Officer.com Police Blogs & Podcasts

Frank Borelli
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com

Given that I have to write anywhere from 52 to 104 blogs per year I’m always on the look out for new topics and ideas. Sometimes they come from the unlikeliest of places. The inspiration for this blog came from a Harry Potter book. Laugh hard… and when you’re finished laughing, read on.

In the beginning of the 7th book (that’s the last one for those of you who aren’t Harry Potter fans) there is a gathering of the evil people; the Death Eaters; Lord Voldemort’s followers. They are gathering at the home of one of the Death Eaters. But the text doesn’t describe it as a humble abode. Indeed, the word used is “manor”. According to an online dictionary resource, “manor” means: the mansion of a lord or wealthy person.

On the other hand, the “good” people are predominantly comprised of a relatively poor family, students and professors who live at a school. They own little and don’t seem overly motivated about increasing their material wealth. Hmmm… is there a theme here? Let me use another comparison from science fiction: Star Wars.

The Sith - the bad guys - are highly motivated to increase their own power and possessions. The Jedi Knights are selfless and forbidden material possessions.

Now let me repeat a quote we’ve all heard at some point in our lives: Money is the root of all evil.

So why do I pick this as a topic for the law enforcement community? Because we have repeated opportunities to set aside our ethics and morals to increase our material wealth. Sometimes such increase requires that we actually break the law. Other times we can do something that is entirely legal but not so ethical to increase our bank account.

Here’s a hint right off the bat: if you came into police work to get rich you made a HUGE mistake. Yes, there are ways you can use the position to increase your income or off-set some typical expenses. However, many of them are unethical and should be avoided like the plague.

Now, here’s the kicker: I know some cops who look for every opportunity to leverage their position in what I view as unethical ways to increase their income. What’s worse is that they see absolutely nothing wrong with what they do. In their world, increasing their material wealth is the only realistic goal to be recognized.

The funny thing is that they look at me and see a guy who DOESN’T leverage every opportunity to get rich and they see someone they think is a complete idiot (other people think that for different reasons too). In this vein, we agree to disagree. I don’t foresee a future where I all of a sudden become so greedy as to set aside my ethics or values. I don’t foresee a future where they all of a sudden don’t find value in larger dollar signs and start doing volunteer work to help the homeless (as an example).

The whole point of this though wasn’t to say or even imply that “good” and “poor” are synonymous. I know a man who has worked his way from being an honorably discharged veteran with “average” wealth to being a multi-millionaire. In fact, I know several of them. None of them, in my opinion, has done anything unethical to get where they are. In fact, I know one man who has gone out of his way - and at times cost himself money - to remain faithful to his own values. I can admire that.

The point was to instigate some thought; motivate some self-evaluation. What is YOUR outlook about wealth and ethics? Is money the end all be all goal of life? Or are there things more important? Share your thoughts please…