If a victim starts crying during an interview, don’t immediately volunteer to stop the interview (“It’s OK. Let’s take a break and give you a minute to gather your thoughts…”) That kind of response can make a victim feel inadequate, weak and further out of control of him/herself. It can also divert their attention from the main goal of the discussion – which is trying to get you the important details of the event you need – to the task of just trying to hold back tears so you don’t have to stop the interview. If they start crying, offer them a Kleenex, but don’t …Read more […..]

Career Survivalwith Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith P1 Exclusive: What do the mid-year stats mean for American cops?We’ve all seen the headlines: “Police officer deaths down 41 percent at mid year!” Unquestionably, this is good news for American law enforcement, however, let’s not forget a few key facts: June 2008 was the second deadliest month of the year with 13 officers killed in the line of duty. Not since 2002 have we lost more than one officer to an edged weapons attack, and yet already this year we’ve lost two correctional officers who were stabbed to death within five days of each other on …Read more […..]

Practical Police Psychologywith Dr. Laurence Miller Q: The recent suicide of Lt. Derrick Norfleet of the Oakland Police Department has left the local law enforcement community in shock. This kind of event also reverberates with police departments across the country. How does a law enforcement agency deal with this kind of tragedy? What can we do honor our colleague and recover as a department? A: You took the first step – you asked the question. There are no easy answers, but there are some answers. In an earlier column, I dealt extensively with what fellow officers can do to help prevent or stop the suicide of one of …Read more […..]

In the wake of last year’s Salt Lake City mall shooting incident involving an off-duty Ogden City Police officer, I spoke with one of our police academy recruit classes. As typical the almost 40 newly minted “blue shirts” were eager to embark on their law enforcement careers and make a difference. They were eager to get involved and for most of them, that included the notion of off-duty action to protect and serve.This diverse group of budding law enforcers and I talked about off-duty involvements and some of the considerations they should ponder when they get settled in an agency. Shootings of plain clothed …Read more […..]

By John Farnam In the days of black powder and muzzle-loaders, soldiers referred to a surprise volley of musket fire, usually erupting from a tree line, as an “ambuscade,” from the Old High German word for forest, “busc.” You know it as an ambush. By any terminology, it’s a hellish form of attack, with intended assassins lying in wait for their quarry to blunder unaware into a prearranged kill-zone. Unfortunately, today’s law officers know this adversary tactic all too well, from bloody experience. Officers have been ambushed in patrol cars as they worked on reports or as they drove on their beats or …Read more […..]