How to tame the border

Feb. 13, 2013

It’s easy to get caught up in daily routine and local politics. But sometimes solutions to our everyday dilemmas can be found by simply taking a step back and broadening our viewpoint. The February issue of Law Enforcement Technology magazine delves in to the business of policing across city, state and even international lines.
We begin in the U.S. where contributing editor Carole Moore describes the ongoing disconnect between Washington lawmakers and boots-on-the-ground law enforcement efforts when it comes to immigration and border security in this month’s cover story “From sea to shining sea” .
Post-9/11, federal, state and local agencies all upped their security efforts—particularly where borders were concerned. More than a decade later; however, this front continues to present new challenges. Illegal immigration is a problem. And each day local agencies are tasked with confiscating contraband drugs and firearms cropping up stateside in small Texan towns. As Mexican political rifts deepen, cartels grow fiercer and head north, recruiting children as young as fourteen years old. The situation isn’t necessarily rosier on our border to the north, where the human trafficking trade continues to flourish alongside of narcotics and weapons exchange.
In this issue we also go overseas to Greater Manchester, Great Britain where international contributor Keith W. Strandberg sits down with Sir Peter Fahy, ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) Vice President and Chief Constable, to chat about how his agency confronts organized crime, community policing and pay freezes across the pond. We plan to present you with more leading voices in law enforcement in the months to come.
One theme stands out whether looking at US/Mexican boundary issues or a UK police force training to address terrorism on a national scale: communication. Both Fahy and U.S. border patrol experts stress the need for better communication efforts to achieve solutions that require a mutual aid approach. Well-planned cooperative agreements between countries can no doubt help things along.
If you’re not yet familiar with Law Enforcement Technology’s iPad app, February would be a good month to get acquainted. You’ll see firearms savant Lindsey Bertomen fire off Charter Arms’ 12-ounce Undercover Lite revolver. Readers will also have access to an iPad exclusive feature, “Bond at the border,” that goes deep into the working relationship between federal immigration agents and local law enforcement. And while you’re there, you might as well take our Valentine’s Day quiz—it’s just a free download away.
Stay tuned for the March issue of LET where you’ll get a first-look at the menagerie of new and improved products encountered at January’s SHOT Show in Las Vegas.
Thanks for reading!

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