OCR Text |
Show s 1 i "l kJ5T A I I" H- - V. ? j r- $V . & J $ T .: vx , $ jjPtattgt Tnraw, vw $SX t law enforcement will ntcr the most critical period in its taxing calendar of annual responsibilities. If past experience is any guide and it nearly always is it will be a time of great challenge to the profession and of imminent danger to its personnel. Paradoxically, it will also be a time of opportunity when law enforcement can reinforce its image as a competent, dedicated, dynamic, and responsive profession. The added burden ahead will, however, be an awkward load to shoulder. On the one side, increased responsibilities will hang heavily; on the other, generally less than full availability of personnel will throw the weight out of balance. There can be little comfort for the law enforcement officer that this test of his professionalism will occur in one of the years most glorious summertime. seasons Beginning v I V ; i t this month, ... 1 Slick advertisements which patronize the wistful yearnings of many locked in dull routine throughout the balance of the year have already spurred millions of persons on that great American pilgrimage the summer vacation. Waves of people by every mode of transportation are on ; the move. i Many cities will experience the years heaviest influx of tourists. Normally idle seashore and wilderness areas will come alive to the clatter of towns and vilvacationers. Even lages will feel the impact of this migration passing through to other destinations. out-of-the-w- ay , The summer throngs of intermingling people will be swollen further by a sizable and at times unpredictable element of our population-- students on leave from school for the season. Given the natural exuberance of youth, combined at times with the common human frailty of poor judgment, they can and have proved to be a catalyst for menacing situations confronting the law enforcement officer. This increasing summer intermix of people provides, unfortunately, a fertile environment for crime. And, this season also imposes other grave demands on law enforcement at all levels of its duties. Thursday, June 15, 1972 One distinct trend emerges from nationwide offense reports compiled by the FBI over the years. With few exceptions, they show serious crimes during the traditional summer months of June, July, and August are on the rise. Likewise, estimated motor vehicle accident deaths in 1970 and 1971 were greatest in the summer months. These statistics are ominous indicators of probable risks and demands on law enforcement highway and other patrols in the ensuing months. Patrol duty, whether on highway or city street, is the most hazardous of all law enforcement activities. More officers engaged in this duty have lost their lives from felonious assault and accident than in any other assignment. These facts must be given the most thoughtful consideration in allocating manpower in the summer months. Accelerated summer airline travel may also encourage that most loathsome criminal of the who tercurrent crop the hijacker-extortionirorizes the lives of as many as hundreds of innocent men, women, and children at a time for lawless objectives. Additionally, summer can produce a seasonal majority of the years civil disorders, as it did in 1971, when they resulted in the injury of 108 police officers and property damage losses exceeding a million and a half st dollars. Despite the foreboding indices of summer crime and violence, the increased public visibility of the law enforcement officer through his actual presence and demonstrated performance offers an excellent opportunity to win vital citizen respect and support. Summer is a season when law enforcement efforts will contrast sharply against the turmoil of the period. Our profession must be equal to this severe test and discharge its responsibilities with skill and determination. The challenges of summer require the highest level of law enforcement performance. This is no more than professional standards demand and no less than the public has a right to expect. Program Launched The United States Department of Agriculture has launched an environmental Thrust Program to help people in rural communities become aware of the resources available through USDA and its cooperating partners to solve environ- mental problems. State The Rural Develop- ment Committee is providing leadership in coordinating all efforts to carry out the environmental Thrust Program in Utah for 1972. "The USDA Environmental Thrust Program will focus pub- lic attention on action programs and activities that can aid in the development of rural America, " said Robert McBride, Chief of the Division of Fire Control and State and Private Forestry, Intermountain Region of the Forest Service. "It is a mechanism to start the process of challenging and eliminating every possible source of pollution, ugliness, and blight. The effort can benefit Utah by helping our peo -improve their environment. " Mr. McBride pointed out that efforts will be directed toward making improvements in the following areas: Safe drinking water, sanitary landfills, sewage disposal systems, animal waste disposal, pie pesticide safety, control of noxious and poisonous weeds, brush control; landscape protection, land use planning , suitable housing, noise reduction, landscape improvement and recreation. He encouraged alert citizens to identify specific environmental problems and provide the leadership, necessary to carry out the action that will cope with the problems. The State Rural Development Committee will provide information on the technical help that is available to them. "A big problem hindering rural development is the attitude of the general public, " said Mr. McBride. "Many people have little knowledge of the importance of rural America , and agriculture, to their daily lives. They have little understanding of the contributions made by rural folks towards a better environment. " i John Bs&ar Hoover v , 0 (This was Hr. Hoovers last message to all law enforcement officials before his sudden death on Hay 2, 1972.) v V r A Texas friend mailed us this it about a rich rancher who had leaving a stable of 17 fine horses three sons. The will provided the horses to go to his eldest son, to the middle son, and Hfo youngest. Needless to say, the boys were disconcerted. For that matter, so were we. Then came word that a local Solomon at probate succeeded in effecting a proper division without, mind you, converting the ani-b- - 1s horseradish. Haw? & (Reprinted from the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, June, 1972) tr Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much. |