First Responders in the News

• First Sgt. Roderick Johnson, first responder, role model


• Nuclear Terror: Federal/Local Coordination Still a Challenge


• Classes gives students a taste of police, emergency work


• First responder scheme - Rural officials in the UK seek fully funded primary responder groups.

Starting the Stupid Stuff

It’s disappointing but I suppose inevitable. Whenever a community suffers a shock that interrupts the normal course of life most member decide to work together to fix the problem but there are always a few whose only interest is to exploit the situation.

Such is the case in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. While the Mississippi waters surge downstream and threaten floods in Missouri and Illinois, the river towns in the wake of the disaster are being left with a soggy, muddy mess to clean up. In Cedar Rapids most of the citizens are working to put things back in order. But some are looking to take advantage.

Police there are reporting an uptick in burglaries. Clothing stores, homes and even a local Meals on Wheels were robbed recently. Whether you want to blame greed or desperation I prefer the way Cedar Rapids police Sgt. Cristy Hamblin put it, "People are starting the stupid stuff."

Bringing Back the Motorcycle Cop

Rising gas prices are making themselves felt everywhere. They’ve been blamed for the increase in the cost of everything from beer to air travel. Every segment of society is feeling the pain and that includes law enforcement.

At least one state is bringing back the more fuel efficient motorcycle cop. Based in Town and Country, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, three cops on bikes will begin patrolling the more congested roads in and around St. Louis.

While fuel efficiency isn’t the only reason cited for this move it is likely a key ingredient in the decision. The city of St. Louis and Illinois right across the river already has a number of troopers on two wheels and I imagine we will only see more of this across the US as the cost of driving continues to inch upward.

Fake Gun Control?

We’ve all heard tales of cops mistaking common objects for guns. There have been some terrible tragedies occur when confused subjects reached for or held out a wallet or some other equally benign object when confronting police.

But what if the objects are actually or are designed to appear to be guns? Some airsoft weapons are designed to look remarkably like real weapons but are largely harmless. One can imagine some pretty horrific tragedies as a result of a misunderstanding with police.

Senator Frank Lautenberg wants someone to do something about this. After reading about some incidences involving these realistic toys he has asked the Consumer Product Safety Commission to look into it. He asked the commission to consider requiring orange markings to distinguish the weapons as fake and to asses the current laws and regulation that govern their use.