December 2006 Issue

Burnout is a modern American pandemic. Almost anybody who works an office job in this country has, at one time during his or her career, experienced apathy and lethargy while on the clock.

This year's IACP show had a major patrol theme: officer safety. From an airbag system for motor officers to armor panels for patrol vehicles, IACP 2006 was a showcase for new products that are designed to help you come home all in one piece at the end of your shift.

Just five years ago my department purchased a 6-megapixel digital SLR camera that cost more than $5,000, as well as several 3.3-megapixel point-and-shoot digital cameras that cost more than $1,000 each. Today, similar products would cost a fraction of what we spent.

One of the worst things about American society is that we tend to equate wealth with intelligence. Anybody with half a brain can tell you it’s not true. I mean look at Paris Hilton. Heck, look at any Hilton since Conrad, the man who built the family’s wealth.

I will never forget the first time I heard myself snore. Yeah, I snore pretty good; just ask one of my ex’s or one of my sergeants. But I actually was so tired once my own snoring woke me up! I was working on the Coconino Hotshots fighting a forest fire near Prescott, Ariz., when our squad leader called a break. I just sat where I was on the line and, the next thing I knew, loud snoring awoke me. I looked around and I was the only one within earshot…weird.

Bill Wilson’s improvements on the popular and reliable Remington 870 upgrade it for tactical use. Called the Tactical Response TR-870, this shotgun possesses a host of common sense modifications.

In nicer weather, it would have been difficult not to notice the Plymouth Voyager parked on the center median of the interstate. But the sight of a disabled vehicle on rain-slickened Interstate 81 had in recent days become an increasingly familiar one, even if this particular van was canted with two flat tires. In fact, the Virginia state trooper who came across it was already en route to still another accident further down the road.

For the law enforcement officer confronting a person who is intoxicated or "under the influence" of alcoholic beverages or drugs, licit or illicit, one thing remains certain: Anytime a diminished capacity human being is involved, the potential for real danger is inevitably present.

The flagship knife from ZT is undeniably designed for tough duty.

Most law enforcement officers are familiar with the term “Brady error.” But what exactly does the Brady rule cover, and what obligation does it impose on police? Under the Brady line of cases, when must officers preserve evidence, and what must be revealed to the prosecutor? These questions have been answered in a series of opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Most Americans are familiar with the duties of mounted U.S. Park police, overworked Border Patrol agents, dark-suited Secret Service agents, and anti-terrorist Federal Air Marshals. But the Mint Police, not so much.