We often talk about policing in urban areas on the show – from mid-sized cities to large metropolitan areas and all related issues confronting law officers. But in this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, sponsored by Staccato , host Jim Dudley speaks with the sheriff of a large department in Arizona, located at the southernmost tip of the U.S. at the intersection border with New Mexico on the Mexico border, where deputies patrol in extremely rural areas. Sheriff Mark Dannels, a 38-year vet...
Jun 13, 2023•28 min•Ep. 386
Front-line officers are the backbone of every law enforcement agency, and some officers have the ability to perform without second-guessing or unreasonable restrictions. Great leaders give those officers a degree of confidence and autonomy by providing them with the training and resources to lead every day. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, sponsored by Staccato , host Jim Dudley speaks to Chief Gerald W. Garner about how to turn good chiefs into great leaders. Chief Garner has sp...
Jun 06, 2023•30 min•Ep. 385
Law enforcement underwater sonar operations and recovery teams perform a variety of tasks, many of which are crucial to solving crimes, finding missing people and assisting in disaster situations In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, sponsored by Staccato , host Jim Dudley speaks to underwater recovery expert Ray Wichus who retired after nearly three decades as a Conservation Police Officer with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Ray worked in the field as a firearm trainer...
May 30, 2023•32 min•Ep. 384
Law enforcement officers may be first on scene to a mass casualty incident (MCI) and depending on the size, it may be overwhelming. Are we prepared to see the unthinkable? Do we know what our priorities should be? Do we know what our opposite numbers in fire, EMS and other responding agencies are doing? Our guests today have an answer to each of those questions. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, sponsored by Staccato , host Jim Dudley speaks with Dr. Peter Antevy , EMS medical dir...
May 24, 2023•39 min•Ep. 383
A critical incident can happen at any time, in any community, across the country. Sharing information about these incidents is one cog in the overall response wheel, but it’s one that cannot be overlooked. It’s crucial to effectively communicate both during and after a critical incident. Police1 is launching a new feature that dives into the communication response to some of the most significant incidents law enforcement agencies have recently faced. Julie Parker, President of Julie Parker Commu...
May 23, 2023•21 min•Ep. 382
You’ve heard us talk about the stress that comes with the duties of being a law enforcement officer. Some situations are well beyond our control. Today – we are going to shift gears and talk about organizational stressors – or stress that comes from within the agency you may work for. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, sponsored by Staccato , host Jim Dudley speaks with law enforcement veterans William “Bill” Mazur and Joseph “Joe” Collins about how police supervisors can help offi...
May 18, 2023•48 min•Ep. 381
Law enforcement's response to critical incidents is unique to the incident at hand. Our aim is to be well-prepared through comprehensive training, strategizing and practice in order to tackle a wide range of potential scenarios. There have been outstanding instances where these efforts have successfully converged, with acts of bravery playing a pivotal role in officers confronting active shooters to neutralize the threat and protect lives. Regrettably, there have also been cases where outcomes d...
May 09, 2023•41 min•Ep. 380
National Police Week is nearly upon us across the country, but most notably at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington DC. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, sponsored by Staccato , host Jim Dudley speaks with National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) CEO Marcia Ferranto and Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) Communications Director Sara Slone about how these organizations serve the law enforcement community, culminating with National Police Week eve...
May 05, 2023•35 min•Ep. 379
Law enforcement has faced some arduous challenges over the past few years – mostly external – but sometimes from within. How the challenges are handled is critical to the health of the agency. We often mention leadership in the organization, in general terms, but what does it really mean? In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, sponsored by Staccato , host Jim Dudley speaks with Ross Swope who has extensive experience in leading a major department, advising on national law enforcement i...
Apr 28, 2023•32 min•Ep. 378
In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, sponsored by Staccato , host Jim Dudley speaks with a legendary detective whose investigations may read like a crime novel, but his story is 100% non-fiction. Retired San Franciso Police Department Homicide Inspector Frank Falzon was active in solving some of the most heinous homicides of the 1970s and 1980s, including the Night Stalker case, the "Zebra" murder spree, and the double murder of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and San Francisco Su...
Apr 20, 2023•46 min•Ep. 377
In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, sponsored by Staccato , host Jim Dudley speaks with Susan Norris, the founder of Rescuing Hope , about the organization's mission to enlighten the public about sex trafficking in America, educate potential victims and first responders, and empower advocates and survivors. ABOUT OUR SPONSOR This episode of the Policing Matters Podcast is brought to you by Staccato . Choose the handgun trusted by over 900 law enforcement agencies across the country....
Apr 12, 2023•40 min•Ep. 376
If you've visited the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington DC, you will know it is a moving and powerful experience like no other. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) helps to oversee the operations of the memorial and puts on programs and seminars for public safety professionals across the board. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Troy Anderson, executive director of Officer Safety and Wellness at NLEOMF, abo...
Apr 05, 2023•37 min•Ep. 375
In 2022, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office in central California received the NLEOMF’s Destination Zero Officer Wellness Award. In this special episode of the Policing Matters podcast, which was recorded live on March 29 as part of First Responder Wellness Week , host Jim Dudley speaks with Stanislaus County Sheriff Jeff Dirkse and Sergeant Aaron Costello about how to develop an effective wellness program that gets buy-in from officers. The discussion focuses on the importance of implementi...
Mar 31, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 374
Recently, New Hampshire police chiefs came together to make a plea to lawmakers as departments continue to be plagued by staffing shortages statewide. The chiefs, including Hinsdale Police Chief Charles Rataj, told the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee that the required fitness test is making it difficult for departments to hire and retain officers. As a result, they’ve proposed a bill that would eliminate the test for law enforcement officers. In this episode of Policing Matter...
Mar 27, 2023•23 min•Ep. 373
The headlines and news reports grab at our hearts when we hear of a school shooting. What can we be doing to protect our children in schools? On this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Dewey Cornell, a forensic and clinical psychologist known for his research on youth violence and school security, about considerations for law enforcement and educators when reviewing school-based threat assessment and school safety. This episode of the Policing Matters Podcast is...
Mar 20, 2023•22 min•Ep. 372
A barricaded suspect, possibly armed awaits inside his home. There may be a booby trap, or there may be hostages. After a shot is fired, the decision to send someone inside – or should we say, a drone – is made. Law enforcement is getting some interesting technology to help in tactical situations where our only options previously were to wait out the suspect in a siege or to send in officers. On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with Blake Resnick, the CEO and founder of d...
Mar 14, 2023•28 min•Ep. 371
Officer injuries, whether they are personal or work-related, can be overwhelming, timely and costly. Injured officers should receive immediate attention and the best possible treatment so they can return to duty faster. At IACP 2022, Wausau Police Chief Benjamin Bliven and Tactical Athletic Trainer Traci Tauferner discussed the department’s program to help small agencies operate at their highest level of performance by reducing the chance of injury and shortening an officer's time away from duty...
Mar 09, 2023•33 min•Ep. 370
In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Jason Potts, who recently served on the Violent Crime Working Group with the Council of Criminal Justice , about using technology to address violent crime. Potts is Chief of the City of Las Vegas Department of Public Safety. Previously he was a captain with the Vallejo Police Department, where he led the Department’s Operations, Investigation’s Bureau and Emergency Services Unit Commander. He serves on the board of dire...
Mar 03, 2023•30 min•Ep. 369
In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with returning guest Katherine Schweit about new commonalities and trends in active shooter incidents. Schweit is a retired FBI special agent who was tagged by the FBI to create its Active Shooter program after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Since then, she's devoted her energy to helping prevent more tragedies. She is the author of " Stop the Killing: How to End the Mass Shooting Crisis " and co-host of the " Stop the Killi...
Feb 24, 2023•34 min•Ep. 368
This week saw the fifth anniversary of the February 14, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida , where an individual fatally shot 17 people and wounded 17 others. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with Dr. Peter Blair, the executive director of the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) center in Texas, about what have we done since then to prevent such tragedies. Dr. Peter Blair earned his Ph.D. in criminal justic...
Feb 17, 2023•30 min•Ep. 367
A police bodycam video goes viral that shows an officer or two wrestling with a resistive suspect without much success. Then a shot is fired – or some other force causes extensive injury to the suspect. How can we prevent this from happening? In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with Jay Wadsworth – a veteran LEO, 2nd degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and lead instructor for Effective Fitness Combatives (EFC) – about the current state of defensive tactics training f...
Feb 09, 2023•43 min•Ep. 366
This episode of Policing Matters features a fascinating story of a dogged, multidisciplinary investigation that started at an arson fire scene and ended nearly a year later with the case solved. And it is all detailed in " When the Smoke Cleared: A Murder Mystery in Malden " by Bill Powers. Host Jim Dudley speaks with Powers, a retired Detective Lieutenant from the Massachusetts State Police and currently back with the department as a civilian training coordinator and classroom instructor, about...
Feb 01, 2023•38 min•Ep. 365
Many law enforcement agencies have seen the benefits of having social workers in police departments as social workers can increase law enforcement effectiveness when dealing with subjects experiencing mental illness. The Bloomington (Indiana) Police Department began an embedded police social worker program in 2019. Funded by the department budget, the program started with one social worker and has grown to three full-time social workers. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim ...
Jan 25, 2023•29 min•Ep. 364
Every cop in every city can name a dozen spots within their jurisdiction that might call a hot spot or the place where drugs are sold, burglaries occur, or maybe where the next shooting will happen. It may not be so easy to articulate why, off-hand, but concepts like Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), and of course, crime maps can help. In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Dr. Tamara Herold, an associate professor of criminal justice at...
Jan 18, 2023•39 min•Ep. 363
This episode of Policing Matters reviews use of force issues, including the recent history of the carotid restraint, electrical conducted devices (what most generally refer to as TASERs) and other force options that have been restrained or discontinued from use, such as tear gas options in some jurisdictions for crowd control. We will talk about innovations and possible options for the future. Host Jim Dudley speaks with Jon Becker, the founder and CEO of AARDVARK Tactical , a leading provider o...
Jan 11, 2023•36 min•Ep. 362
Effective screening of law enforcement candidates is probably the most crucial part of the hiring process. Most departments have a written, oral and physical agility test, a polygraph examination and a psychological profile test. But are we able to effectively screen out people who probably are not suitable for the job? In December 2022, news hit that the agency overseeing the training and certification of police officers in Washington State was moving to more aggressively remove recruits from t...
Jan 05, 2023•42 min•Ep. 361
American law enforcement often views itself as an island. Except for the influence of the UK's Sir Robert Peel and his Peelian Principles in 1822, we do not seem to compare our operations and experiences with police agencies in other countries. But when attending gatherings like the FBI's National Academy and meeting with international police officers, you find that American policing does, in fact, share many of the same common issues with our brothers and sisters in other countries. In this epi...
Dec 27, 2022•40 min•Ep. 360
In this special year-end episode, Policing Matters podcast host Jim Dudley is once again joined by Janay Gasparini, Ph.D. , to take a deep dive into the critical issues impacting law enforcement in 2022. Jim and Janay discuss the following 10 key areas: 1. Emerging forms and strategies in use of force Top quotes from this segment: "I think we are seeing a lot is this change in our hands-on strategies to better reflect controlling subjects as opposed to anything that might look like excessive use...
Dec 21, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 359
"Whether you look at divorce rates, mental health concerns, or the very unfortunate suicide data, first responders face higher risk in all of these areas than 'Joe Citizen.' There needs to be more support, and support that is real and unafraid to tackle the tough stuff. And that support needs to be accessible and consistent." So writes Lindsay Faas , a registered clinical counselor in British Columbia, Canada, who specializes in trauma-related counseling and affiliated concerns including PTSD, c...
Dec 14, 2022•41 min•Ep. 358
While the majority of police-civilian interactions resolve peacefully, a small number of situations end with use of force as police respond to subject resistance. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with Dr. Eric Piza about his analysis of body-worn video to determine the factors that contribute to whether or not force is used during a police-civilian interaction. Dr. Piza is a professor of criminology and criminal justice and director of crime analysis initiatives at Nor...
Dec 09, 2022•37 min•Ep. 357
