Mark Bond

Mark Bond has worked in law enforcement and has been a firearms instructor for more than 29 years. His law enforcement experience includes the military, local, state and federal levels as a police officer and criminal investigator. Mark obtained a BS and MS in criminal justice, and M.Ed in educational leadership with summa cum laude honors. As a lifelong learner, he is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in education with a concentration in distance education. Mark is currently an assistant professor of criminal justice at American Military University and American Public University and is one of the faculty directors in the School of Public Service and Health.

Articles by Mark Bond

• Emotional intelligence: Rethinking police‑community relations

  Thursday, June 04, 2015

  The current overall perception from the public is that American law enforcement has a problem with community relations and race relations — especially in urban neighborhoods in which there are high crime rates. Criminal violence is an acceptable norm in many of these communities, and the police often feel like an "eight-hour occupational army" in many violent neighborhoods.

• Pinkerton’s legacy still lives in law enforcement, security fields

  Thursday, February 26, 2015

  Allan Pinkerton is one of the world's most famous detectives. How Pinkerton became a detective only makes this colorful man's life more intriguing. The legacy of Pinkerton is that he was progressive and innovative in his development of professional investigative services. Pinkerton's vision is still noticeable today in private security and techniques used by law enforcement investigators.

• K-9 duty death statistics highlight need for official reporting system

  Thursday, February 12, 2015

  ​In 2014, there were 20 law enforcement K-9 duty deaths reported to the Officer Down Memorial Page. It's difficult to say how accurate that number is, because the statistics on K-9 duty deaths are difficult to track.

• Helping military veterans avoid the criminal justice system

  Thursday, January 29, 2015

  ​The United States and our allies have been at war for 13 years. During this time, many service members have had multiple combat deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan. The Veterans Administration reports that 1 in 5 U.S. military combat veterans has shown symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

• The stress of 911 call-takers and emergency dispatchers

  Thursday, January 15, 2015

  In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended that police departments have a single number for the public to call when they need police services. In 1968, Haleyville, Alabama, became the first city in the United States to start using the 911 system.

• Stress management: The consequences of using lethal force

  Tuesday, January 06, 2015

  ​How each person copes with stress and grieving is as diverse as personalities. There is no established protocol to follow or systematic set of instructions that work for every officer after being involved in a lethal force encounter.

• Law enforcement stress during lawlessness

  Thursday, December 04, 2014

  With recent protests that turned into lawlessness in Ferguson, Missouri, officer stress levels are elevated, which can cause mental health problems long after peace has been restored. Law enforcement agencies across the country are now dealing with protesters and trying to work with community organizers to keep the demonstrations peaceful. This is also the holiday time of year when crime rates can rise.

• The relationship of stress and fatigue on law enforcement officers

  Wednesday, November 05, 2014

  Law enforcement officers recognize that stress is part of the profession and working conditions. In the past, police culture did not even recognize stress as a problem affecting officers. We now know that unmanaged stress can lead to anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). What many officers might not be aware of is the long-term effect of chronic fatigue and the relationship between stress and fatigue.

• Human trafficking: Local law enforcement awareness

  Thursday, October 23, 2014

  Incidents of human trafficking have occurred in all 50 states, but it can be a difficult crime for local law enforcement to recognize. It is often misidentified during the initial law enforcement encounter as a possible prostitution problem, domestic argument, workplace altercation, etc.

• Law enforcement family stress: When counseling counts

  Thursday, October 09, 2014

  ​Police culture still struggles with acknowledging the serious effects that long-term exposure to traumatic events has on an officer's mental and physical health. These events can be harmful even for officers who have displayed resilience during their careers.

• Why education is crucial for modern police departments

  Thursday, July 24, 2014

  The Wickersham Commission and President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended that higher education is a means to better professional policing. Research studies show that police officers with a college degree provide evidence of better overall job performance and better advancement opportunities then their colleagues without a college degree.

• How do we change police culture to save the lives of fellow officers?

  Wednesday, July 09, 2014

  As a profession, we openly talk about officer safety, yet we refuse to talk about the No. 1 killer of police officers: law enforcement suicide. Law enforcement suicide is real, yet the police culture continues to ignore the facts. What makes us afraid to talk about a real problem? Why do we not have stronger leadership on this issue?

• Law enforcement deaths: Analyzing the last decade

  Thursday, June 19, 2014

  In order to analyze and examine these law enforcement duty deaths, data was culled from six different sources. The different ways each reporting organization categorizes these deaths made it challenging to compare and contrast. However, the analysis offered in this article allows us to draw themes so that departments can implement strategic and tactical plans for their jurisdictions that can be applied in hopes of reducing the number of law enforcement duty deaths.

• Law enforcement experimenting with surveillance drones

  Thursday, June 05, 2014

  How would U.S. law enforcement agencies use unmanned drones to enhance surveillance? One current source of information on law enforcement drones comes from the Mexican law enforcement drone experiment program.

• Children of the badge: The impact of stress on law enforcement children

  Thursday, May 22, 2014

  We know that being married to a law enforcement officer (LEO) has its challenges. But how does extended exposure to secondhand stress and trauma affect the children of LEOs?

• The Thin Blue Line: Examining 2013 police death statistics

  Wednesday, May 14, 2014

  The nation's law enforcement family has gathered in Washington, D.C., this week for National Police Week. At the same time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has released ​preliminary data for officers killed in the line of duty in 2013.

• Married to the badge: Stress in the law enforcement marriage

  Friday, April 25, 2014

  Being married to a law enforcement officer has its challenges. The long hours of work, rotating shifts, attending court on days off, fear and danger of the job, and all the different part-time work does not leave a lot of time to devote to family.

• Extremist groups in the U.S.: Exposing the hate

  Friday, April 18, 2014

  The recent shootings at two Kansas City-area Jewish centers are being investigated as a hate crime, and this is just the latest example that extremist groups are not going away anytime soon. Here is a closer look at hate crime in the U.S.

• Managing law enforcement stress through emotional intelligence

  Thursday, April 03, 2014

  Officers who have a functional, high emotional intelligence level have higher satisfaction rates and better career success within their departments. Workers who have the ability to build healthy workplace relationships have reported lower stress levels at work and healthy off-duty activities that bring balance.

• Silent suffering: Preventing law enforcement suicide

  Wednesday, March 26, 2014

  Preventing police suicide is every officer's responsibility. The law enforcement profession can no longer ignore the silent suffering. Post-traumatic stress disorder is real and is a lot more common among first responders than initial indications.

• Preventing gun violence in schools

  Tuesday, March 11, 2014

  ​Gun violence is a major social issue in America, and schools and university campuses have become targets of this gun violence. In recent years, dozens of students, faculty and staff have become victims of this gun violence while on campus, and the loss of life and serious injuries have been devastating to our communities.