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The Need For Strategic Planning
By Frank Borelli - Wednesday May 29, 2013Just recently I was contacted by a Chief of Police (friend of mine) who asked me to review his five-year strategic plan. This is the eighth one he’s done but he’s not been the Chief for 40 years; instead, he’s done a five-year strategic plan each year for the past eight years. Why, you might ask yourself, would a Chief do a five-year plan every year? The answer is simple: stuff happens. If I could go back and change ONE thing in my life it would be to add strategic planning into my career decisions starting when I was in the Army. While I had several good mentors giving me advice on how to advance my career, few offered advice on long term planning of the same career. Fewer still (in fact, none) offered words of wisdom... -
Anticipating Disasters & Preparing
By Frank Borelli - Friday May 24, 2013It was with sad eyes that most of us viewed the news about the tornado damage in Moore, Oklahoma. That sadness continues as we watch the updates about recovery efforts and all the challenges faced. I don’t mean to downplay the human suffering in any way, but every time I see news clips of the public safety workers amidst the rubble I can’t help but identify with some of the operational challenges I know they’re facing but that often go unnoticed. Some of those challenges include fatigue, hunger and simple emotional weariness. Those are human challenges that we confront as we cope with and recover from any disaster, whether it’s natural or manmade. Some of those challenges are of an equipment nature: patrol vehicles that... -
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... -
Live Blog: "The Unit" - It's Not a Movie - Day 2
By Jonathan Kozlowski - Saturday May 4, 2013
Like I said I planned in a previous entry ( Day 1 ), I tried the 10-7 post-shift relaxing supplement. It's mechanism is much exactly as the others: three sprays under your tongue, hold for a 10 count, swallow, go on with your day. There will not be a time post on this entry, I hope it'll be apparent why. Taste The company's product information gives me the inferrence that they spent a painstaking time on developing the formula and taste. It's almost as if they opted for the subtle rather than hoping that a small photo of cartoon berries will sway my tastebuds one way or the other. (By the way, who ever decided that it was OK to combine the lightning bolt image with "refreshing?") In my few travels to various tradeshows and... -
Live Blog: "The Unit" - It's Not a Movie - Day 1
By Jonathan Kozlowski - Thursday May 2, 2013
I'm trying something new here. I'm a freak so I'll admit that I will probably go back and edit - however I will try and keep true. This is my version of a "live blog." Meaning, I'm going to try a product and write about my experiences. Right now it's May 1, roughly 1:30 p.m. (central). I've eaten a worthless lunch around noon, had two cups of coffee this morning - which is low for me - and I'm feeling a bit sluggish: a perfect opportunity to tell you about the following: "The Unit" (their name, not mine) was officially launched the end of March 2013 by the company 7 Innovations . The release states it's "exclusively design for active-duty law enforcement officials." The concoction has been formulated by a doctor to increase muscle... -
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... -
On flying remote-controlled vehicles
By Jonathan Kozlowski - Friday April 5, 2013I thought about beginning this week's entry pointing out the semantic difference between "drone" and "unmanned aerial vehicle." Half-way through I hit the probably the same road block many others do when trying to organize this seemingly binary topic. You see, I was blessed with parents who graciously got me out of their hair by occasionally presenting a small-sized truck or race car modeled toy able to be controlled by a wireless controller. Like many children, I grew up with unmanned ground vehicles. While it did occur to me that I'd have a ton of fun if I could just attach a camera to the hood and let loose on my neighborhood, I did lack the resources to complete this technological advancement. Back to my point: even with a camera... -
Arm-chair inventions
By Jonathan Kozlowski - Friday March 29, 2013This news piece got me thinking (the typical joke here is "Scary!"). The headline, " D.C. Police Cruiser Stolen After Keys Left Inside" is pretty much what happened, but I'll provide a short synopsis: Responding to a 911 call, an officer left his keys in the vehicle which was later found crashed. I may be simplifying the issue here and possibly glossing over a failure of protocols - but that's not what I gravitated towards. While this is probably a rare siutation (however the article reports that that city has 18 vehicles stolen everyday), an officer leaving their vehicle running is probably pretty common. W hy else would they make battery management devices and protection systems? (Look for some of these in our Property Room...