Law Enforcement Online Resource Guide

This guide is intended to consolidate various online resources and information for current law enforcement officers, as well as those interested in pursuing law enforcement as career. Within this guide, a number of highly relevant resources are divided into categories such as associations, websites, blogs, databases, periodicals and twitter accounts of notable professionals in law enforcement.

LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSOCIATIONS
National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO). NAPO is a coalition of police unions and associations from across the United States that serves to advance the interests of America’s law enforcement officers through legislation and legal advocacy, political action and education. Founded in 1978, NAPO states that it is the strongest unified voice supporting law enforcement officers in the United States.
International Association of Police Chiefs (IACP). The IACP is a dynamic organization that serves as the professional voice of law enforcement. It addresses cutting edge issues that confront law enforcement through advocacy, programs and research, as well as through training and other professional services. The IACP supports today’s law enforcement leaders and develops the leaders of tomorrow.
Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). The FOP is the largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers in the world with a membership of more than 300,000. The FOP represents law enforcement personnel who are dedicated to serving and protecting the people and property of the communities in which they serve. The group is committed to improving work conditions of law enforcement officers and the safety of those they serve through education, legislation, information, community involvement and employee representation.
National Black Police Association (NBPA). The NBPA is a national organization comprised of regional African American police organizations dedicated to promoting justice, fairness and effectiveness in law enforcement. The core focus of the NBPA centers on law enforcement issues with a strong emphasis on how they affect the community. The site contains an advocate forum for minority officers and establishes a network of professional development and training of officers and those interested in law enforcement.
National Latino Peace Officers Association (NLPOA). The goal of the NLPOA is to promote equality and professionalism in law enforcement. Their objectives are to create a fraternal and professional association that provides its members and the community with career training, conferences and workshops to promote education and career advancement, mentoring and a strong commitment to community service.
National Sheriffs Association (NSA). This professional association was chartered in 1940 and is dedicated to serving the Office of Sheriff and its affiliates through police education, training and general law enforcement resources. The NSA represents thousands of sheriffs, deputies and other law enforcement, public safety and concerned citizens throughout the United States.
Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA). The FLEOA is the largest nonpartisan, nonprofit federal association representing only federal law enforcement officers. It acts as the legislative voice for the federal law enforcement community. FLEOA maintains a regular presence in Washington, D.C. to protect federal law enforcement officers pay and benefits.
International Association of Woman Police (IAWP). The mission of the IAWP is to strengthen, unite and raise the profile of women in the criminal justice field internationally.
The National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives (NAWLEE). NAWLEE was the first organization established to address the unique needs of women holding senior management positions in law enforcement. This non-profit organization is sponsored and administered directly by law enforcement practitioners. The mission of NAWLEE is to serve and further the interests of female executives and those women who aspire to become executives in law enforcement.

WEBSITES
Blue Sheep Dog is a law enforcement training source containing information and reviews of gear and firearms as well as training in their use. The site offers discount codes for purchases and premium content. The site also contains a job site and blog.
Cops Alive has a simple mission: “Saving the Lives of the People who Save Lives.” The website provides information to officers to allow them to protect themselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually on and off the job.
Officer.com is a website that includes articles, blogs, news, forums and videos as well as information on education, events and careers. There are sections devoted to Command/HQ, Patrol, Special Ops, Training/Academy and Support Services. They brand themselves as the “leading source for news, training, jobs and online forums for local, county, state and federal law enforcement police and officers.
PoliceOne.com calls itself the most popular destination for Police Officers, Cops and Law Enforcement. The site includes news, products, research topics, video, forums, careers, training, safety and information on grants. The site operators find relevant news, training information, and provide research on products.
LawOfficer is the online companion to Law Enforcement Magazine. Topics on the website include articles from the print edition, a digital magazine, and topics including news, investigation, leadership, training, patrol, technology, vehicle operations, tactics and weapons and K-9.
USACops is a comprehensive list of police departments, sheriff’s offices, officers and other law enforcement agencies throughout the United States.
The FBI Law Enforcement Online is a secure, Internet-based community portal for law enforcement, first responders, criminal justice professionals, anti-terrorism and intelligence agencies around the world. The site provides access to state-of-the-art communication services and tools.
Law Enforcement Today is a leading law enforcement community by law enforcement professionals, for law enforcement professionals. The website offers a newsletter, blogs, news and is owned and administrated by law enforcement professionals.

DATABASES
The Regional Organized Crime Information Center (ROCIC) is made up of criminal justice agencies in the Southeast and Southwest United States working together to combat multi-jurisdictional activities. This is a centralized database with connectivity among projects and has nationwide search ability. ROCIC is one of six Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS).
TLOxp for law enforcement leverages the largest, most powerful online database of public and proprietary records available and provides information about people, businesses, assets and locations.
The Interstate Identification Index (III) is the national index of criminal histories in the United States. Maintained by the FBI, it includes individuals who have been arrested or indicted for a “serious criminal offense anywhere in the country.” The search results give a list of states that have a criminal history on a given individual. Local law enforcement can then query those states to get specific information through the National Law Enforcement Telecommunication System (NLETS).
Another FBI database, the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) is the central United States database for tracking criminal related information. The site is maintained by the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division and is interlinked with a similar system that is maintained by each state. Data is received from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies as well as tribal law enforcement agencies, railroad police and other agencies.
The Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) is the nationwide database that stores DNA profiles created by federal, state and local crime labs in the United States. CODIS gives crime labs the ability to search a central database to assist in the identification of suspects in crimes.
Another FBI database, the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), is used by law enforcement agencies in the United States for collecting and reporting data on crimes allowing local, state and federal agencies to generate NIBRS data from record management systems.

JOURNALS
The Journal of Law Enforcement carries articles concerning relevant and current law enforcement issues including training and education, safety, firearms, use-of-force, urban/rural policing, ethics and other important topics. The Journal of Law Enforcement is published quarterly and was developed to disseminate literature, resources and information facing law enforcement professionals.
The Journal has been published for over 15 years and is distributed for free to every police chief and sheriff in the United States and is passed down through the chain of command. Each issue focuses on issues related to policing today including basic policy and procedures, liability, personnel, technology and equipment.
Police Magazine is dedicated to providing officers of all ranks help them do their job more effectively, professionally and safely. Columns are written by officers and firearms and legal specialists. Each edition also contains issue-oriented features.
Police Quarterly is a quarterly, peer-reviewed publication. Police Quarterly is a scholarly journal and publishes theoretical contributions, empirical studies, essays, comparative analysis, critiques, debates and book reviews. The journal emphasizes policy oriented research of interest to both practitioners and scholars.

BLOGS
Many, if not most, police departments have blogs on their websites. These blogs are meant to inform the public of events in the community or allow the public to make comments. The blogs listed below are written by or for law enforcement officers.

10-8 Double A: the author’s life and times as a police officer.
Big Fella in Blue: a blog from a front line officer and the various roles he plays aside from enforcing the law such as social worker, teacher and coach.
http://copthetruth.typepad.com: hosted by a former paratrooper and veteran police officer who resides in Southern California.
Fox On Point: this blog is written by a police lieutenant that commands a training division of a metro police department and discusses issues that face law enforcement officers.
LAPD Blog: this blog from the Los Angeles Police Department is set up exclusively to encourage citizens to express their opinions about current events regarding the police department.
Cop Talk: a blog based on every conceivable question about anything and everything a law enforcement officer may encounter.

GOVERNMENT LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is charged with investigating terrorism, cybercrime, corruption and protecting and defending the United States against terrorists and foreign intelligence threats. They are also the entity responsible for enforcing the criminal laws of the United States.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is the home of the Office of the Attorney General (AG). The AG represents the United States in legal matters and gives advice and opinions to the President and heads of the executive departments of the U.S. Government when required. The DOJ is the world’s largest law office and is the central agency for enforcing federal laws.
The U.S. Marshals Service is the oldest federal law enforcement agency in the United States. U.S. Marshals are the enforcement arm of the federal courts and are involved in virtually every federal law enforcement initiative. Their other duties include providing protection of federal judicial officials including judges, attorneys and jurors, apprehension of federal fugitives, witness security (or relocation), prisoner operations and transport and asset forfeiture.

TWITTER FEEDS
The majority of law enforcement offices across the country have twitter feeds. Local, state and federal twitter feeds can be found at Twitter. Other popular twitter feeds follow.

@LENewsCenter is the feed for national law enforcement news.
@policerecruit is the feed for Go Law Enforcement. Go Law Enforcement is the most comprehensive law enforcement job site for police, sheriff, State Trooper, criminal investigators, FBI, federal agents and DEA jobs.
@OfficerView is the feed for Law Enforcement View and offers the latest news and opinions in law enforcement.
@AMUPoliceEd tweets from the American Military University. AMU tweets the most important news and information for law enforcement and beyond.