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Chevy's "Ride and Drive" is an opportunity to introduce new technology (in this case, the new Impala police package) to writers and cops from around the country. I rubbed elbows with uniforms from many states and there were plenty of serious, squinty-eyed stares going on as the performance was duly noted in notebooks and on video.
"Cell phones allow us to go beyond the capabilities of the radio and allow us to communicate with each other and the public. When a cell phone is assigned to an officer, they have voice mail, messaging and Internet access. It frees them up from being in the office."
Specialty uniforms for specialized units are common today. In the "olden" days, one uniform pretty much held sway unless you were a motor cop or a mounted unit. With the need to police dangerous or downright dirty areas, the one-piece "jump" suit is gaining favor.
Dare we all remember the 440 Magnum power plant in these days of fuel economy and miserly performance? At the risk of sounding like the dinosaur I am, I have to admit there is something satisfying about seeing the term "Magnum" associated with a police car again!
Communications may be the backbone of law enforcement, yet it can also be its most technologically confusing, politically charged and seemingly insoluble problem in the adrenaline-fueled chaos of a multi-jurisdictional or mutual-aid situation.
I've worked for five different chiefs during my checkered police career. Of them, only one sticks out in my mind. Indeed, I have to think hard to even remember the rest of their names.
Video technology offers some solid solutions to problems in this arena. From an obvious increase in security due to site monitoring, to enhanced communications between schools and police during emergencies, this technology may offer a powerful tool for responding officers.
TASER is once again a "hot topic" in resistance control circles. The newest version of this 35-year-old technology is the M26 Advanced TASER and it offers a number of improvements over earlier devices.
Women have filled varied roles in law enforcement for nearly a century, yet only with the equal opportunity acts of the '60s and '70s did the numbers of female patrol officers rise noticeably. Subsequently, duty gear began to tentatively adapt to the needs of female officers.
Officer safety tactics have evolved to accommodate the prospect of dealing with suspects via a variety of media, developing a hitherto unknown degree of intimacy with a suspect even as it keeps him at bay.