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Many law enforcement agencies, including probation and pretrial services offices, are using interactive video training, or a Firearms Training System (FATS), to enhance their officers' ability to handle hazardous incidents. The author describes such a training program conducted in the Eastern District of Missouri last year, and analyzes the officers' response.

Police forces in Hampton, VA, have staged two exercises aimed at testing emergency responses to acts of school violence. Some aspects of the drills showed that the handling of such crises needed improvement.

Using data from a national survey, the role of police in responding to family abduction episodes is examined, with an aim of clarifying the causes and consequences of police intervention in these events. Specifically, the following questions are addressed. What is the frequency of police involvement in family abductions? How do abductions to which police respond differ from those to which they do not? What actions do police take, and how do aggrieved parents assess these actions? What is the effect of police intervention on episode outcomes?

The design of patrolling areas for emergency services, such as police, fire or ambulance units, contributed to an increase in expected response time. The design problem was treated as a standard location problem focusing on the location of mobile service units in a dimensional space. It assumed the existence of a Borel-measurable function related to the average response time to a call. The patrolling activities of emergency services should also consider a joint probability measure related to the distribution concerns. Moreover, the design of patrol areas should reflect travel distance and multifacility locations. It is suggested that mobile service units are parked or fixed at optimal positions or at the media of the demand to improve response time rates.