When did 'ratings' trump true journalism? And when did 'likes' win over safety?

Every columnist with a keyboard, from criminal justice publications to mainstream media and even mommy bloggers, has had something to say about the state of policing these days. I, like a lot of you, have struggled with this. I’ve read many good and thoughtful pieces, as well as venomous and hate-filled. Intelligence isn’t a prerequisite for Internet access.

The general media, which I think no longer represents the journalistic principles to which I subscribed as a writer—the same principles to which this publication subscribes—no longer stands as simply a "reporter of news." It sensationalizes, stirs the pot and pushes an agenda. I’m profoundly ashamed that news reporting has become all about ratings, clicks and ad sales. No longer do journalists break down the facts and leave commentary to the op-ed page; they color every report, every story, every headline. If anyone has given birth to bias against police, it’s the media.

For decades, we’ve examined the struggle law enforcement executives face in maintaining their ranks. Chiefs and sheriffs warn that their agencies are stymied by recruitment and retention challenges: New officers sign on with no intention of making policing a career and rapidly hopscotch across agencies and professions. Today’s social and media climate makes it even less likely departments will remained fully staffed, especially as experienced officers depart the profession. Policing is in a crisis mode, but this is not the time to turn an agency toothless.

Crowd-pleasing policies that put officers lives in danger should never be an option. Officers should not be afraid to defend themselves and when out-for-ratings media and agenda-pushing groups attack agencies for doing their jobs, the profession should stand together to resist change that could impact the safety of both officers and community.

The media makes it appear that entire communities believe LEOs are racist bigots who want only to infringe on the rights of others. Every one of you knows how far from the truth this is. LEOs are courageous men and women who go into terrible situations and, under impossible odds, do their best. Are there bad apples? Yep. There are. But I know more bad teachers, bad doctors and nurses, bad bankers, bad store employees and bad mail carriers than bad cops. Every profession has bad apples; no one embraces them.

I resent the constant media focus on race, the inability of the press to cover law enforcement’s actions positively and the insinuation that police should not, in any way, defend themselves from attack. The question is, how do we fight this? Certainly creating more bridges into the community works and LE leaders should explore all options to record what officers do in the field. It’s to an officer’s advantage to have footage to counteract the lies, miss-characterizations and selective video they bump up against. They should also form bonds with community leaders, both religious and secular. What they should not do is surrender control of officer safety to public opinion. Officers must be able to defend themselves and a department that makes officers afraid to do so loses both the battle and the war.

When an officer dies because he or she is afraid of being sued, I predict the administrative pendulum will swing the other way. Executives who’ve removed the teeth from their officer survival policies will find themselves facing lawsuits from officers, community unrest and a massive exodus of trained personnel.

Dead officers protect nobody. Police can’t do their jobs without support.

Give it to them.