Hey! Be Careful Out There

Before each shift cops sit down for a pre-shift brief of crimes that may have taken place the day before, the latest gossip and training. The person leading the brief, normally a sergeant, reads the incident log and discusses crime trends. Its like a scene from the old TV show, Hill Street Blues. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2QApwtE8zQ&feature=related
Line-up ends with a surly sergeant pointing his finger at some young hard chargers exclaiming….Hey! Let be safe out there.

I sat in the line up room with some hard chargers. A 70 year old woman ran this line-up. She looked more like a librarian than a cop. She had pepper gray hair, bi-focal glasses and a chain holding the top of her sweater that was draped gracefully over her delicate shoulders. I expected a small child to run in crying for grandma. Instead she discussed crime trends in a residential neighborhood peering over her glasses; the latest incidents from patrol, where to write good handicapped parking citations and YANA’s. She is a Retired Senior Volunteer on Patrol. They are part of what makes San Diego work. They bring a sense of social justice to an agency that enforces the law and brings justice based on the rule of law.

YANA’s are senior citizens confined to their homes. Alone and often afraid they reach out to day care providers and are often the victims of crime and theft. These seniors who are the bedrock of our society and the target of God’s affection are our responsibility as cops, society and especially followers of Christ.

A RSVP told me that Beth Ann is 95 and waits by the door every Tuesday, sitting in her wheel chair looking out the window. It’s the highlight of her week. When they are late, even by 10 minutes, she lets them know. The thought of their visits keeps her alive, interested and connected.

I believe it is God’s desire for each of us to bring justice. When we do our cities prosper. It feels that all is well deep in our souls. As you go through your busy week think about how you can bring justice to the weak, alien, widow and elderly. It’s God’s plan for our society and our duty as believers. When you see a RSVP in their white cars with little yellow lights wave to them, they are a source of justice for San Diego.

James sums this idea of justice up best: James 1:27, religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”