Now is the time to rededicate ourselves to this profession of law enforcement.
There has been a lot of turmoil in the media about law enforcement lately, and much of it is based on lack of information, misinformation and ignorance. This is the perfect time for those in law enforcement to rededicate ourselves to our profession.
It’s easy for people to misunderstand issues about the police and law enforcement when they are uninformed and under educated. It’s our job to inform them.
The vast majority of the citizens in our communities support law enforcement and understand the complexities we face, but they are the quiet majority.
We must work with our community groups to properly educate them about law enforcement training and operations. Then when we need their support for more personnel, more equipment or more… training they will support us. This is a far superior process rather than having politicians and policy makers rush to hasty decisions and implement unworkable policies under the duress of an uninformed public.
We must work with the media to give them the opportunity to fairly and objectively report about law enforcement procedures.
We must be as transparent as possible in our activities so that there won’t be room for future misunderstandings.
The public frequently does not understand what is required to enforce the law and take someone into custody who doesn’t want to be arrested. We must work diligently to educate our communities about the law, police procedures and the challenges faced by individual law enforcement officers during the performance of their regular duties. All of these things are necessary to strengthen the ties and bond we have with the citizens we serve, as well as to promote their support for our officer safety initiatives.
Those in law enforcement need to work diligently to ensure that you are as trained and proficient as you can possibly be to maintain the honor and highest standards of this profession. We must work tirelessly to strengthen and condition ourselves to be able to endure the worst the world has to throw at us and still be able to function at our best day in, and day out. We need to build our resilience and strengthen ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually to be the best we can be.
We are the peacekeepers who have been given the privilege of protecting our society from the evils of the world. In order to perform at our best we must dedicate ourselves to the craft of policing. We must not waver in our commitment to our communities. This is a test, and we must pass. We must rise above the clamor and boldly promote the highest standards of our profession. For most in the profession law enforcement is a calling, and now is the time to step up, and rededicate yourself to that call.
As this New Year dawns let us remember:
Law enforcement is the most noble of all professions.
New Year’s is the perfect time for those in law enforcement to rededicate ourselves to our profession.
Now is a time to get closer to your community not to pull away.
Now is a time to become better, not bitter.
We must create more opportunities for education.
We need to open our doors to the people we serve and give then an opportunity to learn about our procedures through programs like citizens police academies.
As this New Year begins let us commit to:
Professionalism
Compassion
Restraint
Officer Safety
Remember we are the sheep dogs, we are the blue knights, we are the new centurions, we are blue warriors, we are the peacekeepers!
Now more than ever we need to be vigilant and be dedicated!
Please consider these resources:
International Association of Chief’s of Police (IACP) Ethics Toolkit
http://www.theiacp.org/Ethics-Toolkit
The National Citizens Police Academy Association’s website
http://www.nationalcpaa.org/
CopsAlive is written to prompt discussions within our profession about the issues of law enforcement career survival. We invite you to share your opinions, ask questions and suggest topics for us in the Comment Box that is at the bottom of this article.
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Our “Armor Your Self™: How to Survive a Career in Law Enforcement” on-site training program is an eight hour, hands-on, “How to” seminar that helps police officers and other law enforcement professionals armor themselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually to build Tactical Resilience™ and survive their careers in police work. To learn more CLICK HERE
The concept of “True Blue Valor™” is where one law enforcement officer has to muster the courage to confront a peer who is slipping both professionally and personally and endangering themselves, their peers and the public. It takes a system of organizational support and professional leadership to support and foster the concept of courage and intervention. We will train your trainers to deliver this program to your agency.
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I’m John Marx, Founder of The Law Enforcement Survival Institute and the Editor of CopsAlive.com. Connect with me on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
CopsAlive.com was founded to provide information and strategies to help police officers successfully survive their careers. We help law enforcement officers and their agencies prepare for the risks that threaten their existence. Thank you for reading!
