Last Monday, I had the pleasure to hear Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes speak. We are lucky to have a sheriff who is so knowledgeable about our county, the state, its people, the crime and other problems we face. One of the problems the Sheriff mentioned was the lack of young men and women currently looking for careers in law enforcement.
This reminded me of a conversation I had with my great niece who lives in the San Diego area. She is taking classes in Criminal Justice at a local college and wanted to know if she should pursue a job in law enforcement.
I told her that now is a very good time to get into this career. After the riots in response to the George Floyd fiasco, LEOs (Law Enforcement Officers), have been under attack, both verbally and physically. The “defund the police” movement has added to these attacks. Lawless thugs and idiots have taken the anti-police rhetoric in the media as a green light to ambush, injure and murder cops.
Much of the media has given voice to the fallacy that many cops go out everyday in search of unarmed minorities to kill. As a result of that, and other policies put in place by leftist politicians and so-called “consent decrees”, proactive police work has slowed, if not completely ended in some jurisdictions. Few people now are looking to get into law enforcement. That’s the bad news.
Fortunately, the perception is changing. Most people are becoming aware that the dramatic rise in crime is a direct result of anti-police leftist groups and media. Support for law enforcement is growing. Considering this support, now is a very good time for young people to look at law enforcement as a life long career.
The recent past is similar to what happened in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Then, the antiwar riots pitted the police against leftist college students, many of them from such radical groups as the Students for a Democratic Society and the subversive Weatherman group. Officers were being targeted, ambushed and bombed. Many of those in power looked down on officers as unprofessional, brutal and possibly corrupt. As a result, things started to change.
To attract more recruits, pay and benefits were increased. The benefits included law enforcement agencies paying for uniforms, equipment and weapons. Many departments offered alternate work schedules like the 4/40 where officers would work 10 hour days, four days a week. Retirement plans and medical insurance became more attractive.
To increase professionalism, educational incentives were offered. The more education an officer had, the more money he or she could earn. The federal government enacted the LEEP Program, (Law Enforcement Educational Program). A college student could have all of the books, fees and tuition paid for with the condition that 25% would be forgiven for every year that student worked in law enforcement after graduation. Any agency, federal, state or local would qualify for the loan forgiveness.
The point is this: the pendulum is swinging back in favor of strong law enforcement. In order to attract qualified recruits, city, county, state and federal governments will have to increase pay, benefits, educational incentives and training. Now is the optimum time to start a law enforcement career to reap these future benefits.
1 thought on “Opinion: Law Enforcement Careers Now – Buz Williams”
Excellent observation Buz. I hope more young people will get into law enforcement.
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