A Tribute to Women Police

I recently ran across a talk I gave nearly 15 years ago. It was on the 25th Anniversary of hiring women as uniformed patrol officers and I would like to Continue reading →

Thinking about Boston

“As the fog of our perpetual ‘war on terror’ descended again after the Boston Marathon bombings, veteran police chief David Couper reflected on the dangers of loose explosives, why we Continue reading →

Is Improving Police an Impossible Task?

            In 1960,  when I first pinned on a badge, I was a “college cop”—on the beat at night and in class during the day. Continue reading →

Selecting Police

SELECTING POLICE OFFICERS “My vision for police is that they can be fair, effective and humanitarian. They can protect our civil rights, work with a variety of people, and take Continue reading →

Summarizing “Arrested Development”

BOOK SUMMARY: Arrested Development: A Veteran Police Chief Sounds Off About Protest, Racism, Corruption and the Seven Steps Necessary to Improve Our Nation’s Police. Four obstacles have traditionally (and presently) Continue reading →

Why Police Matter

MAYBE FIFTY YEARS WASN’T ENOUGH. It’s been that long since the day a shiny badge was first pinned on my chest. At the time I felt it was an immense honor Continue reading →

Some Things Never Change

In 1987, my wife and I were both serving as police leaders. I was chief in Madison and she was a  first-line supervisor with the state police. To me, it Continue reading →

The Ombudsman: A Way Forward For Your City?

There seems to be a growing amount of urban conflict today between police and community members. It can predictably happen after a police shooting. When a suspect dies in police Continue reading →

Can and Should Police Investigate Themselves?

Of course, the question of self-regulation is not only relevant to the police but applies to every institution of power in our society — medical, educational, military, governmental, and so Continue reading →

Seven Seeds for Policing

I first described “Seven Seeds for Policing” at the annual meeting of the Police Executive Research Forum in Washington, DC in 1993.  My talk was subsequently published in the FBI Continue reading →