Law enforcement - The can’t-miss profession

Law enforcement is the only profession where you have to be right from the minute you take the oath of office until you sign your name to receive your pension. It is an unattainable expectation that is not found in some of the most scholarly professions known to man.

Let’s look into what makes our profession a dying breed and something not desired by the current working class. With only six months of training, the cop is a professional driver, lawyer, firearm expert, psychologist, judge, social worker, mental health expert and all while balancing the ultimate responsibility of possibly having to take a life in a split second.

Each of those titles requires many years of schooling and mentoring in addition to practical experience where the one undertaking them is afforded the time and luxury of mistakes. The lawyer can lose the case and keep his license, the doctor can lose a patient on an operating table with no critiques, and the person who has been driving for years can crash and chalk it up to an unfortunate accident. The psychologist can provide advice based on trained methods but bears no real responsibility for the patient’s final demise.

The police officer, on the other hand, has to be right 100 percent of the time on every decision or face immediate drastic consequences and endure an “after the fact” perspective by a group that has no concept of the immense pressure a police officer faces to be right 100 percent of the time.

History has taught us that this is an unachievable expectation dating back to biblical times. How can we expect our police officers to be right all the time? Then society turns its back on them when they don’t meet expectations.

We need to start recognizing the signs of dismay and the stigma that is associated with the despair in policing of modern society. We are treating our cops with a growing negative discourse that is largely unfair. We are ignoring all the signs of self-destruction and asking them despite this to do more with less - Less pay, less appreciation, less self-motivators, less respect and less personal growth. We talk down to them, we disrespect their oath to protect and serve all while still calling them to help us in a time of need. There are two parallel paths that cannot and will not be sustained.

What is society going to do when we call 911 and the phone continues to ring and ring with the silence of the past? What is society prepared to do when the weak can no longer be protected and the predators feast on the same society that condemns our heroes? Finally, what is society going to do when the once-heralded police officer no longer answers to the inherent call for good to protect against evil because society has blurred the line between the two?

Let’s stop stigmatizing our police officers with unrealistic expectations and come to the realization that we answered a higher calling for the sanctity of life. In the end we are the fathers, mothers, sons and daughters who make up the same community you live in. We worship the same God, we value the same morals and beliefs, we get dressed the same way, and we laugh and cry at the same trials and tribulations as you. Give us what we need, the support of humanity.

Christopher Gialanella is a 23-year police veteran currently holding the rank of police captain in the Special Operations Division. He holds degrees in criminal justice and Homeland Security. Chris is the owner of Wide Eye Security Systems—a private security consulting company focusing on the need for innovative solutions pertaining to real-time security issues. Chris is son of a cop who grew up in the industry and has dedicated his life to protecting those who can’t protect themselves. Follow him on Twitter @GGialanella