Community for Cops
Doug Wyllie has authored more than 1,000 articles and tactical tips aimed at ensuring that police officers are safer and more successful on the streets. Doug is a Western Publishing Association “Maggie Award” winner for Best Regularly Featured Digital Edition Column. He is a member of International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), an Associate Member of the California Peace Officers’ Association (CPOA), and a member of the Public Safety Writers Association (PSWA).
Here are some of my favorite quotes—some of which are famous and some of which are somewhat obscure—framed in the context of policing in 2019 and beyond.
In an informal and highly subjective poll, POLICE asked officers what's good and bad about ballistic vests and what needs improvement.
From sudden medical emergency to ambush on officers, foot pursuits can turn deadly in an instant.
Following the murder of Corporal Ronil Singh, elected officials and law enforcement leaders across California are pointing to legislation friendly to illegal immigrants as the reason an illegal immigrant was able to murder the officer in cold blood.
Despite downward numbers of recruits seeking to join the ranks of law enforcement and increasing indications of de-policing across the country, we can—if we look hard enough—find countless bright spots for American policing in 2018.
Officer safety is obviously paramount—and should never be jeopardized by allowing a potentially dangerous subject who should be handcuffed to retain use of their hands—but weigh into your tactics the fact that communicating with a deaf subject who is handcuffed becomes significantly more difficult.
Some of the personal objects officers report carrying on duty are sentimental in nature, but the majority of the "extra stuff" that they carry is duty gear that was personally purchased because the department did not issue it.
Foot patrol is the essence of community policing—officers on foot create opportunities for the public to connect with their police (and vice versa). Conversely, when officers are wrapped in two tons of metal and plastic, that opportunity for real connection is essentially lost.
Too many officers are driving themselves into their graves—turning their cars into their coffins—in single-vehicle crashes. According to ODMP, there were 34 such preventable duty deaths in a three-year span from 2016 to the present. It's impossible to know how many officers were seriously injured but survived single-vehicle crashes during that time period. Something must be done.
While empirical data doesn't exist—at least to my knowledge—on lost productivity due to injuries sustained during foot pursuits, anecdotal evidence suggests that medical leave following such activities is significant enough to give some thought to the matter.