The Economy & Law Enforcement

Frank Borelli
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com

In some of the recent articles on Officer.com there have been highlights about the connection between our economy and police work. Steve Ashley discussed how having a lack of funds is not an acceptable excuse for reducing training. Karen Bune has talked about the roles civilians can play in law enforcement and the attached potential savings. Art Femister - religiously, every month - talks about the volunteers who save our law enforcement agencies hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. Depending on which financial pundit you listen to on which television station, you may have heard that the economy isn't going to recover until 2010... or 2011... or even later than that. What this really means is that anyone in law enforcement is going to have to face the reality that you will have to buy some of your own officer-survival-oriented gear. Although it pains me to say it I have a feeling the amount of gear the individual officer has to purchase may grow as agencies look for ways to cut back. I anticipate that this is going to impact rural agencies sooner than it will the urban ones. The other side of this is that crime is already starting to show increases as the economy tanks. So, once again - and anyone who has been in law enforcement long enough will remember this having happened before - you will be asked to do more with less. Here is a poem you should learn: We have been asked to do so much with so little for so long we are now qualified to do anything with nothing. A joke? Yes. But one that is potentially deathly serious. Now more than ever it is important to check your gear; maintain it; be confident in it. When you get gifts for your birthday or at Christmas, although it may not make the holidays as enjoyable, make your "wish list" the gear you need to do your job safely. No matter what the state of the economy is or will become, you still need to go home safe and whole after each shift. What do you think?