Small-town policing
Breaking down the Mayberry fallacy
In the minds of many people, small-town policing is as easy as Sheriff Andy Taylor made it appear in the 1960s television series The Andy Griffith Show. In the fictional […] Read More
Jack R. Gates
Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property regulators
Code enforcement officers are often perceived by the public as notoriously intrusive officials who have little or no compassion for their fellow citizens. The codes they enforce are frequently thought […] Read More
Keeping work at work and home at home
The tough job of balancing work and family
Few things are as precarious as the work–life balance in our profession. Police work is a demanding job, sometimes to the point of being all-consuming, and can easily bleed over […] Read More
Meeting training needs on a limited budget
How to develop your own continuing education courses
Today’s police department budgets are spread thin, and there’s rarely enough to cover everything needed. One area that is almost never adequately funded is training. Let’s face it, quality courses […] Read More
Recruitment and retention
The great law enforcement dilemma
Never in most of our lifetimes have we experienced such a shortage of police applicants — particularly quality candidates — while at the same time trying to retain our good […] Read More
Getting ahead of the story
The importance of preemptive public relations
When an agency is under fire by the media and, ultimately, the public, the cringeworthy television interview of the public information officer or other department figurehead can be difficult to […] Read More
