Now is the time for all good men and women to come to aid of their police force. The way to do it today is to join with those businessmen, lawyers, and concerned citizens in general who are setting up a Little Rock Police Foundation and so setting a good example for law-abiding and like-minded citizens across the state.
The foundation, it should be noted, is independent from the city's police force, and so is able to direct its funds to where it thinks the needs are greatest. Kenneth Buckner, who heads Little Rock's Finest, is all for the idea. So is Tim Anderson, an investment adviser, who heads the new foundation. As he points out, any money it raises will only supplement, not supplant, the local police force's $70.5-million budget. The extra cash this foundation raises for the cops would help "bridge the gap" between the forces of law and order and those they are committed to preserve and protect.
How? In many ways. Like providing special training and special equipment that the police department can't afford now even with all the many but still limited resources at its command. Police departments across the country from New York to Los Angeles, he notes, have been helped by similar foundations. "We are going to take action to help solve their needs," vows Mr. Anderson, "because, ladies and gentlemen, action is not an option. Action is a necessity. It's time to do it now." Amen.
The membership of this foundation has been seeded with stars of local law enforcement, education and public service in general. Such as the former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas Jane Duke and Frank Williams, the principal of Henderson Middle School. It's an all-star cast drawn from the ranks of the citizenry. Even before a fund-raising event last week, the foundation's treasurer said the foundation is off to a good start, having raised $20,000 in cold cash. And more good news is in the offing. By this Fourth of July, says Mr. Anderson, he hopes the foundation will have collected $100,000 and set the stage for a "Super Bowl fundraiser" later in this bountiful year. So keep the good thought and high resolve.
Police Chief Buckner in Little Rock notes that a "police foundation allows you to be a force multiplier in the community. We can't do everything ... We have to have people who've adopted our mission as their own to uplift Little Rock." Just as other police foundations can do their bit and more for other communities around the state and beyond. Ever wanted to show your appreciation for the cop who's come running to help you and your family when you've reported an intruder in the house? Or been accosted by some thug in the street. Or been approached by a panhandler who starts making threatening noises. Now's your chance to contribute more than a good word for a good cause, but to make a lasting contribution to good police work and good government in general. Hooray for the boys and girls in blue. They're on our side and we should be on theirs.
Police foundations have been advancing the science and art of protecting We the People by providing innovative policies and the equipment dating back to the 1970s, when they were founded by public-spirited outfits like the Ford Foundation. And now those police foundations rely on local, state and regional governments to further their benevolent and protective aims, not to mention the federal government and generous contributors here, there and everywhere.
The record of these foundations is replete with success stories. Like the Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment and the Newark Foot Patrol Experiment in New Jersey. And by now a police foundation has been found behind the scientific research and training that went into such programs throughout this hemisphere from Canada to Mexico, including these Estados Unidos de America.
These police foundations have come up with policies that have reduced crime, produced better-managed police departments, and introduced programs that made police departments everywhere more accountable. They've contributed much of the technology that has made this country a safer one. Don't underestimate them--or your own ability to contribute something that'll pay handsome dividends in a better future.
Editorial on 03/11/2017