This past week I had the honor of attending the Mid-Winter Meeting of the Texas Crime Prevention Association. I say it was an honor because I spent time with many of my crime prevention colleagues who work daily to carry the message to their communities in a dedicated environment. Oh yes, before I forget to tell you, I am a very proud Life Member of TCPA; my membership has continued for over 25 years. Finally, I also had the privilege this week of serving as an instructor in two subjects.
One of the things that has always been a fact of life for Crime Prevention Officers is that the organization and political environments within most law enforcement agencies causes the CPO to have extra duties to deal with. For example, some of the duties brought to my attention this week included:
- Internal Affairs Commander
- Court Bailiff Manager
- Patrol Duties
- CALEA Project Manager
- PIO
- Crime Prevention Officer
- Crime Analyst
And these are only a few of the tasks. Is there a solution to allowing the CPO's to fulfill their role as Community Services and Crime Prevention Officers? I don't know if there is any definitive answer. What we do know is that CPO's don't have enough hours to perform their Crime Prevention Duties in the best possible manner. All the other duties may well prevent that.
Over the last several years, I have noticed that our Crime Prevention colleagues in the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, seem to excel at their duties. When I started looking into why, it seems they, in most cases, seem not to have all the extra duties that USA officers are working with. Are the officers in the countries above better than those in the USA? I don't know that answer, but I do know that they have the time to create ideas that officers in the US just don't have the time to do.
So what is the answer to this dilemma? We want our CPO's to be really effective, but organizational life within the LE Agencies doesn't seem to allow it. I am open to comment on this issue. I would like to hear from those who are in Crime Prevention and the citizens who need the information.
Pleas feel free to comment.
Stay safe and secure.
Steve Wallach
