Articles - Women in Law Enforcement

Like most rape investigations, the Tantra Lake serial rape case began with the terror and tears of a young woman who was being attacked by a man. It ended after years of complex and difficult work by the detectives of the Boulder Police Department.

In a major criminal investigation, getting off your ass and knocking on some doors is essential. In fact, it is a crucial element in the early stages of working an unsolved case. The area canvass-knocking on the doors of all the residences surrounding the crime scene-is one of the first tasks a lead detective should have on his lead sheet.

Most of us are leaders in some facet of our lives. Any police officer who doesn't think of himself or herself as a leader is just plain wrong. I doubt that a cop who is also a parent could argue being a parent isn't about leadership, because it most certainly is.

As an American law enforcement professional, you are a special individual who has followed a higher calling, voluntarily defending the lives and property of others. You have set yourselves apart as the true warriors of our modern society.

The great Bill Jordan once said: "There is no second-place winner in a gunfight." Even if you take nothing else away from this article, I ask that you train to win any gunfight that you become involved in, not survive it, but win it.

"The Leader must himself believe that willing obedience beats forced obedience, and that he can get this only by really knowing what should be done." - Xenophon, 360 BC

Orange County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Deputy Jennifer Fulford had a lot on her mind on May 5, 2004. Having just paid for her wedding dress, the logistics of her nuptials were weighing on the 31-year-old deputy as she began her patrol. There was still so much to do, and time was a precious commodity.

Because of the kind of people they are, peace officers have a hard time standing by, doing nothing in the face of danger to others. As a result, many times they intervene even though they are acting alone and without many of the advantages they enjoy while "on the clock."

You can't call a relationship "friendship" until it has gone through adversity and you know that the person is really your friend. That can also be applied to leadership.

The enormity of what law enforcement officers have been tasked with in the Gulf state areas devastated by this year’s one-two punch of hurricanes can be summed up in one word: overwhelming.