In a bizarre case out of Orlando, Florida,  Chief Val Demings told reporters that she does not believe that an anonymous letter which threatened violence against her officers came from within the department. In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Demings said that the FBI is investigating the threats made in the letter.

As far as the “civilianization” of tasks once associated with sworn law enforcement personnel, using radar guns to monitor speeders seems like an area where civilians can help out. At least that’s the hope in St. Joseph, Missouri where residents will get radar guns to document speeders in their neighborhoods under a new program started by the Police Department. If they “catch” a speeder in the act, the violator will receive a stern warning in the form of a letter.

In Connecticut, the association that represents Connecticut State Troopers is challenging a new directive designed to reduce the department’s gasoline consumption by prohibiting troopers from using state gas pumps on their days off. A recent memo from the state indicated that troopers will only be allowed to fill up their cruisers at state pumps and only while they’re on duty.

For years the law enforcement community has heard about the lofty goal of first responders being able to communicate across jurisdictions during acts of terrorism or natural disasters. But how likely is that when federal law enforcement agencies can’t even play nice with each other – even seven years after 9/11? In the five years since the FBI and ATF were merged under the Justice Department to coordinate the fight against terrorism, the rival agencies have fought each other for control tooth and nail. Observers say the squabbles are wasting time and money and causing duplication of effort, according to law enforcement sources and internal documents.

Prosecutors in the case of a Missouri mother indicted on charges connected to the suicide of a 13-year-old MySpace user were pleased when they got a conviction. But Internet users and privacy advocates say the fact that the federal prosecutors turned to a novel interpretation of a computer hacking law to indict the woman may have far reaching consequences. Prosecutors argued that by helping create a MySpace account in the name of someone who didn’t exist, Lori Drew, 49, violated the rules of the News Corp-owned site in terms of service and thus “illegally accessed protected computers.”

Chicago Police detectives who are not assigned to the FBI's violent crimes task force will no longer respond to bank robberies in Chicago. The new boss, Jody Weis, says the FBI will now handle bank robberies in the Windy City. Needless to say the change in policy has raised a few eyebrows and created tremendous concern among the rank and file.

If there was ever a solid case for assigning someone to light duty, it would probably be a female police officer who is pregnant. But even in Detroit, with high-profile female boss Ella Bully-Cummings, pregnant police officers are forced to choose between hiding their condition or taking unpaid leave. Now a Detroit police officer, who says she and many other female officers are forced to hide their pregnancies, is going to federal court to fight a policy that she says forces pregnant cops to go on unpaid leave.

California appears to be “ground zero” in terms of the impact of state and local budget crises’ impact on police services. In addition to the situation in Vallejo where police officers have offered to accept steep reductions in pay to keep the city from declaring bankruptcy (which it did), the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s Office say jobs and public safety will be at stake if the county takes any more money away from next year’s proposed budget.

While it’s true that cops are losing their jobs, public sector  pensions and benefits are under attack and law enforcement agencies are continuing to struggle to get new hires and keep the officers they already have, many police leaders have decided that there is a more important issue to focus on. And that topic is fitness. While not everyone has gone as far as the L.A. County Sheriff’s Dept. – they recently hired a full-time dietician to help the rank and file drop pounds – some top cops have decided on the “carrot and stick” approach.

Law enforcement agencies nationwide are constantly competing for new recruits. For many agencies, finding ways to recruit the best and brightest candidates is often as tough as fighting crime. Often, viable candidates live in the area where they are going to be working, but particularly in southern California, it can be a grinding commute to attend the academy. To deal with this problem, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca decided to open more academies in locations that cut down on commuting time for new recruits.