Can small law enforcement agencies survive?

[orangebottle]

I personally believe we're on the cusp of a sea change in how the law enforcement community protects itself. For decades (centuries?), those imbued with the authority to enforce laws have focused on external threats to our well-being; i.e., bad folks wanting to do us harm. As such, much of our education...

[orangebottle]

Certainly not only a Southern thing -- what you describe is very common in my northern Midwestern state as well.

As to job-hopping, the fact that virtually all law enforcement officers in our state are under one state-run retirement & benefits system makes changing jobs (at least within...

[orangebottle]

This is a pertinent point, and one I failed to define in my original post. What I was referring to is more to the side of the really small departments, with something like 10 or fewer officers.

This reminds me of an interview I listened to where some celebrity said they were from a "small...

[orangebottle]

I happened to read a couple of stories in a row about small-town police departments making what appeared to be extraordinarily poor decisions, and it got me thinking about the future of small departments.

For example, there was the small-town GA chief that saw "nothing wrong"...

[orangebottle]

In today's hiring climate, it's hard to imagine anywhere in the country that's so flush with wannabe-cops that every agency requires a POST (or equivalent) certification prior to application.

Make sure you talk to the hiring folks at several departments in your area (if you haven't done...