Author: David Couper

I served over 20 years as the chief of police in Madison (WI), four years as chief of the Burnsville (MN) Police Department, and before that as a police officer in Edina (MN) and the City of Minneapolis. I hold graduate degrees from the University of Minnesota and Edgewood College in Madison. I have written many articles over my years as a police leader. After retiring from the police department, I answered a call to ministry, attended seminary, and was ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church. After almost 30 years serving in and leading two Episcopal Churches in the Diocese of Milwaukee, I am "sort-of" in the process of retirement. Life is good.

Here’s What I Have Been Talking About!

Watch the video below and then take note of one very important thing: the officers have their helmets attached to … More

Handling Protest: When Will We Ever Learn?

Since the days of the the labor and civil rights movements and through the era of the protests against the … More

They’ve Come a Long Way — Women in Policing

Just today I viewed a post from Kristen Ziman, a commander with the Aurora (IL) Police Department. A year or … More

Leaders, Where Art Thou?

Is this how improvement will come to our nation’s police — from the U.S. Justice Department — and not from … More

Crime Report

Why is crime falling? What’s your theory? This week, The Economist plunged into the muddy waters of crime control and … More

Once More For Community Oriented Policing

John Buntin writes in last week’s New York Times Magazine how the Los Angeles Police Department used a good dose … More

A Better Way to Train

The “Seattle Times” recently reported on a change in their state police academy which trains Seattle police. It reflects the … More

More on Militarization

One of my sons recently sent me a quote from the television series, “Battlestar Galactica” that reminded me that truth … More

A Question for Today’s Chief of Police: Whom Do You Serve?

A Question for Today’s Chiefs of Police: Whom Do You Serve? Who should police chiefs serve? Their organization or the … More

How Should Police Present Themselves?

THE MATTER OF HOW POLICE SHOULD LOOK AND ACT ARE IMPORTANT ISSUES FOR EVERY FREE SOCIETY TO CONSIDER. Since the … More