Ten years ago, in 2003 Cygnus Business Media purchased Officer.com, a trade portal for men and women in public safety. What officers on the street needed back in 2003…and continue to need now…was a faster, more impartial information delivery system that focused on the data that law enforcement professionals need to get the job done. Mainstream media outlets were (and often still are) too sensationalistic. This was different. Obviously we're not talking about classified or For Official Use Only (FOUO) information, but open source information that, when looked at as a whole data set, provided a better operational picture than bits and pieces received through controlled channels. By the end of 2007, the news and forums were just two pieces of a much larger pie on Officer.com. The site has since adopted podcasts, webinars, blogs, editorial and photo galleries, and has grown exponentially.
By January of 2010 nearly a million users each month were visiting the website, depending on it as a valuable resource for data and information. As of September 2013 there are now over three million posts in the Officer.com forums section. That is a huge amount of opinion and information shared by over 133,000 registered members!
Officer.com is designed as a virtual law enforcement agency online, with bureaus or commands for Headquarters, Patrol, Training/Academy, DB/Investigations, Special Operations and Support Services. Our Buyers Guide (full of gear and gadgets) evolved into the Property Room; after all, where else would you go to find equipment and/or evidence or the necessary tools to store and track evidence? Our Facebook page serves as our Squad Room where people can hang out and discuss issues that are work-related, but not necessarily work-specific. If we had to call our forums something that was agency structure related it would be the Locker Room. The conversations in there can sometimes get a little raunchy, but there is still an acceptable minimum level of professionalism maintained.
In July of 2012 Officer.com surpassed one million unique visitors to the site, and now averages over 1.1 million unique visitors each month.
Reader favorites
Live streaming of the candlelight vigil at Police Week
In 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed May 15th as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15th falls, as National Police Week. Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others. The annual candlelight vigil during the event draws between 25,000 to 40,000 attendees
Officer Down
One Line of Duty Death is one too many. This section pays homage to the men and women who have fallen in the line of duty.
Forums
Ask a question, get an answer. Meet officers with similar experience or discuss lessons learned. The forums are a place to confidently chat about all things law enforcement with your colleagues—from corrections to emergency management, to family matters.
Featured video
Watch and learn. Observe and then practice various defensive tactics techniques, or follow along with an actually officer on a chase via dashcam.
Celebrate with us.
Register for your chance to win one of these great prizes from our valued sponsors.
- TruckVault's ShotLock Solo-Vault 1911 (for handgun)
- $100 in gift cards from GT Distributors
- $100 gift card for Cabela's from WatchGuard
- $100 American Express gift card from SRN1000
- TAC-450 Rechargeable LED Tactical Metal Flashlight
- $100 Gift Card for DeSantis Gunhide
- $100 American Express gift card from L-Tron Corp.
- Gift certificate for a Ruger SR45
Thank you to all of our sponsors and their last 10 years of innovation in the industry! See a list of our sponsors on the cover of this issue and online at www.officer.com/anniversary for your chance to enter and win a prize giveaway.
