Criminal Justice Online

CRIMINAL JUSTICE NEWS - April 2009

American Heroes Press April 2009 In This Issue Personal Protective Equipment The Path to a Counterterrorism Doctrine Clean Your Weapon Justice PowerPoints Preventing, Preparing for Critical Incidents in Schools Security Officer Injuries and Deaths Policy Issues Regarding Automated License Plate Recognition Technology Share a Photo, Catch a Criminal Sleep Deprivation: What Does It Mean for Public Safety Officers? Police Response to Officer-Involved-Shootings Our Sponsors   What have US Servicemembers written about these conflicts? War of American Independence War of 1812 Mexican-American War Civil War Spanish American War World War One World War Two Cold War Korean War Vietnam War Operation Just Cause (Panama) Desert Storm Operation Restore Hope (Somalia) Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan Second Gulf War American Heroes Talk Radio  Criminal Investigations Computer Crime Police Corruption Field Training Officer Programs LAPD Wife Secrets of Marine Corps Leadership NYPD Emergency Services Unit Search and Seizure Homicide Investigations Schools as Terror Targets Maritime Security Iraq: An RPG to the Head and a Silver Star Citizen Survival of Terrorist Attacks Aviation History True Crime Officer Survival Mindset Badge of Life Surviving Bootcamp   Visit the Archive Greetings! Don't Panic!  The Hi Tech Criminal Justice newsletter has expanded to include information about all American Heroes - Police, Fire, Emergency Services and Military personnel.  This was a natural progression as many of the issues overlap, as do the various websites now published under the banner of American Heroes Press.  For this transition newsletter, the subject line header remained "Hi Tech Criminal Justice Newsletter" but in the future will come from American Heroes Press. Personal Protective Equipment   By Auston Price, LAPD   There are many challenges and conflictions when trying to select Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and full body PPE suits. The equipment needs to fit well and stop the bullets in and ever growing society of hostilities directed towards law enforcement officers.  With these increasing numbers of personal attacks on the law enforcement community have forced many officers to follow their first intuition to don their PPE body armor prior to working the streets.   Read On  The Path to a Counterterrorism Doctrine by David Cid     On February 26, 1993, Islamic terrorists detonated a truck bomb in the basement garage of Tower One of the World Trade Center. Within days, master bomber Ramzi Yusuf was hunted as a fugitive and three coconspirators were identified and arrested. This prompt and definitive resolution of a stunning act of terrorism on United States soil seemed to demonstrate that existing authorities and procedures were sufficient to address the "terrorism problem." But our understanding of the terrorism threat was flawed, and the lessons we took from the attack and subsequent investigation were flawed as well.   Download the document  Clean Your Weapon! By Sergeant Andrew G. Hawkes   Ask any good, seasoned patrol officer the importance of maintaining your everyday equipment and you might get a response like "Do cars need gas to run? Or, does a marathon runner need shoes to run in?" Having clean, up-to-date equipment such as a charged Taser or a full can of OC spray is important, but not nearly as important as maintaining your duty weapon.  You don't have to be an expert firearms instructor, a Tactical Commander or even be a gun crazy cop to know how to maintain a clean duty weapon.  Ask any field training officer if he stresses the importance of a clean, functional weapon to his or her rookies, and I bet you will be hard pressed to find one that does not.    READ ON Justice PowerPoints   Hi Tech Criminal Justice has release over 30 PowerPoint presentations that cover a wide variety of criminal justice subjects.  The presentations include subjects such as police tactics, public policy, hate crimes, criminal investigations and law enforcement technology.  These presentations are available at no cost to law enforcement trainers, criminal justice instructors and students.  Simply download and use! View the Presentations Preventing, Preparing for Critical Incidents in Schools    Ten years ago, on a sunny day in April, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colo., and began shooting. They killed 13 people and wounded 21 others before turning the guns on themselves. The events of that spring day mark one of the most devastating school shootings in U.S. history. Statistically, shootings and other homicides are a rare event in U.S. schools - they represent less than one percent of the homicides among children aged 5-18. From 1999 to 2006, 116 students were killed in 109 school-associated incidents.   READ ON  Security Officer Injuries and Deaths    A two year study of security officer deaths and injuries by the National Association of Private Officers was released on Tuesday, December 16 2008. In the study, the association monitored all on-the-job injuries and deaths of employees who fell within the classification of security officer for twenty four months. The N.A.P.O. a professional organization of private security and law enforcement personnel based in Atlanta Georgia looked at and collected statistical data on loss prevention agents, guards, public safety officers, bouncers, uniform security officers, patrol officers, private police officers, and others who performed security related duties but whose jobs classified them as positions other than security officers.   READ ON  Policy Issues Regarding Automated License Plate Recognition Technology By Anthony Abdalla As the prevalence of Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) systems continue to increase among law enforcement agencies within the United States and around the world, so do policy issues regarding data collection, use, and retention.  Complicated by the fact that the United States lacks a national policy regarding these issues, individual law enforcement agencies are left to examine and implement ALPR policies individually.  This issue paper will examine ALPR technology and related policy concerns in the hope of increasing dialog and debate for issues surrounding this important technology. READ ON Share a Photo, Catch a Criminal   Approaching the driver of a car stopped for running a red light, the officer asks for identification. After checking all of his pockets, the driver says he must have left his wallet at home and proceeds to rattle off a name and an address in another State. In the past, the officer might have let the driver go with a warning or a citation for not carrying his license. Thanks to a new program facilitated by Nlets (the International Justice and Public Safety Network), the officer requests not only the driver's information, but also his photo, from the neighboring State, and receives it directly in his patrol car. Confronted with a photo that obviously is someone else, the driver breaks down and admits he gave a friend's name and address to avoid the officer's finding out about his past criminal record.   Download the Report Sleep Deprivation: What Does It Mean for Public Safety Officers?   When I speak to police officers about my research on sleep, job performance and shift work, they always ask, "What's the best shift?" I always answer, "That's the wrong question. Most shift arrangements have good and bad aspects." The right question is this: "What is the best way to manage shift work, keep our officers healthy and maintain high performance in our organization?"   READ ON Police Response to Officer-Involved-Shootings What goes through police officers' minds when they are involved in shootings? How does facing deadly force affect what they see, hear, and feel? Prior research has found that many officers involved in shootings suffer from "postshooting trauma"-a form of posttraumatic stress disorder that may include guilt, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. However, it may be that officers are more resilient than previously thought. One study has found that most suffer few long-term negative emotional or physical effects after shooting a suspect.     READ THE REPORT   Support the newsletter by forwarding and contributing!   Sincerely,   Raymond Foster Hi Tech Criminal Justice