It's not war memorial. At least not in the conventional sense, but like the Vietnam Wall, the Korean War Memorial, or the World War II Memorial, it commemorates the fallen in what has been a long struggle. But unlike the other memorials, the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C. is dedicated to those who have given their lives in a different kind of struggle. It's a war that may never end, but for centuries, men and women, have readily and willingly put themselves in harms way, right here at home, to keep the peace.
Stafford County Sheriff's Deputies, prison guards, FBI agents, Treasury Agents, Secret Service Agents, State Police, Town Police, the Aquia Habour Police, and the list goes on, do their job day in and day out. Most of us, when we interact with the police, do so because that pesky state sticker on our license has expired. Or maybe, because we decided that the yellow light actually meant "speed up." But there are other times when that interaction is much more serious. When we're in an accident, when we're the victims of the crime, or simply when we need help. Its then, that it sometimes it dawns on us, just how willing and dedicated these young men and women are to doing their jobs.
The Law Enforcement Memorial lists the names of 15,000 law enforcement personnel who have died in the line of duty. Several on that list, come local departments, including Stafford County and Fredericksburg. Like the Vietnam Memorial the starkness of such an immense number of names, reflecting such a long period of sacrifice, stands by itself.
Policing in America began with first colonists. In such a rudimentary society, disorder and crime had a very different tone than it does today, but there was still a need for someone to keep order. Just as there were in England, American colonists appointed constables and sheriffs to keep the peace. Usually this was a service they performed on a part time basis and often with volunteer help. Vestiges of that system continued for centuries, and for quite some time, here in Stafford County, we didn't have a sheriff, rather, we had a constable.
Though early American cities had hired officers and watchmen, complete with precincts and districts, the first modern police force, in a form we would recognize today, with a military style hierarchy, complete with badges and uniforms was in New York City in 1845. After that, other cities and counties rapidly began organizing departments throughout America.
As America grew, police forces, once entirely locally based began to change. With the turn of the 20th century and the massive growth in the number of automobiles, state police forces were formed. Virginia's State Police Department was officially organized in 1919. They were mobile and covered the entire breath of the Commonwealth.
At about the same time, another organization came into being, the FBI. This was the first nationwide law enforcement organization. When it began in 1908 they had limited powers and their agents couldn't even carry guns. It wouldn't be until 1934, after a wave of kidnappings and bank robberies, that Congress would finally give the FBI the authority and the weapons they needed.
Law enforcement, while the stuff of TV shows and movies for decades, from Dick Tracy to Law and Order, isn't really that glamorous. Police work is difficult and challenging. And they never know what to expect next. Sometimes, it's responding to a domestic dispute. Innocuous enough you say, but also considered by many officers to be one of the most volatile and dangerous situations they can face. Or it's stopping that car on Route One at two in the morning. Approaching the vehicle entirely alone, flashlight in hand, knowing that something isn't quite right. Other times, it's a Stafford County Sheriff's deputy responding to an accident scene that's so grim, and so upsetting, that when the officer goes home at night they can't even talk about it. But most of all, its being that force for good that protects the community, comes to our assistance in times of trouble, and is ready and available 24 hours a day.
May is National Law Enforcement Week in Virginia and nationally, the week of the 15th, is Police Week. A good time to think about the sense of duty and self sacrifice of an army, fighting a war that will never end, right here on the home front.
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