In this issue: Around The Nation: A coast-to-coast roundup of police news. People & Places: The ego has landed; a cure for what ails ‘em; the chiefs’ chief; the face is familiar; NJSP says so long, Santiago; two quick outs. Risk assessment: Survey finds schools in heightened peril from terrorism. Bank robbery fallout: Trooper’s traffic-stop mistake leads to his suicide. Fires of outrage: Arson attacks target local anti-drug activists. Stop the presses: Armed citizen patrols chase drug runners (and publicity) along the border. Federal File: Criminal justice developments at the federal level. Danger from behind: Another death from Crown Vic rear-end collision. Hoping for the best: Houston PD wants productive ties to new Copwatch group. Bumps & grinds: LA pickpocket squad reels in transit gropers. Light reading: Some just can’t beat the local police blotter. Homeland insecurity: Intimate partners prove deadly for women. Forum: End-of-year nest-egg enhancement; controlling crime or explaining it, but not both. Pot plot thickens: West Coast task forces face thorny questions from medical marijuana. Shoots & leaders: Boston’s top cop takes lumps from union over shooting at moving cars. --top-- Note to Readers: The opinions expressed on the Forum page are those of the contributing writer or cartoonist, or of the original source newspaper, and do not represent an official position of Law Enforcement News. Readers are invited to voice their opinions on topical issues, in the form of letters or full-length commentaries. Please send all materials to the editor. --top--

Forum Miller: End-of-year enhancement of your nest egg      With the end of 2002 drawing near, and before welcoming in the New Year, law enforcement officers should consider taking the time out of their busy lives to review their financial status. One of the best places to begin is with retirement planning, since that is the key financial goal for those in the law enforcement field.      Making an annual review of your retirement planning progress may enable you to take the necessary steps to reach your financial goals earlier, perhaps help you reduce your tax burden in 2003 and relieve one potential area of stress... --top-- Weston: Controlling crime, or explaining it      Something nags at me every day I come to work. I have proudly served with the Providence Police Department for over 17 years. I love my work, and I have a genuine and sincere desire to help people. But increasingly, I see things moving toward a situation that bears no resemblance to what I was taught police work should be.      I was brought into the world of policing, as are all new cops, thinking that there’s right and wrong, good people and bad, and that you protect one from the other. A little naïve sounding, maybe, but a noble premise nonetheless. Lately, however, my job description has gotten blurry, the lines a little less clear. Like always, I’m sworn to do what it is I’ve always done: stop the bad people from hurting the good, keep the peace, mediate, moderate, referee, counsel, shelter, investigate, apprehend, prosecute, and a million other things. These functions make up a job description that would fill a set of encyclopedias, and one which the average person cannot begin to comprehend. I know how to keep crime down and make the citizens feel safer... --top--