There's an interesting scene in the movie Patch Adams with Robin Williams where the entire medical-school class sits in the auditorium, listening to an introduction to the rigors of becoming a doctor. The dean of the medical school addresses the...

Assume a police officer faces the following deadly force situation: He responds, along with two other officers, to a residence as a result of a 911 call from the homeowner. Dispatch reports the homeowner’s son threatened her with a steak knife,...

Dear Bullethead:

Amid the terrible destruction and terrified crowds following the recent London subway bombings, British police officers rode battery-powered transportation devices made by U.S.-based Segway. The transport units helped officers move quickly and efficiently through streets so clogged with cars and...

There are few areas of our society where technology has made more of an impact than law enforcement. Imagine if a cop from the 1960s were to walk out of a briefing room and hit the street today: Computers, laser...

Digital images are everywhere. From Web pages to billboards, digital photography is fast replacing film as a means for capturing, storing and printing images for two primary reasons: cost effectiveness and ease of use. For these same reasons, law enforcement...

Glock has developed a new .45-caliber cartridge that fits in a 9mm-size gun. Called the .45 GAP (Glock Auto Pistol), this new cartridge is basically a .45-caliber bullet in a 9mm-length case. Glock developed the cartridge from the ground, but...

There’s no doubt that one of the most challenging aspects of today’s police-car environment remains the amount of technology an officer must control. Considering that a single human must operate all that equipment while driving—sometimes under emergency conditions—it’s a miracle...

At press time, Hurricane Katrina had just swept through many areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Public safety was overwhelmed by the devastation and the needs of citizens left homeless and without resources. Unfortunately, many officers now face the overwhelming...

Miami-Dade County, Fla., is one of the most popular areas in the world for vacations and retirement. Policing such an area, however, can pose a real challenge. Covering an area of more than 2,100 square miles and populated by more...