Looking Back: Things Aren’t Getting Any Easier for Officers

Police work has changed… dramatically! Options used to be fewer, weapons were simpler and procedures less complicated. Reports did not involve orbital mechanics or complex MIT equations. You had a revolver and 18 rounds, two sets of handcuffs and a wooden baton. No computers back then, a dictionary and a #2 graphite. Common sense was the rule. Supervisors had actual field experience.

All this has changed. Today’s world of police work is vastly more complex. The demands are sometimes beyond reasonable. Our expectations of police sometimes stretch the imagination. There will always be bad guys who disregard the rule of law and who steadfastly refuse to comply with reasonable commands. Some individuals must be met with force in order to safeguard those who cannot protect themselves.

I don’t know if I would even contemplate law enforcement in this day and age. This will be a problem in the future, if not already. Why would anyone hazard themselves, their families, or their careers in an arena where politics, overnight, can radically alter the outcome of that which is reasonable in the moment?

I take my hat off to those we work with and who continue to place themselves in jeopardy day after day on our behalf. There used to be a T-shirt back in the 70’s, “Support law enforcement… hug a cop.” Perhaps we should all take note. I personally will hug all our instructors next time I see them. There are good men and women out there working on all of our behalf. Take note kind citizens, they are the thin line between order an