Letter from the Editor - March 2021

Welcome to this month’s issue of OFFICER Magazine. As you read through the magazine you’ll see a pretty heavy focus on firearms and firearms accessories. There’s a reason for that: we scheduled in a special section for the topics after SHOT Show announced cancellation at the end of 2020. To all of my friends, writer family, law enforcement family and the various vendor representatives I usually get to see and enjoy visiting with at SHOT Show—I’m sorry we didn’t get that virtual family reunion this year. I very much look forward to it in 2022! As to the contents of this magazine and that focus, let me give you a brief run down and some commentary.

If you haven’t noticed, our magazine has seven focused articles and then a couple extra for special or additional topics. For our command staff readers, there’s a great article from Contributing Editor Bill Harvey about learning from your mistakes in press conferences, etc.; most especially the recorded ones that can haunt you forever unless you learn from them. For our investigators there are two great articles: one from Contributing Editor Brendan Rodela about closing a cold case (and a woman’s wrath) and another about using drones to document crime scenes—a growing technology that empowers detail capture in ways not previously available. In our article for those officers on the street we focused on the women in law enforcement this month and reviewed several pieces of equipment and uniforms dedicated to females.

For our fleet managers (or those who simply enjoy the latest greatest for their patrol vehicle) there’s a piece about the growing role of intelligent control in managing emergency equipment use. When your lights and siren start functioning on their own, based on your behavior and programing, it’s hugely beneficial in a mildly creepy way. It’s something to get used to and we should expect the abilities such technology to grow rapidly in the near future.

Most of the rest of the issue focuses on firearms and accessories for them; their best use; optional firearms for specific duty needs and more. We have some online exclusive content that relates back to that same topic and you’ll see it linked/referenced as you read. Finally, the magazine ends with an article about knives for off-duty use as well as on-duty use and what the different requirements may be. One of our efforts with OFFICER Magazine is to not just focus on the working world of law enforcement but to also offer up some information that’s of interest for off-duty hours.

We hope you enjoy the Firearms & Accessories special section. With articles about maintenance tips, revolvers and even lever action rifles (read it before you call me insane), there is plenty of good information for you to take into consideration moving forward. As always, we hope that you find the information in the magazine of value and interest. If you have any comments or recommendations, feel free to email them to me at the link in my bio.

Stay safe!!!