Amid increasing societal turmoil, our communities face formidable challenges, one of which is maintaining peace and domestic tranquility. Unfortunately, there is an ongoing movement to defund the police, as some political factions’ stereotype and demonize the police, while demanding the police not stereotype nor demonize anyone. Against this backdrop, it is no wonder that there are growing shortages of officers and deputies. Disillusioned experienced officers are increasingly leaving policing at the same time new applicants are discouraged from joining. To everyone’s detriment, the thin blue line between violent criminal element and most of the law-abiding society grows thinner each day.
If we ever can chart a rational course back to a state of equilibrium in policing wherein adequate numbers of police officers are available to protect society from the dangerous criminal element, we need to begin in two areas. First, we need to get the defund the police – demonize the police fanatics off the backs of our existing police officers so they can do their jobs without being demeaned at every turn. Of course, we must hold officers reasonably accountable for operating within the law, but get civil society’s enemies to back off, leave the police alone and let them do their job; impartially protecting all society with honor, restraint, fairness, and decency.
Secondly, we need to come to terms with the fact that a declining number of qualified police applicants occurring at the same time as accelerated departures of experienced officers may continue for years to come (at least two). Thus, cities and counties should focus on finding ways to help existing police officers work smarter instead of harder and avoid police burnout. One way to do that is to reduce the time officers are obligated to spend conducting administrative and low-risk duties like time-consuming report writing, data collection, directing traffic, checking on unoccupied homes and forensic crime-scene processing, etc. We must allow officers more time to focus on fighting and preventing crime as well as time to recover from some of the chaos they mitigate each day while serving and protecting us all.
Several Georgia police departments, like the Marietta Police Department, have been implementing a concept of employing civilian public safety professionals and training them to supplement sworn police officers. The key word is “supplement,” but never replace, the police officer positions we presently have. There is no substitute for sworn officers who alternately function as guardians and warriors.
Commonly known as Public Safety Ambassadors (PSAs), civilian professionals require less stringent hiring requirements, less legal and tactical training, less equipment, and are paid commensurately less than sworn officers. PSAs do not carry firearms, do not have arrest powers, are never required to use force, do not write traffic citations and, unlike officers, they are authorized to walk away from dangerous situations. Yet, the differences between PSAs and sworn officers end there. PSAs wear easily recognizable public safety uniforms, drive marked public safety vehicles; and they are highly visible and reassuring to the public. They serve as eyes and ears for the police, and they can do anything a police officer can do that does not involve danger.
Instead of tying up sworn officers with necessary but non-threatening tasks, a professional PSA can perform a wide variety of public safety duties. For example, a trained PSA can easily take a report of a common theft of something like a vehicle, bicycle, lawnmower, or for that matter a vehicle break-in that is discovered the following morning when the suspect(s) are long gone. PSAs are authorized to use issued police radios to communicate directly with officers and issue “be on the lookout” messages to all officers. Reports prepared by PSAs of crimes that have already occurred are followed up by detectives, just like reports prepared by officers.
Just as we have come to appreciate the public safety services provided by civilian “HERO” units in our transportation system, we can appreciate versatile PSAs to perform duties like school crossing guards. In addition, it is a very frequent occurrence for citizens to go to their local police headquarters and say things like “I just need a report for my insurance company.” In many places, that requires pulling an officer off patrol or out of a neighborhood to come to police headquarters to merely write a police report. That does not make as much sense as leaving officers to guard neighborhoods and business districts while a PSA completes the report.
Police officers are called, trained and certified to serve and protect us all. We need to do all we can to protect our protectors.
Dan Flynn was the police chief of both Marietta and Savannah during his law enforcement career.
