Welcome to the March/April issue. I type this while recovering from a bronco ride on Mother Nature’s whirlwind. For those of you who can feel my pain, remember that spring is officially here even if it doesn’t look or feel like it outside. For those of you who don’t really notice weather changes because of the region you live in, I’m sorry you didn’t get to enjoy the “pleasure” of shoveling snow or cleaning off your car in mid-March. What does any of that have to do with this issue?
Well, there are a few lessons to be learned, and Mother Nature can be the ultimate instructor. She’s definitely not forgiving if you don’t pay attention. The example I’ll use: Not long ago I enjoyed going on a ride-along with a local agency for an evening shift in a fairly busy patrol beat. (You can find that full story here: officer.com/55359332). It was a COLD evening, but everyone had dressed appropriately. Fast forward to yesterday in the mid-Atlantic region, and we started the day near 70° but ended up in the mid-30s. The rain we experienced turned to snow with a mix of sleet before ending. So if you weren’t paying attention as you prepped for a regular shift, you might not have dressed warm enough. The lesson is “pay attention; be prepared.”
Welcome to this issue and the information we share in our effort to help you stay informed and therefore able to stay prepared. From our special section on firearms to our OFFICER Labs tests on a Duty Red Dot Sight and a crime data analysis software suite, and not forgetting our usual seven featured pieces, we do our best to bring you contemporary high-value information. To do that we need feedback, and I’ll accept your comments directly to [email protected].
By the time you get this issue, National Police Week will be a month away, and we, the entire Thin Blue Line family, will have the privilege of honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty in 2025. We also have the obligation to support their surviving family members and to learn anything we can from the incidents wherein the officers lost their lives. We honor the fallen by not repeating any mistakes that they may have made and by examining the incidents to learn lessons they died to teach.
We have information about the challenges of female fit body armor, patrol vehicles, leadership remarks and the challenges they can create, and more. Nominations for our Station Design Awards are open, as are nominations for our Annual Valor Awards program. So, if you know of a particularly well-designed new or refurbished law enforcement agency HQ or if you know of a particularly heroic action performed by an officer, please make the nominations.
A lot of how we serve you depends on you and your feedback. We look forward to receiving it!
