A MESSAGE TO LAW ENFORCEMENT

"I want to send this direct message to our law enforcement community so that there is no question on where I stand. In short, you will get what you need from me in order to do your job in a SAFE and effective manner. For example: I understand you are denied access to the JP’s computer system in 4-2. While I’m not sure why, I do know after checking with other JP’s from across the state that this is certainly not the norm everywhere else and something I plan on looking into immediately. 

If you’ve had the opportunity to look at my full resume on LinkedIn, you’ll see my resume is certainly “unique” in many ways and shows my experience as it relates to the Justice of the Peace position. I wanted to take this opportunity to explain my “unique” relationship with our county’s law enforcement community. 

My  resumé will show that I’ve worked with Constables, School Resource Officers and Mental Health Officers throughout my entire professional career. What it doesn’t show is the majority of my experiences with law enforcement has been on a case-by-case referral basis and confidential in nature. 

Individual officers would often request my involvement in cases they’ve been mentally and emotionally invested in. These individual referrals include victims of criminal cases, troubled youth, divorce issues or even the officer’s own child. It’s difficult for anyone to ask for help. It’s even more difficult when you’re in the public eye, as most officers are. So, I always felt honored when an officer would call on me for assistance. To me, it meant they trusted my values and judgement, but they also trusted their information would be kept confidential. Therefore, even though my resumé will show years of “formal” experience working with the law enforcement community, it’s the experience that’s not included on the resumé that I’m most proud of."