With all the discussion I have seen on this site about "who gets cite books issued to them, and who doesn't" and "who gets to write tickets and who doesn't", and how those things may (or may not) relate to who is the "real police" and who isn't ......... I came across the following article, and thought it was a very interesting commentary on different types of cops. (And how the profession needs both types.) I'd be curious as to what others think of this article, just thought it might lead to some good discussion. (BTW, I did obtain permission from the author before re-printing/re-posting)
The article (just in case the link does not work): The World of Feudal Law Enforcement by Scott Oldham
Law Enforcement is a calling more than a profession. Or at least it should be. However, some don’t see it as such and this attitude diminishes us all. Some come to the job each day just as would a medieval serf doing the king’s bidding. Strap on the belt and pull on the helmet to begin the day, hang them up at the end of the day, and it is Miller time. Nice and easy, no real thought process, no inner consternation, nothing hard with which to manage or wrestle with. Just doing what I am told to do in the manner I am told to do it.
A huge percentage of the overall law enforcement workforce are simply call takers and nothing more. This should not come as a shock. We have all thought of this at one time or another. However, these officers are the workers and they are needed. These people get the day to day responsibilities of police work done but do not expect them to go over and above the call.
It isn’t because they are derelict in their duties, but rather it is part of their overall personal make-up. They are satisfied taking the calls, making the reports, and working the accidents. But they are not the ones that have that edge. They do not have the glow of “I’ll make everything all right” that surrounds some others.
As sergeants and supervisors, we need the call takers in the worst way as they are our order maintenance staff. They will respond to the crashes, they will respond to the shop-lifters, and they will be the ones that take reports about absolutely nothing of any importance in 56 specific flavors each day.
But at the end of the day, just as with the medieval serfs, these people will hang up the belt and helmet and go home and be the same as every other person on the planet. They will mentally check out for the day never looking back. Might as well punch the time clock on the way out of the quarry just like Fred and Barney did so long ago.
There is nothing at all wrong with this. However, as sergeants we need to recognize this and factor it into any long term planning or goals that we have for our personnel. Some do not aspire to be more than they are. Do we, as supervisors, really want to only cultivate worker bees? When the proverbial wolf is at the door, who shall we send? A drone?
But there are also those who walk amongst us as knights of the ages gone by, strong, true, and dedicated. These individuals represent the smallest fraction of the overall population. Not just law enforcement, but any job has only a small fraction of this type of individual. These are the ones that are the edge. In our business, these are the warriors. Often hard to manage, since they are driven by the inner fire only a few know, they are the ones that supervisors need to covet, need to build.
Not every knight is Galahad, so all will not be perfect. However, every one of these people has the capability to be tempered in the fire as long as you recognize what you have and do not squander it or allow it to be corrupted by outside forces. These are the officers that will stand and draw the line between order and chaos when things are the worst.
Just because all of our officers do the same job of enforcing the law does not make them the same type of individuals. Sorting the two is often difficult due to a variety of factors. Most departments do not accept the knights well, or they look at them differently, as aberrations outside of the norm of most in law enforcement.
Being one of these individuals in a group of officers is likewise sometimes difficult. Often mis-represented or slandered by lesser individuals who have delusions of popular acceptance, the “if he were more like us” people often look at these officers as paranoid or say “he just needs to relax.”
As sergeants, we work with a variety of differing personalities and must make our command work well together as a whole, despite the differing levels of dedication, skill, and ability. We need to realize that we are dealing with two separate and distinctive classes of individuals.
As the leader of your group, it is incumbent upon you to assign duties that are within the capabilities of your officers. There will be those who excel at investigations, there will be those who excel at traffic accidents, and there will be those who perform other tasks needed, such as nuisance complaints. As a group, they will maintain order in our society. They are the “Serve” part of “Protect and Serve.”
But the other group embodies the predators of the species. These are the car searching, disturbance handling, field contacting, criminal arrest making machines that are the first on the scene of anything resembling a priority one call. While the serfs are out sippin’ on a fresh cup, these are the men and women that are out kicking over stones at 0-dark-thirty just to see what will slither out from underneath.
These are the ones that ride to the rescue when the call-takers just happen to stumble onto something and get in over their heads. These people are the ones that will crawl over broken glass to get to an officer in trouble. These are the true heroes in our business. These are the people we need more of.
As sergeants, it is our duty to support both of these groups. Without a doubt, we need both. It is, however, very important that we realize who falls into which category. Do not push the serf to become more than he is as there will be problems that are often dramatic in nature. Be ready to support the knight when he needs protection as there will be times when he kicks over the wrong rock, at the wrong time, in the wrong place, giving rise to complaints and other issues from which to shield them.
Teach both groups when necessary, and scream and cajole when appropriate, but support both groups always. Attempt to build more knights as they make up the smallest percentage. They are the ones that will pull society from the fire of criminal activity. They are the “Protect” part of “Protect and Serve” and in these perilous times we need them more than ever before.
Scott Oldham is a Supervisory Sergeant with the Bloomington Indiana Police Department where he serves in the Operations Division as well as being one of the Team Leaders for the department’s Tactical Unit. He can be reached at oldhams@bloomington.in.gov.
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