The Importance of “Us” – The Failure of Being Cast as “Them”

By Thomas Lemmer. Published in the February 2021 issue of the FOP Journal by the National Fraternal Order of Police.

We must remember that the police-community relationship is critical to building public safety. Understanding the importance of “us is critical. Unfortunately, many have sought to cast the nation’s police officers into the role of “them.” That is to say, the police profession is to an alarming degree being separated from the communities it serves.

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Whenever the police are viewed by the community – and worse by the police themselves – as separate and apart from the community, the police will fail in their public safety efforts. Disorder and violence will increase, and an increased frequency of incidents viewed as abuses of authority are inevitable. To regain the support necessary for our police officers to meet their mission, the voices of support for the police must be heard from across the community of us.

Our FOP Article Series

This article was the first in a series of three articles published in the FOP Journal during 2021. We encourage you to also read the other two articles. They are:

NewYork, NewYork: A Different Tune

Tragedy-Free Policing or Else: The Need for Critical Thinking