The “plain touch” rule is a legal development of great potential significance to law enforcement officers. Where it applies, the “plain touch” rule permits the...

Frequently, what begins as a missing person report in a forested, rural area ends up becoming a search for a missing person. To be of...

There is a natural tendency to look to the parents or child care providers for answers to the sudden death of a child. However, Sudden...

Officers who routinely find themselves during the course of their shift reacting only to the demands of others may be mismanaging and wasting precious time...

If conducted properly, the conversation of suspects can be surreptitiously monitored and recorded by officers and evidence thus developed can be used in subsequent criminal...

The best defense against civil liability is to avoid, or at least minimize, the filing of lawsuits against the officer and the department. Although in...

In the past three decades, civil liability has become a major consideration for American law enforcement agencies. Multimillion-dollar lawsuits against police agencies and police officers...

There are a number of federal on-line information systems that have been developed for investigating specific types of criminal offenses and criminal enterprises. Criminal investigators...

Police patrol officers can be the first line of defense in preventing and detecting cargo thefts. Basic knowledge of how cargo thefts occur will give...

Patrol officers who are trained properly and motivated are often in a good position to interdict drugs in transit on the nation’s streets and highways...

Officers engaged in undercover operations must be aware of legal restrictions and complications that should limit and govern their activities. This is the second of...

Undercover police operations have been successfully employed for decades and have received increasing popularity. However, such operations can present legal dilemmas for those who fail...

Part II: Despite significant arrests and convictions of traditional organized crime bosses in recent years by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, La Cosa...

Despite significant arrests and convictions of traditional organized crime bosses in recent years by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, La Cosa Nostra continues...

One of the more frequent and most significant points of contact between the police and the community it serves is during the traffic stop. There...

Inventory searches are an essential tool for any police department. Unfortunately, many police personnel misunderstand the nature, purpose and procedural requirements for such searches that...

Violent prison-based gangs are becoming more closely affiliated with street gangs throughout the nation, posing serious threats to law enforcement officers. From a street survival...

Patrol officers are commonly confronted with the need to search buildings of all types in order to apprehend suspects. While searches always carry inherent dangers...

Crimes committed against the environment are rapidly becoming one of the more devastating and costly offenses. However, they are often one of the less detected...

Writing an accurate, clear, readable police report is an essential part of officer responsibilities. Good narrative report writing frequently makes the difference between successful or...