Show Enforcement Bears Brunt Of Public Criticism LAW by the very nature of its has always been a handy scapegoat for those who resent law and order who seek public sympathy on controversial As a frontline representative of law enforcement often bears the brunt of criticism just or unjust leveled at constituted law enforcement has its as do all Contrary to some it is not responsible for all the grievances with which it is wholesale harassment of law enforcement is not an antidote for all the troublesome issues facing communities throughout the A QUESTIONABLE move currently being championed in some localities is the establishment of civilian review boards to hear complaints against law enforcement To a large these panels would consist of appointed individuals who are generally inexperienced and uninformed in law enforcement and police WILEN CAREFULLY it is clear this drive for external boards is an ill-advised It amounts to the usurpation of authority rightfully belonging to the police It is a practice which could damage effective law enforcement and reduce the orderly processes of community life to petty and The police executive cannot become a mere pawn of bureaucratic He must have full responsibility for the and control of his VALID OBJECTIONS to external review boards arc too numerous and extensive to be shunted Such panels represent a backward step for law enforcement toward ineptness and one of the major weaknesses of these boards is their inherent political In many appointments will be made for political expediency rather than and every and organization which has an axe to grind will demand If there is one thing career police executives have learned over the it is that politics has no place in effective law THE AVERAGE LAW enforcement officer today is already saddled with greater responsibilities than he can fully comprehend and capably Society demands of the officer total compliance with the mandates of the it has yet to give him a clear-cut picture of what the law demands and what it Even those learned In the law cannot agree with certainty what powers the police officers Many his actions are adjudged wrong by the thinnest of margins in split decisions by the highest He should not be subjected to public ridicule and penalized in and personal career based on decisions reached by outside overseers to whom professional law enforcement and public protection may be of secondary EXPERIENCE HAS SHOWN that high selection outstanding realistic pay and advancement based on merit are fundamental principles of good police It Is a pity that the efforts being wasted in promoting impractical review boards could not be applied to these proven John Edgar Director from the FBI Law Enforcement |