Who in their right mind would want to be a law enforcement officer these days? If you are not berated by your sergeant, your lieutenant or the chief, every action you take is being analyzed by a judge or jury, at their leisure. No other occupation requires you to make a deadly decision in a second or less; a decision that may send you to prison for years. Being in law enforcement is challenging, but also satisfying. I know. I spent nearly four years on the Los Angeles Police Department. But now so many people, men and women, are deciding to go into another profession, one that you are not as likely to end up in prison for making a mistake. When I was selected to join the Los Angeles Police Department so many years ago, they were selecting fewer than 10 percent of the applicants. Now, the LAPD, as other departments throughout the nation, is begging for police officers. Sad for the country. Now as a taxpayer in Morris, I pay not only for the Morris police, I pay for the sheriff, so why can’t it just be one big department, covering everyone? Any Morris police officer who wants to remain in Morris can be absorbed into the sheriff’s department, as it grows to cover all of Morris. It should save some money, yet give us the protection we need.
