Blogs: Page 102

Drug Cartel Challenge Coin Recovered

American and Mexican law enforcement agencies have recovered similar badges, patches, coins, flags and other items produced by the Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs). The items solidify military cohesion among cartel soldiers.

Mexican drug cartel members see themselves as soldiers in an elite army. They use badges, patches, flags or other militaristic symbols to represent this.

Traffic Control 101

Most academies show a presentation and tell you your Field Training Officer (FTO) will properly instruct you. The reality is your FTO will wheel into a crash scene, check for injuries, and tell you to handle traffic. Here lies the problem — no real instruction, and please be mindful of your hand gestures.

Image via Flickr (Fabio Mascarenhas).

Cops Tackle Social Media at SMILE Conference

It's now become nearly impossible for law enforcement agencies to remain uninvolved in social media. Enter the Social Media, the Internet, and Law Enforcement (SMILE) conference.

Illustration via Flickr (Ernesto Lago).

Are Tunnel Rats Born or Made?

Tunnel rats during the Vietnam War invented and perfected the most effective tunnel tactics and techniques. In law enforcement, you need the right person with the right mindset, training, equipment, weaponry, and lots of experience to be effective.

Portland's About Face

An FBI sting leading to the arrest of a Somali immigrant planning to bomb a Christmas tree lighting ceremony has forced many of the more intelligent folks in Portland to rethink their "America is the real terrorist" stance.

Portland's Mayor Sam Adams. Photo courtesy of Scott Huber (Flickr).

Remember the Forgotten Fallen

Let's not forget our other brethren who work may have been less conspicuously gallant, but who have likewise paid the ultimate price years before their time.

A memorial at the Tucson (Ariz.) PD's headquarters honors the bravery of fallen officers. Photo by Paul Clinton.

Training to Survive a Hellacious Gun Battle

In general terms, these exercises require LEOs to either advance toward a "simulated" combat threat or hold their ground behind the best cover available, while delivering accurate "containment" fire.

Blood Brothers: Cartel Ties That Bind

Like the unwanted dandelions that sprout in lawns, cartel and gang partners continue to adapt and survive. The systematic corruption of our police, courts and political system is their goal.

Jose 'Bat' Marquez, a member of the Mexican Mafia, was extradited to the U.S. in January 2007 to face a multitude of drug and weapons charges. Photo courtesy of Richard Valdemar.

Don't Go Around Hungry

A good question: What's in your carry bag? More and more officers are now carrying healthy alternatives to vending machine grazing fodder. I recommend carrying one or two energy bars or meal-replacement bars in the bag to carry you through.

Blood Brothers: Roots of a Cartel War

Like the evolution of the Italian Mafia in U.S. cities such as New York and Chicago, Mexican smugglers or "contrabandistas" evolved from crude thuggish beginnings to more criminally sophisticated organized crime groups.

The brutal murder of DEA Agent Kiki Camarena by a Mexican drug cartel is dramatized in the 1990 TV mini-series, 'Drug Wars: The Camarena Story.' Photo courtesy of Richard Valdemar.

Driving In Nasty Weather

Weather is a hazard that must be managed by law enforcement officers, especially when driving patrol vehicles. Lt. Keith Wilson, who oversees the Michigan State Police's Precision Driving Unit, provided a few suggestions, so officer safety will be top of mind when operating your vehicle in nasty weather.

Image via Flickr (contrasto_gp).

You Can't Play Catch-Up

Professional behavior is desired and demanded at all times. Every move you make is under scrutiny. If you act like a thug, you'll jeopardize all you've worked for?

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