Editor’s Note: In PoliceOne “First Person” essays, our Members and Columnists candidly share their own unique view of the world. This is a platform from which individual officers can share their own personal insights on issues confronting cops today, as well as opinions, observations, and advice on living life behind the thin blue line. This week’s feature is from PoliceOne Member Tracy Basterrechea, a Deputy Chief of Police in a Department with 87 sworn Officers in Idaho. Do you want to share your own perspective with other P1 Members? Send us an e-mail with your story.
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By Tracy Basterrechea
Deputy Chief of Police
Police1 Member
During a recent conversation about fitness and fitness levels, a colleague said something that really made me think. The comment was, “It is sure easier to stay in shape than it is to get into shape.” Isn’t that the truth? How many of us are in shape one minute and the next thing you know we are 10, 15, or 20 pounds overweight and dreading having to get back into shape?
Over the years we have all been there. We say, I’ll work out tomorrow and tomorrow comes, and then we tell ourselves I’ll do it tomorrow. Or one more piece of pizza won’t kill me and over time that one more piece turns into 15 pounds. So we work to get the extra weight off, but as time goes on it gets harder and harder; where if we had just kept it off our fitness level and health would have been better served over time.
The reason I bring this up isn’t because I want to talk about our personal fitness or health, it is because it made me think about our community’s health from a law enforcement point of view.
As a department grows; we start to hear the phrase, “It’s just...” This phrase is usually followed with: fireworks, noise, barking dogs, speeding, etc… This is a phrase we have to eliminate from our vocabulary when discussing the area of law enforcement and community caretaking. We all get frustrated by the mundane calls — I get it — but we cannot ignore the little things or over time our community becomes unhealthy and maybe that becomes terminal.
The reason our community has supported us over time is because we address the little things. The reason we are listed as one of the best communities to live and raise a family by national publications is because we address those little things. We can’t forget the importance of the little things.
For example, I always enjoy talking to Officers who come from other states or Departments, especially those from higher crime areas. When you ask them why they are moving to our community, the answers are usually along the lines of: I don’t want to raise my kids in that [bleep]hole. I dealt with nothing but dirt bags down there. Nobody has any pride in their community anymore. Add whatever other comments you see fit.
After this occurs and they are working in our agency, the complaining about answering the “unimportant” calls for service — the fireworks, barking dogs, and neighbor problems — starts. I have on more than one occasion tried to point out the reason they left their previous community was because those little things were ignored to the point the community became the [bleep]hole they couldn’t wait to leave. The other thing I notice is the list of little things continues to grow until violent crimes can become a little thing depending on your victim.
When each of these communities formed, I am sure they were nice and the residents had a great deal of pride in them. But over time we began to ignore the little things and the community deteriorated to a point of no return. The police felt the community didn’t care and the community felt the police didn’t care, so the decline continued until it was too late to save the communities health.
The point I am trying to make here is pretty simple. It is a lot easier to keep your community fit and healthy than it is to get the community back into shape once you’ve let it go.
Remember it is the little things that matter.
About the Author
Tracy Basterrechea is a Deputy Chief of Police in a Department with 87 sworn Officers in Idaho.
