Values On The Street
Frank Borelli
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com
In the final blog from our previous Editor he stated several of his values with regard to “the street”. I agree with much of what he said, but - from my perspective - some of it is difficult in reality to deal with. Specifically, “Accepting a free cup of coffee or a half price Whopper is not the sure road to ruin, immediately followed by dealing heroin out of your patrol car. But it cheapens you and your profession. Gratuities are small incentives you provide to people in servant-type work…”
I AGREE. However, I think that there are sometimes circumstances that make it difficult for the patrol officer NOT to take certain types of gratuities such as discounts or gifts. For instance, I’ve been to restaurants where the management was quite forceful about giving officers discounts on their meals. When officers tried NOT to accept the discount then the management personnel could get, well… let’s just say less than cordial. It was as if they felt insulted. So, what one officer I know did was to add the discounted amount of the check into the tip he left the server. That may not seem the perfect solution, but it kept his conscience clear.
Another example is the free cup of coffee at the local 7-11. I know that I tried to pay for that cup of coffee more than once only to have the clerk insist that “cop coffee is free.” A veteran sergeant came up with the solution for that one: whatever the cost of the coffee would be got dropped into the charity bin on the counter. That sergeant’s outlook was that he was still paying for the coffee, but the store representative was choosing to let it go to the charity instead of into the store’s till. Either way, the sergeant had paid for the coffee.
Now, let me give you perhaps a slightly more difficult one. You’re working Christmas Day. There’s a family in your town that is and has always been police friendly. They are supportive and law abiding. When you’re driving by their house Christmas afternoon one of them waves you down and brings you a plate full of Christmas dinner. Do you take it? If so, you’ve accepted a gift. If not, you may have insulted their attempt at some Christmas Cheer as they try to support the local police.
While I fully agree that officers shouldn’t go out of their way to find and accept discounts / gratuities, I also recognize the reality that it can sometimes cause more problems than it solves by rejecting one that is extended. What are your thoughts on such issues?
I think that departmental regulations are often very clear about when and where gratuities are acceptable, and those regulations should be followed. To me, it’s a matter of integrity in small matters. If you want to have integrity in large matters, you should start by having integrity in small matters. Gratuities are not always a black and white issue, but when such is the case, sticking to the regulations of your department could be a good behavioral guide.
I agree with the point brought up towards the end. Just this past Christmas a woman walked in to our department with a basket full of cookies. Along with that was a tray full of prepared dinner plates. We hesitated for a second but our Lieutenant just came over and thanked her for the gesture and kept the food. In that circumstance I agreed with what LT did absolutely. Did we eat it? No. We accepted the gift as a gesture on our part to her. Should you decline something like that, you’ve just taken somebody with a positive impression of you and now given them a bad taste for you and your department. Frankly, it just makes you look like crappy people if you turn it down.
Seriously? We are still talking about this? I pay what I am asked to pay. Recently I went with another officer for a cup of coffee. I was charged full price, my partner wasn’t. I didn’t complain, I paid. Later that night at dinner when I got the check I noticed a 50% “police” discount. I paid what I was asked to pay. Police admins that are still worried about the “free cup of coffee” corrupting their officers are obiviously not hiring the right people. I do not go out of my way seeking free things because of my job. I will not give more or less service because I got a free coffee or soda. Sheesh with all the budget cuts, doing more with less, terrorism threats, lack of good propects to hire, and all the other issues facing cops in this country why oh why does this still come up??? With that said I fully believe that we need to demand our cops to uphold the law and be ethical but the coffee/food issue is not seeing the forest because of the trees.
If a business owner offers a discount to law enforcement it is because he wants law enforcement to frequent his/her establishment. Is this a bad thing? If a gateful citizen takes the time and effort to cook for you is that a bad thing? Adding to the tip and putting money in the charity jars are good things right? The humanity is slowy being taken out of the job and it is being replaced by our ever growing SOPs. Common sense must prevail at some point, I hope.
In my opinion, as long as an officer/deputy knows that he/she is NOT entitled to such free services, I find no problem.
Ditto Pat T’s response.
What makes me mad is when officers expect and get mad when they don’t get a discount. I was with another officer at a early morning eating diner. There was a new server. They didn’t give us our normal discount. I could care less. I will pay the full amount. The other officer complains to me about it and eventually tells the server that we normally get a discount and we didn’t this time. Officers already get a bad rap. He didn’t need to add to it.
lets be realistic when it comes to this issue. Yes all departments are overwhelmed at the holidays with goodies and they are accepted with a smile. Having worked almost all holidays I have also been asked to attend or been given Christmas dinners. If an officer recieves a free or discounted cup of coffee do we really believe it some how becomes a flaw in that persons ethics. I echo an earlier statement, with terrorist, budget cuts, lack of stand out recruits are we really making good policy statements over this type of behavior. Being a patrol LT I have always explained to my officer my realistic view of this. Sometimes the reality is it causes more of a scene to refuse. I also noted recently at an Arbys that EMS, and Fire Department personnel get this. Am I to believe they will some how work harder to save an injured employee or keep the building from burning with more vigor due to getting 50% of a meal…?
Here is a perfect example of why it is a bad idea to accept anything at a discount or free from the public you serve. There was a sandwich shop that had really good food. Three childhood friends ran the counter while their mothers did all the cooking, need I say more. From the time of their grand opening for about six months they were giving cops a 50% discount on food and coffee was totally free. Cops were in and out of the store all day long. Of course illegal parking (bus stop, double, driveways etc,) went unnoticed by the local precinct. All of a sudden the food prices for cops (including the coffee) went to full price. As expected the local precinct began to summons illegally parked cars at the sandwich shop. All it took was one letter by one of the store owners to the local newspaper about the police reaction to no longer receiving discount food and all hell broke loose. Internal Affairs got involved and several officers were transferred. Parking at the sandwich shop now goes uninforced and its been this way for years now. The sandwich shop is off limits to police personnel.