Hiring new cops

There is a crisis in American law enforcement to find qualified candidates to become police officers and agencies are getting seriously creative to entice new applicants. Los Angeles is offering one year free housing to those who complete the police academy. Other cities are offering a signing bonus up to ten thousand dollars to applicants. Fort Worth created a “fun” video to show that their city is a great place to work.
Academic scholars are blaming low pay, terrible hours and stress to be the factors causing officers to take early retirement or they are leaving to follow other career paths as the prevailing factors. The reality is two-fold: 1. Law enforcement is the only profession where the employee risks their freedom for simply doing their job, and 2. There is little community support for law enforcement officers.
The evidence of the lack of support is a trend called “FIRST AMENDMENT AUDITS.” These are misfits who seek to seek to demean, degrade and embarrass law enforcement officers with the goal of becoming You Tube stars. Each armed with recording equipment, they swarm city buildings, police stations, post offices, fire stations, federal government facilities and private businesses with the intent of disrupting their ability to conduct operations until law enforcement gets involved. They then claim a constitutional protection for their actions. They demand the name and badge number for each officer with whom they come in contact, while refusing to identify themselves, and exercise their 1st Amendment rights to call the officer(s) clowns and curse at them, knowing that there is little that the officer(s) can do. When the officers leave, they call it the “Walk of Shame” to impress their viewers and get them to pay to subscribe to their trash. They firmly believe that only they have rights and protections.
Clearly, there are people who become police officers who should have never been allowed to wear the badge. Just as there are doctors, nurses, teachers and lawyers who are incapable to perform the duties of their profession. Yet everyone focuses on the performance of law enforcement officers because they are the whipping post for people whose mere existence is unsatisfying. Their favorite term to describe cops is as “Tyrants,” These “experts” cite penal codes, court precedent and police policy of which they are clueless. One example is the legal definition of qualified immunity which, if one listens, they are uninformed at best.
March 3, 1991 is the day that law enforcement changed forever. That is the day that twenty-one cops in Los Angeles, California met an individual named Rodney Glen King. The 108 second video was aired internationally for days, weeks and months and the result was the loss of trust in the “good guys.” That loss of trust was passed on thru generations and the level of trust has continued to deteriorate. It is not a problem with just law enforcement, but has expanded to anyone in a position of authority. This includes teachers and religious officials as well.
Here is an example of how the “queen bees” operate www.facebook.com/watch?v=1509467806154667
This trend will continue until the public decides that it will no longer tolerate this behavior. The silent majority is being drowned by the vocal minority and people who want to serve and protect their community will follow other career paths where they are respected.