Also by David Griffith

One of the reasons why this year's POLICE-TREXPO conference was so memorable was the quality of the instructors. The POLICE-TREXPO staff assembled some of the top educators and speakers in law enforcement to present a widely varied schedule of classes.

The public safety mobile data customer now needs fast and rugged. That's because of tools like automatic license plate readers (ALPR) and high-end computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems. That software requires state-of-the-art processing power. Fortunately, there are now plenty of computer makers willing and able to supply high-powered mobile computers for law enforcement.

Harris Corp.'s BeOn software app, which was demonstrated at this year's Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO) conference in Philadelphia, inexpensively converts an Android smartphone into a push-to-talk (PTT) Project 25 radio.

I think complacency is also the reason why so many veteran cops tend to get in serious trouble. You let down your guard and you end up doing things you would have never dreamed of doing as a rookie, things that are extremely damaging to your career and your livelihood.

The nation will be honoring the 9/11 dead, both civilian and public safety, for the next month or so. That's the way it should be. We should honor the Americans who died that day. I also think it's important to honor the first responders who lived through 9/11, who helped the victims, who combed the rubble, who saved lives and recovered bodies.

If you're telling yourself that a WMD attack could never happen in your town because it's too small or too remote, look around. Is there a chemical plant? What hazardous materials are rolling down the road? What kinds of toxins come through town on the rails? What's at the local Home Depot? What's at the local pool supply store?

One of the reasons that agencies are more complacent about WMD training now than immediately after 9/11 is the economics of the issue. Training costs money and pulls officers off the line. Another reason that WMD training is unpopular at many agencies is that it's not by any means a pleasant thing to do.

Our legal system is terribly stacked against law enforcement officers and for plaintiff's attorneys. The U.S. code itself specifies how attorney fees will be set in civil rights cases against cops. That's why so many cases are filed against you and the agencies and government entities that employ you. Lawmakers—mostly lawyers themselves—set up paydays for their colleagues.

Each year the FBI compiles a special report on law enforcement officers killed and assaulted (LEOKA). Although it's a grim topic, much can be learned about the behavior of cop killers and the cops who are feloniously killed by analyzing the source data.

In California, prisoners are now being released left and right. Last January the California state legislature voted into law a measure that allows the state to release "non-violent offenders" from state prison with very limited parole supervision.

The engineers and designers at L-3 Mobile-Vision had a clear mission when they started to develop the company's next generation of mobile computers. They wanted to incorporate many of the best features of consumer computers-ergonomic design, fast processors, and abundant connectivity-into a high-end fully rugged mobile system.

It's not the names on the walls that leave most visitors dabbing at their eyes. It's the stuff left behind by other visitors.

TASER International's X2 is a two-shot ECD with dual laser aiming and visible warning arc.

You don't need the government or CAIR to vet your counter-terror training. You know that there are good and bad people of all faiths, races, and ethnicities. You know the truth when you hear it. You can vet your own training.

Sur-Tec's VP Covert Audio and GPS software suite is a patented surreptitious listening tool for law enforcement that allows an undercover officer or CI to stream live audio and GPS to one or more computers. The mobile application element of the software runs in the background on the user's smartphone.

Whether they carry the title of agent, officer, or marshal, your federal officers are being sent into the teeth of a war without weapons and with rules of engagement written by fools. Worse, one of your agencies tasked with the job of keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals has actually been supplying those criminals with weapons.

Law enforcement budgets nationwide have been hit hard by the economic downturn. Agencies have cut back on officer hours, turned more jobs over to non-sworn personnel, and some have even laid off badged personnel. But the first thing that almost every cash-strapped agency does to balance its books is cut back on training.

The iForce is more than an in-car computer. It's essentially a computer-based communication system. It helps officers communicate with each other, communicate with any applicable databases, and even communicate with their vehicles.

Today, police have a wide variety of tools and munitions for exerting less-lethal force on individuals at greater and greater distances. Extended range less-lethal impact weapons have been refined to the point that they are both accurate and extremely effective when deployed correctly.