Whether the defund-the-police movement was orchestrated by organized criminals’ intent on pushing America into anarchy, or evil billionaires’ intent on deconstructing American criminal justice, it is a radical/left strategy harmful to everyone. By manipulating mainstream Americans who value domestic peace, civility and safety, left-wing extremists are advancing their agenda of hate and destruction of America.
It wouldn’t be so hard to counter, except that so many Americans consider the defund movement to be nothing more than a political trend. They are willing to look the other way and just hope the defund movement will fade away. Their overall apathetic reaction is reminiscent of the 1960s Beatles song lyrics: “Nowhere Man” – “Doesn’t have a point of view, knows not where he’s going to…”
By sensationalizing a small number of legitimate grievances against the police, the defunding movement is also designed to feed into other dangerous initiatives. They include eliminating bail and using a few dark money-funded rogue prosecutors to refuse to prosecute horrendous sociopathic violent criminals in major cities. Together, these anti-criminal justice initiatives also feed on an older left-wing political strategy of polarizing mainstream Americans by race with inflammatory rhetoric.
When added to the ongoing attempts to eliminate our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, the entire strategy comes into focus.
Consider what the defund-the-police movement alone is doing to our law enforcement community. Law enforcement agencies that have traditionally offered aspiring young first responders’ unique opportunities to protect and serve are now suffering severe and ongoing recruiting problems. Agencies that were formerly able to attract the first-rate, most physically, mentally and morally fit individuals to serve now find the available number of qualified applicants in sharp decline. Many with the most to offer have been discouraged away from public service.
Applicants who would have formerly showed great potential as guardians of the public are instead applying for higher-paying private sector jobs. Others are shopping the internet for agencies that offer the highest starting salaries and incentives, with little or no loyalty to any community.
Neighboring police agencies in Georgia and elsewhere now find themselves in bidding wars with one another for the most qualified police candidates. They alternate raising starting salaries and hiring incentives, but eventually, the overall salary levels will become unsustainable without large tax increases. Even when an agency temporarily wins the salary competition, they soon begin to struggle with officer retention issues. In today’s inflationary economy, officers tend to be more mobile and less loyal to departments with the best equipment, training and community outreach records.
Another issue that impacts the supply of new qualified officers is the circulation of rhetoric exaggerating the stress and dangers of policing these days. Potential new officer candidates find themselves wondering if they are hired and they must use deadly force in the course of their duties, will they be treated fairly by a criminal justice system that is decaying and changing with political winds? While anti-police rhetoric has been a part of our landscape for a long time, in recent years it has been exaggerated to fan the flames of doubt in potential applicants.
Dogged by a reduced applicant pool, police leaders and recruiters now find themselves in the uncomfortable position of having to consider lowering hiring standards to fill vacant positions.
Very often, the first standard to go is the physical fitness standard. Policing is a rigorous job and there is liability from hiring someone who is not capable of running after a fleeing criminal, jumping a small fence or coping with the mental stresses of the job.
Concerning applicant integrity standards, police leaders now must consider the implications of hiring individuals with a history of lying, stealing, weak personal credit ratings, or questionable pre-employment psychological standards. Many departments find themselves considering lowering applicants’ prior drug use standards below youthful experimentation. They also have to considering the risk of hiring an officer who was fired from another department for misconduct or immoral behavior. These are all tough decisions for police administrators because they relate to civil liability, police use of force and the way officers can be expected to treat a sometimes onery public.
The average Georgian can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines and be parts of the silent majority. We must stand for something, or we will fall for anything. Standing for law and order and vote for candidates who truly support law and order is a worthy cause.
The author once served as the police chief of Savannah and Marietta.
