Letter from the Editor – November/December 2022

Welcome to what is now officially the silly season: post-Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas, anticipating the New Year. For most of us in law enforcement it’s the time of year when you know to be extra careful on all calls, to look for those who need assistance (sometimes due to their own lack of planning), and to figure out when you can have time off with your family balanced against overtime, secondary employment, end-of-year training and “other duties as assigned.” I sometimes think that more stress is absorbed by officers in the 30 days before Christmas than in the whole rest of the year combined. That makes stress management very important and, sadly, all too often neglected. Make time to take care of yourself. Make time to spend with your family and/or friends. Remember that even when you’re off-duty, criminals aren’t and stay aware. Get to the New Year healthy and with a plan for advancing your career in 2023.

You may have noticed that this is a slightly thicker issue than those of recent months. There are two reasons for that: first, we combined the November and December issues; second, we have two Special Sections – one about our Officer Station Design Awards and one about Vehicles & Fleet. One of the too-often neglected areas of innovation we see is in the new construction and/or renovation of our stations and sub-stations. Our design awards recognize both the architectural firms and the agencies that have noteworthy new or updated buildings. While it might not sound exciting to some of you, I encourage you to read it through. It’s amazing what is going into these new designs and how much is hidden in plain sight (things like access control, protective measures, barriers, open and welcoming entrances and more).

This issue should be “hitting the stands” (landing in your mailbox) about mid-December which puts any gift ideas or shopping in the “last minute” category. Don’t worry, we have you covered. Last minute gift ideas can be found in the closing column of the magazine. Between here and there are all of our usual columns with three highlights from our Contributing Editors. Lindsey Bertomen penned an article for the Training Career section on shooting one handed. Chief William Harvey talks about the “four Rs” for success as a law enforcement leader and Deputy Brendan Rodela gives us a look at how to catch a criminal—with proof found in a pizza crust (?!). We also have a review of a relatively new body armor concept that we thoroughly tested and report on, and an article look at increasing crime rates in big cities.

All in all it’s an information (and fun) filled issue that we hope you enjoy as we approach the end of the year. In 2023, our magazines will be released in combined-month format, but we’ll still have plenty of content going online, available exclusively on Officer.com.

Happy Holidays!! See you in the New Year.