David W. Halliday

The Path

I was sitting there trying to age gracefully when I noticed a girl in a wheelchair moving up to the edge of the pool as her race was getting ready to start. Since she was paralyzed from the waist down she could not start with a great leap into the water. So she lowered herself into the pool and pushed off with her arms.

Todd Young's Long Road Back

Shot on an Oakland street, Officer Todd Young endures numerous surgeries and continuous rehab to regain his status as a gang investigator and SWAT officer. His story is part of PoliceMag's "Returning To Duty" Web-only series about officers injured on the job.

The Human Element

The one element that has remained unchanged in our ever-growing technological environment, as the commercial says, is the human element. The key is to somehow keep the mind focused on what's important and use all these technological advances to your advantage.

David "Lou" Ferland

Dave Smith: Law Enforcement Culture is Vital to Any Department

Veteran officers and even the brass should reinforce your agency’s values and stress officer safety while achieving the mission. Culture must be protected to remain effective and healthy, or it will begin to erode in many of its facets.

Under Wraps

Two young guys walked toward us, talking with each other. But the young lady and I were oblivious to what was going on around us. That was a mistake.

Dave Smith: But Will They Change?

A new study's findings refute social activists' assumptions about police shootings and race.

The Hole

Over the years I have had so many "if only" moments; most of them have been about debt and its related stresses. When I was developing officer safety programs at the academy, I was stunned to find the number one cause of divorce among law enforcement officers was not dispatchers, but financial stress.