New Chief gift?

[srz]

A good friend has just been hired as Chief of Police in a neighboring town. Is there a "traditional" new Chief gift or any thoughts on something appropriate. I'd like to do something

[Oldbillplod]

How about a 'buck' so he can pass it if something goes horribly wrong.

[MetPC]

How about a 'buck' so he can pass it if something goes horribly wrong.

Pure genius:D

[mobrien316]

He also probably wants some blinds for the windows on his ivory tower. The last thing he wants is to be able to look out and see what is actually going on.

[magicman]

How about one of those crystal etchings with his badge and badge number on it and his start date as chief. I think that would be appropriate.

[srz]

How about one of those crystal etchings with his badge and badge number on it and his start date as chief. I think that would be appropriate.

Thank you Magicman. That is something I hadn't thought of. Very nice.

NOW THE REST OF YOU,a little cynical are you?!?! He's a nice man, with a kind heart and been working in the field for 25 years. He more than deserves this.

[suzanne1020U.S.]

Have you thought about donating to your local Law Enforcement Survivor Memorial Fund in your area? You would be honoring your friends profession and helping family members of fallen officers.

It would be a beautiful gesture.

[Cris1102]

NOW THE REST OF YOU,a little cynical are you?!?! He's a nice man, with a kind heart and been working in the field for 25 years. He more than deserves this.

Calm down, they're not being cynical. I think they've been doing this for awhile and know the value of a light hearted gift.


light-hearted
adj

1. Said of entertainment, etc: not serious; cheerful and amusing.
2. Happy and carefree.

Personally I like these kinds of gifts.

[ChesCopPodz]

Calm down, they're not being cynical. I think they've been doing this for awhile and know the value of a light hearted gift.


light-hearted
adj

1. Said of entertainment, etc: not serious; cheerful and amusing.
2. Happy and carefree.

Personally I like these kinds of gifts.

Nah, he's right. We're being cynical.

The vast, vast majority of cops that get into admin trade in their common sense, street smarts, and cop know-how for the position. They stop being cops, and start being businessmen and politicians.

I'm sure that he's worked hard over the 25 years to get to where he is, but he more than likely will forget everything that got him there over the years.

It was best put in the newest edition of a LE magazine I get (paraphrased by yours truly): The chief of a department is like a huge blimp. Be it Goodyear, MetLife, take your pick. They are a public image of the department, symbols of the organization. They're really big, and a lot higher up than us grunts. Unfortunately being that high up they're out of touch with those of us on the ground. They have ineffectual steering mechanisms and underpowered motors. Therefore they usually go whichever way the wind (politicians, organizations like the ACLU, and voters) blow. They're also filled with air.

All that being said, I like the etching idea. Maybe a laser engraved picture frame with pics of him through his career.

[srz]

[QUOTE=Cris1102;730589]Calm down, they're not being cynical. I think they've been doing this for awhile and know the value of a light hearted gift.


I"m not upset, I was just teasing back a bit.

[srz]

Have you thought about donating to your local Law Enforcement Survivor Memorial Fund in your area? You would be honoring your friends profession and helping family members of fallen officers.

It would be a beautiful gesture.

I like that a lot. I've done that in the past to the COPS organization. Any information on if any of the memorial funds are better than any other. I mean that in some charities give just a small percentage of their donations to their cause and most goes to salaries and overhead and some do a much better job at supporting the cause they say they support.

[srz]

[QUOTE=ChesCopPodz;730613]Nah, he's right. We're being cynical.

The vast, vast majority of cops that get into admin trade in their common sense, street smarts, and cop know-how for the position. They stop being cops, and start being businessmen and politicians.

I hope that doesn't happen to him and I am sure he hopes the same. Just a couple of weeks ago I read all those posts about Mike Chitwood Jr and Sr. and a few other chiefs like them. What do you think makes the difference? Maybe this should be another thread?

[ChesCopPodz]

I don't know exactly why it happens. But Chief's are appointed by the city council, so they normally suck up to the city council as much as possible. This means when it comes down to a policy or procedure that can either A. do what's right for the officers, or B. do what the citizens want, the choice usually goes to B. The important thing is, the normal citizen has no idea about what's going on in LE, so an administrator that makes policies based on what the citizens want is very dangerous.

Perfect example is the taser. Great tool for cops. I've seen departments state that after they got tasers, officer injuries went down 50%, suspect injuries went down, officer involved shootings went down etc.

However after reports of subjects dying after being tased (never mind that I have seen NO cases where drugs and/or alcohol were in the persons system), the public started crying for removing tasers. And some spineless administrators began taking them away from officers solely on the public's opinion. What happened? Officer shootings went back up because that man with the knife who would have been tasered before he got the chance to charge at officers, now is able to charge at officers and gets shot.

[srz]

Thank you Chesco. It is interesting. I hope he can resist the temptation to bow to the city and stay true to his officers.
I thought it was a good thing that the township had both officers from other departments as well as supervisors in the committee to review applicants. I've been watching that in a couple of towns in our area that are looking to hire new chiefs. They all seem to be doing that.

I've decided that a good gift from a non-family member would be a signed copy of John McCain's new book "Character is Destiny" He selects a great character trait and a person in history who exemplified that trait and told their story. I purchased a copy of it myself last month and was just reading it and decided that would be a nice gift for someone I believe has shown great character in hard times and provided encouragement to me in times that no one else did. It's really a great book.

I love the crystal etching and photos through is career but felt that those were family gifts.

Thank you everyone

[Vorpal]

1. Underwear. So he can cover his azz

2. Photograph of the street. So he won't forget where he came from.

3. An apple. So his new toadies will have something to polish.

I could go on. Seriously, a survival kit would be better. Asprin, Rolaids, Pepto-Bismal, a magic 8 ball, duct tape, visine, etc.