Page 12 - mar-apr east final

My Brother’s call seemingly presents itself as a for 10 openings with the Seattle po-
Keeper
By Bobby Gaddy – State Vice President
Greetings Brothers and Sisters:
It is my pleasure and honor to
serve as your State Vice President. I
have the pleasure of working with a
very strong and diverse State Execu-
tive Board. We will continue to rep-
resent each of you in the most posi-
tive light and maintain a level of
readiness whenever you need us. As
always, I am at your beckoning call
and willing to serve and/or represent
you in any way possible. Feel free at
any time to reach out and call me.
I believe that it is written in the same problems other employers do
book of Genesis 4:9, “Then the Lord
said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your
Brother?’ And he said, “I do not
know. Am I my brother’s keeper?’”
Although this is sometimes referred
to as the “first murder” biblically, I
would like to take a look at it from a
different point of view. I would like
to look at it from the context of hav-
ing the right person/people at the
right time at the right moment. In re-
cent months we as a profession have
seen an increase in violent attacks
that directly target Law Enforcement
Officers. So the question of “Am I
my brother’s keeper” comes to the
forefront. The simple answer is
“YES.” The climate of Law Enforce-
ment and community’s perception
seems to be at an all-time low; yet,
our brothers and sisters across Amer-
ica and throughout the world remain
relevant and vigilant. With the many
acts of violence throughout America
today such as Dallas, Baton Rouge
and most recently right here at home
in Charlotte, it has increased the
pressures associated with being a
Law Enforcement Officer in today’s
society. The days of the old cliché of
a “routine call” are no more! Each
possible template for ambush and/or lice, the department says. Now there
litigation for or against the respond- are 1,000 applicants for 70 positions
ing Officer. The day-to-day threat of — a drop of more than 90 percent.”
an officer losing his or her life (on or These facts and numbers are im-
off duty) has become a reality with portant because they emphasize the
the recent unprovoked attacks across importance of getting the right peo-
the country. As a profession, we are ple in place! We have to learn to put
in a crisis! Yet, despite the many as- aside our sometime “petty” inter-
sociated pressures, our brothers and agency issues and focus on what at-
sisters still remain dedicated to their tracts those whom we are seeking to
oath of “protecting and serving.” De- recruit. We have to remember what it
spite all of the negativity and rheto- was that attracted each of us to our
ric, “we” still come to work every respective agency and has made us
day, (sometimes at the crack of dawn want to stay. This brings me back to
or in the middle of the night), we my original point of being “My
work our tour and many times go brother’s keeper.” When I first en-
home whenever the mission is com- tered the Law Enforcement profes-
plete. sion over twenty years ago, it was
truly a brotherhood. I entered at a
As Law Enforcement profes- time where “choir rehearsals aka af-
sionals, we must focus on the many ter work socials” were a commonal-
positive attributes of our profession ity at the end of a shift or a work
and continue to try to attract well week. It was a time where the work
qualified candidates to join our shift was just a time in space between
ranks. Nationwide the interest in squad gatherings. We knew each
Law Enforcement as a profession is other and each other’s families.
down and now we have less people These types of interactions fostered
entering into the Law Enforcement trust and comradery within the ranks.
arena. In a recent to news article pub- These types of interactions made you
lished by ABC News: “…public responsible and accountable for each
safety departments face some of the other both on and off duty and fos-
tered brotherhood. They enabled
with U.S. unemployment at a 30-year people to understand and be open to
low, police recruiters are addition- acceptance within and outside of the
ally stymied by the job’s low pay, tar- group.
nished image, increasingly tougher As a profession, there has never been
standards for new recruits and lim- a time more than the present that we
ited job flexibility.” In addition, ABC need to have and foster those types of
also reports that “Police depart- bonds and connections. This is a two-
ments in Los Angeles, New York and step process, we must first find ways
Chicago are all working harder at to connect to the newer generation of
recruitment and drawing fewer ap- up and coming officers. We must
plicants. But it is also the same story
in smaller cities such as Leesburg, recognize that the way we were in-
Va., where the number of applicants ducted into the profession may no
to the police department has dropped longer work, and we must seek new
90 percent over the past five years, ways to reach out and connect to
and Reno, Nev., which reports a de- them. Because so many of the newer
cline of 50 percent since 1997. A dec- generation’s social interactions come
ade ago, there were 3,000 applicants through social media outlets such as:
Continued on P. 14
www.ncfop.org 12