This is a 6-step Battle Plan we have successfully implemented to demolish criminal stongholds in our crime fighting efforts. It utilizes community policing and coactive policing principles as found in the character based law enforcement principles of Police Dynamics. I filmed this video while visiting the Qumran caves on the Israel side of the Dead Sea.

We had a very progressive chief who saw an opportunity to do something creative in the midst of the fuel crisis. These cars were deceivingly effective. With fuel injection, front-wheel drive, and manual transmissions (not to mention some fine tuning by race car builder Fred Slack at S&S Automotive), they were quick from 0-90mph. And could take the twisting roads in Irmo much better than the muscle cars of the day. I ran down so many Camaros and Trans Ams that my fellow officers threatened to paint Camaro emblems on my fender like a fighter pilot. The only chase I ever lost was to a Jaquar on a straight-away.

Why do you think they called them Rabbits…?

I have been home on extended leave for almost two months now and have been so caught up in family events, reconnecting with old friends, working on my Masters, and getting ready for my next deployment, that I have totally neglected the blog. However, I hope to get some more training videos posted as early as next week.

In the meantime, one of the officers that worked for me at the Summerville Police Department years ago tracked me down the other day and had some real nice things to say about me and the training he received. During that time, Police Dynamics had not yet been developed as a curriculum, but I was still promoting many of the principles. Plus I provided some defensive tactics training to the officers as well.

Earl Worsham was a “cops cop!” He was the one I sent into the high-crime areas like Brownsville to clean out the criminal element. For those of you who have attended a Police Dynamics seminar, you may remember the story about Brownsville that I tell in the Dynamic of Relationships. Crime was so high there that the Post Office would not deliver mail! Rain, snow, sleet, the dark of night, would not stop the US Mail. But Brownsville stopped it!

Earl was tough and effective. But in spite of his toughness, he understood the importance of building trust-based relationships in the communities where he patrolled. He became somewhat of a folk-hero in Brownsville, earning the affectionate title of “Cowboy” by the locals. I thought you might like to read his comments to me, which I post here with his permission:

I was saying how proud I am of your accomplishments, and how thankful I am to have had the privilege to serve under you in Summerville. I wish I had followed you. I can’t underestimate the value of your support as I relentlessly pursued the criminal element. I want you to know that I was so proud to be  a police officer and that your training was the foundation of any sucess that I had.

I knew your expectations and professionally I can honestly say that I stayed within those bounds. You taught me how to conduct myself as an officer, and how to defend myself in my contact with deadly criminal forces. I can’t begin to tell you the times I faced deadly situations that could have went bad without the knowledge you bestowed upon me. It was never the same after you left for me. I will always miss it and will always be a cop in my heart. I hope I did some good.

God bless you and keep you, Ray Nash.
Earl Worsham

Earl, you did a bunch of good! And the lessons we learned working in areas like Brownsville will live on to encourage others…

Thanks for all of your support…!

The long awaited video of me getting thrown off of my camel!

Keep an eye on the camel on the left. We nicknamed him Clyde in honor of the song by Ray Stevens. He was cantankerous from the word go. The camel herder told us he was a Saudi Arabian camel and they have the worst attitudes. Watch what happens as I try to get off of my camel who is tied to Clyde…

Sorry for the long delay in posting. I have been home on extended leave and just too busy spending time with family and friends…!

Here’s another post from my trip to the Holy Land. This one was done on camel-back in the Wadi Rum desert of Jordan. Scroll down to the second video to see me try to do this segment in the middle of a sandstorm. Next I’ll be posting the one where you see me getting thrown off my camel…!

Sir Robert Peel founded the London Metropolitan Police on nine basic principles. Principle number 7 states that “the police are the public and the public are the police.’ Which is another way to define Coactive Policing. Take a look at how this principle applies to law enforcement today…

Here’s me trying to tape this blog in the middle of a windstorm in the Wadi Rum desert of Jordan. You can see that I didn’t have much success. But I never lost my hat…!

Police Dynamics Training

I’m going to have time for one Police Dynamics training conference while I am back in the states on leave. So if you want to attend a live conference, this will be your only chance for a while.

The 2-day conference is hosted by the Law Enforcement Training Advisory Commission in Springfield, IL and will be held at the State Police Academy. Training dates are July 7-8, 2010. Click here to view the flyer for the conference.

Tuition is free and open to any law enforcement officer, including those from out of state, but the space is limited. You can register online at the LETAC website. Hope to see you there…

Here is the description of the training by the LETAC Director:

Sheriff Nash gave this presentation several years ago at our annual Executive Development Workshop and received some of the best reviews we have ever seen. His presentation is powerful and the lessons learned can be used in both personal and professional situations. The instructor not only gives you tools to improve your leadership skills, but makes you THINK about everything. ALL law enforcement officers are LEADERS – no matter what your assignment or rank. This class is NOT to be missed – by anyone!

I used the opportunity of our jeep tour in Wadi Rum to illustrate the principle of Four Wheel Drive Policing.

Coactive Policing can be compared to a four wheel drive vehicle. When all the wheels are pulling together in the same direction, the vehicle can cover some difficult terrain. In the same way, a community that pulls together can overcome many community problems related to crime, fear of crime, and neighborhood decay and disorder.

One wheel represents law enforcement and local government. The other three represent the other components of the community – the business sector, the academic sector, the  faith-based sector, and the citizens themselves. That’s why I am so supportive of the Character Cities initiative because it brings all of these community sectors together to work toward common goals in a coactive manner.

Our Jeep Guide – Khalid

Double Land Bridge

Mushroom Rock – Good thing I was there…

Our First Rock-Climbing Casualty

View from the Top

Cave Lizard

My apologies to my faithful viewers (both of you) for not posting any training videos for a while. I’ve been real busy over here dealing with a number of issues in country (you may have read or heard about some of them) and getting ready for my End of Mission Leave in a few days…!

But here is another training video from our trip to the Holy Land. I hope you enjoy it…

The word character comes from a Latin word that means “engraved mark.” It also has the meaning of “symbol or imprint of the soul.” And if you think about it, it’s our character that leaves a lasting mark on others. It is our character that is our legacy.

On our tombstones will be an engraved mark that records our date of birth, followed by a dash, and our date of death. Our life is summed up by the life we live within the dash. Our character will determine what kind of mark we leave on the lives of others.

The engravers at Petra knew how to leave a mark that would last. Do you…?