Vegas Beat Magazine - January/February 2024

I hope this first article of 2024 finds you happy and healthy. Coming off of 2023, it appears our profession will continue to struggle with the retention that it so desperately needs. Toward the end of 2023, several news outlets and media groups were reporting the struggles of law enforcement to retain their commissioned officers. An online media publication reported that “over 2,500 cops have handed in their badges so far this year.” Read More

As we approach the holiday season, I wanted to address a topic of utmost importance — the well-being of our officers. As your vice president, it is my responsibility to advocate not only for your professional interests but, more importantly, for your health and happiness. Law enforcement is a demanding profession that places significant physical and mental strains on each of us. Read More

As a major law enforcement agency, we are very well-trained compared to other agencies across the country. We are mandated by Nevada POST to receive new training, as well as recertification training annually. On top of that training — whether it be live in-service classroom training, reality-based scenario training, range training or UMLV computer-based training — officers can choose from a wide variety of career-enhancing and career-advancing classes. Read More

Almost 24 years ago, the thought of retirement seemed like it was so far away. But fast forward to the present, and it seems like I am attending a retirement ceremony at least once a week. Back when I began, the goal was 25 years, and it seemed like a lot of people were reaching that goal. I fondly remember the officers who retired when I was in my beginning years, and it always seemed like they were sad or having some trepidation about leaving. I have known people who retire at 15 years but not a day past 20. Read More

In the past, if you were retired or close to retirement and still wanted to work in law enforcement, you had to leave the state because of NVPERS rules, but that is not the case right now. Recently, there have been multiple police agencies in the state that have been approved to hire critical labor positions. This means they can hire back retired police officers who are currently collecting an NVPERS pension. Read More

Every election season, I write an article to our members asking for help and begging them to get involved in the election process because I believe citizens will listen to involved cops, especially since crime and public safety are always top issues for voters. The LVPPA and other members of the Public Safety Alliance of Nevada will have an endorsement process where we will vet and pick the best political candidates we believe will support the law enforcement profession. Read More

As we near the end of 2023, I want to say thank you to all our members, especially those pushing sleds, working the decks of our jails and serving in the courts. We currently have a membership rate of 94%! We will continue to provide the best service possible to our members in 2024. For the last several officer-involved shooting callouts, we have had our full team and an attorney on scene within an hour of when our involved officers pulled the trigger. Within the next month, we will push out a survey to our membership. Read More

Greetings! I hope this finds you well. If you pay attention to the context of our articles, you’ll notice some repetition. Although we don’t necessarily plan it this way, it should be a clue that certain topics may be important if they keep making it to print. Typically, our articles are written based on our recent experiences. Sometimes, it’s through IAB investigations, phone calls received from our members or the facts surrounding a critical incident. Read More