To Protect And Serve...
I'm a huge supporter of all the LEOs out there, and anyone who reads these posts knows as much.
I LIKE seeing that officer arriving on scene, and I appreciate everything these men and women choose to do.
And when it comes to police "mottoes", the tried and true PROTECT AND SERVE is at the top of most any list.
But things have been changing over the last 20 or so years.
I can't explain HOW it happened...or WHEN (exactly), but something just seems out of place on our streets.
Sure, the police still make some damn good arrests, and many officers still have this innate ability to "go with their gut" and be proven correct when sizing up a situation.
Thank God, that much has NOT changed.
Still, something is amiss here.
I come from a "police family" (Philly) and understand perhaps a tad better than the average citizen what is required to be a LEO, as well as the problems and rewards associated with choosing such a profession.
As a youngster, I grew up with an undisputed RESPECT for the men in blue.
THEY were THE go-to person if you had a question...or were lost, or whatever the case was.
They knew all our names, where we lived, the school we attended, and we felt SAFE because of that.
Hell, we KNEW we were safe.
The mere presence of them on our streets (twirling that nightstick) deterred crime. They walked into a restaurant or candy store, EVERYONE held themselves a little straighter...kids got quiet (out of either AWE, or FEAR...both worked), and store owners as well as patrons smiled.
But that was a time when officers WALKED our streets...they had a "beat".
And "we" felt PROTECTED...and SERVED.
Today, although my personal respect has not diminished, the word "protect" must mean something I'm not knowledgeable of.
The definition is:
PROTECT - (vt) - 1) To cover or shield from exposure, injury, or destruction.
2) To maintain the status or integrity of, esp through financial or legal guarantees.
That's what WEBSTER'S has to say on it.
Nothing about showing up AFTER a crime has been committed...
Well, it IS kinda HARD to protect someone who has ALREADY BEEN SHOT, right?
Also, it's difficult to PROTECT a house or business from being burglarized AFTER the perp is long "gone with the goods", isn't it?
And it's hard to protect that woman AFTER she's been gang-raped by several young thugs, true?
It would appear to me, that we're looking at a lot more REACTIVITY instead of PROACTIVITY.
We're seeing police officers doing more CHASING than anything else.
Maybe it's not all bad news, though...
Let's look at the OTHER word...SERVE.
SERVE - (vb) - 1) To be a servant
2) to provide services that benefit or help.
(there are lots more definitions that don't pertain to being a police officer..unless they're at MASS, or at a celebratory event, or a tennis match)
That is the basic definition.
I would say what today's LEOs provide as being more SERVING than protecting (unless they're specifically guarding something or someone...THAT is protective)

And I would like to called wrong on this. But I don't think I am.

Maybe in a good neighborhood, everyone is protected and served, but when you live in a "blighted" part of a city, the ONLY time you really feel protected, aside from when you're wearing YOUR firearm, is when you are TALKING to a police officer face-to-face.
And I believe we (in such venues) feel this way for a reason...
We no longer have the "intimacy" with law-enforcement we USED to have when they walked a beat and knew every one of us.
Hell, in some neighborhoods (like mine) you don't even HAVE any police officers living within (at least) a mile. And the ones that DO patrol (if they are patrolling, and not running from call to call) are all IN CARS.
That's a far cry from the day when officers had to LIVE where they were posted, isn't it?
Now, I apologize to any officer that may feel slighted, but you can't REALLY "get to know" an area (and all it's nuances) when you're ONLY in it for about EIGHT HOURS on any given day, can you?
At least, you do not know the area AS WELL as someone who actually LIVES there...and knows ALL that goes on (when you, the officer is not around to see or hear it).
Now the good news is that officers today have all this "cool sh*t" to mess with...all this technology that aids them to do a "more efficient" job, such as those computers and "air cards" that are failing all the time, squad cars that bend up quicker than a reed is a stiff wind, and other assorted items meant to make police work "better". Technology is like people - Some work...some don't, and some work some of the time, but not all that well.
We rarely have two-man cars in our city these days.
It's much more "efficient" to have a lot MORE cars with MORE junk on them (and in them) that can go wrong...yeah, that makes sense to me. Cost effective, too...NOT.
And all the while, the criminals are playing their "game", and honing their "skills"...and doing fairly well enough at it.
For example...just last year, we had 2,975 BOOMCARS (documented) drive past OUR house that were loud enough to rattle the windows. Granted, many WERE repeat offenders, but that was the approximate number.
NOW, if the department was concerned about PROTECTING and SERVING, they would direct their officers to set up NOISE checkpoints (much like the sobriety ones we have several times a year), and EVEN IF they ONLY cited these morons for $50 EACH, that would add up to a REAL NICE chunk of change for the city coffers.
Unlike sobriety checkpoints, which are funded with FEDERAL grant programs, there is not ONE program designed for NOISE (I checked with the EPA and IDEP)...and unnecessary (above 75 decibels) noise is the NUMBER ONE PROBLEM in most all cities these days.
I spoke with Officer John Chambers yesterday (FWPD) and the "going rate" for such a noise violation is $250.00...(yowza)!
That would mean close to $750,000 ( ! ) that was "missed" just last year in NOISE VIOLATIONS alone.
Almost makes 'ya wish they'd push those calls up the PRIORITY list a notch (or three), eh?
And with close to THREE THOUSAND BOOMCARS driving past a house (on a RESIDENTIAL STREET and NOT some business-laden boulevard or avenue), I'm not feeling all that well PROTECTED, am I now?
Any ONE of those 3,000 vehicles could have shot into our house, much like what happens in other neighborhoods.
Well, our house HAS already been "egged", shot at with (yellow) paintballs, had a window taken out with a chunk of cinderblock, had a few garage windows pocked with BBs, and continues to have assorted trash strewn over the lawn year after year.
Yeah, we're kinda lucky, I guess.
But I'm not feeling protected one damn bit...not with all THIS crap going on around us.
You can argue that the department is understaffed...and you'd be correct.
We are WAY under the "officer/citizen" ratio of so many people per officer. A decent number would be one officer for every 500 citizens...we're close to one officer for every 800+ citizens (closer to a thousand, really).
But at least the officers here ARE writing a LOT more traffic tickets (back to quotas).
Check the our city's police blotter, if you doubt me.
Here's the link - just pick a day (under activity logs):

http://fwpd.org/

The GOOD news connected with that, is that sometimes, the police get "real lucky", in that there may be an outstanding warrant on the driver, or unlicensed weapons, or other contraband.
The officer might even get a citation based on DUI, or even a blown out bulb on the vehicle (and we've got more of THOSE in MY area than you can shake a ticket book at, people).
Now chasing the radio is all well and good, but it's not what I consider REAL policing.
REAL policing is doing a six-month investigation into an alleged drug house, and netting a few hundred pound of weed, along with cash, guns, and other assorted "goodies".
REAL policing is when officers honestly work with concerned citizens by taking all the info they have down, checking it for veracity, and then formulating a plan to eliminate the problems in a given area.
REAL policing is when officers PREVENT crimes from happening, as opposed to answering calls for crimes that have already happened. By then, all they become are a bunch of information gatherers or "data transcribers" (which serves it OWN purpose for investigative procedures further down the pike).
Like a said, PROTECTING is a PROACTIVE stance.
Think of a an older brother PROTECTING his sister. He doesn't wait until she drowns to worry about whether or not she knew how to swim, does he? He TEACHES her to swim, or swims with her to make sure she is safe. He protects her.
It comes down to investigative work that leads to heading criminal activity "off at the pass", so to speak.
SERVING the public means you owe the PEOPLE your career, not the other way around.
You are there FOR THEM, in any capacity the job requires.
You took the oath, you swore to it, and you chose to take on the responsibility.
What it all comes down to in the end, is NOT a layer of blame upon the shoulders of the rank and file members of the force. It doesn't even fall upon those in supervisory capacities, either.
ANY problems inherent with ANY department lies squarely upon the shoulders of the administrative staff.
If your officers are doing their jobs, but THE JOB (itself) isn't getting done (and the citizens feel none the safer for it), blame the "Gold Braid Brigade" and NOT the grunts in the trenches.
They only do WHAT you tell them to do, or face written administrative correctives.
Personally, I would MUCH rather see a police force administration with the courage to TRULY protect and serve (everyone).
Bending over backward to any and all fringe groups in the name of "diversity" is nothing short of divisive, and only serves a few, while ignoring the many. Making a department walk on societal "eggshells" doesn't aid morale, and neither does constantly slapping the wrists of so many officers for what can only be called trivial slip-ups.

Same goes for the other end of the spectrum regarding any and all police brutality (when it surfaces). If an officer has a valid claim made against them, follow it through, but never forget that if they are exonerated from dubious practices, you let EVERYONE know that much, too. If an officer needs to be dismissed (or even prosecuted), then do so. If an officer needs to be commended for going the extra mile for his community, so be it. It's a two-way street here.
But be fair about it, either way.
We're ALL human, none of us are even close to perfect, and perhaps that's the best thing to be learned here.
It comes down to PEOPLE...in every aspect of our lives, it is all about PEOPLE...on both sides of the shield.
Human nature...we're all pretty much stuck with it, so we'd be better off understanding it.
Ignorance of the law will never be an excuse...by anyone either in uniform or not. Ignorance to not allow LEOs to fulfill their mission statement is never an excuse either.
Protect and Serve.
Should mean EXACTLY what it says, eh?
And should be simple enough to comprehend...for anyone.
So, as Sean Connery's character, Jimmy Malone said in The Untouchables:
"Therein lies the lesson for today."
We can ALL learn from it, police and citizens alike, can we not?

Make a difference to someone, be well, and...

Stay safe out there, America.