Resources

The social media landscape allows law enforcement agencies an extra opportunity to connect with and provide value to their community members. Utilizing popular dates and observances is an easy way to add that value with minimal extra planning. Each month has a variety of national “holidays,” and October is especially full of these dates–from National Safe Schools Week to Red Ribbon Week.

Coloring books have long been a staple in the educational toolkit for young children. Beyond their capacity to engage kids and foster their creativity, coloring books serve a crucial role in teaching essential life skills.

Community events are one of the top ways that law enforcement agencies can connect with their community, and represent a core component of community engagement programs.‍ Here are three strategies for ensuring your department capitalizes on these events.

Law enforcement agencies have long looked for ways to use this connectivity through sports to connect with their community. Sports is a generally “cool” way to reach youth in any neighborhood, can provide an aspirational target, and develop a sense of belonging and discipline. For departments looking for ways to use sports to engage with their community, here are four examples to provide inspiration.

April is a deceptively busy month. In addition to students wrapping up what is typically the last full month of their school year and the start of warmer weather and more community events on the calendar, April is an important month to spread awareness on a variety of critical community issues. Utilize the longer days and increased activity to educate your followers and community members on social media this month.

Social media is the community engagement field for today’s digital age. Going beyond simply distributing public notices and arrest notifications, social media provides departments another outlet for humanizing their department, reaching the public in a relevant way, and overall connecting in a way that goes beyond arrests and tickets. Let’s look at the 3 characteristics of Little Elm PD’s social media content that helps it to connect with their community and stand out from other content.

Providing journals, flyers, and coloring books in schools and at school events are some of the top ways that our departments utilize their LAW Publications materials. But, when departments find themselves with materials and school is out, it can be easy to get stuck on finding other avenues for distributing these books. Here are some easy ways to get your books into the community when schools are not an option.

How do law enforcement agencies describe LAW Publications? Don't take our word for it...here's what they had to say...

One of the most valuable services provided by associations is hosting annual training conferences. However, conferences require an investment of money and time away from day-to-day duties. Here are 4 tips to make sure that your investment in this year’s conference is productive and valuable.

Cell phones unlock a whole new world for kids, so it’s important that parents are aware of the potential dangers that can be found in many applications as well as solutions that they can use to help quell the negativity.

Though package theft, also referred to as “porch pirating,” has been an issue for many years, the frequency of this phenomenon has spiked since the pandemic. As more consumers have been ordering everything from groceries to furniture online, the opportunity for thieves to drive by any given street and spy a package waiting to be retrieved has increased.

With a population nearing 100,000, Sandy, Utah, is one of the largest cities in the state. As their population has grown, so have the community engagement efforts of the Sandy Police Department, earning Sandy PD “Honorable Mention” in LAW Publications’ 2021 Community Engagement Awards.

This month’s list reflects Red Ribbon Week’s place at the end of the month, with many of the drug prevention titles we offer in different formats and for different age groups making up this month’s list. Here are the top 5 topics departments have requested so far in October.

All types of events and activities are held as part of Red Ribbon Week, which is celebrated from October 23-31 annually. Though schools often play a large role in Red Ribbon Week education and participation, community organizations and law enforcement agencies are also important partners in building a robust host of events and engagement opportunities. Explore the following activation ideas for this year’s Red Ribbon Week.

Whether you live in a big city that may be likely to experience civil unrest or an area of the country known for certain natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, or tornadoes, it is important to be adequately prepared for any, and all, disasters that may occur.

Here are five resources that School Resource Officers can utilize to stay up-to-date with the most recent tools, data, and information available to promote a healthy school environment.

As police departments across the country are renewing their focus on active shooter training, non-law enforcement personnel including parents, teachers, school and business leaders, and individuals within many communities are also looking for resources to help them to prepare themselves to know what to do in an active shooter situation. Often, law enforcement agencies are the first place these civilians contact to find suitable training options. Here are 4 resources agencies can use to develop their own educational program or to provide more information to answer these requests.

National Night Out events represent one of the most utilized and well-known ways that departments connect with their communities. There are a variety of ways that departments utilize this opportunity to connect with local businesses, other first responder agencies, and even nearby law enforcement departments to execute a fun event that connects well with their community. But, once the event is held, and everyone has had a great experience…what comes next?

Whether National Night Out will be the first for your town or you’ve had many successful years of NNO events, there is always something to be learned from what other law enforcement agencies have done. Partnering with local organizations and businesses is a great place to start when organizing a National Night Out event. After all, the goal of NNO is to encourage community participation and improve or build community relationships with law enforcement. Both Conroe and Grafton PDs exemplify what a successful NNO event can look like, no matter how long the history of the event is in the community.

Since establishing the Community Redevelopment Policing Unit in 2010, the Community Redevelopment District has been flourishing. Between 2015-2016, 76 new businesses opened in the CRD. In that same span, the CRPU made 12,785 contacts with residents and businesses. Undoubtedly, their presence in the area has had a positive impact on the progress of the CRD. Additionally, the work of the CRPU helped earn Pinellas Park Police Department “Honorable Mention” in LAW Publications’ 2021 Community Engagement Awards. The future is bright for Pinellas Park and the Community Redevelopment District.

Hosting community events has become an integral part of community engagement strategy for law enforcement agencies across the country. Community events are a straightforward way to get community members to come together and interact with officers in a different setting. While creating a calendar of events may seem daunting, one easy way to get started is to focus on events around the holidays. Holiday events have a predetermined theme, which provides a stepping-stone for event planning. Below are two examples of holiday events from LAW Publications’ partners.

Over the past two years, the Mount Vernon Police Department in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, has been working to become a model for community engagement. Their efforts have not gone unnoticed, as they became the first recipients of LAW Publications’ “Community Impact Award” in 2021. They received this award as recognition for their achievement in creating a lasting positive impact on their community through the creation of their PAK (Police and Kids) United program.

How Parsons Police Department overhauled their internal systems for maximum community impact.

Use these 6 scams to know and tips to protect yourself while shopping this Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and all holiday season!

For law enforcement officers, the process of applying for grants can be incredibly stressful. Similar to a student applying for a scholarship or grant, there is an abundance of places to look and the process can be daunting. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the largest federal grant programs as well as resource centers and databases.

Becoming an officer for a law enforcement agency has always come with its fair share of challenges, yet brave men and women dedicate their lives to serving others despite the stress, danger, and sometimes even public criticism that comes with the territory these days. Read about some great organizations that support these officers.