The slain officer, Jonathan DeGuzman, a husband and father of two, was a 16-year police veteran. Chief Shelley Zimmerman said he lost his life trying to make a positive difference and protect his community.
Like war, police work can be an ugly job. Like military service, it can be dangerous physically and psychologically. But who's better prepared to endure that crucible than our returning combat veterans?
In the long war between police gang fighters and the outlaw criminal gangs, gang defectors can be important and valuable allies. Unless someone in your team has the ability to recruit, cultivate, and utilize criminal informants, you're just functioning as procedural processors relying on chance to develop cases.
It's an old problem and an old code — "don't snitch." And it exists everywhere. But in Chicago, where homicides and shootings are up significantly this year, that old code is leaving a rising number of violent crimes unsolved.
Every victim or witness had heard the stories in the ghetto about gang retaliation against those who were foolish enough to snitch on gang members. Most of these stories were only urban legends that grew with each telling. Some were absolutely true. Gangs do target witnesses.
To combat "street crews" that have replaced the Bloods, Crips and other traditional gangs, the New York Police Department will double the size of its gang investigative unit, Commissioner Ray Kelly said Tuesday.
No matter how small or large a town they work in, and whether they work urban or rural, gang cops need to know about and recognize the signs of criminal gang activity associated with national and international gangs.
We're seeing hybrid gangs pop up all over the country. These gangs can be very hard to document, due to the fact that they may not have any national affiliation, and their names are usually taken from the street, city, town, or neighborhood where they live.
The New Jersey Gang Investigators Association has scheduled a gang training event later this month covering Bloods and Crips, the group announced. The intelligence sharing roundtable has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 24 in Sayreville.
While working as an armed probation officer and investigator in Westchester County, N.Y., it became clear to me that criminal youth gangs were active and operating under the noses of the authorities in my jurisdiction.