American Police Beat targets the nation's law enforcement profession and seeks to give a voice to the nation's law enforcement professional. APB is dedicated to providing a forum where officers can speak out about the numerous issues that impact their personal and professional lives on a MONTHLY basis. Because we know how important your privacy is, we never sell or distribute your address or personal information.

This months articles in the American Police Beat News Letter;

The Tyranny of Photo Enforcement.
by Fabian Cota
The public’s safety is law enforcement’s primary goal and Arizona’s photo radar cameras are, unfortunately, directly correlated with my profession. When speed cameras were decided on by our government at the time, I believe the intent was to help make our streets less dangerous. Revenue from tickets did sound attractive to police agencies, especially one like mine that is currently about 400 officers short of the national average. However, photo radar has backfired on many levels and Arizona police agencies are left holding the bag. There is no question photo radar has caused concern from the public in which I serve...

Disobeying Orders, But Saving A Fellow Officer's Life.
by Cynthia Brown
Police officers are expected to be physically tough. When you’re rolling to a call, there’s no time for a bum knee or a headache. But there’s another kind of toughness that doesn’t have anything to do with injuries or pain. It takes a special kind of toughness to take care of another cop in trouble, especially when you have to disobey orders to do it...

iHomingBeacon.
by APB Staff
Crime does not pay. Unless, of course, you’re not stupid and really good at it. But Horatio Toure is no criminal mastermind. Toure became infamous recently just by stealing an iPhone in San Francisco – during a security test involving the GPS tracking device placed in the phone...

More than a decade ago, the mantra at City Hall was 2,000 by 2000 -- the number of sworn Atlanta police officers who would be on the force by the turn of the millennium. But the city never came close to that.

Today, the more realistic goal is 2,000 by the end of 2012 and if the Atlanta Police Department's recruiting campaign continues its torrid pace of hiring, the force may finally reach that level.

Mayor Kasim Reed, who made public safety a top campaign priority, said he's well aware of the elusive 2,000-officer goal and also knows that independent studies show that APD needs 2,300 to 2,500 officers to be truly effective.

"I understand right now we're not in the position because of the economy to fund the higher levels," he said. "But I'm going to make sure we expand the size of the force. We need to have a bigger police footprint. Every city that has made a path-breaking change in turning the tide of crime has expanded its police force."

APD currently has 1,737 sworn officers, Deputy Chief Shawn Jones, who oversees recruitment and hiring, said. Next year, APD is budgeted for 1,859 officers, a total that would be the most officers it has had in city history, except perhaps during the 1996 Olympic Games, he said.

The department has already hired 165 new officers this year and expects to reach 300 new hires by the end of the year. That would top any year in recent memory, Jones said.

When Atlanta police had to take furloughs last year, morale plummeted. Attrition soared to 10 percent, double the national average. A shortage of officers also meant less community policing and delays in responding to 911 calls.

Police Chief George Turner said having more officers on the force enables APD to allocate more resources to areas that need the most attention.

The Acworth Police Department is sponsoring a pistol competition to be hosted by the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office Range on Saturday, September 11th, 2010 from 0800 – 1300 hours. 

The competition is open to all current or retired law enforcement officers.  The application fee is $25.00, which includes lunch and a raffle ticket.  We will be giving away a Weatherby tactical shotgun and a Glock 17 among several other prizes.  Additional raffle tickets will be sold at the event for $5.00 each.

If there are any questions, about this event, please contact either Sgt. M. Taylor, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 678-614-8615, or Ofc. S. Baughman, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

I have attached the flier, application, and Paulding County Sheriff’s Office waiver for this competition.  Please send this out to any and all law enforcement contacts.


Thank you,
Kelly Hanson
Acworth Police Department
770-974-1232 ext. 1177

PDF Flier Attached