Police Chief Magazine|Columns|From the Director
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, taking the murder weapon and the officer’s firearm with him. Special agents and task force officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Chicago Field Division immediately responded to the scene to assist their CPD partners.

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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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From the Acting Director: Prioritizing Officer Safety & Wellness

The month of May often represents a new beginning—spring flowers; graduations; and if lucky, an early start to summer. For those in law enforcement, May offers both a solemn reminder and a time of r...
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