Secure the stuff in your squad
No one goes into a shift expecting to wrap their squad around a pole, get t-boned in an intersection, or get whacked by some idiot in a real-end wreck, but as we know all too well, it can — and does — happen....
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Searching cell phones for criminal evidence
Earlier this month, I attended a class on gang activity and gang interdiction led by a Sergeant in the San Francisco Police Department Street Crimes Unit. My instructor works a gang unit in a sector of the city in which...
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Steps to ensure good management of a homicide scene
Homicide scenes are wrought with chaos and swirling emotions. Whether they are the emotions of the victims’ family members, or in the event of a fallen police officer, the emotions may be those of law enforcement...
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Cracking a computer case
Criminals use computers for all manner of nefarious activities — this is not news — from arranging meetings between Johns and prostitutes, to distributing illegal pornography, to advertising the sale of goods...
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Getting to the unknown unknowns
Rumsfeld was right: sometimes you just don’t know what you don’t know. When you’ve hit an impasse in your investigation, step back a moment and think about the experts who might know a lot more than you do about one of...
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Five tips for successful criminal interrogation
Sgt. Steve Schrimpf of the Greeley (Colo.) Police Department has spent years conducting interviews and criminal interrogations. Schrimpf, who also major crimes investigator for his department from 2000-2006, tells...
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Make your own 'luck' in cracking cases
We often talk about the fact that it’s important to "train like you fight." A variation on that theme comes into play when you're doing some of the more mundane tasks in police work.
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Finding the mobile phone number of your suspect
By Tom Joyce, Lieutenant (Ret.), NYPD As told to PoliceOne Senior Editor Doug WyllieMany people don’t even have a land-line phone anymore, but the mobile carriers do not share information about their customers with...
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Addressing video evidence at trial
Val Van Brocklin says that for any video evidence used at trial, law enforcement officials ought to expect the following questions from the defense: When and how was the recording made? Who was in control of its...
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Volatility of digital evidence
Digital data are stored in various forms (random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard drives, and other magnetic or optical media) and are subject to inadvertent alteration, degradation or loss. Almost any...
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Take Time to Observe
As a police officer for a major railroad, I work alone 90 percent of the time. When investigating suspicious activity or persons, before I go charging in I try to observe them and their activity from different vantage...
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Remote check on vehicle movement
During surveillance, you can check, unobserved, whether a vehicle has moved and returned to its usual parking space by using binoculars to note the positions of the valve stems on the wheels. Note the position of the...
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Scope it out
As police and corrections officers, we transport prisoners every day inside and outside our secured facilities. One thing that can help us on the outside is "scoping out" our various destinations before we're...
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Cell phone data mining
Cell phone seizures can be a great investigatory tool. Data may be retained on the telephone itself, in removable media, or at the service provider. It's important to note that information held by the service provider is...
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Check MySpace.com for intel
Me and a department buddy always check www.MySpace.com for local intel. You will find all sorts of things on their pages, such as upcoming MIP parties, etc, but more importantly, you can gather information on felonious...
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Interviewing rape victims
In todays PoliceOne Video Tip of the week, provided by the Law Enforcement Training Network (LETN) we discuss techniques for interviewing rape victims.
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Drug concealment reminder
Twice I have found drugs on suspects that other officers have patted down. They used tape to hide drugs inside their shirt sleeves near the hem. It's easy to miss this during a quick pat down. I also found a small packet...
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What would you do?
This week’s video training tip, provided by the Law Enforcement Training Network, explores three response options to a “man with a gun” call involving a subject claiming to be an undercover officer.
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Using a digital audio recorder
I find that a digital audio recorder is a great piece of equipment to have. It can serve as a helpful investigative tool to record field interviews, dying declarations at a moment's notice, or to help take notes when a...
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Entry Weapon Choices
Video: Broadband Dialup Download Windows Media Player In this tip from the Police Officers Safety Association (POSA), Training Director Ralph Mroz explores the pros and cons of the traditional use of long guns during...
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Make sure you've got a quick exit
During a traffic stop, keep your car door ajar. If an occupant of the vehicle you have stopped gets out and points a gun at you, or begins running at you, you only need to push your door open. The extra time it takes to...
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Concealment alert: Search handhelds
If you find a suspect to be in possession of any electronic devices during an arrest, be aware that the interior of the device (battery compartments, accessible interior areas, memory card slots, etc.) should be searched...
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Pause, observe and listen at domestic disturbances
A tactic that I find useful for domestic disturbances is after parking away from the location and making a tactical approach, pause near a window and, if possible, take a look inside to see what you can see...house...
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