Michael Burgess

My Latest Article Published in American Police Beat I'm pleased to share that my latest article, Every Great Sports Team Has a Playbook: Shouldn't Every Police Department?, has been published in the American Police Beat publication. In law enforcement, we spend a tremendous amount of time responding to calls for service, investigating incidents, and addressing problems as they arise. While these responsibilities are essential, they often leave little time to step back and consider whether...

1. The Problem Isn’t Always What It Appears to Be The same downtown block generates another complaint. Officers respond, outreach workers offer assistance, and a cleanup addresses the immediate conditions. A few days later, many of the same concerns return. Residents and businesses are frustrated, municipal leaders face pressure to act, and police find themselves responding to a problem that never seems fully resolved. After 24 years in law enforcement, I understand that frustration. I've...

Law enforcement is very good at responding to incidents. But what happens when we begin looking beyond the individual call and asking why the problem keeps happening in the first place? I recently had the opportunity to join John Gabrielson on The Blue Line Project podcast (via The Crime Reduction Institute Network) for a conversation about crime prevention, evidence-based and problem-oriented policing, and how agencies can move beyond simply responding to recurring problems toward...