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Type: Article

Section: Procedures & Policies

How to Respond to Excited Delirium

Because you, as law enforcement officers, are often required to control subjects in various stages of agitation, it is important for you to understand that some of these subjects will be in a state of extreme physiologic stress. This state is often called "excited or agitated delirium."

June 30, 2007

L Excited Delirium July 07

Federal Liability for Vehicle Pursuits

Any officer who's been involved in a vehicle pursuit that resulted in property damage, bodily injury, or death should be concerned with at least three levels of liability. Departmental discipline may be imposed if the pursuit violates agency policy. Tort liability may be imposed through a lawsuit filed in state court. And plaintiffs may file a federal civil rights lawsuit seeking damages.

June 30, 2007

The Tough Guy: Sheriff Joe Arpaio

At 75, Joe Arpaio is serving his fourth term as sheriff of Maricopa County, Ariz. It's a job he's held for 15 years, much to the delight of the voting population in the Phoenix area and much to the dismay of politically correct, civil liberties advocates who characterize his policies as cruel and the man himself as a dangerous dinosaur.

May 31, 2007

Maricopa County (Ariz.) Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Photo courtesy of Newscom/Splash News.

How to Spot a Stolen Car

There are many motivations for stealing cars. Some are taken by kids for so-called “joyrides.” Others are shipped to foreign countries and resold or chopped into parts. And more and more often, stolen cars are used to facilitate other crimes, including burglaries, robberies, assaults, and the transportation of narcotics and smuggled immigrants.

April 30, 2007

The Thrill of the Chase

One of the most canine-like drives I have ever felt is the urge to chase, to pursue, to catch. I must confess to an odd primal thrill I always felt when a miscreant took off running. I wish I could say my mind thought "Tally ho!" in a thick British accent.

April 30, 2007

How to Get the Most Out of Online Education

There’s one question that all prospective students ask before they sign up for a program that will allow them to complete their college degree online: Is this really any good? Scott Harr has a clear answer: “For some students, it’s better.”

March 31, 2007

Pursuit Safety

The high-speed pursuits you saw on the old TV shows and movies had a big part in all of our decisions to enter the world of law enforcement. However, times have changed.

March 31, 2007

How to Evaluate Ammunition

Imagine for a moment that you are a law enforcement administrator who is responsible for evaluating ammunition for your agency. The decisions you make can have a profound effect on the safety of your sworn personnel and the civilian population that they serve. The same is true if you are an individual officer who is allowed to use personally owned firearms and ammunition on the job. You have a responsibility to select the best ammunition available.

February 28, 2007

How To Lift Fingerprints

As the responding patrol officer it’s your job to properly process the crime scene, including locating, printing, collecting, and documenting all fingerprint evidence on scene — not necessarily an easy task.

January 31, 2007

How to Buy Rifle Optics

In days gone by, “rifle optics” referred to one thing: a telescopic sight with varying degrees of magnification. But today, rifle optics include a new class of aiming devices called combat optics, generally red dot sights.

December 31, 2006

How to Avoid Burnout

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.

November 30, 2006

How to Get Into SWAT Shape

Training for any agency’s SWAT team is physically, mentally, and tactically challenging. Add in long and changing shift work hours, family obligations, and not enough time in the day, and your goal of joining a SWAT team appears even more difficult. The goal of this article is to assist those police officers currently on the force in achieving the fitness level of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) officers.

October 31, 2006

How to Investigate a Meth Lab

Navigating the dangers of cookers’ “kitchens.”

August 31, 2006

How to Evaluate a Training Program

You have many opportunities for training outside of your agency. But how do you tell which classes are suitable for you and whether what you learn in those classes will work on the street?

July 31, 2006

Know Their Flight Plans

When it comes to apprehending fleeing suspects, understanding the tactics being used by those suspects is as important as understanding the tactics practiced by law enforcement. The criminal element has learned how law enforcement operates and criminals have adjusted their tactics.

June 30, 2006

How to Cope with a Shooting

One of the most stressful episodes an officer can face during his or her career is making the decision to shoot and dealing with the aftermath. Officer-involved shootings spawn a variety of questions, and many of them may be unanswerable.

June 30, 2006

How to Crack Down on Street Racing

Street racing of automobiles has been an American tradition since the early 1950s and probably long before. It’s not hard to imagine the first owners of Model T Fords staring each other down as they ran their “Tin Lizzies” down the rutted roads of the early 20th century. But the hey-day of street racing was the “I Like Ike” era when kids in souped-up Chevys and Fords would race for car titles and teenage glory.

May 31, 2006

Fighting with a Carbine

Old West sheriffs and marshals often carried a Colt .45 called the Peacemaker. But that .45 had the limitations of all handguns, so savvy Western lawmen also kept a short-barreled repeating rifle like a Winchester in their saddle bags. They knew that in a real gunfight, a carbine is the real “peace maker.”

April 30, 2006

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