Policing @ MindSay 
The fact that you are reading these words means that you are part of a very unique group of individuals. Whether you are an officer, the loved one of an officer, or someone who is employed or involved in any capacity in this industry, you probably understand the deep impact of the policing culture on your life. Policing is now in your blood and will forever change the way that you see the world.
Although I pulled the pin on my policing career, after only eight years on the force, it was news that a former co-worker of mine had ended own his life, that reminded me how we are all still connected. Hearing this type of information affects every one of us, whether we know the person or not. It causes us to reflect on our own lives and is a perfect opportunity to reestablish our priorities for our brief time on this earth.
READ ON
http://www.police-writers.com/articles/hache_life_too_short.html
As scientific study of police and policing has matured over the years, it has broadened its scope in order to address fundamental issues of policing in various contexts and environments. Unfortunately, due to known political reasons in the past, the flow of information, research findings, and experience between the East and the West has been quite limited. While the majority of what can be read on policing in academic journals and textbooks is based on research done in the West, a considerable amount of knowledge on policing has been accumulated among researchers from the East, as well. As police work and cooperation are getting internationalized rapidly, the need for police scholars to cooperate and share with their colleagues from different countries is also more and more evident.
To foster mutual understanding, exchange of views, concepts, and research findings among scientists, researchers, and practitioners from the East and the West, this publication presents a broad coverage of the many topics and disciplines by scholars and practitioners from around the world. Papers in this publication highlight new ideas, theories, methods, and results in a wide range of research and application areas related to police and policing.
The first part of the publication deals with the "Core Issues and Challenges." First, Milan Pagon explores the role and importance of what he calls 'the four pillars of policing:' cooperation, training, education, and research. He believes that countries in Central and Eastern Europe should establish themselves as equal partners in shaping the future of European and international policing. This is followed by a paper by Rainer Schulte who examines future requirements for police managers. Schulte believes that a general move toward a service- providing society is reflecting in a changing role of police, creating new demands upon training of police managers. Bill McDonald and Sergei Paromchik discuss the role of researching police by outside researchers as an instrument of public scrutiny, leading to an increasing police transparency and accountability. In their view, such studies are still a rather novel concept in Central and Eastern Europe. Richard Terrill explores the same issue of police transparency and accountability from a different angle, discussing the impact and modes of citizens oversight of police. He believes that the prospects for countries in Central and Eastern Europe to develop citizen oversight schemes appear unlikely at the moment, considering the infant stage of democracy in many of these countries. Gerald Lynch shares the experience of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in enhancing police professionalism and specialized training for law enforcement on an international level.
READ ON
http://www.ncjrs.gov/policing/
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 25, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today heralded Indonesia as a leader in its region and pledged U.S. support to help the country continue its military reforms and build airlift and maritime capabilities. The secretary landed here this morning to meet with Indonesia's president and its defense and foreign ministers.
He held a short news conference alongside Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono and later spoke to the Indonesian Council on World Affairs. In both events, the secretary reaffirmed the two countries' friendship and said he considers Indonesia "an important regional leader with global reach."
"Our relationship with Indonesia has made great strides in the past few years, and I have every expectation that it will continue to do so in the near and far future," Gates said.
Gates' first visit to Indonesia comes at a time when the government here is reforming its military and national security programs. The country is pulling its military out of domestic policing functions and is backfilling those roles with a police force. It also is revamping its budgeting process and removing much of the military's private business influence, and it is putting more separation between its officers and politics, a senior U.S. defense official said, speaking on background before the visit.
The secretary's visit shows the Defense Department is accepting Indonesia's place as a pivotal country in the region, the official said. The country is key to regional security because of its strategic location astride a number of key international maritime straits, particularly the Malacca Strait.
Discussions here today centered on ways the United States can work more closely with the Indonesian military, Gates said, specifically helping the country's military continue its reformation and develop capabilities in the airlift and maritime domains.
Indonesia's armed forces total about 350,000, members, according to U.S. State Department figures. The army is the largest branch, with about 280,000 active-duty personnel.
The 250,000-member Indonesian National Police was a branch of the armed forces for several years, but was separated from the military in April 1999.
Indonesia, rebounding after a crippling financial crisis in the late 1990s, has seen a commodity boom, and there is growing self-confidence within in the country. But much of its military equipment is old and in need of repair or replacement. Gates said U.S. help could come in the form of providing training or equipment.
Indonesia has emerged as the third-largest democracy in the world after decades of military-dominated rule. In November 2005, the United States normalized military-to-military relations with the country. Gates said the Indonesian military has become more capable and more professional. He lauded its peacekeeping efforts in Lebanon, Congo, Liberia, Georgia, Nepal and Sudan.
Speaking to the Indonesian Council on World Affairs at the end of the day, Gates called Indonesia's shift "remarkable," considering it took place against the backdrop of a devastating tsunami, one of the world's most severe financial crises, a rise in terrorist activity and a transformation of both the government and military.
These internal changes have played out against the backdrop of overall shifts in the region as a whole, Gates said. Since the end of the Cold War, Asia's security environment has undergone remarkable change, and in recent years, the nations of Asia have, for the most part, achieved unprecedented wealth and stature as they have forged more mature political, economic and military institutions, he said.
As a result, new centers of power have risen alongside new sources of instability. Piracy, ethnic strife and poverty, as well as emerging terrorism, pose the region's threats, Gates said. To combat these challenges, countries must work together, the secretary said.
"What these challenges have in common is that they simply cannot be overcome by one, or even two countries, no matter how wealthy or powerful. They require multiple nations acting with uncommon unity developing areas where each partner can bring its unique capabilities to bear," Gates said.
Gates went on to say that there has been a shift, as well, in the U.S. defense strategy in Asia to one that moves away from a permanent presence and direct action by U.S. forces toward building the capacity of partner nations to better defend themselves. He referenced a mix of military, diplomatic, cultural and humanitarian efforts.
"In this vein, the United States military -- even with ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq -- is engaged with more Asian governments doing more things in more constructive ways than at any time in our history," Gates said.
During the speech to the council, Gates called for an end to the Cold War model of Asian security that put the United States at the center with a series of bilateral alliances with other countries. He cited the need for multilateral alliances instead, in which all countries cooperate.
"This does not mean any weakening of our bilateral ties, but rather enhancing security by adding multilateral cooperation," Gates said.
This multilateral approach, Gates said, will be needed to take on the spread of terrorism and other security threats.
"We live in a world today where the most pressing problems confronting us, ... for the most part, cannot be solved by any single nation," Gates said. "And, therefore, recognition that there are a number of powerful nations and groups of nations that must play a part in solving these problems ... is the first step to begin solving them."
This is the approach the United States has taken in recent years, Gates said.
"I believe that an underlying theme of American history is that we are compelled to defend our security and our interests in ways that, in the long run, lead to the spread of democratic values and institutions," the secretary said. "That is to say, the spread of freedom and security in places like Indonesia both manifests our ideals and protects our interests."
This is Gates' third stop on a nine-day, around-the-world trip to this region that also will include visits to India and Turkey.
Information on driving and force simulation was helpful in sponsoring this article.
By Pfc. April Campbell, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 20, 2008 - Citizens in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Qahira play a large role in securing their backyard through local checkpoints. Army Lt. Col. Michael Pemrick, deputy commander of the 4th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team in Multinational Division Baghdad, said these "Sons of Iraq" forces are one of the key elements in the recent reduction of violence in the area.
Without the Sons of Iraq, the area would have more attacks on coalition and Iraqi forces and civilians by al Qaeda in Iraq and Iranian-trained and –funded 'special groups,' Pemrick said.
Pemrick stopped to visit with several Sons of Iraq at their checkpoints during a patrol here Feb. 14.
"The guys were alert," he said. "They had weapons; they had ammunition; they understood what their purpose was."
Pemrick also noted the protection level of the checkpoints as a marked improvement.
Mohamad Imad Shehab, a member of the neighborhood Sons of Iraq group working at one of the checkpoints, appeared confident his efforts were helping his community.
"I do feel that I am contributing to the neighborhood," Mohamad said through an interpreter. "I am doing my part to keep this place safe."
While the Sons of Iraq are an effective force, they ideally will be incorporated into and trained as official members of the Iraqi security forces, Pemrick said. "The idea is that these guys would eventually transition to become Iraqi police officer and work in the local communities where they are from to increase not only the manpower of the Iraqi police, but also their local presence and credibility, since it'll be local men that are actually policing the communities," he explained.
Because of the experience he gains as a Sons of Iraq member and his prior experience in the Iraqi army, Mohamad said, he hopes to be accepted into one of the Iraqi security forces.
Ultimately, the transition of the Sons of Iraq into the nation's security forces is the responsibility of the Iraqi government. "The Iraqi police and the Iraqi government are the ones who are making this happen," Pemrick said.
(Army Pfc. April Campbell serves in Multinational Division Baghdad with the 4th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team.)
February 18, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com, a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books, relayed the announcement of the publishing of Police Under Pressure.
Police Under Pressue is an electronic book by the Australian author Roger F. Peters PhD. Dr. Peters is a psychologist who has been in clinical private practice for over 20 years in NSW Australia. Dr. Peters works extensively in the fields of employee assistance, trauma intervention and psychotherapy. Dr. Peters’s largest client group is police and he has written extensively in respect to their psychological health.
Police Under Pressure discusses the impact that operational policing can have on its members and their families. It is based on the author’s experience in working professionally with more than 3,000 police over the last two decades. Why do only 5% of Police in the NSW Police Force and even other agencies reach retirement age? Some of the answers are in this book. A police officer of 17 years standing said “I thought he was talking to me”.
While this handy book is based on some sound science, it nonetheless weaves together the lives and experiences of so many officers that police from any agency in the western world will relate to it well.
Police Under Pressure is a book that has also been written for those who work with police, as well as all emergency service personnel who will undoubtedly relate to the subject matter. It includes some of the approaches that Dr. Roger Peters takes with clients, especially in relation to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He poses the question “is it only PTSD? What about occupational burnout?”
Police Under Pressure takes the reader from a person’s motivations for entering career policing, the academy, then explains the accumulative affects of police work on them psychologically, emotionally, physically and spiritually. In addition, the resources and treatments available that can help police are fully explored. Importantly, the impact of stress on relationships is also discussed as well as the strategies needed if marriage is not to become a secondary casualty of police work. Finally, the major themes of resilience and ultimate skills of survival are taught.
This easy to read book will certainly assist families of police officers who may sometimes struggle to understand the changes in mood and attitude that so often occur among those who serve us, and who are involved in “civilian combat” and deal with human tragedy on an every day basis.
The book is an electronic book available from www.heas.com.au. Other books written by Dr. Roger Peters include: Managing the Impact of Trauma and A Wish Before Dying. These books are also available electronically from the web site, also.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 842 police officers (representing 382 police departments) and their 1777 police books in 32 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Showing 1 - 5. [ Next ]