10 Things A Police Officer Should Never Do

No doubt about it, police officers have a dangerous job. Sure, their training teaches them many ways to stay safe, but time passes and officers develop their own routines. Unfortunately, the “it won’t happen to me” mindset often tags along with a “routine.” As a result, well, sometimes unfortunate things happen when an officer lets down his guard and/or ignores his training.

No two calls are exactly the same. Events unfold differently. No two suspects act in the exact same manner. No two houses or businesses are exactly the same (layouts and furnishings differ). Vehicles and their occupants differ. Even the people with whom officers interact with on a daily basis behave differently from one day to the next—moods change, life events affect disposition, etc.

Cases and scenarios are never exactly like those taught and practiced in the academy. And, well, you get the idea—officers must be able to react appropriately to every single situation, even when they change course every few minutes or even as quickly as a fraction of a second.

So, using what they’ve been taught, combined with a handful of common sense, state, federal, and local law, and a boat load of department rules and regulations, officers go about their daily business of keeping people safe while enforcing the laws of their communities and states. Easy money, right?

After all, what could possibly go wrong if officers follow rules and the procedures they learned during training? Well … there is a slight problem. You see, police officers are human. I know, that’s a bit of eye-opening news. But it’s true. Let’s all say it together. POLICE OFFICERS ARE HUMAN. And what is it that humans do on occasion? That’s right. They make mistakes from time to time. We all do.

The problem with a police officer making a mistake, even a slight one, is that his error could result in the loss of a life, including their own. Think about that for a minute. We make a mistake like … oh, let’s say we slipped up and left a grocery bag on top of the car and then drove off spilling prune juice, Preparation H, and a couple of boxes of Depends along the way home. What’s the worst that could happen other than our neighbors learning about our pesky bowel troubles?

Police officers, however, make one little mistake, such as forgetting to load their gun after cleaning it, and the next thing they know they’re in a one-sided shootout.

So let’s explore a few things cops should NOT do. Here’s a list of ten.

1. When accepting a prisoner/suspect from another officer, NEVER assume the other officer conducted a thorough search. Always, Always, Always search every suspect before placing them inside your patrol vehicle, even if it was your captain or your training officer who delivered the prisoner to you.

2. Never assume a suspect is compliant, even if they seem meek and mild at the time of arrest. You never know what will set them off. Handcuff every suspect/arrestee, with hands behind the back, before placing them in your car.

3. Never give up during a fight. Remember, you WILL survive and you WILL win. No exceptions, even when the bad guy is bigger, meaner, and stronger … and green.

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4. Never lose your temper. Remaining calm allows an officer to think through the situation. Knee-jerk reactions often occur during moments of anger, and knee-jerk reactions are not always, if ever, the appropriate response to the immediate situation. Be cool and your training and common sense will tell you what to do next.

5. Never allow anyone to invade your personal space. Keep them (especially criminal suspects) at least an arm length or more away from you. Any closer and you’ll not be able to react properly should an attack occur.

6. Never hold your flashlight in your “gun hand.” Doing so would prevent you from drawing your weapon should you need it in a hurry.

7. When knocking on a door, never stand directly in front of it. Doors do not stop bullets (the same is so for drywall, plywood, etc.).

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8. Do not allow emergency situations to cloud your judgement and thoughts. This includes when at the local jail or other places where you’ve secured your weapon inside a lockbox while processing a suspect. There’s nothing worse than arriving at the scene of an intense shootout where you suddenly realize that you’ve left your gun at the county jail. As they say, been there done that, and I’ll never forget it. I was at the county jail booking a prisoner I’d arrested when an “officer needs assistance call” came spewing from my portable radio. A deputy had stopped a car driven by a wanted armed robber. I turned the prisoner over to the jail officers and rushed out to my car to head to the scene.

When I arrived I hopped out of my car and reached for my sidearm before we approached the vehicle. That’s when I realized that I’d I’d allowed adrenaline to overcome my thoughts and, well,  I’d left my gun in the lockbox at the jail. At that moment, the key to the lockbox in my pocket felt as if it then weighed a ton. Fortunately, though, I had a shotgun in the trunk of my car. Otherwise, I was completely useless to my fellow officer. By the way, “gun in the lockbox” faux pas happens quite bit.

9. Always use enough force to overcome a suspect’s resistance, but never use a level of force that’s unreasonable or too great as to cause unnecessary pain or injury. If a few strong words is enough to convince a suspect to allow an officer to apply restraints, then that’s all the force that should be used by the officer. However, if the subject is punching, head-butting, kicking, biting, scratching, and attempting to rip the officer’s gun from its holster while shouting “Ima kill you if I can get this gun,” then it’s time to use whatever force is necessary to stay alive. Remember, these situations can often erupt in a split second; therefore, there’s not time to stop and formulate a plan of action before reacting to the situation. It’s sometimes easy to overreact, which is why it’s so important for officers to receive regular training. But, with department budget and staffing shortages, extra training these days is often a luxury that’s not available in many areas.

10. Never, under any circumstance, give up/surrender your weapon. That’s NEVER, as in NEVER.

The sleepy and exhausted detective in the top photo is fingerprinting a suspect at 3:00 a.m. He’d worked around the clock the previous day to gather enough evidence to obtain a search warrant for a private residence. He and an entry team served the warrant around midnight the following night when the detective arrested the man for possessing and selling large quantities of cocaine. Do you see anything that’s wrong and/or absolutely unsafe?

How about safety rule #11 …

 

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Velcro, A Shiny Badge, And … Elephant Poop?

Drunk Drivers at the 2013 Writers' Police Academy

Graveyard Shift—those long and often mind-numbing hours between midnight and the time your relief signs on to take over your beat. It’s boring. It’s exciting. It’s sleep-depriving. It’s eye-opening. It’s getting dressed while your significant other is undressing, putting on pajamas, and crawling between the sheets for a good night’s sleep. The kids, of course, are already in the midst of sweet-dreaming. The family dog is curled up on your side of the bed, snoring.

Speaking of getting dressed … it’s a daily ritual for cops, of course—shower, shave, if appropriate, slip on underwear and t-shirt—rookies will quickly learn that it’s best to put on their socks at this point. You’ll see why in a moment.

Next comes the vest. You’ve left the upper Velcro straps in place to allow you to slip the entire contraption over your head like a 7 lb. sweater. So over the head it goes, followed by pulling the side straps taut and securing them in place. Of course, you never get it right the first time, so you riiiiipp the Velcro loose and do it again and again until the fit is just right.

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Front and rear vest panels. The top two straps on the rear panel are often left attached to the front panel to allow slipping the entire vest over the head like a sweater, or t-shirt. The material at the bottom of each panel is tucked into the pants like a shirt tail. Obviously, the front panel (with the “U” shaped cutout) is for the “convenience” of male wearers during a trip to the restroom. Use your imaginations.

The shirt is a process all to itself—pinning on the badge and other shiny do-dads in their appropriate places (sort of like decorating a polyester Christmas tree), and inserting a couple of ink pens in the sewn-in pen slot beside the breast pocket. After a quick check to be sure your name tag is not upside down, you slip on the pre-adorned shirt, pulling and twisting to make it lay properly over the vest.

Time for the pants. Out of necessity, you’ve placed them in a spot that doesn’t doesn’t require bending too far, because the semi-stiff, claylike density of the vest has already limited your movements just a bit, which is why it’s best to slip on the socks before strapping the vest in place. Now, tuck the tails of the vest inside the waistband of the pants and slip a dress belt through the loops so your pants won’t fall down. Goodness knows, once you’re fully dressed it requires a huge effort to reach ALL the way to your ankles to pull your pants up again.

Shoes … They’re shiny and squeaky clean because that’s how you roll. Look sharp. Act sharp. Be sharp. One last, quick swipe with a cloth just in case a speck of dust has landed on the toes.

Now comes the duty belt/utility belt, with all it’s bells and whistles already in place.

Securely connect the buckle hooks/clasps/snaps and then loop a few belt keepers around the duty belt and the belt holding up your pants. The last step is IMPORTANT. 

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Belt keeper

Belt keepers hold the gun belt securely at the waist, preventing it from sliding around the waist and down toward the ground. Without them officers would resemble gunslingers of the Wild West, with their sidearms hanging loosely at mid-thigh. Even worse, the duty belt could easily and quickly fall down to your ankles, especially when running/chasing someone through a dark alley. And we already know how the vest makes it difficult it is to reach all the way to the ground.

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Two belt keepers positioned between handcuff cases

Okay, you’re dressed. Now it’s time to go to work, and by now everyone in the house is already asleep. So you tip-toe to the back door, with leather squeaking, keys jingling, and Velcro crackling all the way.

Outside, the neighborhood is graveyard still. An owl hoots, crickets chirp, and a train whistle sounds off in the distance. The only light on in the entire neighborhood is across the street—a bedroom window where you know the widow Jones is peeking outside. Tomorrow morning she’ll be there again so she can report to the rest of the neighborhood what time you went to work and what time you returned home. After all, they pay your salary, and Mrs. Jones is not shy about reminding you of the fact that they do.

Time to get into your take-home car. You unlock the door, open it quietly, and then gently slide into the seat. I say gently, because if there’s even a tiny bit of love handle at your waist, that soft, doughy flesh will be severely pinched between the bottom edge of the Kevlar vest and the top edge of the duty belt—a real eye-opening, tear-inducing way to start the shift.

Elephant Butts

Thirty minutes later, at your first call of the night, you find yourself rolling around in the smelliest mud you’ve ever encountered, trying to handcuff two burglars who’d decided to lead you on a foot chase through the fairgrounds where, by the way, you realized the circus is in town and that what you’re rolling around in is not mud. Instead, it’s what elephants, horses, and other animals left behind while waiting for their time under the big top.

And so it goes…night after night after night.

Look sharp. Act sharp. Be sharp.

Yeah, right…

  • Top photo – Writers’ Police Academy nighttime traffic stops
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From Hot Breath to Big Toes … More Cop Terminology

ASCLD – American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors.

AFIS – Automated Fingerprint Identification System. Palmprint storage and search capabilities are also in place.

ALPS – Automated Latent Print System.

ASCLD/LAB – American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board.

Acid Fuchsin – Reddish protein stain used to enhance bloody friction ridge detail of fingerprints.

Acid Yellow 7 – Fluorescent dye stain used to help visualize latent prints left in blood on nonporous surfaces.

Acid Yellow-7, Arrowhead Forensics

Acidified Hydrogen Peroxide – Solution used to develop friction ridge detail on cartridge casings by etching the surface of the casing not covered with sebaceous material (oils and/or fats).

Adactylia – Congenital absence of fingers and/or toes.

Adermatoglyphia – Extremely rare congenital absence of fingerprints.

Alanine – The most common amino acid found in proteins. Alanine is often
used to test latent print chemicals for an amino acid reaction.

Aluminum Chloride – A metal salt used to treat ninhydrin developed latent prints.

Amicus Brief – Legal document filed by someone not associated with a case but possibly has knowledge of a subject matter that may be of interest to the courts.  The person submitting the brief is known as amici curiae.

Amicus Curiae – Latin for “friend of the court.”

Amido Black – Bluish-black stain used to enhance bloody fingerprint friction ridge detail.

Anhidrosis – Medical condition that reduces or prevents the body’s ability to sweat.

Benzidine – Once described as the best technique for developing bloody latent prints on nonporous items, Benzidine has been linked to cancers and is no longer used.

Bichromatic ™ – A multi-colored powder used to process an object for fingerprints.

Boiling – Method used to re-hydrate the friction skin/fingerprints/footprints of a deceased person. To process the prints water is boiled and them removed from the heat. The hand of the deceased is submerged in the water for approximately five seconds. The skin is then dried and the fingers and/or palm is printed.

CJIS – Criminal Justice Information Services Division.

Calcar Area – The area located at the heel of the foot.

Cheiloscopy – The study of lip prints.

Clandestine – In secret.

Cluster Prints – More than one fingerprint grouped/clumped/positioned in the same spot of a surface.

Comparator – A split image projection screen used to view and compare fingerprints.

Core – Center of a fingerprint pattern.

Dactylography – The study of fingerprints as a method of identification.

De-gloving – The accidental/unintentional separation of the skin from the hands or feet. This “skin slippage” often occurs after a body has been submerged in water for a period od time.

Diff-Lift™ – Fingerprint lifting tape made especially for use on textured objects.

Dorsal – The backside of the hand.

Erroneous Exclusion – Disregarding evidence without a sound basis for doing so.

Exemplar – The known prints of a known individual.

FLS – Forensic Light Source. Includes all light sources used in forensic examinations.

FRE – Federal Rules of Evidence.

Fingerprint Society – Yes, it’s a thing. The Fingerprint Society was conceived in 1974 by Martin J. Leadbetter.

Genipin – A reagent used to develop friction ridge detail on porous items. The result is a dark blue image that can be seen without enhanced lighting.

Hallux – A person’s big toe.

Sir William James Herschel – The first European to recognize and utilize the value of fingerprints for identification purposes.

Histology – The study of the microscopic structure of animal or
plant tissues.

Hot Breath Technique – Breathing on a latent fingerprint either to help visualize the print or to add moisture back into an older latent print. Also known as Huffing.

Hyperhidrosis – Medical condition that increases sweating. Sometimes caused by certain medications, or heredity.

Hypohidrosis – Medical condition that decreases sweating. Sometimes caused by certain medications, or heredity or damage to the skin.

IAFIS – Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System. The FBI’s first
fully automated AFIS computer database.

Image Reversal – Occurs when the friction ridges in a latent print are reversed. Unintentional transferred prints could occur when using rubber lifters. It’s even happened when items are stacked on top of one another (stacks of evidence bags, for example), causing a print to transfer from one item to the next. The same is true with books. A print from one page could transfer to the next page (after the book is closed for a long time). These prints are mirror images and should be obvious to a trained examiner.

Latent Print – Print that is visible to the naked eye.

Liqui-drox – Fluorescent (yellow) solution used to enhance/develop fingerprint friction ridge detail on the adhesive and non-adhesive sides of dark colored tape.

Loupe – Small magnifying glass used to examine prints.

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Gunshot Wounds: Are Your Stories Riddled with Hollow Points?

Gun shot wounds

Experts are often asked what kind of entrance and exit wounds are produced by various types of ammunition. The rounds (bullets) in the photograph below are hollow point rounds similar in design to those fired from the pistol pictured above. This is what they look like before they’re fired.

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They’re about the diameter of a Sharpie pen, and that’s darn close to the size of most entrance wounds caused by these rounds—the size of the bullet. However, the angle of impact could alter the size and shape of an entrance wound.

Before moving on and to help set the stage for the rest of this brief article, click on the video/song below.

By the way, a photo of a gunshot wound appears below. If this is something you’d rather not see then please stop here. Otherwise, well, BANG, BANG!

Pictured below is an entrance wound to the chest. The puncture was caused by 9mm round at point blank range, a close contact gunshot wound. Obviously, this was a fatal wound since I took this picture during the autopsy of the victim. Note the post-autopsy stitching of the “Y” incision (above right of the photo).

Also notice the charred flesh around the wound. This was caused by the heat of the round as it contacted the victim’s skin. The bruising around the wound was, of course, caused by the impact when the bullet struck the victim.

To illustrate how a bullet fragments and expands when hitting a solid surface, including bone, we fired a round directly into the range wall. Keep in mind, this was a controlled experiment conducted by professionals inside a facility designed for such testing. Please DO NOT try this yourself. Again, DO NOT point any weapon at any object you do not intend to shoot. When at a firing range ALWAYS point weapons downrange at designated targets.

The next picture is of a round after it was fired from a distance of two-feet directly into the wall inside the specially-designed firing range (see top photo). The round passed through the self-healing wall tiles, striking the concrete and steel wall on the the other side. Hitting the solid surface head-on caused the bullet to expand and fracture into a daisy-like shape, a result that often creates the large and flesh-torn exit wounds we sometimes see in shooting victims.

Below are other rounds we recovered after they’s struck hard surfaces at various angles. All were fired from the same gun. The bullet at the far right was fired directly into a massively thick pile of foam rubber. It maintained its shape. The object at the top of the photo is an ejected brass casing.

 

Once inside the body, bullet slivers/fragments can break away from their base (shrapnel) causing further internal damage. The size of an exit wound depends upon what, if anything, the bullet hits while inside the body. If the bullet strikes only soft tissue the wound will likely be less traumatic unless, of course, it compromises a major blood vessel. If it hits bone, expect much more damage.

Easy rule of thumb—the larger the caliber (bullet size), the bigger the hole.

Bullets that hit something other than their intended target, such as a brick wall or a metal lamp post, could break apart and send pieces of flying copper and lead fragments into crowds of innocent bystanders. Those flying fragments basically become smaller bullets and are just as lethal as any intact, full-sized bullet.

FYI – Bullets don’t always stop people, nor do they always kill. I’ve seen shooting victims get up and run after they’d been shot several times.

Bullets Don’t Always Kill: Sometimes being shot does no more than to make the person really mad, so LOOKOUT!

Always keep Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion in mind when writing shooting scenes. “The size of the force on the first object must equal the size of the force on the second object—force always comes in pairs.”

Therefore, if the blast is enough to send a victim flying backward through a door, then the same force is there in reverse and your shooter would also fly backward through the opposite door. Therefore, when the police arrive at the scene they’d find a person-size holes in each door and two unconscious people, one in the backyard and one in the front.

So that’s a big NO! People don’t fly twenty feet backward after they’ve been struck by a bullet or shotgun blast. They just fall down and bleed. They may even moan a lot. That’s if they don’t get back up and start shooting again. Simply because a suspect has been shot once or twice does not mean his ability, or desire, to kill the officer is over. This is why police officers are taught to shoot until the threat is over.

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Is Your Story One Round Short of a Full Brick: STOP Racking the Slide!

Like reading a really well-written novel, it’s easy to step into the fictional worlds of crime TV shows. I mean, I’m there. I can hear the sounds of the police stations. I smell the gun oil. I hear the creaking of gun leather and the jingle of keys. And I feel the sudden tightening of the suspect’s muscles when they’re about to resist arrest.

I’ve been there, so I know what it’s like. Therefore, when I switch on one of those tension-filled dramas I know there’s a chance I’m “going back,” even if it’s only for an hour.

After reading one or two of my blog posts, a few diehard TV fans have written me to say that I don’t know what I’m talking about when it comes to certain areas of police procedure, and that I could learn a thing or two about it from the writers of popular cop shows.

Yeah, I know, that’s why TV and film writers attend the Writers’ Police Academy, because they know more about cop stuff than, well, actual cops. AND, I’m sure it’s my extreme lack of cop knowledge that actors, writers, and directors, have called on me for advice.

Oh, and there’s THAT book … 🙂

PP&I cover

One repeated complaint shows up when I mention the nonsense of a TV cop “racking” the slide on their pistol before entering a dangerous situation.

“You don’t know a thing about cops and guns. They ALWAYS rack the slide on their pistol before engaging bad guys. It’s simply what they do!” said more than one person.

Now, for those of you who do not know, including “more than one person from above,” the racking of the slide serves two purposes (three if you count some TV folks thinking it looks cool).

One – when a shooter racks the slide the action ejects the round that’s in the chamber, leaving the gun short of one very important bullet. And, that foolishly ejected live round is sent to the pavement where it becomes as useless as a wad of gum stuck to the bottom of a shoe. Since we never see a round eject when TV cops rack a slide, well, then it’s safe to assume there was not a round in the chamber. More on this in a second.

Two – racking the slide delivers a round from the magazine to the chamber. Until a bullet is seated in the chamber a pistol will not fire. And why won’t it fire? Because there’s no bullet in the chamber. Duh!

Revolvers, however are a different story. To learn more about the differences between semi-automatic pistols and revolvers and the workings and parts of each, go here.

That’s right, without a bullet ready to fire (in the chamber) the weapon is practically useless. Unless, of course, you want to use it to whack someone on the head, or as a doorstop, a bookend, paperweight, or lawn ornament. And this, a pistol with an empty chamber, is how many TV law enforcement officers carry their sidearms … not ready to fire/unable to fire when needed.

Actually, a couple of chronic complainers/armchair cop experts have written (sometimes in ALL CAPS) that it’s AGAINST THE LAW, even for a police officer, to carry a live round in the chamber. One person said I was an idiot and should have my blogging license revoked. WHAT??? And give up all of this???

Well, I suppose they got the idiot thing right, but not the part about police officers unable to carry a round chambered in their weapons. Cops DO (see, I can use all caps too) keep a round chambered at all times (with the safety OFF, if equipped). In fact, chambering a round comes almost second nature to cops when loading their weapons.

When you ask an officer how many rounds he/she carries in his/her weapon they’ll often respond with an answer something like, “Fifteen plus one.” This means they have a full magazine containing fifteen rounds plus one round in the chamber. Some officers take the answer one step further and include, “Plus I’m carrying two full magazines on my belt. That’s fifteen rounds in each magazine, for a total of forty-six rounds, including the chambered round. Yep, I’m carrying forty-six rounds, four short of an entire brick.”

Brick = a full box of ammunition. The cardboard box containing the plastic insert and ammunition is shaped like a small brick.

New Picture (3)

When loading their weapons, officers first insert fifteen rounds into the magazine (the number depends on the weapon carried). Then they shove the full magazine into the pistol, pull back the slide and then release it, which loads a round into the chamber. Then they eject the magazine, which now contains one less bullet (14) and replace the round that was previously loaded into the chamber. They now have a pistol that’s loaded to 15+1, or whatever number of rounds their particular weapon holds.

Glock_19_Generation_4_9mm_Pistol

Weapons loaded to the +1 capacity (a full magazine plus one in the chamber) decreases the amount of time an officer needs to react when involved in a deadly shooting situation. The time an officer spends placing a round into the chamber could be the amount of time it takes to save his/her life, and that’s IF they’d remember to “rack the slide” when faced with a split-second need to use deadly force.

Carrying a semi-auto pistol without a round in the chamber would basically be the same as showing up to a gunfight with an empty gun. Besides, when under fire, the last thing you want to do is to use up precious time chambering a round. The same is true regarding the safety. Officers carry their sidearms with the safety switched off. Again, having to take the time to find and fiddle with a switch, if they remember to do so, could very well mean the difference between living and dying.

To learn more about reaction times click here.

So yes, officers always carry a fully loaded weapon, and that means with a round in the chamber and with the safety OFF. There’s no slide-racking or safety-switching in real life.

Again – U.S. officers carry with a round in the chamber and the safety off.

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The FBI’s Forensic Laboratory: Evidence Collection and Requests for Submissions

The FBI’s forensic laboratory is one of the largest in the world, and its services and capabilities are far-reaching. You name it and they’ve got it. You need it and they can do it.  To sweeten the pot, their services, examinations, testings, and expert courtroom testimonies are free to all FBI field offices, U.S. attorneys, the U.S. military, all other federal agencies, and state, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies, including those in U.S. territories.

Of course, there are limitations and exceptions. For example, the FBI laboratory does not accept requests for service in civil matters unless the request is from a federal agency. Nor will they accept requests for service from private citizens or non-governmental agencies (private investigators, etc.).

There is a process required for sending evidence to the FBI laboratory for examination/testing, and the procedure is not as simple as mailing Aunt Betty Lou’s annual birthday card. Instead, depending upon the items(s) and their nature, the FBI lab, like all forensic laboratories, has specific guidelines that must be followed.

Per the FBI, all requests for evidence examinations should be in writing, complete with official department letterhead. The request must be addressed to the FBI Laboratory Evidence Management Program, unless otherwise indicated in the Examinations section (see below for examples).

Each request for evidence examinations/testing must contain:

  • ‹‹The submitting contact person’s name, agency, address, and telephone number;
  • ‹‹Previous case-identification numbers, evidence submissions, and communications relating to the case;
  • ‹‹Description of the nature and the basic facts of the case as they pertain to evidence examinations;
  • ‹‹The name(s) of and descriptive data about the individual(s) involved (subject, suspect, victim, or a combination of those categories) and the agency-assigned, case-identification number;
  • The violation associated with the evidence;
  • ‹‹If requested, the need for expedited examination
  • ‹‹Name of the relevant prosecutor’s office or prosecutor assigned, if available;

‹‹A list of the evidence being submitted and a copy of the letter should be included in all containers in which evidence has been shipped to the laboratory. The letter should be placed in a separate envelope within the shipping container.

Other items to be included in an official request:

  • ‹‹What type(s) of examination(s) is/are requested;
  • ‹‹Where the evidence should be returned and where the Laboratory report should be sent—street address and phone number.

Collection and packaging evidence

Packaging and collection methods vary depending upon the type and nature of evidence.

For example:

Anthropological Examinations

Anthropological examinations involve the analysis of skeletal remains (or potential skeletal remains). Laboratory testing can result in the determination, interpretation, or estimation of whether the evidence is skeletal (bone or tooth) versus a material other than bone. ‹Scientists can also determine whether bones are human or non-human, if the bones submitted are from more than one person, and the age of the bones—present day or ancient.

‹‹Biological information obtained from certain bones could indicate age, sex, ancestry, and size (height and weight of the person when alive). ‹‹It’s possible to determine the manner of death if by trauma—projectile, blunt or edged weapon, such as by knife, sword, ax, etc. And, of course, identification of the victim by comparison to medical records and DNA.

 FBI forensic anthropologists are available to assist in the detection and recovery of remains, if needed.

Collection and packaging of anthropological evidence

‹‹Collect bones (or small bone assemblages) individually in paper bags or other breathable material. Aluminum foil may be shaped and formed around burned or fragile bones. Sealed plastic packaging may be acceptable for remains with fresh/wet tissue, an exception to the typical “wet evidence in paper container” rule. ‹‹Include cold packs and/or ‘Biohazard’ stickers. Place stabilizing material inside the container—bubble wrap, etc.– to prevent movement of contents which could damage bone material. ‹‹

Bullet Examinations

A fired bullet can be examined to determine weight, caliber, and rifling characteristics (GRCs). GRCs are the number, width, and direction of twist of the rifling grooves imprinted on a fired bullet as it passes through the barrel of a firearm. Scientists conduct microscopic examinations of submitted bullets to determine if any distinctive marks of value are present. If investigators submit a suspected firearm a comparison is done between a bullet fired from the weapon and the bullet in question. A match determines the that firearm  is indeed the one used in the crime.

If a suspect firearm is not available to submit as evidence (not located, etc.), examiners compare the fired bullet to those in the FBI Laboratory’s GRC database, which could produce a match to a firearm that could have fired the round.

When examining fired bullets, and when comparing them to known samples (bullets test-fired from suspect’s weapon and compared to round found at the scene or inside a body), investigators and/or scientists should record the following information.

  • Caliber/gauge
  • Bullet/slug weight
  • The number of land and grooves
  • Direction of twist
  • Width of  lands
  • Width of grooves
  • Bullet diameter.
  • Composition of bullet.
  • Style.
  • Manufacturer/marketer of bullet/projectile. If applicable, use reference materials such as an ammunition database.
  • Detailed description  of the bullet.
  • Note type and position of cannelures.
  • Note any foreign/extraneous markings—shave marks, flared base, etc.
  • If possible, compare marks on bullets with tests from a firearm or with other bullets.

Click this link to read more about USING LANDS AND GROOVES TO SOLVE MURDERS

Collection and packaging of bullets

‹‹Package bullets to prevent contact with other bullets.

‹‹Hand delivery of bullets is not a requirement. Instead, they can be sent to the FBI lab via Registered Mail through the U.S. Postal Service. Evidence must be packaged separately and identified by date, time, location, collector’s name, case number, and evidence number. It is important to not mark bullets or other firearm-related evidence. Dates, times, location found, evidence collector’s name, case and evidence number must be on the package containing the evidence (bullets).

Bullet v. Ammunition – There is a Difference!

Bullet – an elongated missile of some type (lead, etc.) that’s to be fired from a firearm. A bullet is one part of a complete round of ammunition.

From ATF – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives:

Gun Control Act Definitions

Ammunition

The term “Ammunition” means ammunition or cartridge cases, primers, bullets, or propellant powder designed for use in any firearm.

The term shall not include (a) any shotgun shot or pellet not designed for use as the single, complete projectile load for one shotgun hull or casing, nor (b) any unloaded, non-metallic shotgun hull or casing not having a primer.

ATF image

USPS – Shipping Ammunition

The United States Postal Service prohibits sending live ammunition through the U.S. mail. FYI – Also not allowed to be shipped through U.S. mail are:

And, for fun, here are other items that are prohibited by the USPS:

  • Arsenic
  • Asphalt at or above its flashpoint
  • Bombs of any type
  • Grenades
  • Hydrogen peroxide stabilized, or Hydrogen peroxide aqueous solutions, stabilized with more than 60 percent hydrogen peroxide.

Hydrogen peroxide, in its pure form, is a pale blue liquid. When diluted water (3–6% by weight) its used by consumers as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and as an antiseptic. Concentrated hydrogen peroxide, or “high-test peroxide”; however, decomposes explosively when heated and can and has been used as rocket propellant.

UPS and FedEX accept packages containing ammunition

The following is from the UPS website.

UPS – How to Ship Ammunition (Cartridges, Small Arms) 

UPS accepts for transportation such ammunition as constitutes “cartridges, small arms,” as defined in 49 C.F.R. § 173.59. All other allowable ammunition shipments are accepted only on a contractual basis, and must be prepared under the rules for a fully regulated hazardous material.

To read more, visit the UPS website here.

Biological Material 

The FBI Laboratory provides expertise for conducting examinations on biological evidence needed for the determination of, for example, speciation, identification, relatedness, and designed genetic modifications. These examinations; however, are conducted at FBI-designated partner laboratories. Examples of biological materials that can be examined include:

  • ‹‹Pathogenic microbes (including select agents). ‹‹Non-pathogenic microbes.
  • ‹‹Animals.
  • ‹‹Plants.
  • ‹‹Insects.
  • ‹‹Biological toxins.
  • ‹‹Genetically modified organisms.
  • ‹‹Synthetically produced organisms or biological materials.

Questions, questions, and more questions!

Writers often have questions regarding how death investigators identify victims of disasters—explosions, building collapse, etc.

Another common topic I see from time to time relates to the federal DNA database of convicted felons. Unfortunately, many of the fictional scenes where this information appears is, well, a bit far from reality.

To address these questions and topics it’s probably best to quote directly from the FBI’s Forensic Services to avoid any missteps. I have: however, omitted a bit of information, such as contact phone number, addresses, and a bit of behind the scenes technical material. Still, there’s enough here (below) to help add a ton of realism to your novels.

FBI Disaster Victim Identification

The FBI Laboratory Division maintains a Disaster Victim Identification Team (DVI Team). This team of highly trained experts and their assets are deployed to mass casualty scenes worldwide to assist in the identification of victims. They do so through friction ridge analysis of fingerprints, palm prints, and footprints.

The DVI Team uses specialized postmortem fingerprint recovery techniques. These techniques involve the use of remote automated fingerprint search capabilities (AFIS). The DVI Team also collects postmortem and antemortem fingerprints of victims, and they identify friction ridge skin of the deceased.

Per the FBI – “Deployment of the FBI DVI Team requires consent from the disaster scene medical examiner or coroner, a ranking law enforcement or government official, a representative of the National Transportation Safety Board, or a representative of the U.S. Department of State. Requests for assistance must be made through the nearest FBI field office or the FBI’s Strategic Information and Operations Center.

Federal DNA Database Examinations – Federal Convicted Offender

The FBI’s Federal DNA Database Unit produces DNA profiles from offenders who’ve been convicted of federal offenses, and from Federal arrestees and detainees. Collected DNA is entered into the National DNA Index System and is used for comparison to DNA samples found at crime scenes.

DNA collection kits are provided at no charge to collection agencies. These agencies include the Bureau of Prisons; federal probation districts; Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, and any federal agency that makes federal arrests or detains non- U.S. persons on immigration charges and is required by law to submit DNA samples.

‹‹Samples from the following will be accepted:

  • Individuals identified in 42 U.S.C. 14135 (a)(1)(a). *see below for explanation of 42 U.S.C 14135 (a)(1)(a)
  • Individuals required registering in a sex offender registry identified in the Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

‹‹Samples from the following will NOT be accepted

  • Samples given voluntarily by individuals not identified in 42 U.S.C. 14135 (a)(1) (a).
  • Samples used as reference specimens in criminal cases.
DNA Identification – 42 U.S.C. § 14135a (2012)
 

§14135a. Collection and use of DNA identification information from certain Federal offenders(a) Collection of DNA samples(1) From individuals in custody

(A) The Attorney General may, as prescribed by the Attorney General in regulation, collect DNA samples from individuals who are arrested, facing charges, or convicted or from non-United States persons who are detained under the authority of the United States. The Attorney General may delegate this function within the Department of Justice as provided in section 510 of title 28 and may also authorize and direct any other agency of the United States that arrests or detains individuals or supervises individuals facing charges to carry out any function and exercise any power of the Attorney General under this section.

(B) The Director of the Bureau of Prisons shall collect a DNA sample from each individual in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons who is, or has been, convicted of a qualifying Federal offense (as determined under subsection (d) of this section) or a qualifying military offense, as determined under section 1565 of title 10.

(2) From individuals on release, parole, or probation

The probation office responsible for the supervision under Federal law of an individual on probation, parole, or supervised release shall collect a DNA sample from each such individual who is, or has been, convicted of a qualifying Federal offense (as determined under subsection (d) of this section) or a qualifying military offense, as determined under section 1565 of title 10.

(3) Individuals already in CODIS

For each individual described in paragraph (1) or (2), if the Combined DNA Index System (in this section referred to as “CODIS”) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation contains a DNA analysis with respect to that individual, or if a DNA sample has been collected from that individual under section 1565 of title 10, the Attorney General, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, or the probation office responsible (as applicable) may (but need not) collect a DNA sample from that individual.

(4) Collection procedures

(A) The Attorney General, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, or the probation office responsible (as applicable) may use or authorize the use of such means as are reasonably necessary to detain, restrain, and collect a DNA sample from an individual who refuses to cooperate in the collection of the sample.

(B) The Attorney General, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, or the probation office, as appropriate, may enter into agreements with units of State or local government or with private entities to provide for the collection of the samples described in paragraph (1) or (2).

(5) Criminal penalty

An individual from whom the collection of a DNA sample is authorized under this subsection who fails to cooperate in the collection of that sample shall be—

(A) guilty of a class A misdemeanor; and

(B) punished in accordance with title 18.

Collection and packaging

‹‹A Request for National DNA Database Entry form (FD-936) must be submitted. Entries must be in legibly written  in blue or black ink and write legibly. A typewriter may also be used to compile the form..

‹‹At least one unique identifying number (Social Security Number, BOP Number, FBI Number, Alien number) for the subject/offender must be present on the FD-936.

‹‹Legible fingerprints must be present on the FD-936 and the fingerprint collector must sign at the bottom of the form. 

‹‹For FTA collection devices (blue collection devices)

Record the subject’s name in the area indicated on the FTA cards contained in the blue buccal collection devices. This name must match the name written on the FD-936.

An FTA card is a chemically treated filter paper designed for the collection of biological samples for subsequent DNA analysis.

‹‹For BODE DNA Collector (gray collection device)

The subject’s name is recorded in the area indicated on the handle base. This name must match the name written on the FD- 936.

‹‹FD-936 forms have a barcode to match the barcode on the buccal collection devices in the kit. Because of this, FD-936 forms cannot be intermixed between buccal collection kits.

‹‹When collection is complete, remember that the tamper evident seal should be secured by removing the backing and sealing it evenly. Do not moisten the envelope seal with saliva to close.

‹‹Once the seal is closed, the kit should not be reopened. If the collector must open the kit after sealing, tape over the seal, and initial and date over the new seal.

*BODE Collector is not to be confused with Jeff Deaver’s book “The Bone Collector.”

Bode Buccal® DNA Collection Systems are devices used for the collection of DNA from buccal samples. To learn more, click here.

Federal DNA Database Buccal DNA Collection Kit

‹‹Complete instructions for the use of the Buccal DNA Collection Kits are located on the back of the FD-936 form. A separate sheet of paper directing proper sampling procedure is also included in the kit.

‹‹When collecting a sample using the Buccal DNA Collection Kit:

  • Wear the gloves provided in the kit.
  • Using the fingerprint ink strip provided in the kit, ink the left and right index fingers of the individual and roll the appropriate index finger in the assigned box on the FD-936, starting with the inward edge of the finger and rolling away from the body.

Sources:

  • Portions of this article are paraphrased excerpts from the FBI Laboratory Division’s handbook, and some are quotes directly from the handbook. Other information is from my personal knowledge and experience.
  • FBI Laboratory Division.
  • ATF – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

More information is on the way!

 

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Police Officers as Emergency Medical Responders: The Comprehensive Trauma Kit 

Police officers, especially those working patrol assignments, are typically the first officers to respond to emergency situations. Not only are they called to scenes involving criminal activities, they are often the first responders to show up at scenes involving medical emergencies. Therefore, it makes sense that officers would possess, at minimum, a basic knowledge of first aid procedures.

When I attended the police academy part of the curriculum was a mandatory 40-hour First Responder certification course (not to be confused with the broadly-used, generic term “first responder,” meaning police, fire, and EMS personnel). To avoid confusion the name “First Responder” was eventually changed to “Emergency Medical Responder” or “EMR.”

The First Responder certification course offered training in the skills needed to provide emergency medical care, such as patient assessment and care, diagnostic signs, and how to treat life threatening emergencies, such as severe bleeding, seizures, choking, broken bones, and more.

In addition to the First Responder/Emergency Medical Responder certification course, each recruit was required to complete and pass an Adult CPR and Pediatric CPR certification course. The only exemption to the training was to have current CPR certification and a current certification at the First Responder level or higher (EMT, Paramedic, etc.). At the time, I was an EMT and a CPR instructor for both the American Heart Association and Red Cross. I taught taught CPR at law enforcement and jail training academies, and at the Virginia Department of Corrections training academy. I also taught CPR at local hospitals and churches, rescue squads and ambulance services, and fire departments, etc.

Unfortunately, in many areas, if not most, First Responder/Emergency Medical Responder in-service training is not required. Therefore, without refresher courses many of those lifesaving skills and bits of valuable knowledge eventually fade from the minds of officers (If you don’t use it you lose it!).

Fortunately, help has arrived! Yes, the Comprehensive Trauma Kit is just what the doctor ordered. It’s a medical toolbox packed with an assortment of medical supplies designed to help police officers address critical emergencies. The kit is also available for businesses, or anywhere it may be needed.

Some law enforcement agencies in the U.S. have assigned these trauma kits to their officers/deputies.

Each kit contains:

  • First aid supplies
  • A built-in integrated tablet that includes the Mobilize Rescue app
  • The Mobilize Rescue app guides users with on-screen real-time step-by-step instructions
  • Clearly organized and color-coded supplies with alpha-numeric labels that correspond to the instructions in the app
  • OSHA-compliant medical supplies
  • The ability to create a time-stamped summary of actions to share with EMS

Trauma Supplies

4 | SOF-T Wide tourniquet

2 | QuikClot bleeding control dressing

2 | 6″ flat emergency trauma dressing

2 | Hyfin chest seal

2 | Water-Jel universal burn dressing

2 | triangular bandage

2 | 4.5″ sterile conforming stretch gauze

4 | 5″ x 9″ sterile combine ABD pads

2 | 10″ x 30″ sterile multi-trauma dressing

1 | 36″ SAM emergency splint

2 | 4″ elastic wrap bandage

1 | 4″ x 5″ cold compress

1 | adhesive tape 2.5 yd

 

Medical Supplies

1 | CPR face shield with bite block

1 | 81mg chewable aspirin (bottle)

1 | 12mg dissolvable allergy tablets (box)

1 | 15mg Insta-Glucose

2 | emergency space Mylar blanket

1 | portable charger and charging cord

1 | USB charging cube

1 | inspection card

12 | proof seals

2 | bag with biohazard markings

1 | trauma shears

10 | nitrile gloves

1 | user manual and inventory card

 

OSHA-Compliant First Aid Supplies

2 | eye pads

16 | adhesive bandages (assorted sizes)

10 | burn cream packets

10 | triple antibiotic ointment packets

10 | antiseptic wipes

1 | tweezers

10 | hand sanitizer packets

1 | eye wash

1 | first aid guide

 

To view the kit, its contents, and how it can be utilized during a medical emergency, please click on the video below.

 

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Why Officer Sam and Officer Pam Recall Things Differently

For the the purpose of this brief peek into the minds of police officers who enter into stressful situations such as a violent riot, or a gun battle with bullets whizzing by their heads, we’ll use Officer Sam as our guinea pig. Joining him in this discussion his partner, Officer Pam.

Sam is a bit of a worrier and, thanks to his parents, his name is coincidentally an acronym for three distinct reasons why officers, as well as other people, perhaps sees things differently when the weight of world seemingly comes crashing down around them. More about the acronym a bit later.

Pam, on the other hand, is a seasoned veteran who’s “been there, done that” a thousand times. She sincerely believes she’s impervious to stress.

Let’s dive right in by first setting the stage. Sam and Pam have been called to the scene of a bank robbery where the masked bandit has decided to not be taken alive. Therefore he begins lobbing .45 caliber rounds at the two responding officers who immediately take cover and immediately return fire.

The intense shootout lasts two minutes before both Pam and Sam fill the desperado full of government-purchased lead. He dies as a result of the aerating of his torso by a baker’s dozen of neat, round puncture wounds delivered by the officers’ sidearms.

The shift commander assigns a pair of internal affairs investigators to take the statements of the two heroes who saved the bank employees from what could have ended up as a mass funeral for the seven cashiers and an elderly security guard named Rufus.

The two IA detectives separate Pam and Sam and then take their statements. Later, the “suits” compare notes and, unbelievably, the officers’ stories vary … a lot. In fact, it’s almost as if Pam and Sam told tales that took place at two different locations and they’d practically described two entirely different events. Yes, they were that far apart.

So how could this happen, you ask? Well, let’s closely examine Sam’s name to see if we can arrive as some sort of answer that makes sense out of the discrepancies/distorted realty.

SAM

“S”, in my own little and limited warped mind, stands for “Secure.”

To start the ball rolling, the brain first must “SECURE” information. However, the human mind can receive only so much at once, so it decides what is important and then discards all of what it deems as unnecessary details.

This is where repetitive training plays a vital role, because repeating the same action over and over again (draw, point, shoot, draw, point, shoot, for example) helps the officer to react instinctively rather than having to rely on a brain that immediately discards some details, such as “the guy has a gun!”

During a stressful event the human mind does strange things

Human brains do not have a far-reaching ability to observe, meaning we see either a forest or we see a group of individual trees, or a lovely meadow versus individual grasses. A crowd of people, or individual humans. But not both at the same time (not both forest AND trees, etc.). The brain focuses on one or the other, making it difficult to process many details. And, when two humans are observing the same grouping of objects, one’s focus may be on the guy with the gun while the other’s is trained on the woman holding a baby.

“A” = “ABSORB,” meaning the retention of what the brain decides is important. Unfortunately, our minds operate on a selective basis and we absolutely have no control over this weird phenomena. It is the brain that picks and chooses what it wants to absorb, and often those human computers focus on one non-essential thing while totally disregarding another more important detail. Again, the woman holding a baby instead of the far more important and dangerous guy with the gun. This is the reason why Sam may see one thing while Pam’s mind secures and absorbs something entirely different.

The proper terminology for what to pay attention to and what to disregard is “selective attention.” For more on selective attention, click here.

“M,” the final letter of Sam’s name and it refers to “MEMORY.”

Memory, simply put, is the brain instantly filing away all of the details about the stressful event that it deemed as unimportant. But not all that’s experienced is retained. What’s left after the brain picks and choices what wants or doesn’t want are the elements that did stand out as “need to know NOW.” These are the bits that, due to selective attention, seem vividly specific. However, even those details may be perceived or skewed differently than  what actually took place, and that’s because not all surrounding information was retained by the brain.

Selective attention can and often does distort reality. For example, situations where officers mistakenly recognize a cellphone in a fleeing suspect’s hand and instead honestly perceive it as a firearm. The same is true in reverse, when the officer mistakenly believes an object is a cellphone when in reality it’s clearly a pistol. These false negatives are caused by a human mind rejecting something that should have received and accepted for what it is/was. In the case of officers involved in deadly force scenarios, these mistakes could and often do result in life-ending occurrences for both officers and citizens.

Repetitive training helps the brain in its decision-making process by allowing it do its thing while the officer simply reacts without having to take the time to first SECURE, ABSORB, and then pull the needed information from their MEMORY. Instead, they need only to draw, point, and shoot. It’s how they’re trained while at the academy, which is quite similar to training a dog to sit.

How many times have we all said to little Rover …

“Sit, boy. Sit.” “Sit, boy. Sit.” “Sit, boy. Sit.” “Sit, boy. Sit.”

Well, that’s how cops are trained and it’s by design. Repetitive training helps to keep them alive.

 

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Writing Small Town Cops: Do You Have Barney-Fife-itis?

barney-fife-itis

What is Barney-Fife-itis, you ask? Well, lots of writers suffer from it, and it’s a horrible disease. Nasty, in fact.

The best way to describe it is to take you to a small town somewhere deep inside your imaginations, where this stuff lives and breeds like the black mold that hides beneath an HGTV fixer-upper bathroom vanity.

So lets go there, to that spot in your mind where …

Yes, it’s a small red-brick building nestled between Betty Lou’s Cut ‘n Curl and Smilin’ Bob’s Hardware and Pawn Shop. The lone parking space in front is reserved. A sign reads “Chief’s Parking Only.”

Inside, the hallway to the right takes you to the water department and the office of the building inspector. There, you can also purchase dog tags and yard sale permits.

A left turn leads to the town’s police department, a force comprised of five dedicated, hardworking police officers—one chief, one sergeant, two full-time officers, and one part-time guy who’s also the mayor of the next town over.

Complaints can be filed with the dispatcher at the window, or by dialing the local number. Calling 911 in Small Town works the same as calling 911 in New York City. Hmm … there is a tiny difference, though. When you call 911 in Small Town somebody always shows up to see what’s wrong. Not always so in Big City.

Small Town dispatchers also work the computer terminals, and they handle calls for animal control, fire and rescue, sometimes reports of needed street repair, stoplights that are out, and even severe weather reports . They know CPR and they know everyone in town and the quickest routes to their houses.

Officers in Small Town attend the police academy and they receive the same training and certifications as the officers over in Big City. No, Small Town PD doesn’t have all the latest fancy equipment with the shiny, spinning dials and winking, blinking lights. They don’t have special detectives who only work homicides or white collar crime. And they don’t have divisions dedicated for traffic, vice, narcotics, and internal affairs. Budgets simply don’t allow it.

Officers in Small Town are cross-trained. They each know how to run radar, direct traffic, dust for fingerprints, interview suspects and witnesses, and they know how to investigate a murder.

Small Town officers investigate burglaries and assaults. They also arrest drunk drivers, drug dealers, people who abuse their spouses, rapists, pedophiles, and robbers. They break up fights, help kids cross the street safely, and they locate lost pets. And, if one of their officers steps out of line they’ll straighten them out, too.

Of course, Small Town is totally fictional, but there are many actual small towns with small police departments, and those small departments work the same kinds of cases as the departments in larger cities. No, not all departments are large enough to have officers who serve as detectives. But they all employ police officers who are fully capable of investigating any type of crime, and they do, from traffic offenses to murder. Sure, they perform the same work as a detective, but they do it while wearing a uniform instead of some fancy-smancy suit.

Yep, most small departments operate the same way as the large ones, just on a smaller scale.

For example:

The Yellow Springs, Ohio Police Department serves a village of slightly less than 4,000 residents. Therefore, the department is small. However, there’s a college in town and the village is located near Dayton and Springfield, which translates into the potential for a higher crime rate than would normally be found in a town that size. And, the potential for more crime means more proactive police work for the small number of officers.

Several years ago, back during the time I was conducting research for my book o police procedure, the YSPD didn’t have plainclothes detectives to investigate major crimes. Instead, as is the case with many small departments, uniformed officers investigated all crimes. Therefore, when an officer received a call from the dispatcher they’d see it all the way through, from the 911 call through court, including evidence collection, interviewing witnesses, etc.

If the officers needed additional help, or resources, they called on the county sheriff’s office.

Remember, not all departments operate in the same manner. Some smaller departments DO have detectives, and those investigators may or may not wear a uniform. They could dress in a coat and tie, and they could have the title of detective, or investigator. If they’re a detective who wears a uniform their rank would normally remain the same. There is no standard rule. It’s entirely up to the individual department.

Remember—a police department and a sheriff’s office are not the same. Deputy sheriffs work for sheriffs, not police chiefs. But that’s a topic for another day.

Since the topic today is “small town departments” and the officers who work there … well, hold on to your hats because I’m about to make an earth shattering announcement! Ready?

Here goes.

Sure you’re ready? Are you sitting down? Have your nervous medicine in hand? Your doctor on speed dial?

Yes to all of the above? Okay, then. Here it is, and I’m holding nothing back. Not this time.

(One second. I’m taking a deep breath)

Okay, here’s the news …

Small town cops are the same as cops in big cities!

Yes, they are. I’ve said it and the secret is OUT!

They receive the same training. They do the same jobs. They go through similar hiring procedures. They enforce the same or similar laws. They use the same or similar equipment. And, well, to write them all as inferior, stupid, ignorant, incompetent, etc. is not only absolutely and unequivocally wrong, it’s extremely offensive.

I’ve often wondered why some people assume that people who have little are to be considered inferior, or less intelligent when compared to those who have a lot. This is also true when considering law enforcement agencies. Those with the shiniest and best equipment are often seen as employing officers who are smarter than their peers who work for small town departments with meager budgets. Of course, this unfair stereotyping occurs throughout most walks of life.

Try breaking it down in this way:

  • Small Town, a town of 4,000 residents, employs five police officers. Those five officers provide police protection and coverage for those 4,000 citizens.
  • Big City, a city of 100,000 employs 125 officers.
  • Break down the number from Big City into three shifts (day, night, and rotating for the off hours of the other shifts) and you wind up with just over 40 officers per shift.
  • Now, since Big City covers a much larger land area than Small Town, officials divided Big City into 8 precincts.
  • Each of the eight precincts covers a land area the size of Small Town.
  • Each precinct employs … wait for it … FIVE officers. Just like Small Town!
  • Some of those precincts have 4,000 residents, or more, including the extremely high-crime areas. Therefore, these precincts of 4,000 residents are covered by five police officers, which is the same scenario that plays out in every small town and city across the country.
  • Many small town police officers attend the same police academies as their peers in larger cities. In fact, they’re often classmates in the same academy. And, their instructors are the same, their desks are the same, and the equipment used is identical.

Anyway, budget, land area, and location are the major differences. Not intelligence or training.

*The above scenario is fictional. I merely used it to illustrate the point. It is, however, a loosely accurate portrayal.

Let’s continue to explore our small town department.

YSPD dispatcher.

NCIC and other equipment.

Above – Felony traffic stop in a small town. The procedure is the same in both large and small departments.

Issuing a traffic summons in a small town is no different, other than surroundings, than the same situation in a larger jurisdiction.

An arrest is the same no matter where it takes place. Tactics and techniques are identical. So is training and equipment. Even the handcuffs used are the same in both Big City and Small Town. Imagine that!

Small departments may not have the latest, modern equipment, such as LiveScan fingerprint terminals. Instead, they still use the old ink and ten-print cards. Both produce the same results—fingerprints.

Ten-print fingerprinting station.

Small departments collect and preserve evidence using the same methods and materials as do larger departments.

Evidence storage is the same, but is on a smaller scale in smaller departments.

YSPD evidence room office/processing area.

Evidence safe in a small department (for narcotics, etc.).

YSPD officer’s workstation/office.

Small departments follow the same procedures as any other department. The job is identical to that of a big city officer, just in a different location.

Interior of a YSPD patrol car. Some cars feature mobile data terminals (computers), and some don’t.

Check with Experts, Not Guess-Perts

As always, please check with experts in the area where your story takes place. Those are the people who can best help with your research. Not someone who once read a book about how cops work in small towns. Obviously, to read incorrect information and then pass it along is, well, it’s wrong.

To do so would be no different than me reading a book on brain surgery and then telling you about so you can then operate on your readers and fans. Reading a book or asking your Uncle Percy who sister-in-law was once married to a guy whose cousin know a guy in elementary school who later married a woman whose father was a cop, well, that certainly does not make Uncle Percy a crackerjack law enforcement expert. It’s actual experience and training produces experts.

Otherwise, we still see “Guess-perts” (the folks with no real experience or training) telling authors to write small town cops as “Barney Fifes,” when that couldn’t be further from the truth. I know, there are “Barneys” in many departments (other professions as well), but they’re not exclusive to small towns. It’s just that they’re far more obvious when they’re one of only five officers citizens see every single day.

So, if you’re going for accuracy, the best advice for you, my writer friends, is to …

Screen Shot 2017-03-20 at 2.19.52 PM

 

Writers’ Police Academy

The Writers’ Police Academy (WPA) offers actual hands-on police training. It is the ultimate research tool for writers.

The next event is scheduled to take place June 2-5, 2022, at NWTC’s renowned public safety academy in Green Bay, Wi. The 2022 event is so massive that it’s stretched between two cities—Green Bay and Appleton!

Details TBA.

www.writerspoliceacademy.com

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FBI v. Local Police: Are You Guilty of Recycling Clichés?

If I had a quarter for every time I’ve heard or read a tired old cliché about the FBI v. local police departments, well, I’d be the proud owner of all my wants and desires (material things) with the entire kit and caboodle paid for in coins. You know the ones, and maybe you’ve used them in one or more of your own tall tales (It hope not). After all, there are so many and they’re tossed about in fiction about as often as words ending in “ly” unnecessarily and tragically appear in some stories.

There’s no good excuse for using these  threadbare, boilerplate, absolutely false, rubber-stamped, buzzwordesque, and  overused phrases, because the correct information is no further than a mere keyboard click away. Yet we see and hear these same old exhausting tunes everywhere!

So, where to begin? How about …

The White Horse Syndrome

In your latest book you’ve brought to life who you believe to be the coolest protagonist ever, an FBI agent who rides into a fictional town on a beautiful and powerfully muscular solid white horse to save the day by solving your cleverly-created murder. Her first order of business—take charge of, well, everything. First, she gives the local homicide detectives the boot. Next she tells the chief to stay out of her way because this is a job for the feds and, by the way, she’ll need the chief’s office as her home base … so, “GET OUT!” Then the cocky and totally obnoxious special agent scouts the area for just the right person to fall in love with before the case is solved. Then and only then is it time to get down to the business finding a murderer.

Of course, you’ve gone the extra mile to get your details right by binge watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Andy Griffith Show. You’ve tossed in a great crime scene, some fingerprinting details, DNA evidence, bloodstain patterns, a car chase followed by a requisite huge explosion, the agent saves the town sweetheart and her dog from certain death, she defies all orders from her boss because she’s determined to be the hero of the tale, and, here it comes, the big payoff … she shoots a pistol from the hand of one bad guy while simultaneously rendering another unconscious with a limply-delivered karate chop to the back of the crook’s neck. AND THEN, before the odor of smokeless powder (NOT CORDITE!!) clerk the air, the agent catches the meanest and baddest villain ever concocted by a writer in the history of the written word.

Sound familiar?

Okay, this is the point where you should click on the video below. It is the soundtrack for the following text. So hit the play button and hang on!

Well, those super cool fictional FBI details are all fine and Jim Dandy, with the exception of one minor detail …  FBI AGENTS DO NOT INVESTIGATE LOCAL MURDER CASES!! And they don’t come into town and take over any local cases. They don’t have that authority or jurisdiction.

Okay, this one will be difficult to grasp, but here goes … FBI agents do not have a crystal ball that sounds off every time a child is abducted or a murder is committed. I know, what a shock. So take a moment to settle down and catch your breath before reading more of this crazy way-out information.

For the FBI to become involved in a local murder case, local law enforcement needs to invite the FBI in.

Yes, the FBI does investigate crimes against children—online predators and human trafficking and kidnapping, and parental kidnapping, But there’s no rule or law stating that the FBI must be called in to investigate kidnapping cases. The fact that they can investigate them doesn’t mean they work ALL abduction cases. Each state has its own kidnapping/abduction laws. Local detectives work kidnapping cases all the time. ALL. THE. TIME.

Keep in mind that there’s not an FBI field office located in every single town in the good old USA. They don’t have satellite headquarters situated next to your corner Piggly Wiggly or Billy Buck’s Feed Store. Sometimes agents are several hours away from a town. In fact, they’ve probably never set foot in many of your towns. Nope, they probably don’t know that Dinglebopadoodle, Rhode Island even exists.

Again, unless the local cops give ’em a call, the FBI has absolutely no means of knowing when Bubba Jenkins got all licker’d up and kilt T-Bone Roberts over cheatin’ during a checker game. Nor would the feds know when creepy human-trafficker Paul Pedophile used the promise of a never-ending supply of Goobers, Sno-Caps, Raisinets, and Junior Mints to lure little Daisy Sue from her front yard while she was in the middle of hopping and scotching in the driveway. Someone would have to actually call the FBI to report these crimes.

In the case of Bubba Jenkins and T-Bone Roberts, well, the feds would simply refer the caller to their local authorities. They’re not going to be involved in local murder cases unless they’re invited in by a city chief of county sheriff.

Even in cases involving serial murders, local authorities handle the investigations. The way the FBI becomes involved is when the local law enforcement invites them to participate because they need the FBI’s resources, expertise, etc.

However, when the investigation leads to other states—victims killed in similar manners that point to a single killer—it’s best that the FBI take the lead since they have nationwide jurisdiction. Besides, to have a local detective trekking from state to state to track down a killer would take a vital resource away from local department. The FBI is far better suited to handle such a task. However, local detectives can and do travel to other jurisdictions as part of their investigations.

The FBI might open an investigation into the disappearance of hopscotching little Daisy Sue; however, they’d likely coordinate activities with the local police who, by the way, would probably have detectives already working on it. The more folks working to find the child the better the chances of finding her. Like investigating a serial killer, tracking an interstate-traveling child abductor is best left to the FBI since they have the resources and jurisdiction to work in all U.S. states. Still, local police can and do work kidnapping cases that cross state lines. I, for example, have investigated a few of those cases, including one that originated in Virginia and ended in Washington state. The child was unharmed and returned to her family. The suspect arrested and convicted.

The FBI’s Magic Database

I can sum this up in a single word … NO. There is no magic database where an FBI special agent enters the name of a person—any person in the world—and instantly receives every single detail about the person—address, phone number, cars owned, blood type, underwear and shoe size, name of pets, number of freckles on their face, friends, favorite meal and drink, etc. It’s just not so.

Various types of records are kept in various independent locations—courts, medical facilities, military, schools, individual law enforcement departments/agencies, etc. Those databases are not linked. A person’s mental health records are not tied to other databases. Driving records are not cross-linked to hospital records, and so on.

Information contained within these systems is only as accurate as the data entered. If the person entering the data makes a mistake, well, that’s the information that shows up when a search is conducted. The National Computer Information Center (NCIC) is a massive database containing tons of crime data; however, the accuracy and timeliness of this information is dependent upon the numerous law enforcement agencies from around the country who enter the data. Many agencies enter incomplete information, if any at all. It could take weeks or months for a loan enforcement officer/agent to compile needed information on a single suspect, not a matter of minutes or even hours.

FBI Special Agents are Bullies and Don’t Play Well With Others 

My goodness, what load of BS. This misconception has been written into books and TV shows so often that even cops have begun to believe it, and that’s unfortunate, because when agents show up at a local department they’re often given the “stink-eye” by officers and detectives. This unwarranted misconception sometimes leaves agents with the task of building the trust of local law enforcement when that trust has not been violated.

I’ve worked and trained with agents of various federal agents and agencies over the years—FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Secret Service, DEA, Border Patrol, ICE ( INS back in the day), Homeland Security, Department of Defense (DoD), DCIS, and more, and not once encountered an issue. In fact, when standoffishness occurred it was from local officers toward the agents. So yeah, thanks to the books, TV shows, and films that caused this imaginary trouble.

I once assisted a pair of FBI special agents on a civil rights investigation as a result of a white police officer who shot an African American male after the subject aimed a loaded pistol at him. The agents were pleasant, professional, and warm and compassionate toward the subjects of their investigations. In private they were funny and had a ton of interesting stories to tell.

 Stink Eye – to look at someone in a disapproving way:
“The people waiting to use the computers were giving me the stinkeye.”
 ~ Cambridge Dictionary

What’s that? You want to know what cases the FBI does work?

Hmm … I’m not sure if you’ll be able to handle the truth. After all, you see so many all of the above in so many books.

Yes, I’m sure you’re frightened, but you’ll be fine.

I know,  your editor said that IS what FBI agents do.

Wait a minute. Let me fini—

Wait—

Please don’t cry.

I know she told you about the white horse—

Yes, and the explosio—

Ah, so that’s where you guys are getting the cordite information ….

Well, I’m sure your literary agent and/or editor has a long history in law enforcement (big eye roll here).

Anyway, see for yourself. These are the cases the FBI works. No, I didn’t make this up. It’s fact.

WHAT THE FBI INVESTIGATES:

  • Public corruption
  • Civil rights
  • Organized crime
  • White collar crime
  • Violent crime such as mass killings, sniper murders, serial killings, gangs, crimes against children, Indian Country crimes, jewelry and gem theft, assisting state and local agencies in investigating bank robberies
  • Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
  • Terrorism
  • Counterterrorism

DETAILS ARE IMPORTANT

It’s important for writers hoping to offer a bit of realism in their stories to at least know the basics of criminal investigations, including “who does what?” For example, absent in the list cases investigated by the FBI is MURDER. No, typically the FBI does NOT investigate local murder cases, nor do they ride into town on white horses to take over bank robbery or abduction cases. Instead, they’re available to assist local and state agencies. However, if a local department is not equipped to handle a bank robbery, for example, the FBI will indeed take the lead upon request.

In a case of child abductions there does not have to be a ransom demand nor does the child have to cross state lines or be missing for 24 hours before the FBI will become involved. When the FBI is alerted that a child has been abducted they’ll immediately spring into action and open an investigation. They will do so in partnership with state and local authorities.

So there you have it, writers—details to help add an extra level of zing to your next twisted tale.

*Resource – FBI and, of course, my personal knowledge and experience.

Next up … the FBI’s forensic laboratory.

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