Prevailing wisdom from then till now.

Good afternoon and welcome to family, friends, distinguished guests, and col-leagues. Most important, congratulations to the members of the 153rd Peace Officer Standards and Training Basic Academy. We are extremely proud of the commitment you made choosing policing as your career and for the dedication and perseverance you have given to your training. For the families, thank you for your love, encouragement, and support. That support for their initiative and desire to become a peace officer is critical. This is an honorable profession--one dedicated to keeping our communities safe and protecting others. It involves placing service to others above self, being called unpopular names, working long hours without sleep, and occasionally seeing fellow human beings at their worst behavior.

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The young men and women seated in front of me are here today because of the values you have instilled in them, and they will be successful in their careers as a result of that foundation. They have been carefully screened, trained, and prepared by others, but your guidance has been instrumental in equipping them for their new roles. It is even more important to continue that support throughout their careers.

What I have chosen to share with you today is the wisdom I received early in my own career as a young police officer back in the 1970s from my dad, who also was a police officer and chief. It is the same advice that I have offered to my son, an officer in Wisconsin. It has worked for traditionalists like my dad, baby boomers like me, late Generation Xers like my son, and the newest generation of employees, the millennials.

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Timeless Advice

Always be true to yourself. This job will require you to draw on your personal convictions and courage to face ethical challenges. Morton Kondracke reminded us so eloquently that "one's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized, and cruelly mocked, but it cannot be taken away unless it is surrendered." Surrendering personal convictions never is an option.

Remain faithful to your sacred oath, and recognize the badge of the office you hold as a symbol of public trust. Very few others in society are called upon for such important duties. Police officers cannot lead a double life. Professional and personal lives are woven together. We cannot "do as I say" at one time of the day and "not as I do" when we take off the uniform. We are role models for others. We need to remain mindful of our special position in society, realizing that the public holds us to a higher standard of personal conduct. You may find this challenging at times, but the career you imagine now is only possible if you have integrity in all respects of your life.

Enforce the laws and serve your community with respect and fairness. Apply the law to others during your tour of duty as you would want it applied to you, or your family, the remaining hours of the day. It is never acceptable to break the law to enforce it. As police officers, we are entrusted with a special obligation to uphold the U.S. Constitution, Idaho law, and local ordinances. If the law is to be honored, it first must be respected by those who enforce it. Therefore, know the limits of your authority. On the front line of upholding the laws of our land, we must know the appropriate boundaries. Extra legal remedies cannot and will not be tolerated. Use force judiciously, morally, and with restraint. Policing in a democracy, we, the police, represent the laws of the community. Our system of government is remarkable in that no one group or organization has absolute power. And, as a first-line defender of that great system, we must jealously protect and guard it. Treat others with respect and dignity. Stay on guard against becoming rude, disrespectful, or demeaning. Your department's image, our profession's reputation, our colleagues' morale, and the badges we proudly wear must never be tarnished. As the newest stewards of that culture, thank you for stepping forward to help us preserve that sacred value.

Share responsibility with citizens for improving safety and the quality of life. Idaho, like the rest of America, is diverse and growing even more so every day. Value that diversity. Community policing is based on mutual trust. Public trust is a precious commodity defined as the faith citizens have in us--police officers charged with protecting their safety and basic freedoms. We must find ways to build relationships and communicate with all the people we serve, not just those with money, influence, or power. The majority of the people who need us the most can afford us the least.

You will not come in at the end of a long day thinking you have changed the world, but you may leave knowing that you made the difference in the life of a single person. Be optimistic as there always is tomorrow. You will find that we do make a difference, albeit one life at a time.

Sir Robert Peel, the father of modern policing, gave us key principles on which policing is founded today. We police our communities not based on fear but, instead, grounded on receiving the cooperation of the public predicated upon respect and approval for what we do. They are centered around his premise that "the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being the only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence." Peel was a brilliant man remembered most for framing these tenets of policing. But, he also was known but not given much credit as incorruptible, honest, and having a strong work ethic. He built those values into his writings. He reminded us of our true empowerment--to recognize that the power of the police to fulfill their functions depends upon public approval of their existence, actions, and behavior, as well as on their ability to secure and maintain public respect.

Conclusion

Take the wisdom 1 have shared with you today, combine it with the values that brought you here, and make it part of your daily work. This includes doing what is right, even when no one is looking; being honest with ourselves and others; living by the golden rule; and conducting ourselves in such a way that our core values are not diminished by what we say or do. Our integrity challenges us to walk our talk and make our deeds reflect our words. The challenge for you tomorrow will be to merge the personal values you live by with the professional training you have just received and become the peacekeepers and protectors--those who serve others with dignity, respect, fairness, and justice--that our citizens expect and deserve.