Fitness for Cops: Find Out If You Too Are At Risk

Editors Note: I met Jon Benson on the CopsAlive Cruise 2009 and was very impressed with him as a fitness trainer and as an entrepreneur. I’ve had a chance to review Jon’s materials and think he is doing some great stuff that can help police officers and other law enforcement professionals. Fitness is critical to our staying alive in police work but it is also critical to our living happy, healthy and successful lives. Jon Benson has given me permission to reprint some of the articles from his fitness newsletter on CopsAlive.com and we will be featuring them periodically to help you improve your fitness! PS if you want to start a wellness program for your law enforcement agency read our blog posting on Master Wellness Training with Frank Wooldridge another cop helping cops.

Want to know what your real odds are of having a heart attack?

How about a stroke? Diabetes?

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The Traumas of Law Enforcement – There is Hope!

As editor of CopsAlive.com I just finished attending the 3-day “Traumas of Law Enforcement” seminar put on by the Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) organization, and despite the depressing nature of what is happening to our profession I left with a sense of hope that there are so many dedicated people out there making things better for those who come after them.  If you are interested in this seminar after reading this blog there are still two more sessions of this valuable program still to be presented this month but you must act fast by visiting the C.O.P.S. website to learn about locations and dates.  There is no registration fee for these programs but registration is MANDATORY!  In our session we had over 110 attendees from around the United States with a variety of sworn and non-sworn personnel including supervisors, chaplains dispatchers and peer support team members. Continue reading

How Do Cops Communicate, Learn and Share Ideas on the Internet?

CopsAlive wants to know how you communicate with each other and get information on the Internet.  We’re not talking about Google, Yahoo or other search engines here we are wondering about how police officers use the many social networking tools available on the internet like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Ning, LinkedIn, Hi5, Tagged, Skyrock, Friendster and others. Continue reading

Hey Cops in the U.S. Do You Want a Bigger Tax Refund?

How much will you get back from the IRS this year?  If you don’t know, than it’s a good time to begin your tax planning.  Police officers like most people don’t plan their taxes and then hope for the best.  If you get a larger refund than expected, you’re happy, but if you’re forced to pay taxes, you’ll be disappointed.  Tax planning gets rid of these surprises and as law enforcement professionals you know we don’t like surprises!

The truth is, when your taxes are prepared, you are merely documenting the past.  Continue reading

CopsAlive.com Needs Your Ideas and Input!

CopsAlive needs your help. Our mission is to create a forum for cops to help other cops by engaging in discussions and sharing ideas and information to help each other plan for happy, healthy and successful lives on the job and beyond the job.

Most of all we need readers. If you like what you are reading here please pass it on. Send a link or a note to all of your law enforcement friends online or tell them to check out Continue reading

What is your Legacy as a Police Officer?

What legacy will you leave from your job in law enforcement?  Lives saved?  People helped? or Communities changed?  What legacy will you leave in life?  A healthy child?  A happy and financially secure family?  Maybe an improved world?

Do you ever even think about your personal or professional legacy?  If not, maybe now would be a good time to think about it and maybe to even start a little planning… Continue reading

CopsAlive Cruise 2009 a Success!

Beach at The Baths on Virgin Gorda BVI

Beach at "The Baths" on Virgin Gorda BVI

The CopsAlive Cruise 2009 is over and it was a tremendous success. We travelled from Fort Lauderdale Florida to the beautiful Caribbean Sea.  We travelled to the islands of St. Marteen, St. Kitts and Tortola.  Some of us also took a short excursion over to the island of Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands.  There were seven police officers in our larger group which also included the wedding party for one of the cops.   We had a fun and relaxing time under the sun on the Carnival Miracle as it cruised between these beautiful islands of the Caribbean.

CopsAlive was also part of a larger group of 267 internet… Continue reading

5 Money Pitfalls of Divorce for Cops

Editors Note: Every police officer knows how ugly divorce can be from the outside looking in, but we are also often faced with it ourselves. Chuck Rylant is a working police officer and a financial planner and this article gives some useful tips that can help other law enforcement professionals avoid more pain than necessary.

If you are going through a divorce you will experience many different emotions; fear, anger, resentment and distrust are just a few. All of these emotions can wreck havoc on your finances. Continue reading

New Year’s Resolutions for Cops

As a police officer, sheriff’s deputy or corrections officer do you have a list of New Year’s Resolutions?

It seems that some resolutions that would be appropriate for peace officers or those in law enforcement would include a list that started with these questions: Continue reading

Merry Christmas to Law Enforcement Officers Around the World

Police Officers are a very giving and charitable group.  I have never visited a police or sheriff’s department where the staff and officers or deputies weren’t involved in many charities within their communities.  Many cops and corrections officers donate their time and money to help children, animals, families in need, our schools, and churches etc.  I expect that if you can find a charity, then you can find some cops involved to help them.

At this time of year everyone has these things on their minds but cops do these things year round.  We at CopsAlive want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, or best wishes on any holiday that you celebrate and we want to wish you all a very safe, happy and healthy New Year.  Thanks for all the great things you do all year long!