Police Chief Magazine|Columns|From the Director
From the Deputy Assistant Secretary: Stopping Transnational Crime Before It Crosses U.S. Borders

One of the biggest threats to global security today is transnational crime, which, by definition, transcends borders and threatens the safety of U.S. citizens both at home and abroad. Transnational criminal organizations often originate and operate overseas, making investigative pursuit a complex undertaking for local, state, and sometimes even federal law enforcement.

Overseas operations and investigations are where the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) excels. DSS is the most widely represented law enforcement agency in the world and is the organization best positioned to combat transnational crime abroad—before it becomes a U.S. domestic concern. DSS, the law enforcement arm of the U.S. Department of State, has more than 2,100 special agents serving at 275 embassies and consulates in 170 countries, as well as 31 domestic offices across the United States. It employs hundreds of local and foreign criminal fraud investigators, investigative assistants, intelligence research specialists, forensic accountants, and other experts with advanced investigative and analytic skills.

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From the Director: The Power of Ballistic Data

On April 21, 2024, after completing his shift, off-duty Chicago, Illinois, Police Department (CPD) Officer Luis Huesca was shot and killed during an alleged attempted carjacking. The suspect fled, tak...
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From the Director: Body Armor Standards Updated to Better Protect Those in the Line of Fire

A little over a decade ago, Officer Ann Carrizales of the Stafford Police Department in Fort Bend County, Texas, was shot in the face and chest at extremely close range by a suspect she was pursuing. ...
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From the Director: The Challenge of AI to Global Policing

As we stand at the dawn of a new era in policing, artificial intelligence (AI) presents both unprecedented opportunities and profound challenges for law enforcement agencies around the globe. The rapi...
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From the Administrator: A Shared Mission to Save Lives

Today, people in the United States are experiencing the most devastating drug crisis in U.S. history. It is like nothing we have seen before. In 2022, in the United States, 110,757 people died from a ...
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From the Director: On-the-Ground Response to Victims and Survivors of Mass Shootings

Recent massacres like those in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, leave families in grief, communities traumatized, victim service providers overwhelmed, and a nation reckoning with a sense of vuln...
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From the Principal Deputy AAG: Supporting Law Enforcement Safety and Wellness

The dangers faced by law enforcement personnel are too often reduced in the public eye to the dramatic moments of a high-risk encounter. Once the immediate physical threat has passed, officers are som...
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From the Director: Harnessing the Power of Data-Driven, Inclusive Research

“We don’t need any data. We already know all about what cops do in our community.” The woman’s words were met with nods and murmurs of agreement....
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From the Director: Going Farther Together

There is an old African proverb that states, “If you want to go fast—go alone. If you want to go far—go together.” The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has had the great privilege and honor ...
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From the Associate Attorney General: Supporting Law Enforcement’s Anti-Human Trafficking Work

Human trafficking is a crime that exploits and endangers some of the most vulnerable members of our society and causes immeasurable physical and psychological harm. Both labor and sex trafficking i...
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From the Director: Building Community Trust through Law Enforcement’s Response to Victims of Crime

As director of the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, I am proud to lead an organization that is committed to enhancing our capacity to...
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