Cops... Which One are You???

Warriors or Guardians... By Dave Smith for Police Magazine

Over the years I have tried to keep this column from being in any way political, and focus on issues that help the reader stay healthy, strong, and safe. The problem is that few things having anything to do with law enforcement today are NOT political. Whether the issue is use of force, crime statistics, or budgets, one can be accused of damn near anything, in a political sense, just by commenting on the problem.

Social justice warriors clamor for "procedural justice" wherein the officer is supposed to take into account the social injustices of the past when enforcing the laws of today. The fact that one racial or ethnic group is over-representing in a crime statistic becomes "de facto" proof that the system is rigged against that group; and to attempt to argue any other sociological cause is to have malice in your heart. The same problems I examined in Sociology class back in the early 1970s still exist in spite of society's "surefire" remedies that were applied back then. Even worse, rather than re-examine those social remedies and their failures, we are simply going to continue them and act as if they're only now being initiated.

One of the big mistakes of the past is the fantasy that law enforcement causes criminality and that if only we can change the police we can stop poverty, crime, gangs, etc. Recently, a Presidential Committee was formed to "fix" law enforcement following the support among the powers that be for the "hands up, don't shoot" myth. The result was a hodgepodge of societal complaints about the law enforcement community, with the impressive title of "21st Century Policing."

 If you haven't read it you better Google that immediately and get reading because everything you believe about law enforcement and its relationship with the community is about to affected. The first recommendation in this self-referential report is that the culture of policing needs to change. We need to become "guardians instead of warriors" because we have been teaching cops to be soldiers instead of protectors.

Click here to read entire article

Fear in Policing...

By Safe Call Now® Board of Directors Member - Randy Sutton

I’m a cop with a confession to make. It’s not easy to do; it’s something that I’m hesitant, even ashamed, to admit. But I don’t think I’m alone in my admission; I believe that I share this secret with countless men and women who also wear a badge on their chest. It’s a confession of fear.

Fear? Yes, a demoralizing fear that threatens to cripple my effectiveness as a cop. But not the kind of fear you might expect.

I have worn a badge for more than 25 years. I’ve walked the streets in uniform, patrolled the city in a black & white during every kind of political and social climate imaginable. I’ve done the equivalent of combat duty during citywide unrest, during urban riots when we, the police, were grossly outnumbered and under-equipped and were called “pigs” by the very people we sought to protect from harm. In those days, as a young rookie, I admit that I was afraid. But I was a cop so I learned, like we all did, to stand my ground and to stand tall because, no matter what, that uniform that I was wearing stood for Justice and Integrity. I never lost sight of that; it was the antidote to fear. I learned that the flood of adrenaline could be used for more than fight or flight – it could be used to take charge. And I learned, I’m proud to say, to temper all that I did with compassion. So that kind of fear, fear of being outnumbered and disdained, faded with the acceptance of the role and responsibility of a police officer. No, this is not the fear that I mean.

Then is it mortal danger I’m afraid of? The ever-present specter of death or serious injury? I, like most cops with a lot of years in, have accepted the physical danger inherent in the street cop territory – the shots-fired, man-with-a-gun, domestic-gone-haywire calls – any of those escalating situations that can suddenly explode in violence, threatening my life and the lives of those around me. No, that kind of fear no longer leaves an acrid taste in my mouth; experience and training has honed my fear into something more like concentrated energy. That is the kind of fear that I can live with and even embrace. 

Emotional Body Armor...

Emotional Body Armor for First Responders

Emotional Body Armor for First Responders… 

Is an intensive one or two-day workshop identifying those issues that manifest while working on the front lines of a demanding career that can lead to many issues regarding (but not limited to) trauma, relationships, finances, mental health and substance abuse matters that can result in the loss of relationships, jobs and eventually their life.

The workshops are designed for all first responders and their family members if they choose and to provide them with the tools to help individuals being held back both personally and professionally by the bonds of addictive behaviors, co-dependency, family systems or trauma in any form. Participants will examine those barriers and experiences that influence the capacity for a happy, healthy life and career. The intensive workshop experience will reveal how painful life and job experiences are and that they can hamper the growth of individuals and block the ability to be authentic in relationships with self and others.

While there is a stigma associated with reaching out for help or reaching out for help for others within the profession, the intensive workshops are designed to overcome these barriers. The intensive workshops are also designed to empower first responders to look within and confront issues (both on and off the job) such as trauma, co-dependent relationships, setting healthy boundaries, using tools to increase self-esteem, to understanding and effectively experience all emotions and creating a tactical personal self-care plan to be successful in their personal and professional lives.

Target Audience:   Emotional Body Armor for First Responders "Breaking Free from the Stigma and Bonds of the Badge" was designed specifically for public safety employees and their family members nationwide.

For more information contact Safe Call Now®'s Captain Brian Nanavaty at bn@safecallnow.org