What Is This Police Practices Blog, Anyway?
March 19, 2009
Hello and welcome!
Police departments and modern policing are complicated in the extreme. Police work, criminal law, psychology, sociology, tragedy, human nature – these form the framework of today’s police agencies, and the backdrop for police practices.
My involvement in police practices began 14 years ago when I graduated from UCLA and signed up as a new police recruit. The journey that followed has been an intriguing one. I have served as a patrol officer, homicide detective, sexual assault investigator, counterterrorism officer, and sergeant of police. Oh, and along the way I went back to school and became an attorney.
Over this fascinating decade, and especially my time as a member of the bar, it has become increasingly clear to me that a chasm of misunderstanding and suspicion lies between attorneys and police professionals. Ironically, this is most visible in the handling of police witnesses by prosecutors and defense counsel.
To help bridge this gap, I began lecturing and teaching. Now in its sixth iteration, my curriculum prepares future advocates for their interaction with police officers and detectives. It helps them understand the complex – and often closely guarded – issues that surround police agencies.
With this blog, I hope to feature some of the multitude issues, myths, cases, major events, successes, and tragedies that are always shaping police practices.
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