law enforcement

I read this really interesting story on Salon.com about Jared Loughner's bizarre behavior and the deterioration of his mental health based on police reports from the community college he attended.

The school, Pima Community College, released 51 pages of police reports this week about Loughner's last school year, which ended in September when he was judged mentally unhinged and suspended from the school.

The school reports provide detailed accounts of Loughner's troubles at the college, and he is depicted at times as "creepy," "very hostile" and "having difficulty understanding what he had done wrong in the classroom."

School officials have not said if the reports were shared with any authorities beyond campus.

From a security perspective, this is the part that bothers me the most. Nearly every story I write about campus security, security directors almost always make mention of the importance of having a close working relationship with law enforcement. Security departments know their resources are limited, they're often unarmed and just don't have the manpower to deal with certain situations.

In all, Loughner had five run-ins with campus police, but apparently police were never called in. For the most part, it sounds like the school handled this situation fairly well. We all know that it's not easy to kick people out, especially if there's not one major incident (like cheating or physical violence). Often there needs to be a number of small documented incidents that lead to expulsion or suspension. However, in a case like this where several teachers and students reported incidents that they said had the potential to escalate to violence, I would think law enforcement would be immediately notified. Granted, there's probably not a whole lot more police could have done in this situation, but making them aware of a troubled student should be an integral part of a campus security program.

Tasers have caused a significant amount of contention between law enforcement and the public. While Tasers are generally a non-lethal weapon, there have been some cases where they were either used excessively or on people who had other health problems (i.e. pacemakers) that resulted in death.

After such incidents, some organizations have determined that Tasers aren't appropriate. Remember the incident where a 17-year-old Philadelphia Philly's fan was Tasered by a security guard after he jumped a fence and ran onto the field? After that incident, the Philly's decided Tasers weren't to be used on fans.

During my conversations with both private and public officers about their use of Tasers, the general consensus is that Tasers are one of the most effective tools an officer carries. Especially for private security, who often do not carry guns, it’s more effective and less harmful than a billy club. And I have to agree: I would much rather be Tasered than smashed in the skull with a billy club any day.

But there have been plenty of media stories about the abuse of Tasers and now it seems that police and security officers are doing more to protect themselves from accusations of misuse, according to this article in USA Today.

More than 2,400 law enforcement agencies across the U.S. have bought 45,000 of the $400 video camera attachments that Taser International started selling in 2006, says Steve Tuttle, spokesman for the Scottsdale, Ariz., company. Sales have been brisk in the past six months, he says, as agencies look to provide accountability for the department, he said.

The Taser Cam is activated as soon as the officer unholsters the Taser and turns off the safety and there is no way to deactivate the camera without disabling the gun.

The Las Vegas Metro Police Department bought 1,061 cameras in 2008 with a federal grant so that every patrol officer had one on, says Officer Marcus Martin, departmental spokesman and a Master Taser Instructor, in the paper.

The videos have backed up contentious situations many times, Martin says. In one case, a suspect on PCP was stunned with a Taser several times before police subdued him. "Without the video, the officer would be in trouble because of the long usage, which can be perceived as a misuse of force," Martin says. "The officer was clearly exonerated because you could see the altercation."

While it's certainly not cheap to add these cameras to Tasers, it seems like a good investment. After all, it's a whole lot less expensive than going to court and potentially shelling out a settlement, that's for sure.