Law enforcement officers are often placed in situations where they encounter individuals with mental illness. There are varying degrees of response to a law officers’ presence, from compliant and docile, to combative or assaultive. Training that equips officers with the skill set required to deal with these individuals appropriately is important. Once an individual has been controlled or transported, they may be taken to a professional psychiatric detention and treatment facility, or to a locked...
Feb 25, 2021•21 min
There is a popular perception that police officers and investigators have exciting lives, getting into vehicle and foot pursuits, tackling suspects, and solving complicated crimes by examining evidence or through interviews and interrogation. In truth, most crime is solved by the effectiveness in documenting the crime from its first report to law enforcement. While some may not view police report writing as exciting, it is a keystone to any investigation and prosecution of offenders. In this epi...
Feb 19, 2021•39 min
No one understands a police officer like their significant other and no one understands what it takes to be the significant other of a cop more than other police officer spouses. Connecting spouses is the goal of Rebecca, the creator behind the Proud Police Wife website and virtual conference. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Rebecca, who is married to her childhood sweetheart and LEO officer of 14 years, about why she started her blog and website and ...
Feb 12, 2021•31 min
In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Guillermo “Gil” Witte, a published polygraph examiner and an instructor for the world-renowned PEAK Credibility Assessment Training Center, about some of the misunderstandings, myths and urban legends surrounding polygraphs. Gil Witte is a member of the American Polygraph Association, American Association of Police Polygraphists and the current president of the California Association of Polygraph Examiners. Enjoying the...
Feb 05, 2021•26 min
In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Nicole Florisi, a law enforcement professional and domestic violence survivors advocate in northern Arizona, about how police can improve response to domestic violence calls. From beginning the assessment of a domestic violence call from the point it comes into dispatch to working with victim advocates, Nicole shares best practices for handling these challenging calls.
Jan 29, 2021•46 min
As an active and healthy police and tactical flight officer, Marc Geiger experienced symptoms of atrial fibrillation (AFib) and a transient ischemic attack (TIA) while on duty, resulting in hospital visits, medical tests and numerous doctor appointments. According to research, having a stressful job such as a police officer is associated with a higher risk of developing AFib. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Marc, who works for the Henderson Police Dep...
Jan 22, 2021•30 min
With police use of force under the spotlight, many agencies are updating their policies involving the carotid hold and some state legislatures are looking to redefine what is considered “objectively reasonable” use of force. On this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley chats with Adam Kinakin, founder of the International Law Enforcement Training (ILET) Network and host of the Tactical Breakdown podcast, about whether criticisms of police use of force are warranted, UOF termi...
Jan 15, 2021•46 min
With 4,300 missions under its duty belt, the Chula Vista Police Department's drone program isn’t just breaking deployment records, it is also reinventing how law enforcement agencies use UAS and drone technology. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with retired Chula Vista PD Captain Don Redmond about how the agency is using drones as first responders.
Jan 08, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 36
With the right mindset and tactics, it is possible to get into incredible shape, own your police career in a sustainable way and connect better with your family, says Marc Hildebrand. A sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department, Marc struggled through a 100-pound weight loss journey to get into the best shape of his life at age 43, and now shares what he learned on that journey with other officers through his company, First Responder Fitness. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast...
Jan 04, 2021•33 min
It is believed that many cases of child abuse, including physical and sexual abuse and neglect, could be the dark figure of crime during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many mandated reporters being denied the usual access and observation they have during “normal times.” Since the coronavirus pandemic and associated national shutdowns began in early 2020, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has seen a drastic spike in the number of cases and reports of child sexual abuse m...
Dec 23, 2020•28 min
“A year like no other” could be the epitaph for 2020, along with words like unprecedented and unrelenting. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with fellow podcaster Patrick Fitzgibbons, host of the CJ Evolution podcast. Critical issues up for debate include recruitment and retention, law enforcement mission creep, the decriminalization of drugs, officer wellness, and how police leaders can improve morale in the coming year. Patrick Fitzgibbons is a retired pol...
Dec 18, 2020•44 min
Hiring the right people and building a workplace that makes them want to come back to work every day is key to improving both officer retention and community relations, especially in small departments. In this episode, host Jim Dudley chats with Chief James Small who serves as the public safety director for the Village of Palmyra in Wisconsin about police leadership best practices in small departments. Chief Small recently won the 2020 Innovative Approach to Problem-Solving Award from the Wiscon...
Dec 11, 2020•34 min
Like many officers struggling to provide for their families, Chris White began working off-duty security jobs to supplement his income and purchased his first home with the money he earned. He then began assisting fellow officers by helping them schedule other regional off-duty requests, leading him to form ATHOS Group, a national off-duty hiring firm for law enforcement officers. In this episode, host Jim Dudley asks Chris to share his advice for police officers seeking outside employment, as w...
Dec 04, 2020•30 min
Janay Gasparini, P.h.D., a former police officer and current assistant professor of criminal justice at Shepherd University, recently wrote an article for Police1 titled “Why the next generation of cops need a criminal justice degree.” In this episode of Policing Matters, Dr. Gasparini explains why having a criminal justice degree helps those interested in a law enforcement career and also offers advantages for veteran law enforcement officers. Learn when you should and how you can obtain your d...
Nov 25, 2020•33 min
Law enforcement officers are often put into difficult situations where they need to make immediate decisions on levels of force needed to stop an attack, to defend others or themselves, or possibly to use to effect an arrest of a resisting offender. In this episode, host Jim Dudley speaks with Rener Gracie, world-renowned Jiu-Jitsu expert, practitioner and chief instructor at the Gracie University about the current deficits in law enforcement defensive tactics training and how use of force “refo...
Nov 20, 2020•40 min
Rick Smith, CEO of Axon (formerly TASER International), has been a technology pioneer in law enforcement with a current vision of making the bullet obsolete by 2029. Rick founded the company, TASER International, in 1993 and as the TASER weapon became ubiquitous in law enforcement, he has pushed his company to think beyond weapons technology toward a broader purpose of matching technology to public safety needs in order to make the world a safer place. In this episode, host Jim Dudley speaks wit...
Nov 06, 2020•34 min
There seems to be an app for just about everything these days, from accessing training to seeing how crime is occurring almost in real-time. Civilians have access to apps that warn them of traffic delays or police activity. Wouldn't it be great to have an app that provides access to off-duty LEOs to assist in responding to an act of mass violence when they are close to the incident? In this episode, host Jim Dudley speaks with Lt. Travis Norton, a 20-year veteran with the Oceanside (California) ...
Nov 01, 2020•30 min
The FBI responded to law enforcement’s call to upgrade and update reporting of the nation’s crime statistics by transitioning from the Summary Reporting System (SRS) to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) by January 1, 2021. Recognizing this as a monumental shift in practice, the FBI gave several years' notice, from February 9, 2016, to be exact, to law enforcement agencies, and now the deadline is just weeks away. In this episode, host Jim Dudley speaks with Trudy Ford, the Sec...
Oct 29, 2020•19 min
No one knows what the coming weeks leading up to Election Day hold, but there’s one thing we can all agree on – we’re heading for choppy waters. In a recent article for Police1, social media consultant Yael Bar-tur outlined 10 steps police chiefs can take right now to communicate on social media ahead of November 3. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley talks to Yael about some of the strategies she details in the article.
Oct 16, 2020•23 min
It is estimated that veterans comprise 20% of law enforcement personnel in the United States. In this episode, host Jim Dudley talks with U.S. military veteran and recently retired sheriff’s office deputy Greg Johnson about the unique skills and perspectives veterans offer police agencies, as well as the similarities and differences between serving in the military and serving in law enforcement.
Oct 16, 2020•29 min
The year 2020 has presented numerous challenges for law enforcement, beginning with the management of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and then a rapid transition to rioting, looting and ongoing civil unrest. In this episode, host Jim Dudley talks with researchers Dr. Michelle Lilly and Sergeant Shawn Curry, both co-directors of the Training and Research Institute for Public Safety (TRIPS), about the startling findings of a recent survey they conducted to assess current psychological heal...
Oct 09, 2020•24 min
Are you looking to improve community relationships, learn the latest developments in public safety technology and implement real change in your agency? Join us virtually for Lexipol’s first-ever user group conference: Connect 2020! On Wednesday, Oct. 14, explore how we can serve "Better Together."
Oct 07, 2020•14 min
In August 2019, Elijah McKnight, who was allegedly intoxicated and struggled with a sheriff’s deputy, was TASERed, handcuffed and subdued by three people. Identifying the patient was experiencing excited delirium, the attending medics administered one 500 mg dose of ketamine and another dose of 250 mg about nine minutes later after consulting with a physician. The story elevated to the front-page level as body camera footage identified that deputies asked if the medics could "give him anything,"...
Oct 02, 2020•30 min
On September 23, a Kentucky grand jury announced three counts of wanton endangerment against former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison for shooting into neighboring apartments during the execution of a search warrant on the night of March 13 that resulted in the death of Breonna Taylor. In this episode, host Jim Dudley talks with Police1 columnist Sergeant Betsy Brantner Smith about the Breonna Taylor case and the grand jury’s indictments.
Sep 24, 2020•15 min
While all police officers pull their weapons during their careers only a very small percentage actually end up firing them in a deadly force confrontation. On April 8, 2016, Detective Adam Meyers became one of those officers after he was involved in a fatal officer-involved shooting that changed his life forever. In this episode, host Jim Dudley chats with Adam about the events of that day and the immediate aftermath, as well as the ongoing stress he experienced as a result of the incident.
Sep 18, 2020•21 min
Founded in 1976 as a nonprofit organization, the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) is a police research and policy organization and a provider of management services, technical assistance and executive-level education to support law enforcement agencies. In this episode, host Jim Dudley chats with PERF Executive Director Chuck Wexler about the organization’s current work in development of best practice policy and dissemination of law enforcement resources and information, as well as how PER...
Sep 11, 2020•41 min
When it comes to police officers and sleep there is one certainty – cops are not getting enough shut-eye. But did you know that moderate sleep deprivation produces impairments equivalent to those of alcohol intoxication? With mandatory overtime, court appearances and in-service training all taking a toll on the time available for officers to actually sleep, what can cops and their supervisors to do ensure sleep deprivation doesn’t result in fatal errors? In this episode, host Jim Dudley chats wi...
Sep 04, 2020•35 min
Blue H.E.L.P. is a nonprofit organization that collects law enforcement suicide data and supports families of officers who have died by suicide. In this episode, host Jim Dudley talks with Karen Solomon, president and co-founder of Blue H.E.L.P., about the work of the organization to put a spotlight on the issue of mental wellness in law enforcement.
Aug 28, 2020•24 min
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), founded in 1984, has a three-pronged mission: to honor fallen officers, make it safer for those who serve, and educate the public about the history of American law enforcement. In this episode, host Jim Dudley speaks with Robyn Small from NLEOMF about the fund’s recent mid-year LODD report, the work of the National Law Enforcement Museum and other current initiatives.
Aug 21, 2020•23 min
Whether you want to make the jump from field training officer to detective or captain to chief, honesty during the promotional process is key to securing the position, but identifying your weaknesses as well as your strengths when facing an interview board can be a challenge. In A Cop's Simple Guide to Promotion Preparation, Millbrae (California) Police Chief Paul Kunkel helps officers walk through the police promotion process. In this episode, host Jim Dudley talks with Chief Kunkel about his t...
Aug 12, 2020•29 min
