07-19-2008, 07:37 PM
For some of you this will mean nothing because no matter what, you'll never be happy with ANYTHING and will ALWAYS look for something to complain and whine about...
For others.. especially the Old Guard, ...
Remember when?? THIS is what it's all about, "Integrity" .....
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Over the last few days I have been pondering the question of what we can do to better ourselves as a department. After thinking about it for awhile, I decided that the ones that can make the most immediate, positive changes are us, the guys on the lower rungs of the totem pole. You and I can't make an instant impact on issues like pay, manpower, or call volume, but if we can work on our own issues it would go a long way to show the people in control of those things that we are deserving of it.
We need to get back to the days of the stoic, professional, State Trooper. The type that everyone respected because they treated each person with the utmost dignity and respect until pushed to the very limit. When finally pushed to the limit, the Troopers of old responded with a fury that only Hell could match........and still managed to maintain their composure. This response was rarely needed due to the manner in which those Troopers presented themselves to the public.
We need to respond to calls in a timely manner and treat each victim like they are important. I don't like working hundred dollar crashes anymore than the next guy, but for the victim of the crash, it's one of the biggest events of their life. Spend a few minutes explaining the process to each party. Most people have no idea what they need to do after being involved in an incident. If I wasn't involved in this career, I wouldn't know either. Many folks ask "silly" questions. Answer them in a professional manner. God knows I asked my FTO's a ton of "stupid" questions. After more than a decade in this business, I still have the occasional question that someone, somewhere, would deem "stupid"..
Most of the time, our mouths get us in a lot of trouble. As State Troopers, we should never lower ourselves to the violators level. If they are looking for an argument, an FHP Trooper should be their last choice. I'm a firm believer in attempting to make a traffic stop as pleasant as possible, regardless of the outcome of the stop. If the stop ends in a few well placed PR-24 strikes, then it only happened because that's what the violator wanted. We need to use traffic stops to educate each occupant of the vehicle instead of just looking for a stat.
We need to return to the days when Troopers could solve their own problems and make their own decisions without the help of their Sergeant. Have we ever considered that some of our supervisors treat us like children because we ask for it?
We always expect our supervisors to drop what they are doing and help us with our immediate problem, and we get upset if they can't. Interestingly enough, the public feels the same way if we can't solve their problem. Maybe we should try to help out our supervisors a little instead of finding ways to annoy them. It might be something as easy as turning in your paperwork early, or getting those updates done on the 29th day.
We need to work a little harder to foster good working relationships with all levels of government. What happened to the days when city Cops, Deputies, and Troopers all met at the local Dennys at three in the morning and made fun of each other for answering dog calls and chasing tail lights, then bought each other a cup of coffee?
We need to start taking care of our own people. When I first started this job, I looked to the old guys for guidance. If I messed something up, they wouldn't hesitate to tell me about it. If I really offended someone, they would have met me under an overpass and told me I screwed up. They wouldn't have posted my name and my actions on an anonymous message board for the entire world to see. Lets face it, we don't always know we are making a mistake until someone points it out. If one of our fellow brothers or sisters is having an issue, we are all much better off dealing with it one on one.
Remember. This is not YOUR Highway Patrol. It's not MY Highway Patrol either. It's OUR Highway Patrol. The good things that Troopers do reverberate through the state. Unfortunately, a mistake made in the panhandle might also be felt in Key West. Lets try not to make very many major mistakes!
We need to start treating each other with respect. Many of the postings on this website are down right nasty. This board is read by many, many people beyond FHP. If you think for one minute that some of the things posted on here are actually going to help our cause, you are sadly mistaken. In the internet age, anything posted here might find it's way to one of the millions of other websites. Trust me when I tell you that not to many members of the public reference any of the GOOD comments on here. We are only hurting ourselves and the other members of the Law Enforcement community when we trash talk ourselves, other LEO's and the public. It's easy to discuss certain issues (that need to be discussed) without being unprofessional. If you look back in history, I'm pretty sure that no great person ever said a great quote that ended with "you suck", "retard", or "loser". Read the Declaration of Independence. No where in there did it say "King George, you're an idiot. We're outta here, Loser!", although that's exactly what it meant.
Lets stop worrying about cars, uniforms, badges, computers, and any of the other stuff that we think we need. Folks, cops have been doing this job for 300 years. They didn't NEED that stuff then and we don't really NEED it now, although it sure does make life a lot easier. It drives me crazy when I hear a two year Trooper tell me they can't do their job because their computer won't work or their car has 80,000 miles on it.
After all of this, the bottom line is that WE need to fix the Patrol. If we want to make this a truly great organization, we need to band together and fix what we can fix. Some of the problems are beyond our control. We can't change our pay. We can't change our policies. We can't change our manpower. We can change our demeanor, our appearance, and our work ethic. Once we do that, we stand a much better chance of getting some of the other stuff.
Take care and stay safe out there folks.
For others.. especially the Old Guard, ...
Remember when?? THIS is what it's all about, "Integrity" .....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Over the last few days I have been pondering the question of what we can do to better ourselves as a department. After thinking about it for awhile, I decided that the ones that can make the most immediate, positive changes are us, the guys on the lower rungs of the totem pole. You and I can't make an instant impact on issues like pay, manpower, or call volume, but if we can work on our own issues it would go a long way to show the people in control of those things that we are deserving of it.
We need to get back to the days of the stoic, professional, State Trooper. The type that everyone respected because they treated each person with the utmost dignity and respect until pushed to the very limit. When finally pushed to the limit, the Troopers of old responded with a fury that only Hell could match........and still managed to maintain their composure. This response was rarely needed due to the manner in which those Troopers presented themselves to the public.
We need to respond to calls in a timely manner and treat each victim like they are important. I don't like working hundred dollar crashes anymore than the next guy, but for the victim of the crash, it's one of the biggest events of their life. Spend a few minutes explaining the process to each party. Most people have no idea what they need to do after being involved in an incident. If I wasn't involved in this career, I wouldn't know either. Many folks ask "silly" questions. Answer them in a professional manner. God knows I asked my FTO's a ton of "stupid" questions. After more than a decade in this business, I still have the occasional question that someone, somewhere, would deem "stupid"..
Most of the time, our mouths get us in a lot of trouble. As State Troopers, we should never lower ourselves to the violators level. If they are looking for an argument, an FHP Trooper should be their last choice. I'm a firm believer in attempting to make a traffic stop as pleasant as possible, regardless of the outcome of the stop. If the stop ends in a few well placed PR-24 strikes, then it only happened because that's what the violator wanted. We need to use traffic stops to educate each occupant of the vehicle instead of just looking for a stat.
We need to return to the days when Troopers could solve their own problems and make their own decisions without the help of their Sergeant. Have we ever considered that some of our supervisors treat us like children because we ask for it?
We always expect our supervisors to drop what they are doing and help us with our immediate problem, and we get upset if they can't. Interestingly enough, the public feels the same way if we can't solve their problem. Maybe we should try to help out our supervisors a little instead of finding ways to annoy them. It might be something as easy as turning in your paperwork early, or getting those updates done on the 29th day.
We need to work a little harder to foster good working relationships with all levels of government. What happened to the days when city Cops, Deputies, and Troopers all met at the local Dennys at three in the morning and made fun of each other for answering dog calls and chasing tail lights, then bought each other a cup of coffee?
We need to start taking care of our own people. When I first started this job, I looked to the old guys for guidance. If I messed something up, they wouldn't hesitate to tell me about it. If I really offended someone, they would have met me under an overpass and told me I screwed up. They wouldn't have posted my name and my actions on an anonymous message board for the entire world to see. Lets face it, we don't always know we are making a mistake until someone points it out. If one of our fellow brothers or sisters is having an issue, we are all much better off dealing with it one on one.
Remember. This is not YOUR Highway Patrol. It's not MY Highway Patrol either. It's OUR Highway Patrol. The good things that Troopers do reverberate through the state. Unfortunately, a mistake made in the panhandle might also be felt in Key West. Lets try not to make very many major mistakes!
We need to start treating each other with respect. Many of the postings on this website are down right nasty. This board is read by many, many people beyond FHP. If you think for one minute that some of the things posted on here are actually going to help our cause, you are sadly mistaken. In the internet age, anything posted here might find it's way to one of the millions of other websites. Trust me when I tell you that not to many members of the public reference any of the GOOD comments on here. We are only hurting ourselves and the other members of the Law Enforcement community when we trash talk ourselves, other LEO's and the public. It's easy to discuss certain issues (that need to be discussed) without being unprofessional. If you look back in history, I'm pretty sure that no great person ever said a great quote that ended with "you suck", "retard", or "loser". Read the Declaration of Independence. No where in there did it say "King George, you're an idiot. We're outta here, Loser!", although that's exactly what it meant.
Lets stop worrying about cars, uniforms, badges, computers, and any of the other stuff that we think we need. Folks, cops have been doing this job for 300 years. They didn't NEED that stuff then and we don't really NEED it now, although it sure does make life a lot easier. It drives me crazy when I hear a two year Trooper tell me they can't do their job because their computer won't work or their car has 80,000 miles on it.
After all of this, the bottom line is that WE need to fix the Patrol. If we want to make this a truly great organization, we need to band together and fix what we can fix. Some of the problems are beyond our control. We can't change our pay. We can't change our policies. We can't change our manpower. We can change our demeanor, our appearance, and our work ethic. Once we do that, we stand a much better chance of getting some of the other stuff.
Take care and stay safe out there folks.