June 2012 Issue

A good quality folding knife can be an excellent backup weapon when nothing else is available. This is especially true when some dirtbag has grabbed your gun and you're having to use your strong hand to keep it in your holster and you need a piece of steel in your weak hand to discourage him.

Traffic stops are second nature to most patrol officers but even the most routine activities become more complex when executed in diminished light. Let's review nighttime traffic stop safety procedures that you should know and then we'll look at some additional considerations that can help increase your safety during a nighttime traffic stop.

Whether a department's jurisdiction lies nestled among the cornfields of rural Nebraska or in the center of a major city, homemade explosives pose a very real and growing threat. But through business community involvement and greater training and awareness, some of these threats can be stopped dead in their tracks.

Each year, thousands of law enforcement officers sustain injury during violent confrontations with dangerous criminals. It is important that Congress recognize the heroic performance and sacrifice of the brave men and women in law enforcement.

In his book, "Play," Stuart Brown, M.D., explains how play doesn't just reduce our stress and open our minds, it also exercises and grows our brains. Yep, to grow some brain, play a game.

Something like 38% of all 911 calls in New York City are now attributed to the phenomenon known as "butt-dialing." The New York City 911 operators receive 10.4 million calls a year and nearly 4 million of them are accidental. And the Big Apple is not alone in suffering from this problem. It's a nationwide plague caused by a little-known cellphone feature.

5.11 Tactical's ATAC line of lights includes the PLx pen light, powered by two AAA cell batteries, and the L2, powered by two CR123A batteries. Both offer a quality fit and finish.

The LPSS3 really set itself apart from the other pole cams I have tested. Its ability to remain small until deployed at the desired length and its lightweight composite material translate into less burden on the operator.

The accessory rail on the Ruger Tactical Model Mini-14 allows you to fit it with a high-quality optic. And that makes this rifle a much more effective tool for law enforcement operations and home defense.

An elderly woman and her son owe their lives to a detective and two officers from the Ewing (N.J.) Police Department who risked electrocution to extract the two from their crashed van.

After serving several DEA warrants in Oakland, Fremont, Calif., police officer Todd Young and his partner headed into East Oakland in hopes of locating a wanted Union City gang member whose ex-girlfriend had said that he'd been hanging out in the area. The officers were met with gunfire, when they located their suspect.

Law enforcement is filled with decision-making. You need to go deeper in your understanding of this near art form. To improve your own skills, you need to learn about decision-making traps and how to use this knowledge to your advantage.

You might tempted to call it a "clicky pen" because its ink tip is retractable, but unlike other such writing implements it's so smooth there is no telltale "click." It's also much more durable than the kind you'll find at most offices, yet more cost-effective than others intended to double as kubatons. It's Tuff-Writer’s Precision Press Pen.

With the tax base shrinking in many of our jurisdictions and that depleting our budgets, all of us have been told to do more with less. The trick is to know what corners to cut and what corners might cut you back. Here's a look at five things you absolutely positively don't want to do on the job.

After issuing a series of decisions over the years that have been mostly deferential to custodial officials in managing their secure facilities, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a new ruling on the constitutionality of visual strip searches of minor-offense arrestees.