I couldn't help but notice in my daily travels that the SAPD is in lock down. In my 5 and a half years on Argonath SA:MP, never has the SAPD gotten to the point where this kind of action has been necessary. To me, this raises some questions - some questions that none of you want to hear - but I'm going to say it all anyway.
Despite what elaborate and technical reason the SAPD Command Staff may give for the reason of this event, everything that happens in the SAPD reflects on them and their committment and their actions. What does this mean to you, to me, to the Department? It means that a failure on behalf of the CMD Staff results in a failure of the SAPD as a whole. Never before has this happened until now.
As the kind of person I am, I typically keep myself updated on the situations in Argonath, the state of the groups and such. I've been noticing an increasing trend in the amount of punishments issued by the SAPD against its Officers. This can be the result of two things - one, you're not stating the rules/regulations well enough to prevent the Officers from disobeying them, or two, you're accepting the complete wrong people into the SAPD Academy and not devoting enough time and attention to them to ensure their quality. I must admit - back when I was promoted directly from civilian to DPD Captain in 2007, Aragorn did this without knowing my policing skills at all. I admit, I didn't even know what 10-4 was for a very long time. But I posessed the ability to organise my men, to effectively judge whether or not an applicant was worthy, and to ensure that my men were well disciplined. I was new to the job, but my work did not lead to a lock down.
Following my ascension to DPD Chief, and subsequently SAPD Deputy Chief, Mr. Hank Rafferty and Luca_Scalise (I believe) became the SAPD Chiefs, following [Rstar]Kaltsu. These two men were able to keep the PD fun, whilst ensuring its professionalism. This was essential to the PD's survival. This crafted the SAPD into what it was up until mid-2011.
These stories of course have no meaning yet, so I'll add some meaning to them. I'm of the belief that the only way to properly achieve reform and clarity in the SAPD is to not only remove non-SAPD Command Staff members, but remove
everyone. It is literally, physically, virtually impossible for the SAPD to have gotten this way without any fault of the Command Staff, and for that, they should be subject to review also. No, not by Pancher, no, not by Paul, not even by Jaaskaa, but by Gandalf or Aragorn, those who actually have the community's core values at the heart of everything they do. If any of you are sitting here observing this lockdown and believing it is your fault or your friend's fault,
stop. No matter who got fired or suspended or yelled at, it is the failure of those above you. If they had properly given orders, if they had been clear enough on rules and regulations, if they had been active enough to ensure that this was all happening, then the SAPD could perhaps be at its best level in years.
However, the vast majority of the SAPD Command Staff are currently administrators ingame, a fact which I believe has resulted in lower abilities of them. They are forced to dedicate 75% of their IG time to admin work, which removes SAPD time, which removes interactions with their men, which disables them from properly observing their work and their men. Sure, you can always pass on the workload to the Sergeants, but in the end, it is you who is responsible. And today, at this lock down,
you, and only you are responsible.
I know that I might have resigned a while ago, I know I might be in Corleone now, but that doesn't mean that I enjoy seeing the SAPD in this way. I care about the SAPD because it has the potential to enable some incredibly fun and awesome Roleplay - and I know this better than most, because I have always been and always will be a supporter of freedom on this server. In 2011 when Hank Rafferty tried to remove the ability for DPD to do some of the things they were known for, I was furious. In the end, I handed in my badge, because I knew, as is being evidenced today, that the moment the SAPD puts excessive restrictions and adds too many boundaries on its men, the quality will lower.
This would all be useless information without me proposing a solution, so here goes.
SAPD Command Staff; from Pancher down to the Lieutenants, I encourage you to stand back and take a look at yourselves. If you are one of those who is a moderator or admin, resign from admin or resign from SAPD. They do not go well together, as you must dedicate your full time to admin work, and your full time to SAPD. Those of you who are not, you need to review the behaviour of those who you have been directly responsible for. If you see that there is excessive misbehaviour, resign. Be honourable, take responsibility for your actions, and resign. Be a model for all of your men who you are representing, and show them that it is incredibly important to stay true to the rules and regulations. Those of you who think you're far too important and vital to have possibly played any part in this lock down, you're way too proud to be in your position and you should also resign. Reinstate someone like Hank Rafferty as sole Chief, a guy who dedicated his whole time to SAPD, who knew what discipline was, who understood how to communicate and be ingame regularly. Reinstate someone like [Rstar]Vince, who was able to do his job whilst also having fun in a way that respected the rules and regulations. Promote someone like Jcstodds, who knows damn straight how to Roleplay in an exciting way that involves everyone. NOW is the time to take action to ensure that this doesn't happen again. This situation is not the fault of the Cadets, Senior Officers, Sergeants or Supervisory Sergeants; it is the fault of those who are responsible for them.
Take responsibility for your actions, be a role model, stop thinking you're above everything, and get this wonderful institution back on track. There is no other way. Firing half the force will do nothing but give criminals free reign. Scaring everyone into doing their job will not work, it will encourage misbehaviour. You must give them freedom to do their job the way they think it must be done - otherwise they will undoubtedly cross the line. I saw a post the other day that said "only Command Staff may drive non-duty vehicles whilst on duty" - this is not good. This is putting yourself above your men. This is a force where you all work together, for the betterment of the streets, so you had better put yourself on the same level as your men, otherwise they will not respect you and you will have situations that lead to action such as this lock down.
I have no doubt that this post has offended everyone who has the ability to edit or remove posts, so I will also be posting this on the Argonath forums, and if censorship also occurs there, I'll be knocking door to door to every single person I can to ensure that my message gets out there and heard, so I think it'd be best if we don't censor my opinion, because either way, it's going to be heard. That's the GiacJr way.
Signed,
Giac Junior
Note that this has simply been copied straight from my
topic on the ARPD Forums in General Discussion, as I am sure that my right to free speech and opinion will be destroyed within minutes on those forums - so I am hoping that this forum may give me some more time for my words to be heard.
( :ps: All updates on the lock-down issue will be found
here. Also, Paul has informed me that Command Staff will not be escaping review; however my points still stand and I still do believe that there should be some blame and responsibility placed on command by themselves - if they recognise that they are a big part of the issue, then their men will be eternally respectful of that.)
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