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The Best-laid Plans are Wasted
If Not Implemented
Making plans is one thing that the law enforcement profession does very well. Another thing that we do very well is to establish task forces to create these plans. We have a task force for this and a task force for that and various steering committees to over see the task forces. Then to make sure that the community is involved, we have blue ribbon panels in place to ensure that the steering committees are on the right track. All of these planning studies, committees and task forces usually generate chronicles and very attractive pamphlets of what should be done in the case of (you fill in the blank). The study goes to the media, whereby the readers are told about what steps everyone thinks should be taken in regard to the problem dejour and then all that hard work, which is located in that attractive binder, is placed in the report graveyard known as somebody's bookcase or lobby coffee table. Investigative studies and all of the best intentions in the world are useless if never implemented or acted on.
We have to get into a mindset where we spend more efforts on implementation and less time on committees. Because as the weeks, months and sometimes years roll on, the problems that are being discussed continue to fester and grow and by the time we finish our report the problem is out of control. Planning must be done to prepare the best available response to any crisis, but we do have the tendency to over evaluate. In some cases, it is like making wine, you just have to jump in the barrel and stomp every grape that you see. You may not get them all, but the ones that are mashed usually get the job done with the desired result occurring.
We have some grapes in Gwinnett that need mashing. We know where the grapes are; it is just a matter of getting it done. This mentality is starting to take place with several of Gwinnett's problems, from a crime perspective, and the results are positive. Programs that deal with Gwinnett's gangs, such as the Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful's Graffiti Eradication project have seen tremendous success, based on putting folks in the neighborhood and putting paint to the mess that has been left. This program needed planning, but its greatest success is measured in the end result. Graffiti free walls, signs, and buildings are present based on hard work. That is simply what it takes!
Our citizens must do their part also. We can talk about how crime is leaking into our neighborhoods all day long. But, if we do not take an active role, with programs such as the Gwinnett Police Department's COPS program, that leaking will turn into a full flood. We have to take a proactive effort and return to the days of the past when neighbors actually looked out for each other. The fact that we are experiencing certain problems that our parents would have never imagined does not change the way in which we should deal with them.
We know what has to be done. We have done the planning. We have gone through enough pencils and power point presentations to last a lifetime. As the NIKE moniker states, "just do it!"
For further information, visit www.voice4victims.com
If you are interested in having Mr. Hall speak at your next club or group meeting, please email contact information to:
SHallBadgeNotes@aol.com
062004
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