Support law enforcement

In 1962 Pres. Kennedy declared National Police Week, including a Nat. Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15. Recently, the response to police action has shifted from cooperation to theatrical resistance, and it becomes easier to demonize law enforcement, since grappling with a non-compliant person can get violent. Calls to defund police and prosecuting them for events out of their control have made policing much more difficult.

When district attorneys and judges put violent law breakers back on the street before trial with no-cash bail or minimal punishment, the pressure on law enforcement is demoralizing. Sanctuary state governors and mayors demonizing police efforts add fuel to the discontent. Social media has played a part in drawing young people into crime. Between Flash Mob robberies, and the normalization of theft, police have even greater problems with enforcement. In some places, a whole generation has become used to the reality of people living on the street and rampant crime.

Choosing law enforcement is as much a calling as it is a profession. It is good to realize the hidden benefits of honorable policing to our society. The safer our streets and communities, the more free our society can be. On the other hand, fears of assault and theft bring problems like food and merchandise deserts, which leave the most challenged among us with an even harder life.

That “thin blue line” between order and chaos is more important than ever. We want good people to continue to choose this patriotic and humane profession

The good news? Thanks to a surge in federal cooperation with law enforcement in many major cities, murder has been reduced to the lowest levels since 1900, with crime stats falling as well. This seems to have also brought down the number of police deaths in the line of duty. In 2020, with riots, over 2,000 police were injured with 46 dying. Gratefully, from a 2021 high of 73 felonious police deaths, the 2025 number drooped to 31. Gratitude benefits both the giver and receiver and makes better people, so we take this week to thank and appreciate our police officers. When people are valued, they do an even greater job.

Luann Byrne Byrne

Stanhope