Dani Gudakunst, Author at Police Chief Magazine

The Sound of a Thousand Bees: Lessons Learned in Developing a Successful Law Enforcement Drone Program

On June 1, 2017, shortly after 10:00 a.m., the Stafford County, Virginia, Sheriff’s Office was notified that an individual had fired shots into a vehicle parked on private property in the northern p...

Criminal Justice Reform

The Ferguson Effect Reinterpreted

Most people recognize that the United States is experiencing a social change that has the possibility to be interpreted by future historians as transformational. A substantial component of this change...

Leadership

Law Enforcement and Urbanization in 2037

One of the challenges for modern law enforcement leaders is trying to balance today’s needs against future plans. All municipal executives experience the pressure of the annual or biennial budget cy...

Research & Evidence-Based Policing

Beyond the Event Horizon: Emergent Realities in Law Enforcement

Predicting the future is like trying to peer inside a black hole: no one can see what’s inside until one has passed the point of no return—the “event horizon” in astronomy terms. It stands to ...

Education & Training

The Landscape of Police Education and Training 2037

The first U.S. police training academy was August Vollmer’s Berkeley Police School, which opened in 1908.1 At the time, most agencies did not provide formal training to new officers, and the idea of...

Technology

NIBRS: The Future of U.S. Crime Data

The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) is the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) system for collecting and compiling crime data from across the United States. More detailed th...

Research in Brief

Research in Brief: Youth Attitudes Regarding Police Effectiveness and Trust in One Midsize City

A number of high-profile deadly force encounters over the past couple of years have sent a shockwave of anti-police rhetoric across the United States. The resulting tension has caused some officers to...

Leadership

Leadership of Volunteer, Reserve, and Auxiliary Policing Units: Motivations and Incentives for Success

The use of volunteers for government service can contribute to civic engagement, partnership in governance, and institutional transparency. Law enforcement is no exception, and throughout the United S...