Take Pride in Your Ride

Across our nation, the variety of law enforcement agencies is as wide as the demographics of those wearing the badge. From small town agencies with one officer to the NYPD with its 30,000+ sworn officers, the agencies are very different. Agencies serving rural communities are very different from agencies serving inner cities. The one thing you can count on, no matter what size the agency is or where it’s located: If an officer is the only person driving the same patrol vehicle, day in and day out, the patrol vehicle will be taken care of better. It will be kept cleaner. It will receive better regular preventative checks, like oil level checks, air filter checks, tire pressure checks and more. In those places where all vehicles are pool vehicles, driven by whomever is assigned during a shift, the cars don’t last as long nor look as good. Why would that be? Based on past knowledge and experience, the answer is most likely pretty simple: Pride.

Interestingly, you can take a casual look at most officers and get a sense of their level of pride. I’m not talking about sexual outlook pride, but simple personal pride. We’re talking about the pride someone has in their appearance, their health, their possessions, their equipment, etc.  In almost every officer survival course there is discussion about what criminals look at when they encounter a law enforcement officer. Is the officer fit or fat? Is the officer clean cut or scruffy looking? Is the officer’s uniform neat and squared away or is it wrinkled, stained or otherwise unprofessional in appearance? What those criminals said was that they were less likely to attack or resist a professional, neat appearing officer. Those officers, the criminals said, were more likely to be competent in arrest tactics, defensive skills and general fitness. In other words, they’d be harder to beat in a fight, so the criminals were less likely to try.

For the sake of this piece, can’t we say the same thing extends to the patrol vehicle you drive? Obviously there are some times when you can’t keep it 100% clean and tidy looking. Weather has an impact on that and is unavoidable. Sometimes you have to drive some places where your patrol car is going to get dirty and there’s no way to avoid it. But, weather permitting and prior to starting your shift, how hard is it to make sure your patrol vehicle looks relatively (if not shiny) clean?

Look beyond that outside appearance. If someone ganders through the window, do they see a clean and squared away driver’s compartment? Or do they see food wrappers on the dashboard and gum wrappers or empty coffee cups in/on the center console? Do the floors have grime and gravel on them? Or do they appear to be vacuumed and relatively clean (given that they constantly get yuck on them from the bottom of your feet)? What about the equipment that might be viewable through the window? Are the “tools of the trade” inside the passenger compartment organized and secured?

Now take the (sometimes) ugly step of going and opening the trunk or rear storage area. How does that look? It was not uncommon, in years past, for a pool car to have a trunk wherein you couldn’t find a spare tire or tire iron if you needed one. If you could find the spare tire, you might well not find the first-aid kit because it was buried under the spare tire, the raincoat, the box of flares or the miscellaneous paperwork, disorganized or otherwise.

Neatness and organization inside your patrol vehicle is as important as it is on your duty belt and vest. You should be able to find the tool(s) you need quickly and efficiently without having to dig through a mess.

That’s simply a matter of professionalism. Having your assigned patrol vehicle clean, neat, organized and otherwise squared away is just another sign of a professional, high performing officer. If the care and concern for the vehicle extends to mechanical and equipment care, the vehicle will likely last longer than a vehicle not receiving that level of care. Pool cars are notorious for dying unexpectedly. Personally assigned vehicles will usually look better and last longer in general.

But at the end of the day, that’s only true if YOU take pride in your ride. And, even if it’s a pool car, having your patrol vehicle be clean and organized may well help you perform in a more efficient fashion.