Welcome back to Front Line Friday. This week is a gear week, and the topic is the radio hardware nobody issues you: the accessories, the earpiece choices that actually fit your assignment, and the battery discipline that keeps a working radio from turning into a brick at hour ten. Front Line Frid...
Construction Pushed to Spring 2027 The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has delayed construction of its new fish hatchery at the Waterville site until spring of 2027. Scott Mackenthun, the area fishery supervisor, said the facility was originally planned to break ground this September, b...
Welcome back to Front Line Friday. This week is an editorial, and the topic is the gap between how law enforcement dies and how the profession talks about dying: more officers end their own lives every year than are killed by suspects, and almost nobody trains for that number. Front Line Friday i...
Platform selection for concealment, the holster and print-management realities that separate a workable off-duty setup from one that stays in a drawer, and the mindset differences that matter more than the hardware when an off-duty officer encounters a threat.
Why most after-action reviews produce paperwork instead of learning, the format and culture conditions that make post-incident review genuinely useful, and how to run one that officers do not dread and do not forget.
The equipment design and procurement failures that produce poor fit for female officers, why body armor, duty belts, and holsters built around a male body type create real safety and performance gaps, and what agencies and officers can do about it.
The gap between classroom de-escalation performance and street application, what the research shows about verbal technique under stress, and what distinguishes training that transfers from training that produces a certificate.
What belongs in a patrol vehicle trauma kit beyond the issued IFAK, how to organize it for access under stress, and the consumable rotation discipline that keeps it functional when it matters.
Boot selection by assignment and climate, break-in realities, insole and orthotic considerations, and the long-term foot and knee impact of poor footwear over a twenty-year career.