"Protect and Serve" are the words we see on the side of many police cars and is the motto of most police forces. The words define the mission of the police, which is to "protect" citizens and "serve" the public. However, it has become increasingly clear that in far too many police forces those words have been twisted beyond recognition. Too often they appear to mean, "to protect officers and serve the police force."
"Force Protection" has become the primary motivating force for many in the Police. That term is actually a military concept which means that you do everything you can to protect the troops when planning and executing a combat mission. In the military context you are not concerned about the health or safety of the enemy you are engaging and therefor force protection not only makes sense but it is an imperative.
But in the context of policing, force protection should never be an imperative and should only be a consideration to the extent that it does not interfere with the primary mission. That mission is to protect citizens and serve the public. Sadly, too often the police have lost sight of their mission.
That is why we see police officers holding back from rescuing children until the SWAT Team arrives. That is why you see an officer shoot an unarmed person who poses no real threat. That is why we have helmets, body armor, assault rifles and armored vehicles deployed to stop peaceful demonstrations. That is why you have secrecy and insularity in police forces. That is why lying to protect a fellow officer is not just accepted but all too often expected.
Yes, some of these characteristics have always been with us. But we are now seeing them exhibited to a much greater extent than ever before. Yes, fellow officers are members of a brotherhood of shared experience but a police officer's duty to the public is always greater that his duty to a fellow officer or the police force. Yes, policing is dangerous but it is far from the most dangerous job in the country. And embracing the inherent danger of policing is supposed to be part of the ethos of protecting citizens from danger and harm.
The police are not the military and should stop behaving as if they are. It is time for the police to rediscover what the words "Protect And Serve" are supposed to mean.
