Ideally, encounters with the cops should be seldom, friendly, and not end with a ticket in your hand, cuffs around your wrists or a bitter attitude.
It doesn't always work out that way, and one sour experience can form negative perceptions of an entire department, and police in general, as citizens share their stories of personal injustice. Cops can quite easily get a bad rap.
But what about the positive experiences? Are they just as powerful, just as perception-altering? And how do we share them with the cops and the community?
The Martinez Police Department offers citizens a quick way to leave a compliment — by dropping a note online.
Would you compliment the Martinez Police Department? What would you say? Have you expressed your appreciation in the past? How? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.
Here's the mission statement of the Martinez Police Department:
The members of the Martinez Police Department are dedicated to providing the highest quality police services in order to enhance community safety, protect life and property, to reduce crime and the fear of crime. To accomplish this mission, we will continue to develop partnerships within the community to resolve problems and improve the safety and quality of life in our city.
I was down on my luck and going through a very difficult time of my life years ago and the police were called. I didn't commit a crime, but I could have been treated differently. I was treated with respect and it was a definite turning point of my life. I was no one at the time you would look at and say what a nice young man, more like a drunk loser. But it was actually Gary Petterson our current Police Chief who helped me and had faith in me. I will never forget that and I want to thank him personally here for actually caring about someone he didn't even know.