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.

Problem-solving should not be new to policing, it’s been formally around since 1990 when Prof. Herman Goldstein published his … More

Learning From Medicine?

My wife is a nine-year cancer survivor. When she was diagnosed, her physicians gave her a survival rate of one … More

Policing: To Alter or Abolish?

Tracey L. Meares, is the Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law at Yale University, a woman of color, and served on … More

Mr. President, Roughing Up Suspects is Never OK!

“President Trump’s message to officers condoning unnecessary use of force is both dangerous and misinformed.” [The following is … More

Officer, Have a Problem? Check the Literature!

The following comes from the Problem-Oriented Policing Center (POP) and how police, working with community activists, effectively addressed the problem … More