The Purpose of Law Enforcement

Photo courtesy Lexington County Sheriff’s Department

Note: This article originally appeared in the Aid and Abet Police and Military Newsletter in 1982. Since then, training in the police academies has shifted even more to the “supervisor” mode, rather than the “servant” mentality for peace officers. Too many officers today (2020) see themselves more as a sword than a shield. Rick Dalton

 

As we teach the principles of liberty to police and Sheriff’s personnel, we always inquire of each peace officer about the primary duty of a law enforcement officer. Their answers, written anonymously and handed in at the very beginning of the course, provide an important gauge as to the perspective of these people, who are supposed to be public servants.

Above all, it is the perspective of these people – the role in which they see themselves – that shapes their decisions, their demeanor and their ability to keep the peace. Some see themselves as predators, at the top of the food chain, while others see themselves as supervisors of the people. Still others, and very few in numbers, see themselves as protectors and servants.

 

Here are some of the responses we have collected in the past to the question:

The primary duty of a law enforcement officer is?

• To serve the citizens in his jurisdiction by enforcing the laws established by the legislature.
• To serve and protect lives and property.
• To enforce the laws of the state and country.
• To serve and protect the citizens of the United States; also to insure the safety of citizens as well as yourself.
• To protect and serve the community
• To keep law and order in your area.
• To protect the people from themselves
• To serve and protect life, liberty, and property and to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America.
• To patrol and be seen.
• Listen to complaints and bitches from the general public.
• Uphold the laws of the state and of the U.S. Evil-doers beware, because crime fighters never rest.
• To kick ass and take names.
• Protect and serve the community

 

There are some encouraging answers here, but there are also some disconcerting ones. And when we ask these cops to define the “greatest threat to freedom in America today”, we get responses such as: organized crime, street gangs, drugs, domestic violence, and the like.

It’s easy to see that the crucial factor in these responses is training. The officers who used words such as “protect” an “serve” are those who received their academy training twelve or more years ago. And those who see themselves as the big fish in the ocean are newly graduated products of more “modernized” police and sheriffs departments.

 

“the only legitimate purpose of law enforcement is to protect God-given individual rights.”

 

This brings me to the main point of this discussion. Citizens who really want to do something about their living and working environment as it relates to being left alone by the police, will have to influence the actual training received by the police and sheriff’s deputies. Every state has a standards agency which sets requirements for training and certification of peace officers. Citizens need to find out who is on these agency boards, and what kind of training they received. Then obtain the actual lesson plans for the entire curriculum of the recruit academies and see if fundamental principles are taught. One such principle is that the greatest threat to freedom in America is not from crime, but rather from government.

 

Determine if police policy manuals contain important statements like the following:

“The application and enforcement of the law must be accomplished in the spirit set forth by the framers of the Constitution. The rights of each citizen are equal with those of the state, which might accuse him.” ~Mesa PD Gen. Order 01.103~

“A frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is essential to the security of individual rights and the perpetuity of a free state.” ~Art. 2, Sec. 1, Arizona Constitution~

“Officers should display a reverence for the legal rights of all citizens and a reverence for the law itself.” ~Mesa PD Gen. Order 01.103.B.4~

“Enforcement action should not be taken in grudging adherence to the rights of the accused, but in the spirit of ensuring that the rights of accused persons are protected by the police.” ~Mesa PD Gen. Order 01.103.B.3~

“All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.” ~Art. 2, Sec. 2, Arizona constitution~

 

“We love peace, as we abhor pusillanimity; but not at any price. There is a peace more destructive of the manhood of man than war is destructive of his material body. Chains are worse than bayonets.”

~Douglas Jerrold (1803-1857)~

 

You should find out if the original Law Enforcement Officers Code of Ethics is still taught and made a part of policy manuals. It contains pledges such as, “I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all”, and “I dedicate myself before God to my chosen profession, law enforcement.”

The truth is that the Federal and State Constitutions and Bills of Rights were written to protect the people from the police. And the only legitimate purpose of law enforcement is to protect God-given individual rights.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has produced a replacement called the Code of Conduct, which has removed those important statements.

Please find out what is taught in your local police academy, and publish the results of your investigation. Hold the chief of police, the county sheriff, and their elected bosses accountable. These standards are public information, and citizen involvement is fundamental to accountability. If we don’t take these steps, we shouldn’t complain about the type of law enforcement we have.

 

Rick Dalton is the Executive VP and Legislative Liaison for the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA.org) where he conducts training seminars for law enforcement officers nationwide. He is the former president of the Arizona Crime Prevention Association (ACLA), and retired after 20 years on the Mesa, Arizona Police Department, and 16 years teaching American History, government, and economics at a charter school in Mesa, Arizona. He teaches Constitutional Seminars for the National Center for Constitutional Studies, and conducts training seminars for law enforcement officers nationwide.

 

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