There are all kinds of different ways that cops reach out to kids from programs that teach them Internet safety like e-Copp, how to look both ways when crossing the street through Safety Town or how to avoid drugs through DARE. Sometimes it may involve cops reaching out to teenagers through athletic leagues.

Other times, it may be a friendly wave or stopping to chat with them during a foot patrol. But many of these officer friendly contacts can be enhanced when a cop hands a little gift to a kid. Now the positive memory is enriched further due to the child getting something along with the kindness of the officer.

When looking for a reasonable priced item that can fit in an officer’s uniform shirt, consider police sticker badges for little tykes. Having handed many of them out, it is easy to see the value these have for both kids and their parents. The fun looks on the faces of young toddler to early primary grade kids and the appreciation of their parents will make it obvious to an officer just how special this community relations opportunity can be.

I have occasionally noted at times what appears to be an initial suspicion particularly from a parent when I begin to approach them. This may be the result of negative contacts they have had with cops over the years or disinformation they have heard or read about.

Entrenched bias can be a particularly difficult fence to hurdle for a police officer. But doing an act of simple kindness toward a child of someone who feels this way can be a fine start. An officer will likely find that the initial suspicious or contentious look almost always washes away when a law enforcement officer suddenly hands their child a small gift. The initial look may change to a genuine smile.

Cops and kids have always had special relationships as police officers often have a role of a Guardian Angel and role model for little ones. Most people are familiar with The Runaway painting by Norman Rockwell that shows a kid sitting next to an officer in a diner. The fact that the little boy feels comfortable next the officer speaks volumes about the role model we serve as for kids.

We protect them and they trust us. The fact that these stickers are police badges also present an early recruiting opportunity for us as the young runaway may one day grow up to be a cop.

Handing a kid a little police badge sticker is a natural extension of our special relationship and an officer will quickly recognize the mileage these simple sticky pieces of paper have to build on that friendship.

Tom Wetzel is a lieutenant with an Ohio law enforcement agency.

Some decisions will face harsh scrutiny from the country’s highest ranking judicial body.  Oddly, never once are the defenders that made that controversial assessment considered; only the decisions they made.

If successful, the academy training course will be a sobering wake-up call.  It is if the devil himself offered a personal escort onto the downward, ever spiraling, greased slope of disaster; into what could only be described as a nightmare.  From the first day, it was not what any expected.

For most, at least while in training, it is what many would come to revile.  Some would fold under pressure.  Most would exceed even their own expectations.  There would be several weeks of hard work when muscle fiber would tear, where profuse perspiration could have irrigated the academy commander’s lawn, and where the dream of completing this masochistic exercise was almost unimaginable.

Once graduated a bond will be formed with co-workers.  It can only be severed death.  The former fledgling has been transformed into a confident, raptor ready to leave their safe and protected nest.  Asked if ready?  Collectively, and in unison they shout “UUH-RAHHH!”

From the start, the new officer is expected to perform with maximum effort.  The lives of family members, the public as well as each they work with depend on the decisions made.  They must be spontaneous and spot-on.  It is only now they realize why the recruitment flyer was so accurately specific.

Before one can be entrusted with the department’s full resources, the recruit must meet the department’s chosen inspiration, tolerably known as the “Field Training Officer.  If the trainee had prior law-enforcement experience, they may have been used as the spark to ignite the dampened powder that lay dormant in the belly of the old cannon.  It was a well intended jab at rejuvenation, most often unsuccessful.  Instead, the first words imparted to the polished and eager to learn were, “Trust no one and get them first, before they get you.”  Followed by, “forget everything you learned in the academy.”  Field training officers love to impart that knowledge to the impressionable new officer.  It gives them power and the assurance that everyone they run through that seemingly never ending break-in crucible will remember them by.  It has been the mantra sung by field training officers since the days of Sir Robert Peel.

After weeks of hard work, they are finally on their own.  They have the full resource and support of their peers, their supervisors, and the department.  Badgering from the older, apathetic and complacent officers suggest they should not try to set the enforcement world record on fire.  For now the words go unheeded.

At last, there is true independence.  The officer may not see a supervisor the entire shift.  The more callused officer may be able to avoid a chance meeting altogether.  For them, a successful workday is one spent “Ditching the Ferret.”  However, even for the most astute subordinate, supervisor avoiders are no competition for the three-striper with silver hair.

One supervisor, who was aware that a particular officer was often away from his assigned sector, called and asked for the patrol car odometer reading.  Suspecting the mileage was needed to schedule a vehicle replacement the officer willingly complied.  The supervisor asked for the officer’s location.  One was given well within the assigned sector.  Once reported, the supervisor directed the officer to remain in place.  When they met, he was asked if he had moved.  He had not.  The sergeant checked the car’s odometer and found it to be errant by 47 miles more than originally reported.  The officer was directed to explain the discrepancy in writing.

A few departments publish in-house, the sustained transgressions committed by employees (names withheld).  They are fondly referred to as, “The Funny Papers.”  Some are humorous in nature.  One incident described a pizza parlor owner who reported an intoxicated off-duty officer that was swinging from a chandelier in his restaurant.  The officer, wearing buccaneer boots and swishing a pirate sword, was shouting “Prepare to be boarded.”  Ironically, he boarded the plank of suspension for a day.

Time on the job passes quickly and seasoned officers may find themselves at a career fork in the road; they either become a career officer, become a part of management, or resign and move on.  Each spoke in the career choice trinity offers rewards and consequences.  Of the first two choices, there is little more rewarding than to present the most favorable image of the department in which they represent.  Conversely, there is a line between positive conduct and appalling bad judgment.  The scrutiny an officer will suffer affects not only their individual verve, but the reputation of the entire department.  All will feel the repercussions of the employee’s wrongdoing.

Once close, retirement must be given serious consideration.  The thought of leaving something to which one has devoted time, energy, and deep feeling cannot be taken lightly.  Transitioning from something exciting, and challenging, to a non-productive, more or less recluse existence is almost unconscionable.  Realistically, part of them will be taken forever.  It means parting with a piece of their soul.  Old cops do not like to leave things they love.

For the young, it is not a problem.  Every new day is a wild and intense liaison intravenously pulsed into the throbbing vein of destiny.  They want to be there for each and every electrifying second.  The new officer, still somewhat impetuous wishes to brim his basket of experience yesterday.  Little do they know, retirement will face them faster than it takes a divorce attorney to ask for a retainer.

A cop has a lot to think about before retirement; anticipation yes, but also the heartbreaking downside that is a close kin to rejection.  The last day is one of mixed emotion.  They realize the gate leading to the pasture only opens one way.  A return to the office even after a short time can make the retiree feel uneasy.  Now, they must enter through the front door, and most assuredly, there will be new faces.

Years pass and as inflation catches up, the fiscal silk thread of economic solvency becomes so thin, it can no longer support the weight of the sacrificial worm that wove it long ago.  The only golf played now is miniature golf.  The former officer is no longer unique.  They become a blade of grass in a meadow fertilized by the manure that seems all too memorable of times past.

When the monthly retirement stipend will no longer cover the inflated cost of living, a sobering chat with the demons that circle the comfortable existence globe scream for a financial resolution.  The local Wal-Mart greeter position, the position they swore never to seek, the one in which duties include collecting and separating Wal-Mart carts from Safeway carts suddenly becomes attractive.

It is understandable how the spiraling financial demise reluctantly happens.  One reason was the recent divorce that split the ever fragile post-retirement marital bliss.  No longer is the soon to be ex-spouse willing to have a beer drinking, demanding, balding, sorrowful blob of order spewing minutia close by, let alone full-time.  It has been the other’s domain for thirty years and no one is going to impose on that sanctioned, consecrated ground.

As for the geezerette, her spouse suddenly becomes unwilling to perform as if he was a balanced ball on the nose of a rampaging, menopausal sea lion who has fed upon great white sharks for the last twenty-five years.  It won’t happen in his sea of tranquility.

Once the former guardian of peace realizes that half their salary, half their retirement, and possibly a tad of spousal support will be leaving the fold of their wallet or purse each month, the moths they harbored will have nothing to feed upon.

In a few years, however, the retiree will resolve life’s pressing issues and find a happy place.  With a sense of pride, they hold dear the remaining photographs of days long past when they were the center of attention, when they were the resilient ones that others looked to for direction.  Now the TV and an old, slow computer are the items centered on each day.  They are the only lifeline to the outside world.  Even the cell phone had to go.  To avoid embarrassment from being without, they wear a garage door opener.

In a brief attempt to revitalize lost remembrances, a compassionate friend will drive by the office where they left so many memories; a place that filled their heart with joy and sadness, all within the same nano-second thought.  It will always be the same, but again, they are quick to realize, it could never be the same.  There are different people in that building now.

They gaze at the well trained, energetic officers standing proudly beside the department’s latest state-of-the-art patrol cars.  They remembered being that young fry who swam their strongest against the tide of crime, wrongdoing and misdeed.  They did one heck of a job too!  It’s a shame they were the only ones that recognized it.

Moments later, they will return to a life of silent recollection.  Their pride and self-respect will provide sustaining nourishment to get them through the remaining days; to the day when the last glimmer of light along with their last thoughts of past glory fade into darkness.  Only then will there be a genuine and final release from their profession.  How well those of us who have traveled that journey understand.

Retired California Highway Patrol Sergeant Ed Stamelos is a 33-year veteran of law enforcement.  He served both as a California police officer, and as a highway patrol supervisor.  He is the recipient of the State’s highest award for bravery, the Medal of Valor.  Sergeant Stamelos also served as a Commissioned Officer in the California National Guard.  He holds an Associated Science degree from Pasadena City College and a California Private Investigator’s license.  He currently resides in northern California and conducts law enforcement background investigations for various police agencies. Ed Stamelos may be reached at pvteye@pacific.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

“In the 80’s, it was all about cocaine and heroin, and the hard drugs,” stated Ron Friedman, a former federal prosecutor today working with Lane Powell Attorneys & Counselors. “Well it came along, certainly in the 2000’s, the fascination with hard drugs in the Pacific Northwest was gone. Prescription drugs had passed hard drugs, and that’s the way it is today.”

Law enforcement now targets the abusers and dealers of these drugs – highly addictive oxycodone painkillers like OxyContin, along with hydrocodone laced products such as Vicodin. Assailants employ guns, knives and bomb threats to rob unsuspecting pharmacy stores that seldom include the type of security needed to prevent such crimes.

Fueled by what area officials refer to as “Microsoft money,” a large influx of upper middle-class  who moved into the Seattle area during the 1980’s, people started buying drugs off the streets in the past decade at an alarming rate. At its peak, one in six pharmacies in the Northwest region was being robbed, often during mid-day, demanding a shopping list of required pain killers.

But for Seattle, the trend would not continue. This due in large part to a concerted effort by local police, a Federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. These players also joined hands with national pharmaceutical chains to address the problem directly.

“We asked pharmacies to step to the plate, to secure the drugs in a better manner and to train the pharmacy techs what to do when they see somebody suspicious loitering in the area,” commented Detective Magan. After a series of successful sting operatives, in the past year, there have been only a handful of robberies to report. Seattle made it priority to not only stop these crimes, but to address the problems that may have caused the outbreak in the first place.

“We decided to give it a higher profile because we wanted to use Federal resources,” said Friedman. “We did knock off some major gangs that were doing this. But we also got a lot of word out there through the press. We created an atmosphere where the word on the street was – if you do this, you’re going to get prosecuted by the feds.”

In addition to prescription drug monitoring programs that cross state lines, there’s been a recent push for tougher laws protecting pharmacies. In 2012, President Obama signed a bill called the Safe Doses Act. It essentially gives law enforcement more tools to work with in fighting back.

In the words of New York Senator Charles Schumer, who co-sponsored the legislation, “it ensures that powerful prescriptions like OxyContin and hydrocodone make it from the factory to the patient, and nowhere else.”
“People became overwhelmingly addicted to prescription drugs,” added Magan.

“I think the old supply and demand falls into place there. People are demanding it, so some people kicked themselves into a business of robbing pharmacies.”

Doug Long is a producer with the Center for Public Safety Innovation.

Now, whether someone is trying to get into a bar, change their identity or create a new identity, hudnreds of thousands of people across the world now find an online vendor and purchase these documents for a price.  

Along with these fake online ID companies, today there’s a new game in town. These are also online vendors who have created a new system with new technology to create even better fake ID’s with better quality, security features and information. The production of some of the fake IDs is so sophisticated, they can pass through scanners that are designed to detect fraudulent cards.  

The scariest thing is that many of us in law enforcement are not even aware that companies are producing these types of documents. Even though
technology has improved and police departments have evolved, many of us might have already come across them and didn’t even realize what we were looking at.

There are several popular online vendors selling the face ID cards, but there is one that stands out above all the rest.  Approximately two years ago, the China-based website, ID Chief (IDChief.ph.), appeared. This site produced and sold fake ID’s from multiple states across the country including Arizona, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Florida, Maryland,  Maine, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Ohio, Connecticut,  Rhode Island and Illinois.  

What separated ID Chief from many of the other online vendors were the security features of their fake cards.  Many of the ID’s contained holograms that were only visible under UV lights along with the subject’s personal information. Once you were on their website you could pick the state that you wanted and you could see which state documents contained what security features.

This is how the purchase worked. The customer would send in their name, photo, possibly their address and $200 to the company. The company would then send two fake ID’s containing the personal information and photo.  For those who want to purchase alcohol they would just order cards with a change of their date of birth but keep all the other info the same.  This would allow them to get into bars and restaurants who ask for a second form of ID.  It would also allow them to slip by law enforcement who might ask them to repeat their personal information or sign their name.

Basically, all the info on the ID is real except for the date of birth which might be off by two to four years.  For those who were trying to change their identity or take over someone else’s identity, all they had to do was send in specific information to the company and a few weeks later they had a new identity.

With the $200 you didn’t just get one ID, you got two identical ID’s. If the first one was lost or seized you had another.  If you managed to lose both you could do a live chat with the company and receive more for a discounted rate.  Finally, the more people who went in with you on the purchase, the less the price was per ID. For instance, if you had 10 or more people the price could drop as low as $75 for the two ID’s.

This procedure has been adopted by multiple online vendors and it encourages people to recruit more individuals to make the ID purchase with them.    Most of the documents coming over from China are packaged in hidden compartments labeled as jewelry, wallets or calculators.  In some cases, you have to break open the item to find the ID’s.  This allows them to ship to rural areas or the largest cities in the country mostly undetected.

Fortunately for law enforcement, last August several US Senators sent a letter requesting that the ID Chief website get taken down.  Shortly afterwards, the website was closed down. However many companies saw the incredible amount of money that ID Chief made (estimated in the millions) and have followed where they left off, creating many of the fraudulent documents and websites themselves.

Many investigators have taken seized ID’s to businesses who have ID scanners to see if they could detect if these ID’s were fakes.  Last year, we ran many of these ID’s through scanners and they didn’t work; clearly they were fakes. 

But over the last few months, I did the same exercise and all but one of the ID’s worked and did scan as if they were real.  Clearly, changes have been made to catch up with today’s technology.

Whether it is a minor who is attempting to gain access to alcohol, someone avoiding apprehension, or someone who wants to create a new identity, or even a terrorist, it is important for law enforcement to understand what is out there.

It is important to educate yourself especially on the ID’s that are common in your region of the country.  A group that has a good grasp on security features of fake ID’s, are those, like myself, who primarily work in alcohol enforcement, or for federal agencies. If you are a law enforcement officer who wants to learn more, reach out to the agencies who are working on the problem. Remember, you can’t stop what you don’t recognnize.

Jermaine Galloway is a police officer with the Boise, Idaho Police Dept.

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In a much watched case among law enforcement, the high court was unanimous in overturning the Florida Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of Aldo, a drug-sniffing police dog.

The lower court threw out drug evidence obtained against Clayton Harris during a 2006 traffic stop. Aldo alerted his officer to drugs used to make methamphetamine inside a truck. But two months later, Harris was stopped again, Aldo again alerted his officer to the presence of drugs.

But no drugs turned up in the search.

The Florida court said in every case police have to bring records, including a log of performance in the field, to establish the dog’s reliability in court.

The Supreme Court said that was placing too much of a burden on law enforcement.