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 Patrol Needs to Clean House
by Tom Campbell
September 27, 2007
Recent revelations of misconduct within the ranks of our State Highway Patrol are disgraceful, but should not come as a surprise. This organization has long been rife with politics, favoritism, and unbecoming behavior. Leaders in the patrol, as well as in upper ranks of government, evidently like the organization to be run this way; otherwise they would have cleaned it up before now.
The most recent reports of promiscuous sex and potentially abusive behavior are unacceptable in any organization, but most especially in one pledged to uphold and enforce the laws. It is almost laughable that “everyone is doing it” could possibly be an excuse for permitting sexual misconduct to pervade the organization. That it is accepted points to the selective tolerance of and enforcement of personnel policies.
We have witnessed yet another collapse in confidence. One is hard pressed to name a segment of our society that hasn’t suffered a loss of trust and respect in recent years. Government, religion, business, sports, public service, and now, law enforcement officials have broken faith. Once broken these threads are hard to weave back together.
The great majority of the 1,800 men and women in the State Highway Patrol are honorable and law-abiding citizens who strive to do their duty and keep the rest of us safe. We are thankful for them and what they do. It is a shame that they become guilty by association. Privately, we are told there is a “shoot the messenger” mentality for any who protest the abuses. They are demoted, assigned to the hinterlands or harassed out of the patrol.
So another review of the highway patrol will be conducted, just as one was ordered the last time similar reports of misconduct were raised. We don’t need another review. There have been too many of them. We need to clean house, with new people and new policies, starting at the upper echelons and reaching down to the lowest levels.
The State Highway Patrol has an important and sometimes dangerous mission in serving the citizens of our state. We need to be confident that those who wear the uniform have the same high respect for upholding the law and for maintaining high ethical standards that they ask us to have. We need a fresh start with new leadership, a policy of zero tolerance for misconduct, political influence and favoritism, along with an accountability system that will demonstrate evenly applied and acceptable standards. The sooner we start, the sooner confidence can be restored in our Highway Patrol.
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