Many countries and cultures celebrate a day of thanks or harvest festival this time of year. W e in the United States celebrate our Thanksgiving Holiday this week based on the 1621 gathering of Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians who gave thanks for a bountiful harvest and their survival of the harsh conditions.
We in law enforcement have suffered a harsh year and perhaps should also give thanks for our survival, and thank those who have contributed to our lives.
Who do you need to say thank you to for your health, support and success?
Our spouses or the spouses of police officers everywhere. Police wives and spouses are the true backbone of this profession.
Our families or the family members of everyone in law enforcement.
If you are smart enough to have friends that are not in law enforcement, maybe you should say thanks for supporting you and trying to understand what a police officer goes through.
This week would be a great time to say thank you to your peers in law enforcement who keep you safe every day. Thank those in your agency as well as those who work for other police and sheriff’s agencies around you.
Say “thank you” to your Supervisors, SWAT Teams, Traffic Investigators, Air Support, and all specialized units.
Don’t forget to thank your law enforcement agency and other policing agencies… that support you. Even if you need to bury the hatchet for a day a “thanks” is still a good start to any negotiation or debate.
Thank the mechanisms within your organizations that support you and keep you healthy.
Say thanks to the CISM and Peer Support Teams that support you. I your agency doesn’t currently have one of these programs maybe its time to create one.
Say thanks to those who create your Family Support Network to help your loved ones and it you don’t have one of these maybe it’s time for YOU to start one.
This is a good time to thank our dispatchers and other law enforcement communications personnel for all they do to watch our backs and keep us safe.
Say “thank you” to our CSI’s and the evidence and lab technicians who provide invaluable support to help us be successful in our law enforcement endeavors.
Don’t forget to thank the CSO’s, desk officers and whoever your agencies employ to handle some of the paperwork that frees up patrol and other resources to make you safer on the street and keep you in service to your community.
Say “thanks” to all the records specialists and other support staff who make your life easier and your job more efficient.
Thank all those animal wardens and animal control officers and other who do the work that many of us used to do. They are doing work that frees up other resources in our communities.
If you don’t work in corrections then you should remember to say thank you to all of our corrections officers and staff who handle the people we arrest and incarcerate.
Thanks to all our probation and parole officers and support staff members who
Thanks to the Courts, the Judges and District and Prosecuting Attorneys who support our work and create the Criminal Justice System we all work within.
Thanks also to all the retired cops and other retired members of law enforcement agencies around the world. We honor and appreciate your service, thank you!
CopsAlive is written for those frontline members of law enforcement in police, sheriff’s, corrections, parole, probation, DA’s and communications. We have tried to include everyone we could think of and not exclude anyone. If we have or you think of someone else we should thank please add a comment below for everyone to see.
This time of year is also a time to remember those we have lost, and give thanks to and remember, those who they left behind. Remember our peers lost this year and the family members of our lost comrades who must carry on with out them. If we are truly “a big family” in law enforcement then we need to remember those families during this coming holiday season when they may be suffering most.
At CopsAlive.com we salute all of you working in law enforcement agencies around the world because without your efforts our world would not be a one we would want to live within. Your job is a tough one that takes it’s toll on all of you who work within this tough profession. Keep up the good work and know that you are appreciated by many more people than you even suspect. The world is with you!
Also, from all of us at CopsAlive.com we say a heartfelt “Thank You” to all of our readers and supporters.
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.
We do this by Helping Law Enforcement professionals plan for happy, healthy and successful lives on the job and beyond. We think the best strategy is for each officer to create a tactical plan for their own life and career.
The Law Enforcement Survival Institute (LESI) works with individuals and organizations to help them create and sustain success in their lives and careers as law enforcement professionals. It is the primary goal of The Law Enforcement Survival Institute to become the preeminent source for training, resources and information about how to create and sustain a happy, healthy and successful life and career while providing superior law enforcement service to your community.
Thank You graphic provided as creative commons by Patrick Hosely on Flickr.com
