In Part 3 in our series on inmate gamesmanship, we’ll explain how inmates may first nurture the inmate-staff relationship to earn a staff member’s trust, before using that trust for their own purposes. Once the inmate has carefully observed the staff member and has engaged in some positive give-and-take conversation, the manipulation begins. Inmates are…
Expert testimony and lay testimony can both be beneficial to have on your side during litigation in court, but what’s the difference between the two types of testimony? Expert Testimony vs. Lay Testimony The biggest difference between expert testimony and lay testimony is that expert testimony can include types of information not permitted in lay…
This article is Part 2 in our series on inmate gamesmanship; it explains how savvy inmates use chatter between staff, as well as physical cues, to learn details about new staff members which they can later use to their own advantage. Passing conversation between coworkers is a commonplace activity in any workplace, and jails and…
Inmate gamesmanship is the topic of our new multi-part blog series. This series is intended to provide valuable insights into the complex relationship – and subtle games at play – between inmates and staff at correctional facilities. We’ve all heard the old saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt,” but nowhere is this more evident than within an…
When considering the use of no-knock search warrants, the requesting officer’s perspective may be different from the perspective of their agency’s administration. The real question is: Should there exist a difference in perspective or should energies be spent in ensuring that all reasonable perspectives are considered in deciding to use no-knock search warrants? In answering this question,…
An ever-growing topic facing police and other law enforcement administrators is the use of no-knock search warrants and whether using these warrants are worth using if they put their agencies at a higher risk for use of force claims. What Are No-Knock Warrants? A no-knock search warrant is defined as “of, relating to, or being…
Policies and procedures are very important. All well-trained and experienced individuals in corrections and law enforcement know this. Well trained administrators also know that their agencies will be judged directly on how staff conforms to their established policies and procedures. Simply Having Documentation May No Longer Be Enough What you may not know is that…
By Bernie Leonard, OSS Expert Witness | Thurs, 25 April 2019 — Many agencies have issued or are considering issuing law enforcement officers Narcan for administration in the event they encounter a person that is suffering from an opioid overdose. In fact, Narcan is extremely effective in cases of opiate overdoses, with little or no…
By OSS Law Enforcement Advisors Staff | Mon, 22 April 2019 – Do you worry about police misconduct defense and the potential for misconduct allegations against your agency? If so, you aren’t alone. Police misconduct is oftentimes not misconduct at all, but someone attempting to create a defense of their own misconduct, or the misconduct…
by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D. ABPP | Fri, 5 Oct 2018 This column has been known to cause some stir for the politics being read into it, but mostly the column is apolitical. However, I am very nervous and followed the senate confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh closely. It started for me after the allegations…
