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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.
Planes are the unsung heroes of law enforcement air support units. While helicopters get all the glory, fixed-wing aircraft quietly fly in the background on operations, including surveillance and search and rescue.
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Thanks to improved technology, trace explosives detectors are now smaller and easier to use. These handheld devices are sized to fit in a cargo pocket and can detect the smallest amounts of explosive materials and the precursors used to make bombs.
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Law enforcement is a profession that many use to define themselves, but allowing your identity to be based solely on your job is not a good idea. Pursuing an activity outside of policing gives the mind and body a much needed breather. Some officers find surprising ways to fulfill this goal.
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Prostitution is, as they say, the oldest profession. But now gangs are getting in on the action in a big way. Their already established tricks for luring lonely kids into their ranks are also extremely effective in recruiting girls as young as 12 for the sex trade.
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Capt. Rhonda Lawson, president of the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives (NAWLEE), became the first female field captain in the Texas Highway Patrol's history. In her experience, many officers resent competition with minorities for desired positions.
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April contained plenty of fools this year, it seems. As expected this time of year, at least one prank on the first of the month became much more serious than probably intended. Unfortunately, the biggest continuing story of the month was the Boston Marathon bombing. Thankfully, law enforcement was on top of it. Cops don't suffer fools gladly.
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Blauer's first foray into footwear brings something new to law enforcement: the BOA technology snowboarders have been using to securely tighten their boots for decades.
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Maine State Trooper Douglas Cropper got a call that an elderly man was driving the wrong way down I-295 in Portland and was headed in his direction. The trooper was prepared to ram the vehicle, but was able to stop it by edging the nose of his patrol car onto the highway, forcing the driver to crash into him.
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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.
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In 26 years, Officer Dan Foley has served continuously in the honor guard and successfully lobbied to start its first K-9 unit, for which he was a handler for 14 years with two different dogs. He has been selected as the February 2012 Officer of the Month.
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