These days, the term “drone” elicits all sorts of emotional reactions. Some see it as fun, a hobby, a chance to explore a world above the ground that you couldn’t do previously without spending a lot of money. Others see it as a viable operational tool that can be used under numerous work opportunities. And…

On the fateful day that President John Kennedy was assassinated, he was prepared to give a speech in which he planned to say that “leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” I couldn’t agree more. Nearly two years ago, I decided I wanted to go back to school. Our department had been part of…

The officer who sat across from me at my kitchen table had clearly enjoyed a prodigious career but as he talked about himself, those tales weren’t materializing. I could see right then, if I were choosing whether to hire him, he would fail. I’d seen it many times before. Cops are great at being cops….

A few years ago, some of my officers began investigating a shooting in which a guy had disappeared after he killed his wife and wounded his adult stepson. As some of the officers began looking for the man, some kids rolled up on their bikes. “Are you looking for that guy who shot those people?”…

Community policing can bring the entire town onto your team. And working together means communication, relationships. No matter the demographics of the department, no matter the socio-economics of the community, relating as people and neighbors changes everything. When I became chief in Mooreseville in April, I wanted to ease tensions in this large department, so…

Since an officer in my police department was brought under suspicion of perjury for statements he made when he thought his police body camera was turned off, some of our constituents have been adamant in calling for a policy that police officers cannot turn off their body cameras at all while on duty. They feel…

If a burglary has occurred near your house within the week, your home is at an elevated risk for crime. This is a phenomenon known as Near Repeat, and policing and research experts recently collaborated on a program to prevent it. The consequent study just won the Redlands Police Department the International Association of Chiefs…

In their recent paper titled Reinventing American Policing, Cynthia Lum and Daniel Nagan lay out a blueprint for transforming 21st century policing in a way that makes the profession more effective in providing safety and security for the public while maintaining trust in the police by the public. Their plan is based upon two guiding…

Well, it is about time. This needed to happen. For too long we have required our law enforcement officers to respond to incidents involving people experiencing symptoms of mental illness and not given all of our officers the needed training. The many law enforcement officers I know are incredibly talented and skilled at a great…

When a storm like the recent Hurricane Matthew is headed our way, we need to persuade residents to evacuate, which can be a challenge. If you’ve lived in Florida any amount of time, you become your own hurricane expert. You’re always going to have people who think, “It didn’t happen last time, so we’re not…