"The System"
Joseph Paul
PROLOGUE
In any large metropolitan area is the Police Department that is a huge organization that most people believe goes unchecked. This is not the case.
The Police Departments of today are well monitored through the use of computers, which cannot only tell what the manpower is at any given time, but can account for every unit and division within the police department.
There are some loopholes built into the system to account for those special members who are hidden within the numbers for specific reasons and usage.
These people are the politically connected and the departmental problems. Many of these people account for their existence on the Police Department because of the people they know or because the Department wants to shield them from exposure to the general public. The bottom line is, if you know someone, you could write your own ticket. Accountability, to some members, is non-existent.
How do you locate these people? You don't. They are well hidden within the multitude and only the upper echelon of the Department truly knows why they are there.
The upper levels of any large Police Department remain relatively stable; this is for a reason.
The Mayor needs someone who has the knowledge and experience to maintain the proper balance within the Police Department. The Mayor has enough labor problems to worry about without having to try and interpret the inner most problems of perhaps the largest Unit within the city.
The selection of a Police Commissioner is based upon the political atmosphere at the time. If there is a strong minority population within the city the Mayor will look towards positioning a minority within the Police Commissioner level. By doing so, the Mayor can take a great deal of pressure off of himself from a political point of view. However, it is imperative that the Mayor find the right minority candidate who will not compromise the Mayor in the event of political turmoil.
The selection process is not as difficult as it may seem. Many minorities seek the political ear of the politicians in an endeavor to prove themselves worthy of the position.
Minorities are not the only ones that vie for the ultimate position in Police Departments. Many of the candidate's spring from the previous political parties and those groups, which have held, or still hold, a lot of clout in the political arena. The other groups are those which hold a great deal of money within the city. After all, if the Mayor needs some funding for a special project, who else can he go to for support if not the potential financial backers?
It was mentioned before that there are well-hidden members of the Police Department that are shielded from the rank and file. These members are utilized for the political aspects of the Police Department. Many deeds have to be done by a trusted member of the Department and they are called upon to do the subversive acts, which could not be done by the most obvious members of the Department.
What if a Mayor had a paramour that he did not want known to the public? Who could he trust? Who would have the most authority to deal with delicate situations, other than the Police Department?
It could be a political nightmare should this secret be made public. The Mayor, or other political member, could always call upon the Police Commissioner to handle such a tender issue. After all, the Mayor is the one responsible for positioning the Police Commissioner. The Police Commissioner owes his career to the Mayor and will do anything to maintain his position.
Politics is a strange quagmire of people dependent upon each other for their own existence. As a result, many politically connected people have less than exemplary backgrounds but are maintained for their knowledge or connections. Sometimes it is better to know something than it is to know someone. If you should have the right information it is possible to sky rocket through the Police Department. It is well known that many members of the Police Departments seem to be a Patrol Officer for only a short period of time. They are in the fast lane to higher level positions, which leave other members of the Department in the dust. This is not to say that some members are not particularly bright and knowledgeable, and earn their positions rightfully; but there are others who could not pass a kidney stone, let alone a major promotional examination.
A lot of politicians make mistakes, I know that is hard to believe. They rely upon the politically connected to stay in line and not become too greedy. This is not always the case. Some want to improve their position within the Department and attempt to utilize their knowledge to gain that end. It is a tightrope that is walked with great danger. Most will be tolerated and given an opportunity to reconsider before the "iron hand" is placed upon them.
Depending upon the information is what decides how much the politicians will tolerate. If the information is a political Pandora's Box you can bet there may be at least a promotional promise in the future. Sometimes the information isn't that important, but can still be an embarrassment; therefore, some unjustified overtime may soothe the situation.
It was also mentioned before that there are members of the Department who are hidden to shield them from the public. These are the members who could be a potential financial problem for the City. These are the rogues who believe that they are the ultimate in Police authority and can use any tactics they wish to accomplish their goals.
Some of these are called the "cowboys", the "supermen", and the "posses". If you listen to some of them you would think that they have the best intentions. You have to listen closely though, not to be seduced by their convoluted theories of crime and punishment.
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