Trends to Follow in 2014

Dec. 26, 2013
New purchasing trends to follow next year will vary from the smaller department to the larger and add urban and rural filters to it. What are some of the trends or issues to follow, here are a few.

Every chief, sheriff and departmental purchasing agent will start off 2014 with their eyes on some old issues and new trends to follow this year. New trends to follow next year will vary from the smaller department to the larger and add urban and rural filters to it. What are some of the trends or issues to follow, here are a few.

Ammo supply and even selection is a huge issue for most departments. If the ammo is available there are two additional questions. At what price can it be purchased and secondly, when is it going to be delivered?  The good old days of ordering your ammunition from the supplier have changed drastically for most. If you can order it, when can you expect delivery then looms over your department. Practice ammo and sometimes even street ammo is scarce and often at budget crushing prices.

Most departments now are calling up several suppliers to seek both acceptable prices and availability. If you find a trove of ammo at a respectable price, many are stocking up when the budget allows. As one gun supplier told me he has received orders from law enforcement well in advance of traditional ordering cycles.

Firearms supply and tactical accessories just like ammunition are seeing the strains of a demanding market. Backorders and waiting lists are today’s new normal. In 2013 my department upgraded our issued firearms. This year we purchased Glock Gen 4 Model 21s and the wait was nearly excruciating but they did make it in. The days of calling up and ordering firearms has changed as well. Big suggestion is do not plan any transition or familiarization training on the training calendar until all of the goods are delivered.

AWD cruisers and pursuit rated 4WD are emerging into the police fleets. All I can say is about time! I am not going to get into the rear wheel drive (RWD) verses the front wheel drive (FWD) for police application. I am not a motor head and both versions have their pros and cons. However for those of us in the areas where winter brings snow, the concept of all-wheel drive (AWD) fascinates me as a plausible alternative for dealing with winter’s unpleasant moments in driving. I started my career in the Southeast where snow was seen only on television. Now a decade plus in the Northeast, it is a fact of life; I need to go in the snow!  Most every agency has several sport utility vehicles (SUVs) for special operations, supervisors and the like. Since most are four wheel drive (4WD) they were not pursuit rated, therefore limiting their full usage in patrol and traffic enforcement. Now pursuit rated 4WD vehicles are coming, once again I applaud the manufacturers for producing what we have been requiring all along.  The other issue that enters into fleet management is the fuel efficiency of these vehicles and the preliminary tests appear to be much improved. Personally, I can’t wait to test drive a few of these.

Technology is ever evolving. Before you gasp, no I am not going to even attempt to cover the technology field. I have told you that I am the low tech guy trapped into a high tech world, but I am continuing to learn. Most of us view technology as manpower enhancers and most rightfully so are indeed. It can be a bonus but we are also sometimes far too attached to it for our own good at times. For those of us who handwrote our police reports on multilayer sheets with carbon paper and a black ink pen, we have come along way. One the quest is to go paperless or clutter reduction. I have found several apps for my phone and mobile data terminals (MDTs) particularly appealing and free. Most all of us have to possess some shape or fashion of field operational guides (FOGs). Your state emergency management, your departmental guidelines and so forth were in the trunk of your cruiser and the expense of producing copies or purchasing them was an abomination. Now most can be a file on the cloud, an app on the staffs’ smart phones or an icon click away on the MDT. I will give you a couple examples that I enjoy. First is the Emergency Response Guidebook for dangerous goods and hazardous materials. You know the big orange book for HazMat? Go to www.phmsa.dot.gov for the app, now it is in your phone and no more ordering multiple copies. Another great app is WISER (Wireless Information for Emergency Responders from the National Library of Medicine. This is a great app for identifying unknown substances; it may not be used everyday but will be helpful for a commander on a ‘bad day’.

These are by no means the major trends, some of the few that I have encountered and discuss frequently. I can never forget the budgets, the increasing demands on law enforcement and the training requirements this brings to the table. This next year will be more challenging than the last but there is hope. I never forget that our true ‘hardware’ is our staff. The officer in the street delivering the service to our customers is our best investment for 2014 and the future.

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