Gearing-Up Your Agency

Echo-Sigma

I’m pretty sure most of us got into law enforcement for some variation of the idea: I want to help the innocent from the evils of the world. Well, sometimes the evil lurks right in your own backyard. While I’m not talking criminal evil — I’ll save that for another Vantage Point — I’m referring to outdated or dangerous equipment or concepts. Let’s face it, administrators often get caught up in the business of administrating (dealing with budgets, community groups, politicians and the like) and then find themselves losing touch with all the stuff that helps keep their troops going.

If you’re reading American COP, you likely already know more about what’s new and what works (and what doesn’t) than many administrators. Be bold: take what you know to the top. Show why new stuff should be looked at — or why it shouldn’t be. Open doors to manufacturers. Reach out to us, we’ll help you find who you need to talk to. Get test and evaluation gear — then test and evaluate it!

Don’t just sit back and complain about the new laptop you got … you should have been involved in the selection. Think a patrol cop has no say? You’re wrong. In my time as a patrol officer, I helped guide decision makers along the path to better equipment for us patrol pukes. We were the ones who had to use it, so why shouldn’t we have a say? And that say can’t just be belly aching. You need to learn about and understand what’s out there. Go to websites, invite company sales reps to your agency, do what you need to in order to be fluent in what you need.

My husband Roy got onto the Officer Safety Task Force for our agency. His knowledge of firearms, holsters and ammunition helped him to assist in the transition to patrol carbines, among other gear, for officers. He was just a patrol cop, but he and others who had the knowledge were able to advise, cajole and sway the higher-ups to adopt gear that made sense for the time — rather than simply settling for low-bid, or something some salesman pushed over onto a chief officer who was 20 years out of touch about what patrol needed.

Are you high-tech? Do you have an iPhone or some other smartphone all-knowing device? Then you’re high-tech. I’ll wager many older administrators have little or no idea of the amazing apps out there right now, specifically geared toward police work. Learn about them in our pages, and then show how they can apply on your agency.

What now? Own it. Buy into it. Take the reigns. If something is going to happen, then you likely need to make it happen. You can sit and let the world go by, or you can help steer it.

I’d rather steer, thank you.
By Suzi Huntington

>> Click Here << To Read More American COP August 2013 Vantage Point