THIS COPS POINT OF VIEW

Plain and simple.. I work the streets. This is done, preferably at night, when most of the law abiding folks are tucked in and out of harms way. Also it's when the scum, usually, are on the prowl.

Now, the easiest way for me to have a happy evening is to totally destroy theirs. And if they want to contribute not only to a happy evening but a thoroughly enjoyable shift to boot, let me come upon them doing mischief. This should be followed by an appearance before a judge and if I've done my stuff right, with no loopholes to jump through, it should be followed by a jail sentence.

 

RULES OF CONDUCT

Understand something, these are my personal thoughts on how our current justice system breaks down the criminal elements that plague our society. How they are treated and dealt with are the things I have viewed and experienced throughout my career. The 'politically correct' view point that prevails our collective conciousness, at this time, is the cornerstone of destruction that I feel will overtake our system and create a monster that we may not recover from. When a just cause is looked upon as something wrong, and a criminal, commiting a criminal act, can come back crying foul and be able to punish the wronged individual for protecting his life and property, then that system has a cancer that needs eradicating before it destroys itself from within. As I said previously these classifications are just my way of putting the building blocks together that will make....My point of view.

First will be the young offender, the juvenile will be the starting point for the following more serious offenders. The only ones you will hear about are those that commit a very serious offence. They will get very close attention in their young careers with the judicial system. Far more that need the same will, sad to say however, fall through the cracks to be dealt with later. But for the most part the rest will get what amounts to a visit to the principles office. Scary at first but soon recovered from.

Second, you have the first offenders or non-felons. These will be the ones who quake in their boots, scared of their shadows and promise not to do anything ever in the future. Some actually do what they promise. If you had to describe the feeling of their visit it would be something like this. Do you remember the first "really real love in your life?" and when you had the nerve to tell them of your affections and they told you to 'take a hike'. While quite painful it is not fatal and they will recover from it. Hopefully a wiser individual, but as above, only time will tell. While some of the others think jail wasn't so bad and then go to the next level.

And third, you get introduced to the felons. I sincerely hope, and I'm not alone in this, that their stay in the system feels like a nightmare that just keeps on getting worse and worse. A wiser individual can come out of this... again some actually do. These have the opportunity to blend back into society, as others have, wise and productive individuals.

And now, the final group in our judicial system. Jail is just a resting place for these, a place to catch their breath, be good and get out on parole to start again. Here are the scumsucking bottom dwellers. In this classification we have the ones who feel an individuals personal safety is something of a myth. These commit manslaughter, murder, armed robbery, kidnapping as well as anything else that would fit in these catagories. They do not want to cross my path, and me know of it. Nor should they harm anyone I'm responsible for. Every Officer, that I know of, will tell you that if this should happen our hope is that when retelling this incident, in later years, a small shiver will find it's way up their spine.

 

 

MISSION OBJECTIVE

These are the classifications, that I feel, most Police have.

All crimes are worked as fast as possible, Patrol units are usually dispatched as the calls come into the Radio Room. If the patrol unit (car) for a given sector (beat) is occupied with a previous call a unit from one of the surrounding beats will usually be sent to the second call until the assigned unit is free to accept calls. This is the usual way of making all dispatched requests for a car both timely and efficient. As I said all calls are worked as fast as possible to keep patrol units free. This is done with you and your family as well as your neighbors safety in mind. You are as protected as can be humanly possible, given the resources available. If no monies are put aside for services then that is what you will get... no service. It has been my experience, as a State of Georgia Certified Police Academy Instructor, that most Police Officers are there by choice. We do not do it for the money because, for the most part, there is none. It's not done for the prestige because there is none of that either. Most look at us as a necessary evil. It's not done for the glory. Very seldom does anyone come to you to say their proud to have you there. Something else to look forward to is scrunity far more strenuous than any other profession. I'm not going to say this is necessarily bad but a review by their peers with civilian presence would be more fair than just a civilian one. But you let someone have a complaint against an Officer in todays politically correct society, you have a lynch mob on the doorsteps. Even when found innocent it makes no difference. Would you want to work in that profession? We don't want to but are willing to because our calling is just as heart felt as a preachers to the pulpit. Most will tell you this and mean it. Too many people are looking for a way to ruin a Police Officers life by filing a lawsuit at any opportunity restricting his police powers to the point that he is, in effect, totally unable to function as a Police Officer. This is until the citizen doing the most of the crying about the big bad cop needs one then responding with the entire Police Department would not be enough to please them.

In these modern times, faced with the class of modern criminals that we are expected to handle each day, our society has to make a decision as to whether they want a society of pretend to be safe and pray, "it's not me hit on the next", or they want a society that has streets safe to walk on at night. There are entire neighborhoods that are not safe for even a police car to go into, by themselves, to answer a call at night for assistance for fear of having to request assistance for themselves. Most of this is because of the drug plague that has swept our society into a whirlwind that threatens our very existance. Without some relief we might as well go back to pre civil war times meeking out an existance on a farm. Protecting it from druggies as they did against indians. Laugh if you will but this or something similar is on the horizon unless we get serious with crime and quit thinking it will just go away if we treat criminals with kidgloves long enough. But enough of that. You've heard it from people with more initials behind their names than I have. As I stand before a class of Police Cadets it has been a standard policy of mine to ask why they are sitting at that desk now? If the answer is to have a good job with a retirement after 20 years I tell them they need to find another profession. Because this is not a job for that type of outlook. Someone doing it because it makes them look 'bad' or 'tuff' will get the same. If they walk in and fill out the application to join a Police Department it will allow them to attend an Academy for certification, that certification award they get to hang on their wall, should mean every bit as much as a preacher receiving his ministers license. Because they have to feel the pull of a Police Officers Badge just as strong as that pastor feels his calling. You've heard this before and rest assured it's that serious to me and to most of them. If that sense of dedication is not present then this classroom is going to lead to a disappointment in their choice of careers. The sacrifices you have to make from wearing that badge are not small and there will not be just a few. Times will come that you will just have to make yourself work an extra shift or a side job because you want your children to have all that a neighbors kids have. And because the pay raise the city,country,etc, officials promised will not be as high as originally thought because of tax cuts, other zoning needs,etc. A Police Officer will hear that others needs has to be considered first. You will get use to heaing this. Not every public safety department has a hero caught on news performing a feat that you get paid to do anyway. That type of disappointment will happen all of the time. Also there will be times when the family needs will have to take second place to the 'job' also. And then there is always court time, usually on your off days, It never fails and on that particular day that you had something special planned. Every Police Officer on the street has to know and expect the general public to feel the same. That the street corner where you stand is a safe haven to all who stand there with you. Whatever piece of real estate you happen to occupy, at any given moment, is yours. Yours to protect, yours to defend. It doesn't matter who it is, whether citizen or hoodlum, the image of you makes them visualize a warrior with the badge you wear as a shield. This is what you should represent when you put on that uniform each and every day.

 

 

STEPS TOWARDS SANITY

If Only to me

As I said before, these are my own thoughts and I want everyone who reads this page or comments by email to understand this. I feel that I'm not alone on my beliefs but direct your energies towards the author, not the badge.

Let's go back to the arrest.

After being caught and processed, into the system, by the courts a convict has at his disposal a library and educational training that could grant them awards such as a college degree, some even a Masters degree, if they are dilligent enough to direct their energies and motivation toward that goal. While we on the outside have to pay thousands and thousands of dollars to get an education for themselves or children. Now some of the others who are not inclined towards the intellectual side of the brain will have the opportunity to sharpen their skills in the trade of their choice. These include thefts of anything not nailed down. Whether by burglary or robberies utilizing strong arm tactics and many other styles to relieve citizens of their money and valuables. These as well as many other specialties are taught each day in prison. Many demonstrations of 'students' getting 'hands on' experience are on prison tapes filmed live in prison yards. As I said classes start each day and any who want to attend can do so free of charge. Each convict in our jails today costs, on an average, approx $35,000.00 per year in your taxes being paid to our government, For our money THEY get room and board, three square meals a day, recreational spa areas that include sports activities, body building, and exercising equipment, speaking of which, is used to build them into the strongest and healthiest specimens, given the particular limitations, that a convict can achieve. This, for the most part, is to ensure that on their next confrontation with a Police Officer, who is standing between society (including you) and the criminal element prowling the streets each and every day will have a different conclusion than the last time.

The convict also gets free legal advice on how to BEAT the SYSTEM in any conceivable way or angle possible. Whether it be for a mispelled word on a warrant, or endless appeals, hoping that any one of them will catch a Judge's eye irregardless where it be, before jails starts or afterwards. Just so it puts them back on the streets to pick up where they were stopped at. Or maybe for a case that was similar, that occured years ago, with a different decission. There are so many loopholes in our system that it befuddles the mind trying to sort them. I feel that each criminal standing before a judge should be charged and face penalties for THAT CRIME. Irregardless what happened in a similar one some other time or place. I also think the punishment should fit the crime. Do an offence that has a penalty of 20 years.. you do 20 years. If the penalty for your offence is execution, then you say your prayers because you are fixing to meet your Maker. Have a review board of judges insure that you had a fair trial then off to prison you go. Not to wait years and years to have multiple appeals and arguments bogging down our courts but justice in a fair and reasonable time. Reasonable is not measured in years. Bring back the 'chain gang'. This system of punishment was not corrupt. the people in charge were. There was a lot the chain gangs did to pay for their upkeep. This should be done by the non-felons class of convicts. The felon class should be placed in penal colonies in the desert states, like one prison warden has already done with wonderous results. You can house large populations of convicts in that enviroment with a small garrison of guards to oversee. It was good enough for our troops in the middle east, it should be good enough for the prisoners being locked away from society. Do you have any idea how the crime rate would drop if this system of justice was implimented? First time offenders would be just first time offenders. Seconds of this would not be wanted. I am not advocating dump'em and leave'em. The training and educational opportunities should still be in place, it would be just more affordable for the taxpayers. The revenue saved by the chain gangs doing the labor on transportation, farming and other projects would boost our economy tremendously.

 

 

MISSION STATEMENT

Remember folks, my job as well as every Police Officer you come into contact with is to make your days and nights safe. WE want you to feel safe and secure whether you are sitting at home, out for a drive or just taking a walk down the street. To achieve this we need your help and support. Teach your family, and do so by example, the morals set forth by these easy examples:

1) Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

2) Don't steal something that is not yours.

3) Love those that hate you. Let them know it.

These simple guidelines can reverse the violent trend that dominates ourselves as well as our friends and neighbors. It's a step towards reclaiming our streets, our town and cities. The whole country could heal itself with these simple ideas. Show the people that cross your path that you are above petty bickering and hate that is ripping the very fabric of our society apart.

In the meantime remember this,

If I can work in an area and make sure the people in that area are safe and that nothing happens to hurt that sense of security they have knowing I'm out there, then I've done my job. If I can prevent one drunk from being on my streets or stop one delivery of drugs from reaching it's destination, then I've done my job.

As I told you, i'm easy to please. I'll go home happy. Tomorrow is a new day and I'll be out there doing it again.

Be safe and I'll do my part to make sure you are.

 

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