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Today's police departments still have military similarities by way of
rank insignia; uniforms, and firearms training, but that's about as far
as it goes. During the days of the military draft, a large proportion of
new police officers had two to three years of prior military service.
Those police officers were throughly familiar with things like military
courtesy; chain of command... and redundancy. Today, very few new
police officers have any military background, and they have no
appreciation, or patience, for redundancy. Redundancy is an acquired
taste; one can only appreciate its importance after being subjected to it
over an extended period of time.
Many in police leadership positions, who have no prior military service,
probably view redundancy as a wasteful exercise of time and resources.
These are the same people who might purchase a million dollar motor
home loaded with high tech gadgets while their patrol fleet of police cars
is at a just sufficient level or even a few cars short. Let's say this
million dollar truck is necessary to the department's mission. What
happens when it's in the shop, and it's needed on short notice? Where's
the second million dollar truck? What about maybe three TV style vans
with comparable high tech capabilities? Then again, they wouldn't be
nearly as impressive for publicity, or the Police Chief's resume.
Redundancy goes beyond a department's materiel resources. When you
go through your firearms training, you'll probably experience your
maximum exposure to redundancy. The reason is simple... it's
dangerous. Because a gun is a dangerous thing, you'll be required to
perform the same procedures over, and over, and over; until, your
handling of the weapon becomes second nature to you. Once you're out
of the academy, and you only qualify one or two times a year, your
proficiency will decrease. Why do you think you read about police
officers, from time to time, accidentally discharging their weapons?
You're going to laugh at this, but I can tell you exactly where
redundancy began its demise. How often do you see a police officer
wearing a uniform hat? The hat is still issued as part of your uniform.
There was a time when you could have just come out of a drag down,
knock out fight, and the first thing your sergeant would ask was,
"Where's your hat?" The sergeant knew exactly what he was doing. If
he didn't let you slide on something so seemingly minor, you knew he
wouldn't let you slide on anything of obviously greater importance.
Today, you could have two police officers standing in front of you, and
the only way you'll know they're with the same department is by
checking the patches on their shoulders.
rank insignia; uniforms, and firearms training, but that's about as far
as it goes. During the days of the military draft, a large proportion of
new police officers had two to three years of prior military service.
Those police officers were throughly familiar with things like military
courtesy; chain of command... and redundancy. Today, very few new
police officers have any military background, and they have no
appreciation, or patience, for redundancy. Redundancy is an acquired
taste; one can only appreciate its importance after being subjected to it
over an extended period of time.
Many in police leadership positions, who have no prior military service,
probably view redundancy as a wasteful exercise of time and resources.
These are the same people who might purchase a million dollar motor
home loaded with high tech gadgets while their patrol fleet of police cars
is at a just sufficient level or even a few cars short. Let's say this
million dollar truck is necessary to the department's mission. What
happens when it's in the shop, and it's needed on short notice? Where's
the second million dollar truck? What about maybe three TV style vans
with comparable high tech capabilities? Then again, they wouldn't be
nearly as impressive for publicity, or the Police Chief's resume.
Redundancy goes beyond a department's materiel resources. When you
go through your firearms training, you'll probably experience your
maximum exposure to redundancy. The reason is simple... it's
dangerous. Because a gun is a dangerous thing, you'll be required to
perform the same procedures over, and over, and over; until, your
handling of the weapon becomes second nature to you. Once you're out
of the academy, and you only qualify one or two times a year, your
proficiency will decrease. Why do you think you read about police
officers, from time to time, accidentally discharging their weapons?
You're going to laugh at this, but I can tell you exactly where
redundancy began its demise. How often do you see a police officer
wearing a uniform hat? The hat is still issued as part of your uniform.
There was a time when you could have just come out of a drag down,
knock out fight, and the first thing your sergeant would ask was,
"Where's your hat?" The sergeant knew exactly what he was doing. If
he didn't let you slide on something so seemingly minor, you knew he
wouldn't let you slide on anything of obviously greater importance.
Today, you could have two police officers standing in front of you, and
the only way you'll know they're with the same department is by
checking the patches on their shoulders.
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Redundancy...
A Lost Art
A Lost Art
| Copyright © 2006 - 2008 - Barry M. Baker - CareerPoliceOfficer.com |
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