Police Week, Officer Caliber, and Why Now is Our Time to Shine

Plus updates and thoughts on our current state of chaos

The unrest and anti-American displays on college campuses have rightfully put a lot of people on edge. Effective leaders in Florida, Georgia, and Texas were able to quickly mitigate the damage by unapologetically allowing professional police officers to do what they do best: police. Contrast that with scenarios in cities like Manhattan and Los Angeles, where the chaos has been allowed to fester.

Capitulation emboldens trouble makers, and in this case, weak leadership has potentially set us up for a rerun of 2020. This time around, however, an important variable has changed: There are far fewer cops available than there were four years ago.

Several media outlets have been reporting on the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) survey that shows a small uptick in the number of sworn police officers. While encouraging, I’m also concerned with officer caliber.

How much of a win is it, after all, if police agencies have to lower their hiring standards?

Per a recent piece in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin:

“To increase the candidate pool, some agencies have reduced their hiring standards. They have eliminated or minimized college educational requirements, revised tattoo policies, become more lenient with prior drug use, relaxed standards on credit checks, and/or become more accepting of those with minor arrest records. Some departments have even dropped physical fitness requirements for recruits to be accepted to and/or graduate from their police academies.”

Or when police agencies have to coax applicants with big hiring bonuses? The Alameda Police Department (California) offers new hires a whopping $75,000 hiring bonus!

Policing doesn’t get any better than this. Chief of Police Michael Koval of the Madison Police Department (retired) with a police offer who had retired by the time this picture was taken.

It takes a special human being to be a police officer, and only a few can qualify. This isn’t just a job or even a career, and it isn’t about the money.

Police work is a calling. Most men and women get into this line of work because they have a strong desire to protect and serve their communities; this drive is etched into their DNA. Policing is often times something they’ve aspired to since their youth. In fact, many of our most dedicated officers have come from legacy police families (like on the television show Blue Bloods) who’ve served for generations. Sadly, legacy families are becoming obsolete.

We shouldn’t have to settle for less-than. We need more officers, yes; but we also deserve to have those who excel at what they do. Especially at a time when our nation is facing extraordinary challenges. As long as the war on cops continues, this won’t change.

Legislative Updates!

The Protect and Serve Act (H.R. 743)

Earlier this week I received intel that a House Judiciary hearing and subsequent markup section for H.R. 743 would be held for Tuesday and Wednesday. Unable to fly to D.C. on such short notice, I had planned to watch the hearing via video. It turns out the bill wasn’t even taken up. Same for the markup session yesterday.

I’ll keep you updated when something changes on this front.

The Safe and Open Streets Act (H.R. 6926 / S. 3492)

This crucial bill, which can’t pass soon enough, gained three new House sponsors this past week.

Rep. Beth Van Duyne (TX-24)

Rep. David Kustoff (TN-8)

Rep. Michael Guest (MS-3)

Please continue to encourage your congressperson to co-sponsor H.R. 6926 and two federal senators to co-sponsor S. 3492.

Taken at one of our annual police appreciation events. Have you considered throwing a party for your local police department?

Need Inspiration For This National Police Week?

Cops need us now more than ever. If you’re not sure how to be supportive, my action list of meaningful ways to support law enforcement is now live on the Independent Women’s Network website. While it was written to inspire our members to work with their chapters, even non-members can find something on this list.

This piece is a precursor to the launch of our new action center, which we’ll introduce during National Police Week. So excited for this!

IWN and its sister organization, Independent Women’s Forum is more than 32,000 members strong. Legislators approach our members for policy input and to give testimony at hearings; and the media relies on us for experts to appear on their shows.

So yes, this new center is a very big deal in advancing law enforcement and public safety!

It’s understandable to feel sadness and anger, and to shed tears over current events. I also think it’s a prime opportunity to make our great American comeback.

There are thousands of Americans working tirelessly to fix the damage that’s been done, and to restore American exceptionalism. I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with some of them.

And sometimes, fortitude appears in the unlikeliest of places and times. Among the mayhem at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, for example, college fraternity brothers stepped up to protect the American flag when demonstrators tried to tear it down. This seemingly spontaneous act showed that Americans -including younger ones- still care very deeply about our country. That means a lot.

Each of us is called to take a stand. As fellow Substack writer and former police officer Will Moravitz expresses:

While the police have been arresting the protestors and breaking up the encampments, we must understand that the anti-American and anti-Western rhetoric will continue to foment hatred against our institutions among college students. Those who recognize the exceptionalism of the philosophy of the American way of life need to stand up and push back against this narrative or we risk greater uprisings and more violence as tens of thousands of young people are exposed to these destructive ideas each year. The future of our country depends on it.

What we’ve been witnessing is not something that evolved overnight. This ideology is deeply entrenched in the halls of academia and other institutions (exceptions noted) and it threatens our way of life. It isn’t going away anytime soon unless there’s more pushback from Americans who care about their country.

Standing up doesn’t have to be confrontational. In fact, I see the in-your-face approach as being counterproductive and performative. I prefer to take the positive route. What each of us can do, is find a way to use our inherent gifts (some ideas are here) to advance law enforcement and the best interests of our nation.

This is our time to shine. : )

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For the Blue is a solutions-based initiative. I’m just an American patriot asking questions. I don’t work with any political party and I answer to nobody. For me, the health of the nation, due process (including for police officers), the rule of law, and respect for individual liberties, will always transcend party affiliation. I welcome your thoughts, even if you disagree; though personal attacks will be ignored. You can reach me at fortheblue@substack.com.