Using IMAP Internal Date for Forensic Email Authentication

by Arman Gungor Internal Date is an IMAP Message Attribute that indicates the internal date and time of a message on an IMAP server. This is a different timestamp than the Origination Date field found in the message header and can be instrumental in authenticating email messages on an IMAP server. Let’s start with an example. The perpetrator wants to fabricate an email message and make it look like he sent it back in December 2016 from his GoDaddy email account to the Yahoo! email account of his business partner. He takes a genuine message between the parties from December 2017, edits the subject and the message body to his heart’s content and makes sure to pick a suitable date in December 2016. Read More

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How Use Armed Police

 

It’s time to expand the roles that CSOs play. They could be trained to respond to mental health incidents and “public order” offenses. And they could certainly step in to respond to erroneous 911 calls.

[I authored the following article which appeared on July 27th in USA Today. I hope what I suggest will encourage a thorough, systematic (and system-focussed) look at how and when we use armed police. I suggest there are better alternatives to the way in which we currently police our nation. It will, however, take courage to implement them.]

---

 

The best way to respond to foolish 911 calls — stop sending armed cops

Just last week, a white woman appeared to call police to complain about an 8-year-old black girl selling water in front of her own apartment building. Two months ago, a Starbucks barista reported two black men to police for not making a purchase. In 2014, someone called police on a 12-year-old boy playing with a toy gun in a park. The outcomes? An arrest in one case, a death in another.

Erroneous calls are made to police all the time. But when they are made against members of the African-American community — a group that has historically had a higher rate of deaths and beatings at the hands of cops — the outcomes can be much more devastating.

These encounters remind me of something that happened when I was a police chief. A young, well-educated woman who worked for me told me about an incident I will never forget.

One afternoon while officer Cheri Maples, who was white, was on patrol she received a call to check on two “suspicious males” sitting in front of a house. Upon arrival, she saw two middle-age black men relaxing on their steps drinking beer. They looked at her when she got out of her squad car. As she walked up to them, they said, “We live here.”

“Just as I thought,” she said. She talked to them for a few minutes, told them to have a nice afternoon and left. She didn’t ask for ID. She didn’t force the men to prove their legitimacy.

I wonder, after so many recent reports of confrontational interactions caused by erroneous 911 calls and exacerbated by officers who arrive on the scene, whether it’s even possible for an incident to play out as peacefully as that one did.

Years ago, I learned that it’s impossible to improve a system simply by removing the bad actors who work within it. That’s where police departments struggle. Those in charge are either unwilling or not skilled enough to significantly change the system. Instead, they focus solely on weeding out bad cops. Getting rid of bad cops is necessary. But if departments put the most upstanding cops into a broken system, they’ll still get a high rate of failure.

Allowing citizens to call 911 (an emergency number) for all things they perceive as a problem does not work. It is a flaw (too often a fatal one) that corrupts the system.

Supposed “problems” can range from persons experiencing an emotional breakdown to a suspected prowler (something police can actually help with) to a little girl selling bottled water on a hot day without a permit.

It’s calls like the latter that — after three decades of policing and another two watching, thinking and writing about police — have forced me to ask the question: What are the situations for which we want people who have the capacity to use deadly force to show up?

While Maples knew the right way to respond to that 911 call years ago, I often wonder whether I should have sent her there in the first place. Would I have been better off requiring officers to live in that neighborhood? To get to know the people? Could that level of community policing have prevented the call and saved my department time and taxpayers money?

Perhaps the best way to deal with erroneous calls is for regular officers not to respond. Instead, those calls could be patched through to unarmed mediators — officers who show up on the scene without posing a danger and with little chance of escalating the situation.

The majority of police activity is generated by citizen calls. And generally, one or more officers have to respond. National data reveal that the average police response time is about 11 minutes.

Approach means everything, and emotional control must always be the responsibility of the officer. In 50 different ways, that peaceful encounter from years ago could have been another tragic event.

Many departments would have required Maples to get the names of the two men and “run them” to find out whether they had warrants. My officers had the authority not to do this. Warrants are what happen when one community is policed at a rate that is greater than others, making it unusual in some parts of a city to find young black males who don’t have warrants.

In his book, “The End of Policing,” Alex Vitale argues that we need to rethink the role of police today and reduce the various ways in which police are used. I agree.

Today’s response is to fix or blame the cops: They need to learn to de-escalate; they need implicit bias training.

Beyond that, we must look at improving the overall system of how we deploy police and whether or not a centralized call center is the best way to trigger services.

The 1967 President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice suggested that community service officers (CSOs) — unarmed members of the department — play a greater role in policing.

Since then, armed officers in many cities no longer write parking tickets, control traffic, enforce bicycle rules, or escort funeral processions. Instead, CSOs took over those responsibilities, giving armed officers more time to focus on dangerous crime. That move saved police time and better used taxpayer money.

It’s time to expand the roles that CSOs play. They could be trained to respond to mental health incidents and “public order” offenses. And they could certainly step in to respond to erroneous 911 calls.

We need to restructure how we use police and reduce the number of armed officers sent to neighborhoods in which they are unfamiliar.

And as we change the system, we need more smart cops like Maples.

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Simple Care Tips for the Bathroom Sink

Content originally published and Shared from http://perfectbath.com

At the end of a long day, all we want to do is relax in our comfort zone. However, a home with a dingy bathroom isn’t exactly what we have in mind when we think of comfort, right? Have a pristine, hotel-like bathroom by practicing these tips:

Photo by Dan Watson on Unsplash

Keep your sink from getting scratched
Avoid abrasive cleaners, which can scratch your sink. Those scratches become magnets for grease, soap scum and dirt. Scrubbing the sink with a solution of 1 tablespoon ammonia to 1 gallon of water will dissolve them and bring back your sink’s shine. A solution of 1 teaspoon of trisodium phosphate to a gallon of water effectively removes grease and soap scum build up as well. Also known as TSP, trisodium phosphate, a degreasing agent, can be found at most hardware stores in white powder form. Source: HomeGuides.SFGate

Maintain a clean sink
Regularly wash your sink with soap and water. You can prevent dirt and stains from building up in the first place by gently washing your sink after every use. Use a little dish soap and a soft, non-abrasive sponge, and rinse thoroughly with clean water.  Source: WikiHow

Remove stains right away
De-stain surfaces with lemon juice. We’ve got a sure remedy for stained sinks: Erase those spots with a paste made of one-half cup of powdered borax and the juice of one-half lemon. Dab a sponge in the mixture, rub, and rinse with running water—it’ll work like a charm whether your sink is made of porcelain enamel, stainless steel, or any other material.

Get rid of mineral deposits
Use vinegar on your lime. The white spots that you have so much trouble cleaning off the faucets are lime deposits from mineral-rich hard water. They’re very easy to remove with a secret ingredient that’s already in your pantry: vinegar. Soak a paper towel in vinegar, and wrap the towel around the spotted area. Wait 10 minutes and then buff with a dry paper towel. This works well on all fixtures except brass or colored fixtures; using vinegar on these surfaces may discolor them. Source: RD

Our selection of trendy ceramic sinks will surely fit your budget and needs. Take a look and call us if you need any assistance.

 

Contact:
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Calgary, Alberta
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Cleaning Tips for Stubborn Toilet Stains

Content originally published and Shared from http://perfectbath.com

Are you finding it difficult to remove ring stains in your toilet? With the following ingredients, you’ll have plenty of effective solutions to choose from.

Image Source: Flickr

Coca-Cola
Get rid of stubborn toilet bowl stains with a 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola. Pour the full can around the rim of your toilet so it coats the toilet bowl and let the soda sit for an hour. The acid in the Coca-Cola will break down the stains. After an hour, scrub the bowl with a toilet brush and flush. Source: BrightNest

Vinegar
Most people reach for bleach to obliterate toilet germs and stains. However, Green living expert Mark Lallanilla says that plain old white vinegar is not only an effective cleaner, but also safer than chlorine bleach. To eliminate hard water stains, soak toilet paper in vinegar and place directly on top of the stain. Let the vinegar-soaked paper sit overnight. The next morning, flush to rinse and the stains should be gone.

Lallanilla says that full-strength vinegar also works great on grout and caulk. Use a spray bottle to saturate the area and let it soak in for at least an hour before rinsing. Source: TheSpruce

Water softener
Often times stubborn toilet bowl rings are directly the result of hard water deposits. While you can always take some time to clean the ring after it appears, it is usually better to stop the problem from ever forming in the first place. If you can afford to do it, install a water softener in your home and have it maintained properly. This should reduce a large number of water related problems not just in the bathroom, but throughout the rest of the house as well. Source: Cleaning.Tips

Borax powder
Borax powder is a very powerful cleaning agent that’s not found in a supermarket, but in a hardware store. Shut the water supply to the toilet tank and empty the bowl by flushing it once. Sprinkle the powder directly on the stains and rub them with a toilet brush. After scrubbing, let the powder sit for thirty minutes. Then reconnect the water supply to the tank and flush the toilet. Source: Home.HowStuffWork

Why not replace your toilet with top-of-the-line quality and design that still fits your budget? Choose from the ones we have on our website or call us for assistance!

 

Contact:
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MSAB Joins CASE Initiative On Digital Forensic Standards

CASE is working to promote the exchange of cyber investigation information between technologies and organizations MSAB today announced that the company has joined other industry leaders to work collaboratively on the Cyber-Investigation Analysis Standard Expression (CASE) initiative. CASE is a community-developed specification language or standard designed to serve a broad range of cyber-investigation domains, including digital forensic science, incident response, counter-terrorism, criminal justice, forensic intelligence and situational awareness. The CASE Initiative began in 2015 at the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3). The standard was released as open source in 2017 and its adoption grew following a meeting at Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre. The primary motivation for CASE is interoperability - to advance the exchange of cyber-investigation information between tools and organizations.

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Bathroom Ideas for the Modern Family

Content originally published and Shared from http://perfectbath.com

 

The bathroom may be the smallest room in your house, but it does not mean you can’t have a stylish and classy space. You can have it designed with new showers and bathtubs as well as tiles. Contact professionals and get ideas on various choices. Give your bathroom a modern look following below ideas:

Tub

There is so much fun in designing the bathroom. If you are looking for a bathtub and shower, visit showersly.com/best-freestanding-tubs-reviews and choose what suits your budget. A bathtub is a good idea to give your bathroom a modern look. It adds luxury to the household and it can be a place to keep warm during the cold seasons.

Mirror

You will need mirrors to make sure you clean your whole body properly before stepping out of your bathroom. Consider framing the mirror and sticking it on the bathroom walls. Mastic adhesive can be used to install a tile frame around it. You can also go for creative wooden frames or molding or have one customized for you. Add sconces to both sides of the mirror to brighten the space and remove shadows when looking into the mirror.

Tiles

There are different tile designs that will give your bathroom a beautiful look. Go for wall tiles that are long lasting, easy to clean and mold resistance. Give your bathroom floor a rough, colorful texture to avoid falls on slippery tiles. Do not overlook the aspect of safety, especially in homes with small children and older individuals. Safety and function should go together.

Storage

You will need space for your bathroom. Your modern family bathroom will want to have ample storage. Install shelving units and fixtures that are well suited to bathroom. No matter the size of the bathroom, you can make it stylish by choosing accessories and features that compliment your colors. Having storage is an important component of keeping your modern family bathroom neat and well organized. You can make a trendy modern family bathroom design in any room no matter what the size or shape.

Paints

What’s the best paint to use? Semi-gloss paint is a great choice because you can easily wipe down markings and stains e.g. from dirty/oily hands. This is important, especially if you have children, or someone working a ‘dirty’ job. If you use flat paint, the frequent wiping will cause the paint to chip, requiring a repaint soon after. In addition, semi-gloss paint has reflective qualities, and can help to boost your lighting, making the room warmer. Choose paints with that give your bathroom a smooth touch.

 

You can keep your bathroom looking good and modern by giving it a touch of class when remodeling it. It will save you some money if you plan on what to purchase for your bathroom as well. Make a budget and stick to it. Work on the cost of materials and labor and give your bathroom that wow look. It is very possible to give your bathroom a modern and trendy appearance without breaking the bank. Plan well and enjoy your baths.

 

Contributed by: Perfectbath.com  Foremost experts in Bathroom design and Bathroom fixtures.

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Webinar - Now Easily Get Witness Information From Cell Phones In The Field

Susteen will be demonstrating their new Field Acquisition Device, which can get evidence data off of cell phones in the field in minutes. On site presentations are being held Monthly and live webinars weekly: This revolutionary new tool will allow agencies to quickly pull data off of any cell phone in the field. Active crime scenes, automobile accidents, drug busts, warrant serves. Learn how to get to cell phone evidence before it can be locked behind a password. Learn how to pull encrypted application evidence off of cell phones and preserve for evidence. Susteen’s new Field Acquisition Device can be spread throughout coverage area as the device cost less than a $1000.

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Strength and Conditioning Stuff You Should Read: 6/26/18

What Happened to Police Education?

 

There isn’t a single U.S. university that can claim (with a straight face) to have a serious commitment or investment in police higher education. The typical undergraduate degree in criminal justice (or criminology) requires one or two police courses. It is a mile wide and an inch deep.

I try and think in systems – Dr. Deming taught me that — and policing is one of those systems. And while I have focused on recruiting, selecting, training, and leadership within the police system, I find that I have tended to overlook one important systemic ingredient as I pressed our system to produce educated, well-trained, respectful, controlled and collaborative men and women to be our police. That important, overlooked ingredient is the quality of our higher education. I have argued in the past that a college education is a necessary requirement for police who serve in our society.

My university education was vitally important to me. It changed how I looked at the world and how I approached my job as a cop. It helped me go about being the kind of police officer I knew was essential to a free society. It has been glaringly apparent to me that many young men and women graduating from our nation’s system of higher education may not have received the kind of education I experienced.

In the late 60s, as a police officer and graduate student, I strongly argued that the junior college system (which tended to be more vocational in its approach to police education) not be the endpoint of police education. Instead, I argued that we require police applicants to obtain a baccalaureate (4-year) college degree as an entry requirement. I also maintained that their degree be strongly within the liberal arts tradition and not vocational. (By “liberal” I do not mean the political connotation. A good explanation of a liberal education can be found HERE and in this statement:

The phrase liberal education does not refer to a curriculum that contrasts with a conservative education; it refers to a curriculum designed to provide students with the knowledge and abilities to become successful, productive members of a free society. It provides them the opportunity to practice free-thinking. (Remember, liberal as in free, as opposed to constrained or subjugated.) It teaches them how to think critically, communicate clearly, analyze and solve complex problems, appreciate others, understand the physical world, and be prepared to learn continuously so they can work with others and on their own to meet the challenges of the future. [From the above link.]

Many fellow police disagreed with me at that time (although the 1967 President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice did recommend that the goal of police education be the 4-year degree) I still think this is a vital goal.

But having said that, what should police leaders expect their applicants to have achieved during their college education? What should a college-educated police applicant bring to the police department?

In Arrested Development, I described why not achieving this educational standard has been an obstacle to police improvement:

I have no doubt that the attitude which distains formal education and research along with a reliance on coercive leadership are their primary hindrances. I have concluded from my experience and continued observation that this has restrained and arrested their development. It isn’t that there has been no improvement; I began police work without a college education, formal training, body armor or a personal radio. My point is that given the organizational improvements of other institutions in our society, the police have fallen disgracefully behind. Before any institution can improve, it must identify the obstacles in its way. Some of them I’ve already identified, such as the power of the police subculture, the negative legacy of their history, and over-reliance on physical force in the field and in the police station. But there are other major impediments American police must also deal with if they want to catch up and stay in front…  The only way [these obstacles are] going to be overcome is requiring our nation’s police to have an academically rigorous four-year college education before they are sent into the field. In addition, police departments must have an on-going academic relationship with a college or university to bring together academics and practitioners. The two can then work together to develop, test, and share the most effective methods of policing. This would eventually result in police officers spending time in classrooms and doing research and academics teaching in the training academy and walking a beat.

What I expected, and what I thought was happening, during my tenure as a police chief, is that the academic institutions in which I recruited and from which I hired police officers were doing what I expected – that is, the men and women I interviewed were liberally educated (they had studied a variety of academic subjects: history, psychology, sociology, philosophy, pre-law, and even music and art), they were intellectually (and emotionally) mature and inquisitive, had a sound ethical base, and were racially and culturally aware and sensitive. At that time, I thought colleges and universities were doing their job of educating future police officers.

But then, did something happen to change this? Did all that get lost somehow in our post-911 world and successive “wars” on crime and drugs? Or was it as Prof. Gary Cordner suggested in his article in The Journal of Criminal Justice Education (July 26, 2016), “The Unfortunate Demise of Police Education”?

For the last 20-30 years, criminal justice has been one of the fastest-growing fields of study in U.S. higher education and one of the most popular degrees outside of business and education. Most experts and observers agree that this has been a positive trend. Early police programs were deemed too vocational, not appropriate for university-level study. Furthermore, there is philosophical support for the notion that police, who wield the awesome power of the state and hold our liberties in their hands, need a broad liberal arts education, not a narrow vocational one… But there has been an unfortunate consequence of this trend. There isn’t a single U.S. university that can claim (with a straight face) to have a serious commitment or investment in police higher education. The typical undergraduate degree in criminal justice (or criminology) requires one or two police courses. It is a mile wide and an inch deep. At the graduate level, we have hundreds of programs in criminal justice, many without a single police course. The average university criminal justice program has perhaps one faculty member whose specialty is police – the really big ones are fortunate to have two or three. This situation would be easier to swallow if it was still true that there is little or no scientific or academic knowledge base about policing. But the opposite is true. There has been a ton of police research since the 1960s – qualitative and quantitative, basic and applied, operational and administrative, experimental and phenomenological, modern and post-modern, American, British, European, you name it, it’s out there.

This unsettling situation has recently been affirmed by my own recent experience and, for example, by the experiences of two academics who responded to my questioning Tweet:

“Police education: If the mission of higher education is to prepare students to be liberally educated, intellectually mature, ethically aware, and culturally sensitive, how are we doing?”

Here were two quick responses I received:

• The vocationalization of education is and has found fertile ground with policing. Learning “why” allows one to be able to entertain a variety of responses. Learning “what to do” removes any chance of alternative solutions or freedom of thought. Too many programs focus on “what.” When presented with something, do this. Little or no thought, examination or discussion is afforded why police exist or their role in a free society. Without an agreed upon foundation there can be no building. 
• Some of the people in criminal justice programs were also in my psychology classes. one student wrote on the final exam: “It is all Tsongas’ fault that we have so many Cambodians in here”…. I went to the department chair but being only adjunct faculty, there was not much I could do to take on Godzilla… What are we teaching when they take up these programs? ATF, ICE, etc.

My point is this: If we serious about improving our nation’s police, to build trust of police in communities of color, for police to be restrained in their use of force, and be fair and respectful to everyone they contact, it is going to take a SYSTEMIC approach to this improvement that also must include a deep look at how our nation’s academic institutions are educating those who wish to be our police.

What has been your experience?

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Most Active Posts Last Week

1. Immigration Enforcement: Another Reason Why We Need Smart, Moral Cops

2. How a Traffic Offense Can Be a Ticket to Prison

3. Deadly Force: When is it Necessary?

4. Why Police Matter

5. Making Choices: The Moral Aspects of Policing

6. Tactical Strolling

7. Rules of Engagement (ROE)

8. A Letter to Young Cops

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Deadly Force: When is it Necessary?

A most insightful and well-done interview by PBS last month on police use of deadly force.

“After police in Sacramento shot and killed Stephon Clark in his grandmother’s yard, California lawmakers proposed legislation that only allows police to shoot people if there are no other reasonable options. But as Newshour Weekend’s Christopher Booker reports, law enforcement officers are already trained to prepare for and de-escalate tense situations..”

View the video interview and transcript HERE.

And PBS continues this important topic (and one that needs continual police-public engagement)…

“While police departments across the country address reform, community groups in cities like Chicago and New York are also teaching people about alternatives to 9-1-1 for crises that can be exacerbated by police presence. NewsHour Weekend’s Ivette Feliciano talked to author Alex Vitale of “End of Policing,” about the country’s reliance on law enforcement to solve complicated social issues…”

See this PBS follow-up piece, “Has Policing in America Gone too Far?” HERE in which Alex Vitale talks about his new book, “End of Policing.”

 

 

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Mobility Exercise of the Week: Supine Banded Shoulder Flexion on Roller

The supine banded shoulder flexion on roller is a new shoulder mobility drill I came up with that is really growing on me quickly. Effectively, it's an alternative to a back to wall shoulder flexion for those who may struggle to "compete against" gravity as they take the arms overhead in the standing position.

In this drill:

1. The foam roller provides feedback for posterior pelvic tilt, thoracic extension, and a more neutral cervical spine posture.

2. Gravity assists the individual into overhead motion to overcome stiffness through the lats, teres major, long head of triceps, inferior capsule, pec minor, etc.

3. The fact that the roller doesn't impede scapular motion (like the wall or floor would) makes it easier to achieve some scapular posterior tilt as the arms go overhead.

4. The supinated grip drives some shoulder external rotation, placing the lats on stretch in the transverse plane so that folks can't "cheat" the movement by letting their hands drift toward the midline.

5. The band creates some posterior rotator cuff recruitment,

I'll take this over a few sets of ugly band pullaparts any day. What's not to like?

Looking for more cutting-edge shoulder strategies like these? Check out my new resource, Sturdy Shoulder Solutions at www.SturdyShoulders.com.

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Strength and Conditioning Stuff You Should Read: 6/21/18

Digital Forensics News June 2018

The Forensic 4:Cast Awards results have been released, with Forensic Focus winning Blog of the Year and Resource of the Year. Thank you to everyone who voted! Magnet Forensics have released a new ebook looking at how to run child exploitation investigations. Registration is open for the next Techno Security & Forensic Investigation conference, which is taking place in September in San Antonio, TX. Forensic Focus members can get a 30% discount on the registration fee by quoting FFOCUSTX18 at the checkout. Cellebrite have released UFED Physical Analyzer 7.6.

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Electromagnetic Side-Channel A‚ttacks: Potential For Progressing Hindered Digita

by Asanka Sayakkara, Nhien-An Le-Khac & Mark Scanlon Digital forensics is a fast-growing €field involving the discovery and analysis of digital evidence acquired from electronic devices to assist investigations for law enforcement. Traditional digital forensic investigative approaches are o‰ften hampered by the data contained on these devices being encrypted. Furthermore, the increasing use of IoT devices with limited standardisation makes it difficult to analyse them with traditional techniques. ŒThis paper argues that electromagnetic side-channel analysis has signi€ficant potential to progress investigations obstructed by data encryption. Several potential avenues towards this goal are discussed. Read More

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Forensic Focus Forum Round-Up

Welcome to this month’s round-up of recent posts to the Forensic Focus forums. Tootypeg has created a flow chart for digital forensic investigators to use when making decisions about their cases - add your thoughts on the forum. What are the appropriate terms to use when discussing child abuse material? Can you help cs1337 to recover data from an OSX running High Sierra? What tools would you recommend to extract data from an Amazon Fire Stick? Forum members give their impressions of UK MPs' discussion about disclosing digital evidence. How do you register seized evidence? Share your thoughts on the forum.

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Deep Learning At The Shallow End: Malware Classification For Non-Domain Experts

by Quan Le, Oisín Boydell, Brian Mac Namee & Mark Scanlon Current malware detection and classification approaches generally rely on time consuming and knowledge intensive processes to extract patterns (signatures) and behaviors from malware, which are then used for identification. Moreover, these signatures are often limited to local, contiguous sequences within the data whilst ignoring their context in relation to each other and throughout the malware file as a whole. We present a Deep Learning based malware classification approach that requires no expert domain knowledge and is based on a purely data driven approach for complex pattern and feature identification. Read More

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Stop Thinking About “Normal” Thoracic Spine Mobility

Two years ago, I published a post, Tinkering vs. Overhauling - and the Problems with Average, where I discussed the pitfalls of focusing on population averages, especially in the world of health and human performance. I'd encourage you to give it a read, but the gist is that you have to be careful about overhauling a program because you see someone as being outside a "norm" that might have been established for an entire population when they are unique in so many ways.

Thoracic spine mobility is an excellent example. What would be considered acceptable for an 80-year-old man would be markedly different than what we'd want from a 17-year-old teenage athlete in a rotational sport. This athlete, for instance, had some marked negative postural adaptations that contributed to two shoulder surgeries during his time as a baseball pitcher. If he was far older with different physical demands, though, he might have never run into problems.

Lumbar locked rotation is a great thoracic spine rotation screen I learned from Dr. Greg Rose at the Titliest Performance Institute. Briefly, you put the lumbar spine in flexion (which makes lumbar rotation hard to come by) and the hand behind the back (to minimize scapular movement). This allows you to better evaluate thoracic rotation without compensatory motion elsewhere. Check out the high variability among three athletes who are all roughly the same age:

On the left, we have a professional baseball pitcher. In the middle, we have an aspiring professional golfer. And, on the right, we have a powerlifter who's moved well over 600 pounds on both the squat and deadlift. Adaptation to imposed demand is an incredibly important part of this discussion of "normal." The hypertrophy (muscle bulk) that benefits the powerlifter could possibly make the baseball pitcher and golfer worse, but at the same time, I wouldn't necessarily say that the powerlifter is "lacking" in thoracic rotation because you don't need a whole lot of movement in this area for a successful, sustainable powerlifting career.

I should also note that these are all active measures. If we checked all three of these guys passively, we'd likely see there's even more thoracic rotation present than you can see here. And, that can open up another can of worms, as having a big difference between active and passive range of motion can be problematic, too.

The take-home message is that if you're going to call someone's movement quality "abnormal," you better have a clear designation of what "normal" is for their age and sport, as well as what's required for their athletic demands.

For more information on how we assess and train thoracic mobility, I'd encourage you to check out my new resource, Sturdy Shoulder Solutions.

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Job Opening: Business Development Representative- Mobile Forensics

Susteen has multiple openings for Business Development Representatives throughout the United States. With the launch of our new Field Acquisition Device and current demand, we have immediate sales openings for representatives with law enforcement/DOD/Forensic backgrounds.

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Tactical Strolling

[Ed. Note: You may not often find the writing of poetry among the ranks of police. While I have written poetry since my early 20s, none of it addressed my work as a police officer — I wrote about justice, about loss and grief, race, and about being in love — but not about what I did for over 30 years — my time on the street. I pose to myself a question — Why? Why did I not write about this important part of my life and the people with whom I struggled and worked? Compartmentalizing? Avoiding? Was I trying to escape the life and death issues with which I faced as a cop? So here’s my recent endeavor as I try to poetically capture the events in the life I once knew, embraced, practiced, and which significantly influenced my life. Perhaps, more will come as I age. Having said this, some events I immediately recall: my first dead body, the guy in the fire with a shotgun pointed at me, my time on the Underwater Recovery Unit finding bodies of children, high-speed chases (without seatbelts!), almost shooting someone, almost being shot, and drunken, abusive, and sticky-fingered partners. Here’s my start, when began foot patrolling an all-black neighborhood the week after Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis.]

---

 

i stop the car
check out
adjusting my leather
gear
securing the
vehicle
“out of service”?
hardly
i’ve just
spent 4 hours
chasing
9-1-1 incidents
settling arguments
mediating disputes
answering questions
made an
arrest
pressed for time
i’m
ordered
to “foot
patrol” so
it’s not only
my gear that
needs
adjusting
it’s me
my attitude
I take a
deep
breath
i look around
step out onto
the sidewalk
this crowded city
block
among people
who don’t look like
me
and who may not
appreciate
my
presence
do they think
like me?
but i can
no longer
be what
i just was
enforcer
tense warrior
and very
impatient
no – if i am to
succeed
here
among these
folks
i must
serve
i must
and
they need to
see me
for who i
am
beyond the gun
badge
and blue
and
for me
to see them
for who they
really
are
i now
must be
their
cop
their protector
guardian
advocate
take time to
listen
bring myself
here
now
in the present
to them
now on this turf
it’s strange
to be
the kind and helpful
person
i once thought
i was
the person
i was
so long
ago
before the
academy
this feels
good
yes it is
good.

---

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Evaluating Automated Facial Age Estimation Techniques For Digital Forensics

by Felix Anda, David Lillis, Nhien-An Le-Khac & Mark Scanlon In today’s world, closed circuit television, cellphone photographs and videos, open-source intelligence (i.e., social media/web data mining), and other sources of photographic evidence are commonly used by police forces to identify suspects and victims of both online and offline crimes. Human characteristics, such as age, height, weight, gender, hair color, etc., are often used by police officers and witnesses in their description of unidentified suspects. In certain circumstances, the age of the victim can result in the determination of the crime’s categorization, e.g., child abuse investigations. Various automated machine learning-based techniques have been implemented for the analysis of digital images to detect soft biometric traits, such as age and gender, and thus aid detectives and investigators in progressing their cases. This paper documents an evaluation of existing cognitive age prediction services. Read More

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Immigration Enforcement: Another Reason Why We Need Smart, Moral Cops

“Mr. Attorney General, we will hold illegal border crossers as you wish, but we will NOT separate minor children from their parents!”

Most of us are shocked by our nation’s recent decision to separate children from their parents who are illegally entering the United States. As I understand it, prior to the present decision, illegal immigrants and their children remained together and the adults were given a court date which required their appearance at a future date. Illegal immigration was not a felony crime. Now one can argue about whether this is good or bad public policy, but, that’s the way it was.

Now comes our U.S. Attorney General who wants to get tough on immigration. He uses Christian scriptures (Romans 13), that Christians should obey the laws of civil government, to justify his toughness. (Deftly avoiding the issue of just versus unjust laws).

So now the border police are told to consider illegal border crossings to be felony offenses — and how (in past practice) do police handle felons? Well, they separate them from their children, put the adults in jail, and call child welfare authorities to take the children into protective custody.

Is this the most ethical way to respond? Now here’s why we need smart, moral cops: they need to think about our values as a nation. While it has been past practice to separate felonious parents from their children, is this the best way to respond today to this problem? Can exceptions be made; that is can we create a new way to handle those in our country illegally without separating adults from their children? (I understand babies are NOT being separated, but children around 4 or 5 years of age and older are.)

Can border patrol leaders stand up and say, “Mr. Attorney General, we will hold illegal border crossers as you wish, but we will NOT separate minor children from their parents!”

That’s what I would expect a police leader to say and do. Of course, I would suggest this, at first, is not done publicly, but as a series of negotiations with federal prosecutors.

This is not too much to ask or expect from police in a democratic society.

---

MORE ON THIS:

• Officials are not allowed to touch or hold crying children. What a pediatrician has to say about this HERE.
• What happens when families are separated? Find out HERE.
• Find out what one police chief has to say about this HERE.

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Review Of SQLite Forensics By Paul Sanderson

Reviewed by Scar de Courcier, Forensic Focus SQLite forensics is an important part of many digital forensic investigations. Most smartphones and computer operating systems use SQLite, with each device often including hundreds of databases. Despite this extreme proliferation, SQLite forensics is often overlooked in conversations about current trends in digital forensics. Paul Sanderson's book attempts to redress the balance and bring attention to the importance of SQLite forensics. The book opens with an introduction to SQLite forensics: what it covers, and how SQLite differs from most other databases. Astonishingly, there are over one trillion SQLite databases in circulation, a fact that the reader is introduced to on the first page - which definitely sets the scene for this being an important book! Read More

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Top Posts Last Week

1. A Letter to Young Cops

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4. What About CompStat and Crime Reduction?

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6. What About the Community?

7. What Nelson Mandela Learned About Leadership in Prison

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Techno Security Myrtle Beach 2018 – Recap

by Scar de Courcier This article is a recap of some of the main highlights from the Techno Security & Forensic Investigation Conference 2018, which took place in Myrtle Beach, SC from the 3rd-6th June 2018. Under the sunny skies of South Carolina, the digital forensic community got together at the beginning of June this year to discuss topics ranging from international espionage to the admissibility of evidence obtained from the cloud. The conference was split into several streams: audit / risk management; forensics; information security; and investigations. There were also labs run by Cellebrite and Magnet Forensics, and various sponsor demos throughout the conference. The exhibition hall was open at various points throughout the day, allowing attendees to meet representatives from universities, forensics companies and law enforcement agencies and discuss current industry trends. Read More

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Strength and Conditioning Stuff You Should Read: 6/15/18

Magnet Forensics And Child Rescue Coalition Integrate Technology

As Magnet Forensics exhibit this week at the National ICAC Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, we’re extremely honored to unveil a new technology integration. Magnet AXIOM will soon be able to ingest data from Child Rescue Coalition (CRC)’s Child Protection System (CPS), a comprehensive system that compiles and curates millions of online child predator records. Read the complete press release here. Learn more about the CPS-AXIOM integration here.

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What About the Community?

Sneaky Tips To Make Your Bathroom Appear Great

Content originally published and Shared from http://perfectbath.com

 

The home is the place where the real peace of the world lies. People dream to have a beautiful space. The accommodation is the identical address of all those mesmerizing satisfactions. Every corner of the abode carries the special importance. Likewise, the kitchen, the bedroom, the balcony, the bathroom is also an integral part of the home. The bathroom directly relates the grounds of the impression it leaves. Bathrooms are no more the mere functional units as before. Nowadays every person pays the same attention to the bathroom as well while building their dwellings. The designing of the bathroom with the hearty efforts is emerging in the form of trending recognition. Well, the ways to keep in mind for the purpose of making the bathroom indeed incredible are as follows.

 

Making the selection of perfect toilet seats

The toilet is the most basic entity of the when it comes about the designing of beautiful bathrooms. There are several toilet seats available in the market, which redefine the ease and comfort perfectly. The interesting look of these toilet seats adds to the real feel of your bathroom. Kohler k-1.2 8 GPF comes in the category of best toilet seats. For more ravishing options regarding the selection of toilet seats, one can visit crushreviews.com. Making the selection of perfect toilet sets is must to create a delightful bathroom.

 

Dazzling Lights

 

The placement of bright lights works as the soul of the bathroom because lighting weaves the texture of the bathroom. Apart from the point of view of the appearance of the bathroom the light is essential for another purpose also such as shaving or applying the makeup. So, the proper assimilation of lighting is a big factor for serving the ideal end to the bathroom. This is the reason behind mentioning the dazzling lights as an effective tip for providing the praiseworthy look to the bathroom.

 

The appealing plumbing system

The plumbing system compiles to the basic functioning of the bathroom. It grabs the eyes of the enterer firstly. The fixation of the splendid plumbing accessories generates the adorable outlook of the bathroom. So, the decision for choosing the plumbing components must be taken wisely. For maintaining the striking likeness of the bathroom, it is just to put a brief check on favorable plumbing segment. So, the appealing plumbing system incorporates the major significance for the bathroom.

 

Smart spacing

Always keep in mind that a bathroom looks spacious only when it is tested with the tactics of smart spacing. This falls in the brook of valuable tips for constructing the irresistible bathrooms. This leads to using the corners of the bathrooms with the installation of storage brackets. The essence of following such tip is that it produces the sense of extra inner space. This makes to look bathroom even bigger. Smart spacing is the composite technique of fabricating the fabulous fascination of the bathroom.

The above mentioned are some salient suggestions for making the look of a bathroom by far more interesting. Well, the bathroom is worth of these cherishing outlines to soothe the eyes of the beholder.

 

Contributed by: Perfectbath.com Experts in Bathroom Design and bathroom fixtures

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How Do Waterless Toilets Work?

Content originally published and Shared from http://perfectbath.com

 

The concept of waterless toilets might sound outdated, right? Well, if you picture that traditional outdoor structure, then it might. But in reality, a waterless toilet is actually a modern household appliance that greatly helps save on water. In some parts of the globe, developing countries, for instance, water comes off as a luxury that cannot afford to be flushed down the drain. It should be used in moderation instead, a practice which is greatly aided by the use of waterless toilets.

 

As an alternative to the common flush toilet, a waterless toilet can equally provide sanitation and better still, do so on minimal infrastructure. The greatest benefit, of course, being the water conservation part. Normally, they are not connected to the sewage system, and the waste is not sent to a treatment plant. Instead, as the toilet owner, you will have to take care of it on your own, by composting. With the current designs, these toilets provide a hygienic way of recycling human waste. They are several types of these toilets to choose from, and a comprehensive list can be found on homeworthylist.com.

Why Waterless Toilets?

Apart from the obvious reason of saving on water, these toilets also come with other numerous benefits. They are incredibly flexible as they can be conveniently put up whenever there is a need. They are easy to install and repair in case of damages. You can click this link to find out more about the best repair kits for your toilet.

 

Here is a list of key benefits of waterless toilets:

Water Conservation

These toilets, unlike flush toilets, do not require water in the disposal of human waste. They are ideal for those in areas faced with frequent water shortages. Additionally, they help to cut down on water costs, which could otherwise be high with the use of flush toilets.

Reduced Odor

Most waterless toilets feature a smart ventilation system design that enables a reduction in odor. As a result, there is no need for chemicals, in the name of detergents to help keep the bad smell away.

Eco-Friendly

Wastes from these toilets can be safely recycled. Composting toilets convert human waste into compost that can be used in the garden. It eliminates the need for waste treatment which usually involves harmful chemicals that are eventually released into water bodies.

How Waterless Toilets Operate

Waterless toilets work in a smart way to hygienically convert human waste into compost. As the waste collects into the separate collection chamber, usually located below the toilet pedestal, air is fanned through to speed up composting. The air also helps fan way bad odor. Any liquid accompanying the waste is separated into a small trench where it is eventually evaporated by the fanning action.

 

These toilets can be purchased together with a greywater treatment system to conveniently integrate an on-site wastewater management system. They are quite a number of manufactured waterless toilets, composting toilets in particular, with different features as explained below:

Types of Composting Toilets

Batch Composting Toilets

Just as the name suggests, this system facilitates waste composting in batches. They come with several composting chambers, at least two, that are used alternately. As soon as one is filled, it is replaced with the second one. The filled one is left to compost to maturity before the compost is used in the garden. When fully emptied, it can then be used to replace the second one when full, and the process goes on and on.

Continuous Composting Toilets

This system features one large composting chamber that allows for a continuous composting process. As the waste is converted into compost, the older material settles at the bottom and is easily accessed and removed through the access hatch.

Hybrid Composting Toilets

This composting system combines the processes of both the batch and continuous composting toilets. The collecting chamber, when full, feeds the finishing tray at the base, where composting takes place. The mature compost is removed and used in the garden as the new batch is again fed into the finishing tray by the rotating handle.

 

Waterless toilets are an ideal alternative to flush toilets, especially for those in areas frequently affected by water shortages. They greatly help reduce water consumption and still provide sanitation by hygienically managing human waste. Composting toilets convert human waste into compost that can be used in the garden. They eliminate the need for waste treatment which usually comes with negative environmental implications.

 

Contributed by: Perfectbath.com  foremost experts in bathroom fixtures and bathroom design.

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Stockholm Award in Criminology

Tips on Creating an Eco-Friendly Bathroom

Content originally published and Shared from http://perfectbath.com

Every single effort counts when it comes to taking care of the environment. Start practicing environmentally-safe habits right at home by choosing to do the following tips:

Photo by Icons8 team on Unsplash

Buy a low-flow toilet
Toilets use approximately 27% of the water consumed in your home — more than any other appliances or plumbing — including the washing machine, dishwasher and shower. Replacing your old toilet with a low-flow model is a great place to start when greening your bathroom. Newer homes will boast more efficient low-flow toilets installed by their contractor, but those found in older homes can use up to a whopping 7 gallons per flush. While low-flow toilets used to get a bad rap for boasting a less than desirable flush, sometimes requiring users to hit the handle twice, modern low-flow toilets provide ample flushing power while still using just a fraction of the water. Source: Inhabitat

Install aerators
One of the easiest, most cost-effective water conservation measures you can make is the addition of aerators to faucets. These devices, retailing for less than $5, screw onto the faucet head and add air to lower water flow from 2 to 4 gpm down to 1 gpm, but still provide a feeling of high water pressure. Source: AngiesList

Use organic towels
Next time you have to replace your bath towels, choose organic cotton. Conventional cotton is one of the most water-intensive and polluting crops on the planet. Don’t go out and replace your perfectly good old towels with organic ones, though. The lowest-impact choice you can make is to buy nothing. But when your old towels are starting to fall apart, go organic. Source: Care2

Switch to a tankless water heater
Replacing a tanked water heater with a tankless model will reduce the amount of energy consumed and the cost to heat water. A tankless water heater will heat only what is needed, when it’s needed. Plus, it doesn’t require a pilot light, so it emits less carbon dioxide and improves indoor air quality. Source: HGTV

A dual flush toilet can help you minimize your water consumption. Choose from the latest models as you browse through our website or call us for assistance.

 

Contact:
Perfect Bath
Phone: Toll Free 1-866-843-1641
Calgary, Alberta
Email: info@perfectbath.com

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Immediately Acquire Evidence In The Field From Any Cell Phone - Join Webinar

Susteen's new Field Acquisition Device is designed to immediately pull evidence data from mobile devices in the field. Cutting-edge new methods of acquiring evidence, allow for the acquisition of encrypted apps, texts, images and more, in less than 5 minutes. Susteen will be hosting a free live webinar presentation on their new Field Acquisition Device, this Wednesday, June 13th at 11:00 am pacific and Tuesday, June 19th at 1:00 pm pacific.

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A Letter to Young Cops

 

“My understanding of policing a free, democratic society is that we make it work from the bottom up. If police are disrespectful to others, mean-spirited, un-just, cut corners, issue false reports, engage in “testi-lying,” or are quick to use physical force, we rip the fabric which is America. We make our nation and way of life much smaller when we fail to “practice what we preach…”

 

As many of you know who follow this blog, I was a cop for over 30 years — including the tumultuous late 60s and into the early 90s. I try and think back, would I be interested in what I have to say? For what I have to say not only involves the years I wore a badge, but the decades afterwards, after I “retired,” and then watched and listened as to what was happening in policing.

Over the years, I was called a “reformer,” police leader who was committed to improving things. A lot of my fellow officers didn’t like my ideas on how to do that, or what I had to say. More often than not, they disparaged me rather than engage my ideas — why I thought the way I did. The commentary was “He’s too young,” “Not enough time on the job,” and “He’s not in touch with policing today.”

What I didn’t get from those upset with my ideas was an intellectual engagement, a dialogue, about why I held these beliefs and proposed these ideas. Instead, attacks became personal, “He’s an asshole!” Leadership is often a lonely experience and to be the kind of police officer I am suggesting takes courage — courage at the highest level because those with whom you work, whom you depend on, may not agree with you.

What I am asking you to consider today is that new ways are unsettling because they challenge us to think and act differently, and they often clash with what i call “cop thought” which is various mutations of “We’ve always done it this way!” If policing never changes, it will never improve. Few institutions and those who work within them today can afford not to be open to new ideas and subsequent improvements. Developing new ideas, being creative and innovative has been the core of our society and will have to be the future of policing.

I proposed and implemented many changes in the police departments I led. Some of them stuck and some did not. But my goal was that we needed to improve all that we did — continuous improvement — always, and have data to support our improvements.

After I retired, I was invited to attend a Police Executive Research Forum meeting in Washington, DC at the turn of this century. Soon after, the Occupy Movement exploded, and then the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson. There was no video account of that fatal encounter, but soon afterward policing in America went under a video microscope which continues today.

But it was the police response to Ferguson that really crystalized “practice plus reflection” for me. And from that, you know, cellphone video and police body cameras took center stage along with an actual, real-time count of suspects killed by police. Trust in our nation’s police had dropped, particularly in communities of color. And you and I know that without community trust, policing is nearly impossible.

As a young white boy growing up in the Midwest, I struggled with, tried to study and understand, race in America — and how it influenced and impacted me as a white police officer.

One of the things that kept me on an even keel after Dr. King was assassinated was the experience of being a cop and university student at the same time as there were upheavals in many of our cities – I was in Minneapolis, and many of my fellow officers felt we were in a time of insurrection, if not revolution. We knew something had to change.

My studies in sociology put much of this in perspective for me. As a beat cop, working a predominately black district, I came to understand what I needed to do; to do my job and be safe at the same time. It meant I had to change much of my thinking, attitude, and behavior.

This was the time before what is now called the “militarization” of our nation’s police. In my era, we had tactical teams, back-up weaponry, and even had an armored car (however, whenever we had to use it we had to re-charge the battery because it was used so infrequently). While many of us were military veterans, we only saw our weaponry training and marksmanship as being related to our job as police officers.

My initial police training was more like a college classroom than the boot camp the marines had sent me to a number of years earlier. We didn’t have to salute, nor did we call senior officers, “sir.” We made the transition from military to civilian life. If you asked me whether I was a warrior or a guardian, I would most certainly have affirmed the latter.

Walking a foot beat alone, in a black neighborhood, taught me to treat those who lived there with dignity and respect; to be fair, to be very restrained in how I used force. Fundamental to American policing is the belief that every person should be treated as you and I would want to be treated. When I did this, I found that I was, in turn, respected (even trusted) and this made me an effective police officer. And it also insured that I would be able to return home at the end of a shift to my loved ones.

When I walked that beat I had no portable radio, no direct communication with other officers except by a telephone or corner call box. If I got in trouble, I would have to depend on those who lived on my beat to help me. I also didn’t have the protection of body armor nor a weapon that fired more than six rounds. That changed the equation for me as to how I was going to approach people, how they were treated, when force would be used, and what my relationship would be with that community.

It is imperative that you get your mind around the problem surrounding race in our society. You cannot talk about improving police-community relations without knowing our racial history — all of it. You need to know why people of color do not trust you, because how people of color are treated is the essential factor as to whether or not you will be trusted and, therefore, be an effective police officer today.

What is an “effective” police officer? Effective police officers see themselves as primarily serving others. Within that service orientation must be a blend of behaviors that ensure everyone has the benefits and protections of our nation’s laws. There must also be a mix of social worker, conflict manager, relationship advisor, and guardian-protector especially to those in our society who are most vulnerable -– children, the emotionally distraught or mentally ill, the poor, sick, and homeless. Your honesty and integrity is vitally important as you carry out these responsibilities — this must be evident in your reports and testimony. And a rule never to break the law in order to enforce it regardless of the circumstances.

Years ago, the sociologist and lawyer Jerome Skolnick helped me think through the anger I often experienced after I had one of my arrests dismissed or the suspect found not guilty. The anger came from the fact I knew without a doubt this person committed this crime. However, Skolnick observed there are two kinds of guilt in these situations — factual and legal. The job of the police and prosecutor is to make sure that a suspect’s legal guilt is proved — what I knew didn’t matter; it’s what I could prove to others.

For the most part, downtrodden and vulnerable citizens become your “clients;” those whom you promised to serve. When you do this well you actually make the values of who we are as Americans become a reality.

My understanding of policing a free, democratic society is that you make it work from the bottom up. If you are disrespectful to others, mean-spirited, un-just, cut corners, issue false reports, engage in “testi-lying,” or are quick to use physical force, you rip the fabric which is America. When a single police fails to “practice what our nation preaches,” it makes a mockery of our system of justice and way of life.

Good policing matters. That belief came out of my university education, and eight years as a street cop. It was then that I sought to be a chief of police. I went on to lead police in two cities: four years in a suburban department (Burnsville, Minn.) and over 20 years in Madison, Wisconsin. In each assignment, I tried to apply what I had learned on the street and in the classroom.

The first thing I learned as a police chief was that if I was to be effective, I needed to wear two hats – I was, of course, the leader of the police, BUT I also was the city’s police leader. I represented both police and citizens. Those two roles don’t always exist harmoniously. Sometimes I had to make a call supporting what a particular police officer had done to an angry community; other times, I had to make the call that we had been wrong, that we needed to apologize, and needed to fix what happened so that we did not make the same mistake again. Police chiefs have two difficult, sometimes conflicting jobs – to serve their officers and to serve the community.

I have to tell you that I see a lot of “one-hatted” police leadership which is characterized by always denying culpability, never apologizing, “bunkering-in,” and hoping the crisis at hand will blow over. Most of the time it doesn’t. It may seem like the trouble has past, but the community has a sharp memory – and not to deal with a police-related community problem will, in the future, put your officers in jeopardy and impact your department’s overall effectiveness.

Concurrently, the practice of real Community-Oriented Policing needs to be the way you — and, hopefully, your entire police organization works. COP is not a program, it is the best and most effective method to police our communities. I see it underplayed and short-changed city after city, leader after leader.

All has not been without progress, however, during the past 50 years. Policing has come a long way. Today’s cops are better educated, trained and equipped. There has been growth and improvement in the color and gender of American police officers.  But what has been slow to improve are the organizational structures in which many police officers work. This lagging improvement, compared to other organizations in our society, has restrained the development of policing in our nation.

It has resulted in far too many police organizations being overly hierarchical when they need to be collaborative, both within their ranks and with the communities they serve. Hierarchies are not very good at listening and considering new ideas. They are even less likely to implement good ideas that present themselves from outside their organization or from those within its ranks.

In Arrested Development, I wrote about my vision for police (as well as identifying the obstacles to continuous police improvement). As I said, it is not that American police has not improved, it is that their rate of improvement has been “arrested;” hindered and restrained.

“The future of our great democracy rests on how well local police departments in multi-cultural urban areas develop and sustain close, intimate relationship between police officers and those whom they police.  This means that police officers of the future will, in effect, have to be effective community organizers.”

To keep up and grow with the rapidly changing global, inter-connected world in which you serve, I suggest you consider the following:

1. EDUCATION. Possess a 4-year college degree or be working on one. Be a lifelong learner throughout your career.
2. VOICE. Speak up and require your police organization to set professional standards for pre- and in-service training and officer conduct.
3. INTERVENE. Be a “peer intervener.” Give permission to those with whom you work to actively  intervene if you are about to do something that will embarrass you or your family; something that could cost you your job or your freedom. Ask them to give you this permission.
4. ETHICS. Act impeccably and ethically in all situations. Require the same for those with whom you work.
5. RACE. If you are white, be an anti-racism advocate and ally for people of color. Confront racist behaviors and speech. Speak out, you can make a difference by acting respectfully and fairly whenever dealing with persons of color. This can be contagious.
6. LEADERSHIP. Think about becoming a future leader to help improve what you do. Start now: cultivate the art of listening, share information, collaborate with others inside and outside your organization, always be kind and respectful, and strive to improve the systems in which you and others work – that’s what a 21^st century leader does.

I have always stressed the importance of treating people fairly and kindly; most of the people who need your help and assistance will most likely not be white, older, mentally or emotionally sound, or financially stable. Most likely, not be like you; different — therefore, it takes character and courage to listen and be kind to them. Acts of kindness never go unrewarded in the long run.

Policing our society is not about “them v. us,” it must always be about “us – together” — we the people, all of us.

Mahatma Ghandi reminds us, “A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.” A great share of the quality of that national treatment rests in the hands of its police. You, as a police officer, have the ability to contribute to our nation’s greatness.

I may have presented some ideas and attitudes about the art of policing that are new to you; perhaps even difficult. Try them. Give them a test. They worked for me for my entire career, and they may work for you.

Nevertheless, remember you can make a difference. One human contact at a time.

Never forget this.

Have a wonderful career in one of the most fulfilling, inspiring, and important jobs in America.

 

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