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Managing Editor
Managing Editor Melanie Basich joined POLICE Magazine in 2000 (when her last name was still Hamilton). An award-winning journalist, she has covered such topics as agency budgets, officer suicide, emerging law enforcement technologies, and active shooter tactics. She writes and manages the product section of POLICE.
Body armor is sometimes all that lies between you and a suspect's attack. It has saved officers' lives countless times. Not wearing it is not an option. As a law enforcement officer you're a walking target and, like it or not, a ballistic vest is the best protection you have against the bad guys' bullets.
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POLICE magazine asked three police officers from the Redondo Beach (Calif.) Police Department to wear five pairs of patrol boots for one shift each and tell us what they thought. Officers Dave Atwater, Denise Brenner, and Corey King gave their ratings to their test boots.
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People have their own opinions about what makes a good cop and what constitutes a successful law enforcement career. Most people agree that moving up the ranks is a good indicator of success. For those of you who are looking to add some stripes to your uniform, here’s some advice from people who have been there.
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Available in a wide range of sizes, prisoner transport vehicles can carry anywhere from one to more than 60 passengers.
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Watching your best friend and partner retire can be very difficult; some say traumatic. He’s been by your side every day for years and you’ve put your lives on the line for each other. Now you have to give up that closeness on the job.
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They may seem like big, expensive hunks of metal on wheels, but many agencies have come to realize that mobile command vehicles offer many advantages for the cost.
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You know your agency needs patrol cars, and that some new ones show up every year or so, but you might not be aware of the intricacies of the process. Keeping that process running smoothly could mean the difference between patrolling by car and walking your beat.
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Everything has just gone to hell since the internal affairs investigation. And nothing makes sense anymore. So John takes out his off-duty piece, an old wheel gun. He sits down on the bed, puts one in the cylinder, snaps it shut, and stares down at the blued metal machinery in his hand. The world around him is very quiet as he starts to raise the weapon to his head.
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Why do cops almost always choose guns as the way to take their lives? Cops are familiar with guns.
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Judith Gentry’s husband Tom killed himself six years ago in their bedroom. A trained ICU nurse, Gentry’s no stranger to the stress and trauma of emergencies, but when she heard a gunshot and found her husband dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, she called a girlfriend instead of dialing 911.
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