Californians will face an important decision in November when they vote on whether to legalize marijuana. Proponents of Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, rely on two main arguments: that legalizing and taxing marijuana would generate much-needed revenue, and that legalization would allow law enforcement to focus on other crimes. As experts in the field of drug policy, policing, prevention, education and treatment, we can report that neither of these claims withstand scrutiny. No country in the world has legalized marijuana to the extent envisioned by Proposition 19, so it is impossible to predict precisely the consequences of wholesale legalization.

There have been a myriad of opinions regarding Arizona's SB1070 and its impact on everyone involved. Clearly, the majority of Americans agree with the concept of deporting illegal entrants, particularly those who have brought attention to themselves by their criminal conduct. It does not seem that any of our government's leaders want to do anything but talk about addressing the issue.  Businesses and agriculture benefit from the inexpensive labor while the liberals sees immigration only in terms of human rights.  Both ignore the fundamental underlying factor that some of the persons in the country illegally are causing problems beyond their mere presence.

Having a good field training officer can make such a difference in the kind of career a rookie officer will have. If he or she has a good one who imparts knowledge and wisdom, the officer is blessed.  But conversely, if he has an unethical, incompetent or lazy FTO, the officer may develop poor habits and have an unproductive career. Young rookies are like clay and field training officers can help sculpt them into solid public servants. Ideally a field training officer will not limit her instruction to only job-related tasks but will also provide insight on how an officer should behave off duty as well.

He was serving his country as a Marine reservist in Afghanistan when the 15-pound roadside bomb Marine Staff Sgt. and LAPD officer Joshua Cullins was disarming, exploded. Joshua suffered a concussion in the blast. When the alarming news reached LAPD's Central Division, his fellow officers turned to YouTube to send a pair of get-well-soon messages to their friend and colleague. As recounted in a must-read story by LA Times' writer Bob Pool, Captain Daryl Russell remembered that one of his officers, David Marroquin, was experienced at producing videos.

When it comes to border security, the vast majority of the officials with their hands on the purse strings overwhelmingly favor so-called "high tech" solutions. If you read American Police Beat you already know that the "virtual fence" between the U.S. and Mexico is poster child for mismanagement with regard to government contracts and will most likely never be completed. It's made a lot of money for a select few but is widely considered a failure in terms of what the fence was supposed to actually do. But according to AOL News, public concern about illegal immigration, border security and human trafficking is at an all-time high. The pressure to "do something," has led to the deployment of National Guard troops on the border as well the increased use of unmanned aircraft, or drones to stem the tide of drugs and illegal immigrants as it washes onto American shores.

In an attempt to maximize all available funding sources, the Lockport, New York Common Council says it will seek the most police officers possible and use the highest salaries available in applying for a federal grant to hire five new officers. The city recently applied for a federal COPS grant, which will pay the full salaries and benefits for the new officers for four years. Lockport Police Lt. Douglas Haak, who is in charge of filling out the grant application for the Police Department, told the aldermen there's no point in trying to curry favor with the feds by "low balling" estimates of the officers' cost.

Have you ever noticed how annoying it is listening to someone on his or her cell phone? "Really? No way! (other person talking) Well Tammy said that wasn't the case. (more silence,) No, no, we're going to other place. The waitress at the other spot was really slow." And it can go on for hours. Now scientists say that they might have discovered why listening to one half of a conversation is so frustrating. It turns out that our imaginations can't help filling in the blanks. And before you know it, you've just wasted 15 valuable minutes putting the pieces of meaningless puzzle together in your head.

With strong backing from America's law enforcement, corporate and philanthropic communities, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) announced today that it will break ground in October on the first-ever National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington, DC. Groundbreaking will take place on October 14, 2010. The Museum will be built on Federal land across the street from the existing National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in historic Judiciary Square, the symbolic seat of the nation's criminal justice system. A gala celebration is planned for that evening at the National Building Museum.

If you read American Police Beat, you already know about the consternation of some taxpayers in Utah who recently received their first bill for policing services. Now one of those residents is hopping mad about the situation and plans to take his case to court. The plaintiff is also a prominent tax attorney. Mark Buchi, a member of the state's Tax Review Commission wants to make it clear that he's not against fees and charges for some government services. Charging a fee for a fishing license, a car registration or a park admission all makes sense he says. But charging American citizens for their own police protection rubs a lot of people the wrong way.

(Editors note: This opinion piece will also be in the September 2010 issue of American Police Beat) In more than 40 years in law enforcement, I have been part of a revolution in policing technology. When I began as a Boston police officer, walkie-talkies were so bulky that no one wanted to carry them. Years later, while I was New York City police commissioner, the New York Police Department developed the COMPSTAT model of policing-using timely information, gained through technology, to drastically cut crime rates. Today, many police departments have real time crime centers, leveraging new communications technology to do a more effective job fighting crime.