Articles - Patrol

There are countless other agencies of different sizes, each tasked with making the waters of their jurisdictions safe for recreational boating and business use.

Many of the nearly 700 vendors exhibiting their wares at the International Association of Chiefs of Police's 104^th Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, this past October, anticipated a profitable outcome as a result of the "Chief's Show."

In speeches, workshops, interviews, casual conversations and overheard comments, the message was universal: law enforcement faces a tough road ahead but through interdependence and solid working relationships among the cops of the world, along with the help of technology, the good guys will win.

Few situations faced by the front-line law enforcement officer will challenge his or her talents as an observer, investigator and collector of information and evidence like the death scene. His or her skills as a writer and reporter of facts will likewise be tested to the max on such a vital assignment.

Imagine yourself working uniformed patrol at 9:15 a.m. on a warm sunny day and you suddenly find yourself in Beirut, Bosnia, or back in the Mekong Delta. You go from thinking about where you'll stop for the next cup of coffee, to having your black-and-white shot up with full automatic AK-47 rounds.

Matching up an officer with a dog is just the first step in starting a successful K-9 team. Determine your current needs first. Why do you need to have a trained police service dog (PSD)?

Sandra Antor was not look for fame when she set out on a 745- mile journey from her hometown of Miami to visit friends in January 1996. But the 26-year-old nursing student's hesitance to pull over promptly for a South Carolina patrolman who was pursuing her in an unmarked car landed her and the officer in the national news. The situation raised new question about the public's perception of police.

Small airports naturally appeal to drug smugglers because they may not have any U.S. customs or law enforcement representation at all. Using light, general aviation aircraft, huge amounts of narcotics are smug­gled into the country each year. Chances are, your jurisdiction has an airport.

Mental illness is defined as a psychiatric disorder characterized  by abnormal functioning of the centers of the brain responsible for thought, perception, mood and behavior. And according to mental health codes, it is the substantial disorder of thought or mood that significantly impairs judgement, behavior, the capacity to recognize reality or the ability to cope with the ordinary demands of life.

Police officers should command enough respect to deter a group of individuals from spontaneously attacking. But statistics tell a different story. In fact, 40 percent of all assaults against police officers are by two or more assailants.