Behind the Badge:
A tribute to an Officer
Whether you are Pro-Police or Anti-Police, there is one key fact that we must remember - those ‘behind the badge’ are human beings. Someones loved one. As much as being human can make them an asshole, it also makes them real.
As in every job, there are good and bad. Every time you are at a restaurant, there are good wait staff and poor wait staff - luck of the draw. Unfortunately, all emergency services are the same.
Having Police in my family means that I understand the emotional toll on Police Officers - I have seen them up at 3am, struggling to sleep after not only seeing horrible things, or spending their shift frightened for their life, but simply because they are off a nightshift and their body doesn’t know if they are coming or going.
There are so many daily challenges of law enforcement - cuts from the government meaning they can’t recruit more, so the staffing never gets better; being the focus of all hatred and blame for the country as a whole; seeing sights they never expected to see…ever.
Supporting mental health is always so close and dear to us, but supporting mental health in policing is more niche and has to really target the unseen struggles of policing.
Here, I write a short piece that tries to highlight all of that in a more digestible way. No matter your opinion, try to read it as if I was writing about your mum, dad, husband, wife, child, whoever.
Hero
No cape. No ill-fitting tights. Simply a hat that marks easily with finger prints and a vest that radiates luminous yellow and lower back pain.
No mask that gives allure to identity, just i-phones pressed to the retina with ill-timed flashes that discombobulate the senses.
No snazzy coloured uniform to standout across the skyline, just modest, financially savvy black, that easily hides the blood, sweat, spit, vomit and faecal matter without strain.
No gizmos and gadgets, just handcuffs and hope.
No logo projected onto the dark night sky, simply ten seconds of muffled radio message that relies on hopes and prayers that it transmits clearly.
No appreciative crowds that gather to wave and cheer, just internet trolls and threats from each direction.
No well-earned, peaceful slumber with the satisfaction of a job well done, just night terrors and sweated panics of the days twists and turns. The fear of judgement from those that dictate the 'mission-impossibles' of the day.
Yet each day, the alarm sounds, the black clothes are adorned and the metaphorical cape of Integrity, Fairness and Respect is wrapped around the neck of justice.
Each day getting tighter. Each day, less oxygen to swallow.
But this Hero never waivers.
This Hero simply learns to breathe with less air.
This Hero - Semper Vigilo. Always Vigilant.
Work needs to be done to improve community relations for the Police, there is no denying that, but if we can start by remembering that some are good, some truly care, some are really struggling and some are our loved ones.
All our best,
Rosie x