Law Enforcement Appreciation Day - Ep9

National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day - Ep11 Shownotes

Today’s featured holiday is, “National Law Enforcement
Appreciation Day”!

As a former police officer, trainer, and Chief of Police, this day
is near and dear to my heart.

Across the U.S. alone there are more than 800,000 sworn police
officers serving communities large and small. When we add in
federal, military, and special police, we have more than a million
men and women working to protect us. In addition to sworn law
enforcement officers, there are hundreds of thousands of other
people working in law enforcement agencies such as dispatchers,
crime scene specialists, and administrative personnel.

It’s no secret that policing is a dangerous profession. According
to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, there were
64 officers killed in firearms related incidents in 2016. That was
a 56 percent increase over 2015. Twenty-one of those deaths
resulted from ambush type shootings, the highest total in more than
two decades.

In total, the death toll for police officers from all work-related
causes in 2016 was 135. For 2017, the death toll was 125 with 45 of
those deaths by gunfire.

But let’s not just look at numbers. Everyone of those law
enforcement officers were husbands, wives, sons, daughters,
brothers and sisters. Every one of those law enforcement officers
were human beings, people with hopes and dreams for a safer and
better world. Each one of these people gave his or her life in
pursuit of their dream.

Genius of National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day:

The National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day was born in 2015 as
the result of a cooperative effort by a multitude of organization
such as the Fraternal Order of Police, the FBI National Academy
Associates, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and
others.

How to Participate:

How can you participate in National Law Enforcement Appreciation
Day? First, when you see a police officer make a point to say
“Thank you for what you do”. Mail or deliver a letter of
appreciation to your local City, County, or State police agency.
Wear blue, put in and turn on a blue porch light, or acknowledge
your appreciation on social media.

Use the hashtag #NationalLawEnforcementAppreciationDay to spread
the word.

Please share this episode and please make a point to thank police
officers today and every day for what they do.