First Blog

  • Crime control is impossible without police presence. • Police presence is impossible without public support. • Public support is impossible without capable public leadership. The weakest link in this equation resides with the quality of leadership. Weak leadership implies rampant crime. Weak leadership implies poor police presence. Weak leadership implies an unsafe public. Weak leadership destroys families, tribes, towns, cities, and countries.

Drone surveillance.  It is only a matter of one year or two before drones are deployed as “eyes of the police” in troubled cities.  This may be a very good thing.   Drones will have a regular “beat,” just like foot police used to.  Each drone will patrol specific streets.  Once programmed they will need no pilot in control back at the station, just a monitor for activity. They will create video records, identify perpetrators, and probably indirectly reduce crime.     But these little city-size drones need power.   What we will see in the months ahead are drone-charging stations, located high above the city streets, on tops of buildings.  Drones will navigate to them automatically, charge up quickly, and be back on patrol.  Sort of like a coffee-donut break.  Remarkably, and this is only a guess, the charging stations will be called “nests.”  Cheap and tireless, these drone-cops will become a backup for beleaguered in situ officers. Watch carefully.  The possibilities are en

The Seven Tiers of Opinion.   We are pelted by opinions on all networks, particularly cable networks. But your opinion and mine have little impact.   To make it to a network appearance, you must have a credential, or several. It seems that any credential will do, provided you have the right opinion, matching the right network. I currently see all sorts.   Let’s make a list of just seven tiers of opinion.    Of course, the opinions of those at the top of the hierarchy gain the preferred coverage. These include former secretaries, chiefs of staff, former ambassadors, and generals at the top of the command chain.   Also, there is a plethora of CEO's, former and current.   All have some level of achievement.   Such players have opinions worthy of a listen, if only a quick one.         Then comes the second tier.   These include talk show hosts.   Always articulate, they have a near poetic ability to express opinions.   They are often pejorative for some side of the issue at

The Police.   There is a strong movement toward which all police officers must wear body cameras.   The claim is that not only will such cameras deter abuse and other conflagrations of the law, but will document the officer’s daily activities.   The camera will create a log of all activities of this officer, and this is becomes a part of the officer’s permanent file.    A few consequences on the pro side include Documentation of abusive actions of the officer.  Clarification of charges made by the officer or by the perpetrator. A strict adherence by the officer to written procedures. These sound like a welcome relief to the critics.   And for about 1% of all police officers, it means that the tendency to abuse must be curtailed.   This sounds good.   However, there is a con side to this. 1.        As mentioned above, the officer’s permanent file containing all encounters will reveal all mistakes made, and there will be these.   2.        The camera will make the o