasingly using heavier firepower against officers.

After taking over the nation's third largest police force, new LAPD Chief Charlie Beck spoke to POLICE Magazine about following rock-star chief Bill Bratton, being known as a "cop's cop," and maintaining a falling crime rate amid pending budget cuts. He speaks specifically about how he'll improve the work lives of patrol officers and whether he'll allow officers to shoot at moving vehicles or approve a heavier flashlight or 1911 pistol for duty.

Art Slatkin, a leading expert on crisis and hostage negotiation, explains the three stages of a negotiation, delineates the personality types officers will encounter and offers several practical tips officers could use right away during the three specific stages of building rapport, negotiating and resolution with volatile people. Slatkin's "Training Strategies for Crisis and Hostage Negotiations" is the topic of this month's author interview.

Tapping into his experience as an investigator with the Chula Vista Police Department for 17 years, Tom Basinski wrote the true-crime novels "Cross-Country Evil" and "No Good Deed" based on detailed case material from local cases. In "Cross-Country Evil," Basinski chronicled the 18-year investigation that resulted in a conviction of a serial rapist (he interviewed from prison) who murdered a college student working as a prostitute. Listen to his account of the case.

The Cleveland Police Department welcomed academy cadet Karl Lloyd five months before his 51st birthday. The older recruit, who has begun patrols in the southeast section of the city, has said it was his lifelong dream to join the department. Prior to completing the 26-week academy, Lloyd escorted prisoners inside the city's jails. To warm yourself up for the podcast, read our initial news story about Lloyd. Then head back and listen to the man himself.

Devallis Rutledge discusses why law enforcement officers should be aware of what public school officials can and can't do when conducting searches on campus. You can also read the original article "Public School Searches" from the October 2009 issue.

Devallis Rutledge discusses why officers need to be careful when using social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. You can also read the original article "The Whole World is Watching" from the September 2009 issue.