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I've taught forensic photography to police officers for more than 10 years, and I always start my presentations with the notion that good photographs start even before the camera is out of the bag. You have to have the proper mindset because images documenting injuries are some of the most important photos we take.
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Some cops could use a hug. Others could use a Huggy Bear. Like Starsky and Hutch's trusty tattletale, reliable informants provide us with a worm's eye view of their sordid social circles, a heads up on threats to officer safety, and the groundwork for search warrants. They hang in circles we wouldn't want to enter. There is no question that the access they have and the intelligence they acquire is often invaluable to law enforcement.
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I remember riding with another L.A. Deputy Sheriff in an East Los Angeles gang car in 1975. To me, it was a privilege working with a special gang suppression unit, but my partner complained that he hated working gangs because it was useless. But he was wrong.
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Interviewing a child is in some ways very similar to interviewing any crime victim but, in some ways, it's very different. The first hurdle is to get the child to open up.
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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.
Read More →Informants can provide a wealth of information. However, that information can come at a price if you’re not careful how you deal with them. Too many officers fall into a few common traps with informants, leading to bad cases, blown operations or personal complaints against them.
Read More →The homeowner and a friend went to where the boys pointed to a van across the field and made a horrifying discovery. When they opened the door, the body of a young woman, her head almost completely blown apart, fell out.
Read More →James Mixon was a drunk. In life a drunk is a pretty predictable person. They get people angry, frustrated, and fed up; they get kicked out of the places they live, and get in trouble. James Mixon was no different.
Read More →In a major criminal investigation, getting off your ass and knocking on some doors is essential. In fact, it is a crucial element in the early stages of working an unsolved case. The area canvass-knocking on the doors of all the residences surrounding the crime scene-is one of the first tasks a lead detective should have on his lead sheet.
Read More →Although digital cameras are certainly high-tech and have a lot more power and control than their film predecessors, they are still only as good as the officer holding them.
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