The Beat: A COPS Office Podcast

With the prevalence of mental health and behavioral health disorders, it’s important that the law enforcement community connect and collaborate with surrounding community partners, who are also stakeholders, in addressing this concern. In this month’s episode of The Beat, Jessica Murphy, an Emergency Services Deputy Division Director at Johnson County Mental Health Center, and Sergeant Robert McKeirnan of the Olathe, Kansas Police Department, present the key to successful co-response models, which is solid organizational partnerships between police departments and municipal mental health and behavioral health departments.

With the prevalence of mental health and behavioral health disorders, it’s important that the law enforcement community connect and collaborate with surrounding community partners, who are also stakeholders, in addressing this concern. In this month’s episode of The Beat, Jessica Murphy, an Emergency Services Deputy Division Director at Johnson County Mental Health Center, and Sergeant Robert McKeirnan of the Olathe, Kansas Police Department, present the key to successful co-response models which is solid organizational partnerships between police departments and municipal mental health and behavioral health departments.

Among some of the top priorities in enhancing community policing efforts is refining community and police relations… specifically with youth. Strategy for Youth is an organization geared towards improving interactions between police and young people. The organization seeks to provide training for law enforcement on effective strategies for interacting positively with youth. Ms. Shelly Jackson, representative from Strategy for Youth, has spent more than 30 years protecting the civil rights of youth, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable populations. In addition, she served with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, where she worked on matters involving the administration of juvenile justice. Ms. Jackson joins The Beat to share her wealth of experience and knowledge!

Among some of the top priorities in enhancing community policing efforts is refining community and police relations… specifically with youth. Strategy for Youth is an organization geared towards improving interactions between police and young people. The organization seeks to provide training for law enforcement on effective strategies for interacting positively with youth. Ms. Shelly Jackson, representative from Strategy for Youth, has spent more than 30 years protecting the civil rights of youth, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable populations. In addition, she served with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, where she worked on matters involving the administration of juvenile justice. Ms. Jackson joins The Beat to share her wealth of experience and knowledge!

Throughout American law enforcement, there are departments and officers who are policing in a manner that has been influenced by William ‘Bill’ Bratton. He is the only person to have led the police departments of the United States' two largest cities – New York and Los Angeles. Bratton joins The Beat to discuss his career and contemporary issues in law enforcement.

Andre Norman has had a series of life experiences resulting in a unique prospective on reducing violence. Sentenced for numerous crimes by the time he was 18, rising to become a prison gang boss, and then turning his life around and working tirelessly to lead others to do the same, he has become a sought-after voice in the violence reduction discourse. His organization works with corrections and law enforcement agencies to reach people they simply cannot, but most important, he works to help people on the other side of the law do and become better.

Recruiting and retaining high-quality law enforcement officers has been a struggle for departments across the United States over the last few years. The Rapid City Police Department in South Dakota was one of those agencies, but turned things around in 2023 through a holistic approach that addresses a wide variety of factors that influence who joins the department and is retained.

Exactly one day before stepping back from a 32-year career of service, Raul Ortiz, the former Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, made time to speak with The Beat. Recalling experiences and lessons ranging from his stint as a new Agent in San Diego, working internationally, to leading an agency of more than 20,000 people, Chief Ortiz reminds us that protecting and serving is a responsibility and privilege that is to be treasured.

Each week, the Milwaukee Police Department holds a shoot review meeting where they break down information about the reasons and specifics of each incident in a way that informs their ability to prevent further gun violence. This is common practice throughout the field. However, effectively engaging community partners in the process differentiates Milwaukee from most departments, and it is paying dividends. Assistant Chief Paul Formolo discusses Milwaukee’s unique approach in this episode of The Beat.

Art Acevedo often finds himself on the national police leadership stage. Not because he is intent on being there, but because he calls balls and strikes in a strident manner that endears him to the communities he has served. His views on policing and his leadership of the Austin (TX), Houston (TX), and Miami (FL) police departments can be hard to categorize in traditional terms. He has been as likely to adopt uncompromising approaches toward fighting crime as to drive reforms that reflect contemporary public sentiments about needed advancements. Acevedo currently serves as Chief of the Aurora Police Department in Colorado and joins The Beat to share his thoughts on leadership and the direction of American law enforcement.