Public Safety Signals

I was in Phoenix yesterday – where it was 112 degrees – and had the distinct privilege of meeting Mr. David Gergen. He has been actively involved supporting four U.S. Presidents. He is a military veteran and is active in higher education. He was invited to speak at our doctoral colloquium as we continue the [...]

The U.S. war on drugs continues, now CNN reports that U.S. law enforcement confirm illegal drug cartels are operating in over 200 American cities.
Does the U.S. drug appetite fuel illegal gun trafficking across the border?
Are we winning the war on drugs? Opinions seem to be varied. Some suggest that it may be time [...]

The World Health Organization has declared a pandemic for the novel H1N1 virus.
This is the first flu pandemic is nearly four decades. The good news seems to be that the virus has not mutated and spawned even worst mutations. Yet there are deaths associated with the virus. The CDC continues to recommend commonsensical health and [...]

Capella University today announces the launch of its new School of Public Service Leadership. We believe that this school will help prepare our public service leaders to address some of the most pressing issues of our time. The school brings together faculty and learners in three key fields: public safety, public administration and health care. [...]

The World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) are closely monitoring multinational outbreaks of the Swine flu virus. This event certainly highlights the interconnectivity of events, people and nations. It also demonstrates the criticality of our public safety and public health professionals working closely together to keep everyone as informed, [...]

My father used to tell me “Son, … you can’t cure stupid.”, and the longer I am in this business, the more I have to agree with that statement. You would think the general public would learn from past disasters, but a recent report by Rice University claims that lessons learned during Hurricane Katrina were [...]

A busy week is on the horizon starting March 11, with a host of public safety scholar practitioner events. These events span the spectrum for public safety, from criminal justice and law enforcement, to homeland security, security management, emergency management and IT security. I’m proud that several of my faculty colleagues will be presenting at [...]

A 2009 report released yesterday by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave the country’s critical infrastructure a cumulative grade of “D”. Critical infrastructure (CI) includes things like roads, bridges, dams, water and waste treatment plants, energy and aviation, to name just a few of the areas receiving very low marks.
This ASCE report also [...]

As the interdisciplinary nature of public safety continues to grow and mature I am seeing further development of academic honor societies developing as well. Capella has had a chapter of Alpha Phi Sigma (National Criminal Justice Honor Society) for a couple of years now. Jeff Godwin is the chapter president (please contact him with any [...]

Public safety and public service took center stage for a worldwide audience last week as the 44th President of the United States was inaugurated. It was reported that four times the normal security was on hand for the event witnessed by several million citizens. During the President’s speech he spoke eloquently about the country’s [...]