The Critical Need for "Immediate Action Rapid Deployment" in School Invasions
By Rick Armellino
Baker Ballistics, LLC
The nightmare scenario
Two armed men carrying handguns and knapsacks reportedly have entered a local elementary school. You are the closest responding patrol asset.
What will YOU do?
Upon your arrival, what happens next greatly depends upon the policy of the law enforcement agency that signs your paycheck. What you would do if your child was in this school may be vastly different than what your department expects you to do. Here's a few of the most common patrol first responder actions:
-
Not hearing any gunfire, establish an outer
perimeter to prevent escape and call for backup.
-
Hearing gunfire, wait for the predetermined
amount of officers to arrive, make a plan, and enter the structure in
accordance with your agencies' active shooter response procedures.
- Whatever you want, as your
agency has no formal policy, training or equipment.
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 Reprinted from PATC
An investigative tool which causes a great deal of discomfort
for agency employees is the use of covert surveillance equipment.
Investigators should consider the ramifications that may result from the use of
covert video cameras before employing them. These ramifications sometimes
go far beyond legal ramifications due to societal thoughts that covert video is
one of the most invasive techniques of investigation available. The
legality of covert video surveillance rests largely in the nature of the area
under surveillance. Is the area one where a person would have an
expectation of privacy and if so, is that expectation of privacy one that
society is willing to accept as reasonable.
A recent case from the Supreme Court of Alaska is
instructive as to the analysis when dealing with an employee's right to privacy
from covert video surveillance.i In Cowles, University of
Alaska Police officers received information that the University's box office manager
was stealing money from ticket sales. The police, without obtaining a
search warrant, installed a hidden camera in an effort to catch Lindalee Cowles
in the act of stealing money. Prior to installing the camera an audit was
done which verified a substantial cash shortage from the box
office. The video surveillance lasted for two and a half hours on a
Monday morning and was successful at catching Cowles in the act. The
court made note of the fact that Cowles' desk, which the camera monitored, could
be seen through the ticket window as well as from an open interior door to the
office. The court further noted that there was a constant flow of
employee traffic around Cowles' desk throughout the surveillance.
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 By Dan Sosnowski
Provided by PATC
Increasing population growth, crime rates and new resistance to
expansion of community services have all contributed to increased case loads
for law enforcement.
The polygraph, when properly used as an investigative tool to
eliminate the wrongfully accused and identify the guilty, can provide the
investigator with a more efficient and productive use of his case time.
Unfortunately, misunderstanding and misuse as to the polygraph's
role in the investigative process still persist. The following is an attempt to
describe the polygraph's function in criminal investigations, its limitations
and some of the basic procedures recommended for an accurate and productive
examination.
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