Does anyone remember when police administrators were primarily concerned with catching bad guys, keeping the public safe, and deterring crime? Maybe not in that exact order and with some expected political BS thrown in, but am I the only one that remembers that? What do we have now? Everything is about looking good and catching cops misbehaving. Now, I'll be the first one to stand and applaud when a corrupt law enforcement official is hauled away in chains. We have the public trust and that is sacred. Violate it and it should be your donkey. But, hey, we're human. On quiet nights, maybe we'll decide that rather than drive about all sleepy, we'll have an impromptu "shift meeting" at the PD or Waffle House and the whole shift may attend (albeit briefly and everyone is subject to call should anything need attention). Oh, but look, we'll put up cameras all over the PD so we can see who is there, when, for how long, and demand why. Never mind the 12 hours shifts, never mind the drudgery or the aggravation (both of which we need to get away from for a bit every so often).
Hey, I know, let's put GPS systems in the car (or hang 'em on the officer) so we'll know exactly where he is, how long he was there, and can demand to know why (or write him up for sitting too long somewhere). Let's take these guys, from whom we've cut large chunks of their pay in order to make our city budget the last year, and instead of giving them back the several THOUSAND dollars each we took, let's hang body cams on 'em for $900 a pop. Body cams that will fail, that will break, that are easily knocked "off" as well as "on" in a struggle (creating all sorts of questions for attorneys). Oh, and that GPS system? Yeah, never mind that it bogs down the network and makes the laptops unusable. That's okay, we don't really want ya'll to be efficient. We just want to know where you are all the time.
And for a final insult, let's get all a-tizzy about image. I mean let's put form over function to the nth degree. Yep. Let's issue a Polyester/WOOL blend uniform for a semi-TROPICAL area! I suppose once they're ironed property (egad, MORE un-paid prep-time), they'll LOOK nice enough. Some of us might pass out from heat stroke after wearing these recycled leisure suit/trash bags, but hey, we have folks standing in line to take our place right? (hello .... [echo]) Hmm ... I guess not. Bummer. So let's dress our boys up in posh, super fine Class A uniforms all covered with shiny brass and make 'em polish their boots and belts 'til they look like shaving mirrors (real important on night shift to let the bad guys see you, I guess?). Now let's all be shocked and surprised when our once all aggressive and enthusiastic officers won't get in a foot pursuit, won't walk around a wreck scene, won't get out in the weather (gotta love that we wool), and won't process messy crime scenes because they're thinking about all the unpaid time they have to spend on uniform maintenance. All that time that takes away from the five or ten minutes they might otherwise get with their spouse or family. Oh, and never mind the PERSONNEL we need. Let's just go on and spend a bloody fortune on image. The support staff have to screw each other over to take a bloody off day but that's okay. At least they'll LOOK good, right?
Look at your local PD. Make sure your tax dollars aren't going to functionless form. Nothing wrong with a good Class A dress uniform for parades, funerals, etc. Nothing wrong with telling they boys (and girls) in blue/black/brown to present a neat appearance. But making them wear what amounts to formal wear that they must maintain on their own (and out of their own pocket and time) is beyond silly. I mean, c'mon ... we're supposed to be smart. I don't want MY city cops looking good but unable or unwilling to get down and dirty with the bad guys. I say give 'em BDUs or some such, scrap the shiny brass, strap on light weight and durable nylon gear and GO CATCH BAD GUYS!!! Most rank-and-file agree (most because there's always that one young officer who wants to wear Class As to everything and has a joygasm when he shines his shoes ... the rest are, thankfully, cops). Oh, and let's get back to catching bad guys. The boys (and girls) wanna work, admins (mayors, commissioners, etc.). They signed on to catch bad guys not to be treated as prisoners. If you trust 'em to wear your "colors," tote guns, and deprive free citizens of that all important freedom, then give 'em some room to operate! Sure, they might drive a little fast sometimes (much their supervisors should address it), they might get a bit tempermental sometime (they're HUMAN and get tired of getting spit on sometimes). That's what supervisors and other officers are for, though.
Okay, enough griping. I haven't posted in 40 forevers and here I am griping. I've seen too many local PDs adopt crazy dress standards and treat their own like they are convicted felons on a Big Brother episode. Seems to be more than a local phenomenon too. Most folks I meet now support the police. Too bad a lot of admins and the like don't. We need FUNCTIONAL uniforms, COMFORTABLE gear, cars that don't fall apart, and remember before you by the next doo-dad hot item (esp. in lieu of giving out raises or returning cut salaries), in the middle of "Technology" is the word "no." This is because no matter how cool and whiz-bang that new 1,000 lap top is ... it WILL fail. Better work that into the budget before you crunch the numbers.
--- Later (hopefully not as much later as this is from my previous post!). ;)
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