There’s a lot in the news this week about why the San Diego Police Department is understaffed and why they are having trouble getting more people to apply for a job as a police officer.
The police chief blames most of it on a lot of the attacks, both physically and verbally, on cops and on the police profession in general. With police shootings and with protestors protesting and with politicians criticizing, some potential cops are shying away from the idea.
The head of the police officers’ union blames it on the fact that San Diego PD pays cops lower than other police and sheriff’s departments in the San Diego area so it’s harder to recruit new hires.
And there are those who think the few bad cops among the ranks at San Diego PD in the last few years may have hurt the department’s reputation a bit.
Whatever the role any or all of these reasons could or could not play into the reason San Diego Police want and need more police, it’s still incredible to see still a lot of men and women who do want to be cops, who want to be in law enforcement.
It’s always has been and probably always will be a dangerous job and at times, it can be a thankless job to be a cop.
If you are a cop or a family member of a cop, you also know that at times, being a cop can put a strain on family and marital relationships.
But for the vast majority of cops, they choose to serve anyway. Most of them do it because they probably feel called to do it. It’s their way of serving others by protecting others.
And maybe if more of us made an effort to respect and thank them for that, we wouldn’t have a problem with finding enough of them.
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