The Polarization from Within Law Enforcement

Recently, I was speaking with two young deputies who were within their first couple years. Fresh out of the academy and field training, they both had a crispness about them and their futures. Strangely enough, I had just spoken to a senior deputy prior, who was spewing vile and vitriol about the same agency. So, where was the rub between these two camps? 

Old and Grumpy

The senior, whom I knew and chatted with, was a perennial veteran. He is trapped in this job due to life’s circumstances. Marriage, kids, mortgages and life in general dictates he must be stuck there, the stakes of life are driven into hard ground. Too old to start over, and too old to learn a new job. Retirement dreams await within his grasp, just needs to hold on. We were talking about staffing requirements, and all he could repeat was that he was telling all newcomers to stay away. This is not the occupation, nor location, that they should seek. He continued to ramble on, the past five years seems that the media, the citizens and the world for that matter hate law enforcement. This was a point well taken. This caused me to reminisce that when I came to this vocation in the late 70s, well nobody was embracing law enforcement then either.  

Granted, his discontent was well-founded, as there are hundreds, if not thousands, of officers across this country in his camp. I know the feeling but look at it slightly differently now as an outsider or retiree. I know that many like him have had a “Passover” or two. I am not speaking of a Holy day, but a promotion that was denied. Maybe a cushy assignment was given to someone younger rather than him. So, he sits and muddles his days to retirement that seems so far away. If there was some joy in his work, the days would go by faster than looking at this as a penal sentence. So, how does one like him cope with it, they shoo away prospects, speak to interested applicants with contempt and will not ‘sell’ their department, spit on it. When you forget that every officer should be a recruiter, then staffing will never be fulfilled. The administration will never know how many that they lost before they filled out the application. These actions are a disservice to the agency and jeopardizes the safety of the community and the other officers. We all are working shorthanded, which creates dangerous officer safety conditions. For the sake of it all, his actions need to change.

Young and willing

The two young ones were the typical, I am a solo deputy now and tuned in with their work. I could not help but to notice the ease of them cruising through the e-reports. Their generation has grown up with a cell phone or a iPad in their hands. The pad and the internet may have been babysitters to them. All of this has created an ease with the web, the electronic filing of reports, and life for that matter. It is what they are used to, not something they were forced to learn, and some senior officers still find repulsive.

Both had on their vest carriers with all the accoutrements of the job. In chatting with them, they both were happy. They both wanted this vocation. This agency hired and trained them, they did not have to pay for their certification, this was a bonus compared to some of their classmates. They were pleased with the gear that they were issued. I recall their exuberance from my beginnings. I was just out of the US Army, my original department hired me, trained me and they gave me stuff. I was issued uniforms, a revolver and everything but underwear, socks and shoes. It was like going in the Army all over again, they issued me stuff. Then the pay back then, $500 every two weeks, I am rolling in dough I thought. But the younger ones are enamored with gear, gadgets and tacticool stuff. 

The younger generation grew up with cameras in stores, cell phone cameras and a big brother is watching you atmosphere. So, the concept of body worn cameras, vehicle cameras and stations that tape your interactions is not foreign to them. They even find some solace in the technology overwatch protecting them. The older ones still ruminate over the days of old, which will never return. 

What the eye-opening conversation with them was that they were fully aware of their choices. There was no buyers' remorse! They knew that this era is not law enforcement friendly. Both grew up wanting this job! Both told me that they knew today’s police work is fraught and has many vulnerabilities. They weighed it out and took the job. So, the aforementioned grumpy gatekeepers did not dissuade them. Both accepted the cards that they were dealt. These two youngsters came to the doors of policeland and walked in without reservations. I bid them a good day and wished them a safe and successful career. 

Where’s the balance?

Within the doors of every agency, there are two distinctive camps. It is more than the old verses the new, it is what makes them tick. Of course, there are the young rookies who clamor for the job. On the other end of the spectrum are those waiting to join ‘the retirement check of the month club’ but those in between are the gatekeepers that need to be doing the good work as well. No more ‘retired on duty’ status. There is no ‘good enough for government work’ mantras There is always the passing of the torch, but there is also work that still needs to be done. 

From within, haters are going to hate. Their complicated view on the agency was grown and fertilized by others before them. There is no need to maintain the continuous circle of contempt. But their jaded views could become cancerous within the morale of the department. We must work with them before their contempt can spread. There is a place for your views but do not let it encumber the mission. May your days be the best they can be. You can help teach your replacements, recall this is what happened to you. May your days on the job mean something. I will tell you what I know, I get to travel and meet the new young lions of law enforcement, and the future is bright in my book. Now go train hard and smart!