Letter From the Editor - January/February 2025

Welcome to 2025 and this first issue (for this year) of OFFICER Magazine. Due to the vagaries of print production, I’m writing this "Letter From the Editor" before I go to SHOT Show in Las Vegas, but you’re not receiving it until after that event. That’s (roughly) a six-week delay between preparation and delivery. I feel like that type of delay applies to our profession of law enforcement all too often, but sometimes it hurts rather than helps us. What do I mean?

Consider: A case goes to court in your state and the resultant decision includes a citation that becomes “case law.” That case law becomes a topic of training, often mandated by the insurance companies or the jurisdiction’s legal counsel. The chief or sheriff gets advised of the mandate and down the chain of command comes the order to develop the necessary curriculum to teach new policy or procedure, dependent on the case law. The time is spent in training development and then the training gets scheduled, and it might be 6 to 12 months later before you attend that training and get the necessary updates. Now, yes it can be much faster if the case law generates nothing more than a notice you receive during roll call a few weeks later, but either way, there is a delay between what will change how you do your job and the notice or training that imparts that knowledge to you. What happens if, in that delay, you do something that is in violation of or not in compliance with that new case law?

My point is that delays between events and our receipt of notification can potentially cause us unexpected challenges. It is to our benefit to get those updates and information as quickly as possible. For the larger agencies, there might be someone whose only job is to keep the agency updated in a timely fashion, but for so many smaller agencies, the delay in transfer of information can be much greater. Those smaller agencies are also usually much harder hit if the delay of info causes legal violations that result in lawsuits or disciplinary actions.

Where I’m going with all this: if you’re going to make, or have made, any New Year’s resolutions, let one of them be to pursue information on anything affecting your agency policy or operational protocols. Don’t wait for the info to trickle down to you. Go find it. Subscribe to any electronic newsletters that might provide such information (ours included). That small measure of motivation might have a big impact on the future of your career.

As always, stay safe. Welcome to the New Year.