Page 44 - 1Proactive Policing

Pro-Active Policing

After viewing far too much news from the ‗unbiased‘ electric media and reading what self-

perceived experts on policing are spouting off, I have grown weary of their rhetoric. Every day
there is another shocking video of police officers performing dastardly actions with some
professor acting as an expert, offering play by play of the officer‘s draconian actions. My question

is what real policing experience does this intellectual possess? Oh that‘s right; he or she was a
crossing guard in grade school. Enough already from that side! After too many blog responses,

emails, phone calls and locker room banter, let‘s stop and look at this.

Officers have witnessed anti-cop rhetoric by politicians and protestors ratcheted up to levels we

haven‘t seen since the 1970s. Similarly, unprovoked sudden ambush attacks and assaults on our
officers harken back to the bad old days of the 70s. There is a serious lack of statistical data on

either of those trends, but it‘s easy to observe the uptick simply by watching the number of such
news headlines compared to years past.

In addition, vital life-saving equipment acquired by departments under the 1033 program has been
ordered to be returned to the federal government. At a time when armored vehicles and other
important gear is needed more than ever to protect officers and civilians alike, a presidential

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pronouncement in October gave agencies until April 1 2016 to send the stuff back or be out of
compliance with federal regulations and at risk of losing federal funding.

Indeed, there have been myriad individual events and trends of consequence for law enforcement
in 2015, but none have the same potential for far-reaching future implications as the inexorably

linked phenomena of officers hesitating to act when action is necessary, and officers disengaging
from the practice of proactive policing. Many in the law enforcement universe have dubbed this
the ‗Ferguson Effect‘ — the consequence of Officer Darren Wilson losing his career (and his life

as he knew it) after justifiably using his sidearm to defend himself against a deadly threat on that
summer Saturday afternoon on Florissant Street in 2014. Let‘s examine each element.

Stop-and-Frisk Policing

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