Ronnie Garrett Editorial Director Law Enforcement Technology magazine Last month, highway patrol officers visited 20 classrooms at Oceanside, California’s El Camino High School to deliver some horrific news: Several classmates had been killed in car wrecks over the weekend. Things quickly turned chaotic, with many of the kids openly weeping, and some becoming hysterical and inconsolable. Their pain turned to fury a few hours later when the teens learned the “deaths†were part of a “scared straight†exercise to teach them the consequences of drinking and driving. Parents and students alike questioned the tactic and thought it unnecessarily traumatized the kids. The school’s guidance counselor Lori...

Carole Moore Missing Persons Contributor Officer.com Police are human beings, too. They understand what you're going through when a family member or friend is missing, and although they may at first come across as insensitive, they're really not. Their first obligation is to do what's best for the welfare of that missing person and it's important that they keep themselves professional and focused on bringing the loved one home. Searching for that person is their primary focus, but once a search turns up nothing of significance or something that may lead police to believe the individual has or could be harmed, their second obligation is to conduct an investigation. That can lead to charges of insensitivity from people who don't...

Frank Borelli Editor-in-Chief Officer.com So I was sitting in a hotel room in New York waiting to attend a law enforcement expo, and The Last Samurai was on television. One line made me think about the current state of affairs in our country, and I felt compelled to start typing about it. The line was, "The way of the samurai is no longer necessary." Just moments before the "way of the Samurai" had been described as, "...a life of service, discipline, compassion." No one can ever doubt or question that the Samurai were warriors. The term compassionate warrior has been one of my favorites for a long time. These few lines got me to thinking and, as I am wont to do, considering the value today of those men and women who choose to...

Carole Moore Missing Persons Contributor Officer.com Aren't we? Here's the deal: law enforcement is insular by nature. It's a "them and us" kind of profession. I think some of that is good. I find few in the general public understand exactly what is out there on the streets. But by reinforcing the division between LEOs and civilians, we also lose one of our most precious assets. All of those eyes, those ears, those witnesses, those people paying attention to what's going on around them. How many cases have been solved because somebody NOT involved in the crime paid attention? Saw someone who looked like the composite, took down the license number because the car seemed suspicious, remembered a guy who had a jacket like that, found a...