Paul Cappitelli

APB Columnist Paul Cappitelli is the former executive director for the California Peace Officer's Standards and Training Commission (POST). He provided leadership for the development of visionary training curricula for 80,000+ peace officers. Before that, Paul spent 29 years with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department retiring as a Captain. His experiences were as a street cop, homicide investigator, first-line supervisor, PIO, training commander and more. He is now a consultant and police practices expert.

Debunking the perpetual narrative of racial bias in policing

June 12, 2023

There is a steady stream of headlines and reports perpetuating the narrative that law enforcement officers are systemically racist and therefore “target” minorities routinely and without purpose. This narrative comes from activists, organizations, multiple news sources, on social media and via mainstream media television outlets. The vilification of police officers is nothing new, but the racial bias impugnment has intensified over the recent years. Read More

The unspoken truth behind the recruitment and retention crisis

May 9, 2023

Over the last couple of years we have seen articles and publications, one right after the other, chronicling the shortage of law enforcement candidates and the mass exodus from the ranks of policing across the United States. The scholarly articles in legacy police leadership publications spend a great deal of time brainstorming creative and innovative ways to recruit and retain officers often reverting to old, tired methods. Read More

The police reform goal: use of force without options

April 6, 2023

In my June 2021 American Police Beat article entitled “Crowd control force options: a cacophony of mixed messages,” I expressed concerns about the groundswell of controversy surrounding the limits being placed on officers when addressing crowds and riots. Read More

The imprisonment of law enforcement technology

February 28, 2023

As the pendulum of public support for law enforcement swings back toward the vilification side, the criticism of technological tools intensifies commensurately. Society as a whole wants the police to apprehend criminals (even more so when they are personally victimized), yet there is an ongoing reticence to embrace the technology that enables cops to do the job more safely and efficiently. Read More

Persecution of the LEO is classic schadenfreude

January 21, 2022

There is an increasing number of law enforcement officers (LEO) being prosecuted criminally because of split-second decisions that result in injuries or deaths. The so-called “activists” are demanding more of what they coin “social justice” in the form of punitive action against police officers but, by definition, it’s basically revenge. Read More

The rule of law is worthless without order

December 15, 2021

The headlines are horrendous. One violent crime after another. Clearly there is a crime spike in America with some parts of the country being more impacted than others. But what has garnered the most outrage recently? Retail theft. Read More