Blog Archives
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2013 Police Week Experiences
By Frank Borelli - Wednesday May 15, 2013
I didn't used to go to Police Week. There was no excuse. I live within a comfortable driving distance but am not a "city" person. My wife never wanted to go; she was sure that once she visited the National Law Enforcement Memorial then fate would conspire to put my name on it. I'd been an officer for over 20 years before I went the first time... but I haven't missed a year since. Every year it's a different experience but the one constant is the brotherhood. Somehow, DC feels a LOT safer when you see a fellow law enforcement professional everywhere you turn. For me this year, Monday the 13th of May was a full and busy day. I am blessed to (mostly) work from home and I had plenty to get done in the office before I went up... -
The Future of Police: Into Darkness
By Frank Borelli - Wednesday May 8, 2013
Stardate -358501 (July 1, 1964): Gene Roddenberry drafts a proposal for what will become one of the most popular science-fiction series to date: Star Trek . With the latest movie in the franchise being released this month ( Star Trek: Into Darkness ), and being a fairly big Star Trek fan, I have spent a little time considering what has changed in our society in the past five decades. What's occurred to me is that much of what used to be science-fiction is now science-fact, and it's happened a lot sooner than Roddenberry's fictional future suggested. Let's take a look at some of the "fictional" future and see what we find that affects us. Some of what Gene Roddenberry saw as possible technological advancements in place by the... -
Arrested For What?
By Frank Borelli - Tuesday April 23, 2013
A few years back (almost ten now) I was a member of my county Board of Education’s Citizen Advisory Committee. It just so happened that while I was serving in that capacity my county was debating whether or not to add more School Resource Officers (SROs) in the schools. At the time our county had ONE SRO – a state trooper who worked all four county high schools – and an assortment of DARE officers (deputy sheriffs) who were present in the various middle schools as their classes demanded. The Sheriff had secured a DHS grant that would have supported putting an SRO in EVERY school – high school, middle school and elementary school… EVERY school in the county. The Board of Education was, shall we say, resistant to the idea... -
Praying For Boston
By Frank Borelli - Tuesday April 16, 2013
Once again we see a horrific attack committed against American citizens on American soil. At an event like the Boston Marathon - a tradition that brings together running competitors and their supporters from all over the country - where people test their endurance, strength and determination in a mind-staggering race, no one expected a terrorist event. The latest reports I've seen list three dead and over 140 wounded. It's heart rending. There are also reports of runners who either bypassed the finished line or crossed the finish line and then kept on running to the area hospitals to give blood. That's heart LIFTING. Within an hour of the detonations there were reporters on various news channels trying to place blame. One... -
Hurt & Heal: Equally Important
By Frank Borelli - Thursday March 28, 2013
“I have two trauma kits,” my friend told me. “One for making trauma and one for treating it.” The “making trauma” kit was his Glock Model 19 9mm handgun. The “treating trauma” kit was a package he put together himself, having actually cut and stitched the pouch he used out of an old canvas bag he had. He filled it with gauze, a tourniquet, a couple pressure bandages and some QuikClot. While that’s not what many combat veterans and/or medics would consider a complete trauma kit, it was what he deemed necessary to treat bullet wounds to his extremities. The point he was very clear on was that it was as necessary and important to be able to treat wounds as it was to create them – possibly even more so. In... -
What Drives You and Your Blood Pressure?
By Frank Borelli - Friday March 15, 2013As a 30+ year veteran of law enforcement I am all too aware of the stress that can be caused by “the job.” Some of it is unavoidable: rotating shifts, random frantic people, high risk situations and the deeply boring tedium that separates moments of stark near-panic. On the other hand, some of the stress of the job we bring on ourselves; the challenge we face is learning that fact, and modifying our behavior accordingly, BEFORE it hurts our health and career in ways we might avoid. What am I talking about? Well, hindsight is 20-20. We all know that. What many of us don’t think about is that “hindsight” when we’re in the first five years of our career may mean reconsidering how we handled a call yesterday or last... -
The Difference: The Job vs Being A Hero
By Frank Borelli - Friday March 8, 2013
Just this morning I was exchanging emails with my boss about various business topics. Since our owning company (Cygnus Business Media) owns properties that serve all aspects of the public safety industry (law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical personnel), part of the discussion was about the differences that exist in the PEOPLE who fulfill those different positions. Having served in several different uniforms (military, police and firefighter) I found myself pondering the different motivations and aspects. I’d appreciate your feedback on my thoughts if you disagree or if you have a different insight. First, please understand, that I do truly believe the calling to public safety service, or even uniformed service in... -
AG Holder, Drones & Posse Comitatus
By Frank Borelli - Wednesday March 6, 2013
Let me start by reassuring everyone that I’m not a lawyer (and quite happy about it). Let me further reassure everyone that I have over 30 years of experience as a law enforcement professional. I happen to have spent three of those years on contract to the U.S. Army as a consultant trying to find a way to share training resources between the Army and domestic law enforcement entities. The effort was largely unsuccessful and that lack of success was mostly due to this thing called Posse Comitatus. As worded in federal law 18 U.S.C. § 1385: Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus... -
What Are We Teaching Our Children?
By Frank Borelli - Monday March 4, 2013The fact that I am pro 2 nd Amendment is no secret; not among my friends, family or coworkers. The fact that I believe people have a right to self-defense and SHOULD always defend themselves is no secret. The fact that I believe it’s honorable and admirable to stand up and defend others if they can’t defend themselves is no secret. So it follows, the fact that some of the anti-gun, anti-self-defense reactions in our country lately make me shake my head and wonder where we went wrong. In this story we read about a seven year old little boy who was eating his breakfast pastry and trying to chew off bites to shape it like a mountain. How creative is that? How imaginative is that? How cool is that? Unfortunately, his... -
Drones Used By Law Enforcement
By Frank Borelli - Monday February 11, 2013
DRONE , as defined by dictionary.com: a. an unmanned aircraft or ship that can navigate autonomously, without human control or beyond line of sight: the GPS of a U.S. spy drone. b. (loosely) any unmanned aircraft or ship that is guided remotely: a radio-controlled drone. Read through the definition. Now read it again. The ONLY word in there that potentially bothers me is "autonomously" but even that only concerns me IF the "drone" in question is armed. As a 30+ year veteran of law enforcement work having served at every level including command staff and in executive positions, I can't think of a single instance where I've seen or heard about an armed autonomous remote controlled vehicle. The very phrase is oxymoronic. To...
