Talking Politics Can't Be Avoided; Chicago PD; a Federal Bill to Fund Police Training

Plus an officer wellness event and revisiting the misleading crime stats article

It’s unrealistic to avoid discussing politics and government, at least when it comes to law enforcement issues. Legislation and policies that demoralize police or hinder them from adequately performing their work -anything from attempts to eliminate qualified immunity protections to prohibiting police foot chases- are having negative implications on public safety. This also applies to elected district attorneys and judges who favor light-to-no accountability for repeat criminal offenders.

Yet I still sometimes find myself in a tough spot.

We inhabit a hyper-partisan country where it’s all-too-easy to alienate someone over a mere statement, even if it’s factual. At a time when we need all hands on deck, that’s the last thing I want to do.

When I do bring up politics, I keep the focus on policies and ideas, rather than the person behind said policies. Because once you make things personal, you’ve lost the argument and harmed your cause.

With that in mind, let me tell you about a new federal bill that should be receiving much more support than it has

A bi-partisan House bill (read about it here) called the Law Enforcement Scenario-Based Training for Safety and De-Escalation Act of 2024 (H.R. 8871), would make training readily available to state and local police agencies. At no additional cost to taxpayers. This bill is a necessity.

Officers are navigating a landscape rife with a wider range of threats and social maladies, including an increase in depressive disorders, suicides, homelessness, drug overdoses, active shooter situations, and terrorism risks. And given the surge in violence targeting cops, they’ve also understandably become more guarded.

Our increasingly complex world necessitates that the most comprehensive, modernized, scenario-based training be made available to law enforcement. Given the costs associated with this level of training, however, not all agencies can afford it.

H.R. 8871 would help close these gaps.

With this bill, a greater number of cops would have access to training that would potentially keep themselves, their partners, and their communities safer. And it would undoubtedly fortify police-community relations.

You’d think that the staunchest critics who repeatedly call for “police accountability” would be championing this bill. It only has three co-sponsors. Yet about three-fourths of the Democratic House membership have signed up as co-sponsors for a House bill that would, in part, limit qualified immunity protections for officers.

The gap in support for these bills (introduced just a month apart from each other) is one of the acts that leads me to believe that the end goal of some of our elected officials is not to solve problems in good faith, but to eliminate public policing as we know it.

I’ve also been critical of Republicans when it’s been warranted. While they haven’t been the drivers of demoralizing policies, they also haven’t been diligent in their support for law enforcement. As cops continue to get killed and assaulted in record-breaking numbers, for example, the Protect & Serve Act (H.R. 743 / S. 4258) continues to collect dust.

(Of course, there are exceptions to these rules in both parties.)

We’ll only change our current trajectory and solve problems that benefit the police and citizenry if we’re exposed to the truth and are being honest, as brutal and as inconvenient as that truth may sometimes be.

Chicago

Like many of you, my thoughts are with CPD and the good people of Chicago (the city I will always consider home), who must endure yet another round of high-intensity demonstrations and agitators.

It’s why I was pleased to see CPD’s Superintendent Larry Snelling publicly defend his officers. Here’s a snippet from one of his pressers.

“The vicious, nasty, sexually-explicit things that were said to those women [referring to female police officers] were absolutely disgusting. I have women in my family, and the anger that I felt . . .but let me tell you, the pride that I have in those women who dealt with that, took it, did not lose their cool . . . Understand that these are human beings, somebody’s mother, someone’s daughter, sister, aunt, niece, being spoken to in that way.”

Supt. Snelling is right. Despite the extensive training officers receive, they’re still feeling, thinking, biological beings who deserve to be treated with dignity.

I’ll leave you with these words from a retired Chicago PD officer.

About the Crime is Misleading Article

My previous report about misleading crime statistics resonated with a lot of you, and it prompted great discussions and a flurry of emails in my in-box. A couple of you had questions, which I will address in future issues as time permits.

One reader questioned the data from Wirepoints showing that Chicago residents have a 50% chance of receiving police response if shot, robbed or assaulted. I did reach out to Wirepoints president, Ted Dabrowski, for clarification (in case I misunderstood their analysis), who explained, in part, the following:

“Let me use 2021 as the example since that piece was the most detailed we did. Here is the link. 

1) We FOIAd for the delayed 911 responses. They all occurred during what are called RAPs – Radio Assignments Pending. The results of those FOIAs are in the appendix of the piece I linked above.

2) We get the data for ALL 911 calls from the Chicago OIG. Here is the link. It allows you to get all 911 calls for a given year. 

3) We focused on Priority 1 and 2 calls. So we added up all the delayed Priority 1 and 2 calls from the FOIA and divided them by the total Priority 1 and 2 calls made as per the Chicago OIG. It’s all their data, so we don’t make any judgments.”

Please let me know if you still have questions about their methodology.

Special Event Focusing on Officer Wellness

Roland Clee

, whose Substack I highly recommend for valuable insights into current policing issues, invited me to the Shepherds and Sheepdogs Summit, which focuses on officer trauma and wellness. If you’re interested, the event is being held next May in Orlando. CEU credits are available.

Roland is co-hosting this event with Dr. Olivia Johnson, who recently penned an article about suicide prevention for officers. She writes,

“Real, meaningful change continues to elude us as we move from one prevention program to the next, relying on catchy slogans and clichés that fail to reduce mortality significantly. Many suicide prevention programs do not adequately address the complexity and severity of the issue. Despite millions of dollars invested annually, these programs often yield little positive return. They typically operate in a post-vention paradigm, addressing issues only after a death has occurred, which does nothing to help the officer, their family, or their agency.”

While we should indeed fund officer wellness programs, they need to be based on evidence and have measurable outcomes.

Final Thoughts

You know, I feel blessed to be able to advocate for police officers. While on this journey, I’ve had opportunities to network with some of the most caring and dedicated human beings I’ve ever met. It’s also provided me with seemingly endless opportunities to learn and to be intellectually challenged.

Most importantly, advocating for officers allows me to serve the men and women who selflessly serve us every hour of every day; and to give back to a country that has bestowed me with so much.

Serving others is essential to personal wellbeing (it’s hardwired into us for survival), and it has the potential to strengthen us as a nation. There is no amount of money, power, or prestige that can compensate for the benefits gained from service and other foundations like faith, purpose, and strong nuclear families.

That’s all I have for you this round. As always, I appreciate your support and love hearing from you.

Best. : )

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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.