There are times when the unwritten code within a profession prevents individuals from speaking out about certain things that they see going on that could prove to be disastrous. While this has long been the case with members of the law enforcement community, whose sense of closeness is to be admired, there are times when fellow police officers do tend to speak out. One such case recently has occurred in pockets of the Columbus police force. It has been uncovered that certain officers on duty have raised some serious serious concerns about their colleagues. This was aired on Live Pd and has largely been credited with changing the behavior in certain sectors of the Columbus Police Sheriff’s Office.
The Story As It Was Told
The Channel 10 News Station in Columbus was responsible for finding out that some police officers had serious concerns about other officers currently serving in Columbus. In fact, many of the law enforcement officials who were expressing these concerns are actually of high rank. What they are concerned with involves what they deem to be an unusually high number of dangerous pursuits being undertaken that are not really necessary. These were taking place in the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.
Many of these officers actually have made the claim that the problem has become worse since the department chose to join up with Live PD. This is a national crime show that has grown increasingly popular. It involves following around active duty police officers as they respond to a variety of calls across the country. The show would bring camera crews with them as they rode along with a number of different deputies from the Franklin Country Sheriff’s office. Many of these calls were routine in nature, but quite a few were also quite hectic and bordering on dangerous. The show began filming in Franklin in November, and it is since that time that high ranking officers have noticed the shift in behavior.
Is Television To Blame?
Shows like Live PD have become very popular in recent years. It provides many people with their only look at what the police does in local communities, and it has been said to strengthen the bonds that exist between residents and officers. At the same time, not everyone is in agreement with the mission of the show. There are an increasing number of officers in Columbus who are making the claim that the presence of the camera crews has changed the way some of the officers on the force are doing their job. Channel 10 was able to uncover these concerns based on a number of background interviews, coupled with a thorough check of records that are available to the public.
The concern comes from members of the Columbus Police Department who believe that deputies from the Sheriff’s Office are actually jumping ahead and answering calls that should have been handled by the police department. The deputies are looking for fun calls to take the camera crews on, and it often results in confusion amongst the public when a different branch of law enforcement shows up first. It has also created more than a few media issues that would have been best to avoid, in addition to concerns being raised over officer safety. In the end, the overarching reason that these high ranking officials are making this claim is out of concern for the victims.
One high ranking official is concerned that deputies are making their runs. This puts the safety of officers from the Columbus Police Department in jeopardy, particularly those who are in plain clothes. Another official went so far as to ask supervisors to make their officers aware of the fact that the Live PD crews are out there and running around in various parts of the city. Prior to the show coming to Columbus to film, many officials claim that deputies from the Sheriff’s Office rarely took any calls within the city limits. Now, they are showing up at most of the major crimes that are occurring and it is beginning to cause problems. In some cases, high speed chases have resulted in cases where they would not have otherwise been necessary.
It is interesting to consider how a show like Live PD can change the behavior of an entire police force. It is nonetheless important to talk about. Safety must be the overarching objective in the law enforcement community. If that ceases to be the case, then officials have the obligation to speak up and see that something is done to change the situation.
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