NEW AMERICAN TRUTH: November 2007

Our Front Line
Kevin Lee Miller

As you read through this article it may (at first) seemed at law enforcement and / or military personnel. Bear with me. That is NOT what this article is about…

But let’s start out looking at our military. It’s suitable in November when Veterans’ Day is celebrated and we celebrate Thanksgiving to appreciate the blessings we enjoy (our freedom and liberty among them) to consider the job our military members do. Specifically they “Protect & Defend” our country. If you think about the simple meaning of those words, short of our country being invaded, the military’s job is to work from our nation’s borders OUT. DEFEND is a posture that doesn’t include aggressive actions unless a threat has been detected and our military has to travel overseas to neutralize those who would attack us.

Law enforcement professionals, though, use the motto “Protect & Serve” or “Serve & Protect” depending on which agency you look at. Their mission begins inside the borders and boundaries where the military’s mission starts (or stops depending on which way you’re viewing it). Various members of our law enforcement community patrol our territorial waters, our bays, lakes, rivers, etc. They patrol for purposes of detecting and preventing crime all of the accesses to our nation. Inside our country they patrol – as much as possible within manpower, equipment and budgetary restraints – all of the land that makes up our country.

Our country is broken down into many layers of jurisdiction and each of those layers is manned to the best of a given government level ability. Those layers would be federal, state, county and local. At the federal level there are a number of agencies to include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Secret Service, Drug Enforcement Agency, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the U.S. Park Police and more.

At the state level there is usually a state police agency whether it’s the Texas Department of Public Safety or the Maryland State Police. Some states have two statewide agencies or more. For example, in Maryland there is the State Police, the Natural Resources Police and the Maryland Toll Facilities Police. All have specific statewide jurisdictions but are state agencies.

At the county level most jurisdictions are serviced by an Office of the Sheriff but more and more counties are standing up police departments. There are distinct differences in the orientation of those agencies even though they can be responsible for the same services. Sheriff’s are elected while Police Chiefs are appointed. The Sheriff’s essentially have to keep the population happy to get re-elected. Police Chiefs have to keep the county council happy so they can keep renewing their contract. It DOES make a difference in the service orientation of the agency.

Many local agencies exist serving townships, cities, towns, etc. What the name of the locale is doesn’t really matter is usually depends on whether it’s in a state or a commonwealth. For the most part, in areas that have many local agencies and decent-sized county agencies the state agencies have less work to do. Most of the “day to day” police work is done by the local officers or deputies.

Where the cities are high-density population – places like Miami, Houston, New York, Chicago, Washington DC, etc – the police departments seem to have a different philosophy on service. That philosophy focuses on a need to respond to calls and CLEAR THEM as quickly as possible. There’s nothing wrong with this philosophy. It’s required due to the sheer volume of calls those agencies have to handle. In those areas where the population is less dense and more spread out – those agricultural / rural communities, the response times are longer simply due to the distances traveled, and there is less of a mandate for the officers to HURRY UP and handle the call. GET THERE matters. CLEAR IT not so much.

One of the biggest changes that has occurred in our nation though, across the past five decades or so, has been how the populace relates to the law enforcement professionals and what services are expected in what fashion. Those societal expectations have had a great impact on the evolution of our police and sheriff’s agencies as well as the equipment the cops wear / carry, the laws, policies, rules, guidelines, paperwork and everything else.

“Back in the day” I remember being taught that if I was ever lost I should find the man in the blue uniform and he would help me. I was taught that I could trust him. Now I hear parents telling their children as young as three years old, “You behave or the policeman is going to lock you up.” Sure; that’s a good way to get them to trust those in uniform. That’s a way to make sure they never look to cops for help. If they need help they’ll turn to the local idiot rather than ask a guy in blue (or brown, gray, tan, whatever) simply because mommy or daddy WARNED them about the cops all their life.

Additionally, lo those many decades ago, our American population was more self-supportive in general. Neighbors settled their own disputes. Problem children – up to and including teenagers – who caused problems were taken home to their parents and the problems were worked out. Windows were broken by kids playing ball… and those kids worked off the debt incurred to repair the window. Kids played in the street but they moved when cars came (as opposed to today in many places). There was usually a full time parent in the home even if it was mom running a hair-cutting business out of her living room or ironing or doing laundry to help support the family. Not today as much.

Now, let me ask you a question: how does all that relate to our current Homeland Security situation? Here’s how…

Fifty years ago people paid attention. They took responsibility for their own safety. They worked hand in hand with the law enforcement officials that they considered friends and an intricate part of the neighborhood. The position was viewed as one of honor, trust and admiration. Everyone recognized the sacrifices made by cops to serve the community. In today’s world there is a larger expectation that the law enforcement agencies across our country will defend everyone from any type of crime or terrorist attack. This belief and expectation runs so deep that many people don’t even pay attention to what’s going on around them. After all, they assume that if something bad is happening then a police officer or deputy will be along soon to resolve the issue. “Someone will call 911” they’ll think and then they’ll go about their day.

Among our 300 million citizens in the country today about 900,000 of them are law enforcement professionals. That’s about three-one-thousandths of one percent (0.003%) of our population. There is absolutely no way that so few people can protect so many. Reality is this: YOU, the citizens of this great country, are our first line of defense. YOUR ability to see what’s out of place in YOUR neighborhood and to call it in… YOUR motivation to keep the police or sheriff’s office informed to neighborhood problems… YOUR desire to maintain a level of safety that you belief is acceptable for your children and grandchildren.

YOU are America’s First Line of Defense. YOU are literally on the front lines at home. Why? Because YOU are the potential victim of a terrorist attack. YOUR CHILDREN are the potential targets of a terrorist siege event at your local elementary school. You can’t depend on the police and/or deputies to be everywhere they’re needed all the time. In the low-population-density communities – those agricultural and rural areas we talked about earlier – it’s easier to notice when something is out of place. But in the bigger cities where there is greater anonymity and a proportionately greater number of victims, it’s easier for the bad guys to blend in. THAT is where the police need your help the most – and unfortunately, where it’s less likely to happen. Those same big cities – except in a time of national crisis like 9-11 – are a conglomeration of communities so large that the feeling of community is all but lost. Whether or not the area YOU live in is properly serviced by the police depends on whether or not YOU make / take the time to work with them.

Reach out to them. Call in the suspicious things you see. Teach your children to trust the police and to look to them for help when they need it. YOU are our first line of defense. But you have to pay attention and be willing to act on what you see to do any good. The good news is that IF you act appropriately – maybe just making a phone call – you potentially benefit huge numbers of people. The bad news is that if you don’t pay attention and act appropriately, you DON’T help the community… and worse yet, you increase your own personal risk.

There is an old saying I heard in the military and it’s more appropriate today than it was back then: Stay alert; Stay alive. Think about it.