Boston's Finest B & E

It's 3:03 a.m. and Boston's Finest(Estb. 1854) has just finished doing reconnaissance and dusting my place for finger prints.

After a late night B & E, I placed a call to my local 911. Before long, and after establishing that my event is a non-critical emergency, the 911 operator dispatches Boston's Blue to my address. Within 30 minutes, I receive a call that they are down stairs waiting. An officer responds, followed by a sergeant and a detective.

Every day officers from the Boston Police Department (BPD) make their way to residents and citizens in need of their assistance. And though it is not my wish to ever have to call them for any type of emergency, it is nice to know that they are there and on call 24 hours a day 7 days a week and 365 days out of the year. Wait... lets make that 425 days of the year, if you calculate officers over time, take away from family time and just plain time to contribute to making our lives a little more comfortable.

Have you ever stopped to think what The City would be like without them. How much more insecure would you feel? Think about it. No one to call during the Marathon emergency, no direction during special events, no response to emergencies such as a violent crime, and no one to respond to the smaller emergencies. No one to intervene in domestic violence, in general no one to offer a safer more secure City.

Granted the BPD is not perfect, but I have to acknowledge the fact that neither am I; so it is important to acknowledge what we appreciate about them when our opportunity comes.

Thank you for standing up to the criminals that are not concerned about the quality of life most people want for their children; thank you for stopping by the schools and talking to the students to create a better relationship with students and letting them know that you are there to help them first, not threaten them; thank you for being considerate and allowing the ambulances to make their way during an emergency; thank you for getting out of bed to dust for fingerprints because someone broke into my house; thank you for being approachable and thank you for not disliking me because another citizen was a jerk and fucked up your day.

Your job is a tough one on many levels; from salary restrictions and cutbacks to risking your life and everything between those ends of the spectrum; office politics, law suits, lies and challenges towards advancement; and the resources you need will not always be at your disposal-- you try harder nonetheless. I appreciate everything you do right, every time you do the right thing and every time you try to do that.

From us, the residents of Boston who don't take time to thank you enough. Thank You. Please continue to do your best and I will continue to acknowledge why we should be thankful you are here.

I say hello every time I pass you even if I don't know you; I may say have a great day, just because I don't think anyone else has and perhaps that is enough to make a difference in your day. I hope the result is that you might make things a bit easier on someone else-- pay it forward.

You put in a lot of hours and a lot of years, but it does not go without thanks for what you add to the City, and the people who live here-- we are in need of your service.

After a total of about 3 hours, all of the officers from Boston's Finest have left the crime scene in my home. My home has returned to the secure feeling place it was at one time, despite the impact of the criminal who broke in, knowing that Boston's Finest is not too far away. Though every mystery will not be solved, every criminal will not be caught; justice will not always be served, you still make a difference.

In their wake (the visitors in Blue), advise, good conversation, assurance, and insights that reinforce my confidence in their ability to carry our their job. They leave me with a bit more appreciation then before they arrived. They are good people, not just cops.