This publication is intended to plant a seed of contemplation, which we pray will take root as each of us goes about our daily interaction with the more than one million employed on a full-time basis, nationwide in the myriad of law enforcement agencies established in our communities.

This number includes 765,000 sworn full-time law enforcement personnel, any one of whom you may encounter in the ordinary course of your day. A recent census has documented that nationwide, law enforcement organizations also employ approximately 100,000 part-time employees, including 44,000 sworn officers. Many of us may never have a need to encounter a law enforcement official, be it positive or negative. However, given these numbers, there is a high likelihood that you will, in fact, interact with a law enforcement official at some point in your life. Within these words, there is no conscious attempt or intent to cast an ominous shadow upon the eye of integrity that is the center of the storm that law enforcement walks in each day as they work to carry out the mission of protecting and serving the people of this nation. We pledge support to those men and women who put their lives on the line to safeguard our freedoms. This publication is intended to be an aid in ensuring that their noble work takes fruitful root. Within any civilized society, there will be a need for honest, efficient, respectful, and ethics-based law enforcement.

There is no more noble profession in any society formed by man, than serving the people. There is no greater human responsibility or undertaking than civil, thoughtful, and unbiased enforcement of the laws of the land. With the establishment of such enforcement organizations, which will be staffed by imperfect human beings, we have a responsibility and duty to ensure that “We, the people,” do the utmost to respect those enforcing the law. However, it is equally important to understand our rights and responsibilities as we interact with the men and women we charge with the responsibility to uphold those laws and protect our very existence.

If you take away nothing else from this publication, please understand this: Nothing in life happens in a vaccuum. We communicate through common experiences more than we do through shared languages. We should never assume that our words are being received in the way that we anticipate. This lack of certainty in communication means we must always use care in our methods of communication, especially when interacting with law enforcement.