I returned late last night from a one-day trip to Washington D.C., where I served on a an advisory panel for an upcoming research effort concerning eyewitness identification. The research is funded by the National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the United States Department of Justice.
The flight home was filled with 7th and 8th graders from an Omaha parochial school. You can make this trip in a single day, if you leave on one of the very early morning flights and catch the 7:35 PM flight back to Omaha. I thought maybe that's what the group had done. I asked one of the chaperones. Nope, it was a five day trip. She looked a little worn out. I was exhausted just thinking about it.
I have been invited by the NIJ to this and similar meetings from time to time, at their expense, to shed some practical light on research proposals and projects from the perspective of a police chief who dangles one foot lightly into the academic and scientific pool. It's a task I enjoy, and one that has helped me grow professionally.
The pressure of daily affairs often keeps police managers from reading and studying the literature of their field. The NIJ reviews and panels have forced me to read and think about issues that might not otherwise have been in my briefcase. It's a valuable experience, and I appreciate the opportunity from time to time to interact with peers in policing and in academia. I hope that on occasion I make a helpful contribution.
This was my first trip to Washington D.C. since the fall of 2006. Fortunately, I did not contribute to the District's violent crime rate this time.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
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14 comments:
In case any readers were wondering just what the DC violent crime rate is, take a gander here.
As usual, you can pretty much trust the murder, robbery, and auto theft rates, but the rest are highly-under-reported in any city with crime that high. No sane person could really believe that Lincoln actually has higher rape, robbery, and larceny rates than does DC. One caveat: those robbery rates combine business and non-business robbery, and there is also a degree of under-reporting of the latter, probably a high degree in a rathole like DC.
Chief
In the past you have talked about working the streets to refresh yourself with what it is like to wear the uniform. Times change and people’s perspectives on our job change. With that in hand, do you ever tell your Captains or Assistant Chief to go out on the beat and take a few calls or stop a car? I may be only speculating, but I bet that the top management has forgotten what it is like to be a "Cop." Maybe I am wrong. What are your thoughts?
To Annon 11:32,
Although I have shared your speculations at times in the past, I no longer worry much about whether the Management Personnel remember what it is like to be a cop. Every time that subject comes up, the reply is the same. They will regale you with memories of when Cornhusker Hwy was a busy and dangerous place to work thanks to Bo's and other seedy nightclubs, hanging 10 on 'O' st, poor radio communications, call box keys, on and on etc. Although I agree things are different now, we also have some of the same problems, concerns, strengths, and weaknesses. The issues don't necessarily get better or worse over time, just different. In 20 years you will be responding to the same concerns being voiced by the recruits from the 2028 academy class and you will be regaling them with stories of downtown bar break, the Core neighborhood, the poor layout of the jail in-take area, etc. However, having said all that, I too would like to see the Management Personnel out taking a couple of calls or making a couple of stops. Not so they remember what it's like to be a cop again, but to show the troops that they are willing to lead from the front. It means a lot when you see a Captain, A/C, or Chief doing the same things they are asking us to do, and help reinforce the idea that we are all in this together regardless of rank or position.
Atticus
Atticus-
I could not have put it better.
Hey, I'm taking some significant time off later this summer with the lovely Tonja. I think it would be unwise to blog while travelling for our 35th anniversary. Would you be a guest blogger for about a week? It would mean writing about three posts--topic of your choice, deep, shallow, serious, humorous. I have a method to protect your identity.
Chief,
I agree that, in many ways, the officers that are now edging into retirement had some tough times. I do like that you come out but find it rare that others in your staff do. They truly need to come out & deal with some of the issues of the day. They can then complete some reports, have them reviewed not once, but twice or three times for errors. Sometimes maybe someone can take exception to something noted in the report & start handing out discipline. Maybe then some will open their eyes to why morale is low.
That's an appealing offer Chief. I would welcome the opportunity to fill the gap, if my doing so would help to keep you in the good graces of Mrs. Casady. How would that work exactly?
Atticus
Atticus...I doubt that the current management team could even come close to remembering "hanging 10" on "O" street - a time honored tradition that 3rd shift beatmen did to greet Chief Joseph Carroll when he drove down "O" street in the early morning. Let's see...what's the oldest mgt. number?? 251??? 270??? Am I missing someone "older"???
Come on Atticus...take up the Chiefs challenge....
How about a blog about cheese? Maybe Lindberger? Afterall, some of the citizens in this town sure do like to raise a stink about some silly things.
Superior 19 to 27th
three accidents a week.
Time for some radar and selective?
Atticus-
Very simple, just provide me off-blog with a "cool" (anonymous, that is) email address--I'd recommend a gmail address. A few days before me leave, I'll send you an invitation to blog, which will contain a link that walks you through the process. It's really very, very easy.
If you wanted to kick the tires a little bit before August, just start up your own "practice blog" (unpublished), and you'll see how blogger works.
I keep reading comments in various blog topics that are obviously from officers, complaining of having their work "checked and rechecked" for errors, and then they act like if they get the work back for correction, they are being picked on.
I am always amazed by the number of people who seem to think that their job is to pick the level of correctness or completeness that THEY want, then to complain if it doesn't meet a set standard for the agency. If you get paid to do a job, do it right. If you don't like it, why are you still there? Why also is the supervisor at fault if they send it back. Seems to me, they are DOING their job.
tom casady said: "A few days before me leave...."
That's pirate talk!!!!
Maybe he plans to take the Mrs. on an extended pirate cruise for their 25th anniversary? It makes sense, since there probably isn't any broadband on board, so he needs the blog sub to cover.
Ships have internet.. Must be a remote location...any pirates in Antarctica?
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