Change is Coming

Dear reader, 

You are either going to find out here or with the January 2021 issue. Law Enforcement Technology’s last issue will be December 2020. Afterward, we will be “relaunching” of sorts combining with our sister publication Law Enforcement Product News to create OFFICER magazine.

I started my career in publishing with these magazines back in 2006. At current, LET is in its 47th year and LEPN in its 31st. While I am saddened to see these brands close, the opportunity of what the future may hold has a palatable intrigue. I’m proud to have been with this group and have fond memories working on each issue year over year. Early on, the editorial director at the time assigned me to attend the Michigan State Police Vehicle Evaluations and attended as long as budgets allowed. I brought along the company camera and got pretty talented at capturing the next year’s model vehicles zipping by. One of my favorite photos I captured from one of these events was never published. It was of a beat-up traffic cone, a driver’s helmet propped on top, and a pair of driving gloves. It was simple and powerful but awfully somber.

Done right and for the right reasons, change can be good. Think about the seemingly overwhelming amount of tools at modern law enforcement’s disposal. (If only the budget has room for them all.) Think about the systems now in place officers decades ago only dreamed of. Together we survived the closing of the Crown Victoria and saw the introduction of body-worn cameras, drones, and cloud storage. The word “interoperability” has become a mainstay in our vocabulary. Now, clever people are even working on ways to better incorporate virtual reality into law enforcement. Who knows that we’ll see next. Will smartglasses make a return? (The Netherlands National Police Unit have apparently started using them by the way.)

Regardless of how law enforcement may change decade to decade, year to year, new tool to new tool, you can count on OFFICER magazine and Officer.com to provide in-depth insights into law enforcement. We will cover your critical issues. We will inform you of the latest products. We will keep you up-to-date on the latest news around the country.

We have no plans on going digital-only.

We have no plans on bending our ethics.

We have no plans on reducing our dedication to our law enforcement readers.

We plan on continuing to provide the quality content you have come to expect.

Join us as we say goodbye to the Law Enforcement Technology magazine (as well as the chaos that is 2020) and help us celebrate the bringing in the brand-new year with a brand-new book.

Thank you all.

Stay safe.