The Curse Of The Commission…..

The evolution of policing in America is an interesting story. It is a profession desperately needed as a buffer between a peace loving people and elements of our society who seek to interrupt daily life with behaviors that range from middling nuisances to life threatening actions with little regard for consequences. Often the officer finds himself or herself in circumstances that are called into question by the public, his superiors and our court system. In spite of this scrutiny, officers soldier on in an environment where every action is subjected to instant review and evaluation. Officers are, after all, trained observers.

The day you are sworn in to a police agency is a day of pride after successfully surviving a complex training regimen and demonstrating a basic level of competency and familiarization with the tools of the trade. It also marks the beginning of a slow but sure process transforming everyday folks from a philosophy suggesting the glass is half full to one that sees the glass as half empty. This thought occurred to me while driving to the gym this week and watching the usual early morning traffic in Springfield drive as if there were no laws governing the movement of cars, and certainly no fear of traffic enforcement. In short folks have dispensed with common courtesy and the need to properly license their vehicles. There is little significant traffic enforcement these days, partly due to the shortage of officers and the accompanying lack of discretionary enforcement time, where traffic work gets done. Specialized traffic units don’t exist in numbers necessary to deter bad behavior, with the exception of a few Highway Patrols, such as the superlative Ohio State Patrol, always visible and engaged.

When you are commissioned and hit the streets, your life revolves around illegal and or dangerous activity. You begin morphing into the habit of viewing virtually every circumstance in life through the filter of propriety or legality. In short, you are constantly looking for what is wrong or ugly with what is in front of you with little regard for what is right and beautiful. After years of viewing virtually every aspect of life looking for something wrong, illegal or simply out of place, you are hopelessly scarred. I am entering my 24th year post retirement and have still not shaken that mindset. It is a way of thinking that is ingrained into your very being and damned hard to quell. It has taken me over twenty years just to realize my jaundiced view of life is like a proverbial albatross hanging from my neck. I call this phenomena the “Curse of the Commission”. This curse is exacerbated in retirement by your inability to do anything about the aberrations around you. No wonder police officers do not enjoy the retirement longevity of folks wearing rose colored glasses especially those professions that revolve around the good in life as opposed to the bad.

Hopefully, now that I have acknowledged my jaundiced approach to observing mankind, I’ll be able to overcome the tendency to look for a defect and see the good side of folks and circumstances. I would warn my friends, though, the odds of me becoming a Pollyanna are not good. Retired police officers are all candidates for an intervention, but then again, they have earned the right to acknowledge the imperfections in our society. I’m working on it……but have a ways to go. Meanwhile, I am not talking to myself when behind the wheel…..in fact you wouldn’t want to hear the oaths and offers of in flight adjustments that are crossing my lips. If only I could accept that it is no longer my circus out there…….

Have great week!

SR