Cops Don’t Work Where Their Family Eats And Sleeps

Police must often be rough with the people in their patrol areas, which is why the cop (and his family) cannot live there.

“I rob banks because that’s where the money is.”

Quote attributed to Willie Sutton when asked why he robs banks.

I was surfing through some police news summaries and found this article on one of the latest police “reforms” from Louisville KY. In the aftermath of the 2020 George Floyd riots, the city settled a lawsuit from the family of Breonna Taylor. In addition to the 12-million-dollar payout, the city agreed to certain “improvements” of the police department.

One of the interesting ones was to pay officers $5,000 to purchase a house in selected neighborhoods of Louisville. By selected, they mean “low to moderate income areas,” aka “Da Hood.” Forgive me if I look poorly upon the concept. If you want cops living in the city, why not offer it in areas that are not “Da Hood.” Well, the writer is surprised no one took the city up on the offer.

Louisville has failed to entice more officers to live in the communities they police

A city program that would provide Louisville police officers with a financial incentive to live in the neighborhoods they patrol has gone completely unused more than three years after its creation.

Almost half of Louisville police officers live outside the city. The residency incentive program for Louisville Metro Police Department officers was created as part of the lawsuit settlement with the family of Breonna Taylor…the city agreed to fund a down payment assistance program for officers willing to buy a home in certain areas.

More than three years later, not a single officer has taken advantage of it.

…As of January, 44% of Louisville Metro Police officers — 346 out of 773 — did not live in Jefferson County, according to department data…

Officers were offered $5,000 toward the purchase of a home located in areas where at least 51% of residents are considered low- to moderate-income. In Louisville, that includes parts of Shively, Old Louisville, Iroquois and most of the nine neighborhoods that make up the West End.

Those neighborhoods also have significant Black populations. A number of reports, including from the United States Department of Justice, have highlighted the strained relationship between Louisville police and Black residents…

…LPM News asked LMPD what they think went wrong with the initiative, but a spokesperson only said that it’s up to individual officers to decide if they want the down payment assistance.

Allow me to help you. Cops don’t eat where they…let’s just say, use the facilities.

With my current agency, I’ve had the opportunity to patrol in and near my home. While I live in a safe middle-class area, like all neighborhoods, it has its share of problems. Domestic disturbances, juveniles, narcotics, thefts, etc.

When I first bought my house, it was known was I was cop. Some of my neighbors asked me what they should do if a crime was committed. My answer, “Call the sheriff.” While I legally had jurisdiction in unincorporated Harris County TX, my agency looked down upon policing off duty unless it was a serious matter. Also, when I come home at the end of my shift, I want to take off the uniform and relax from my previous 8-18 hours.

Back to the offer the cops could not accept. Politicians, “community activists,” etc., want police officers, and their families, to live in lower end neighborhoods where they patrol. Where criminals would know where their spouses and children live. Where their kids go to school, unless you want to pay through the nose for private education (I know a few officers who work multiple extra jobs to pay for their kid’s private school).

I will ask these politicians and “community leaders” where their kids go to school? Where do they live? I doubt it’s in Houston’s 3^rd Ward (a high crime area I patrolled for years). Well, if it’s not good enough for your wife and kids Mr. Mayor, why is it good enough for my wife and kids?

Years ago in my second misguided college yute, I worked part time at a Radio Shack in suburban New Orleans. I was checking out a gentleman and I noticed his address was no town or city I recognized. This man worked in downtown New Orleans, but he drove two hours one way (four hours a day driving). I asked him how he could do that, and his answer was enlightening.

“At home, I got great public schools, they are close by and my children can walk to them. I don’t have to worry about my kids being shanked. I leave the door to my car unlocked; I leave my front door unlocked. My family is completely safe. That is worth the time I spend each day driving…”

Police are no different. There are other reasons cops don’t live in the cities they work, top of them is the cost of living. For example, San Francisco is so expensive (the median home cost is $1, 370, 000) police, teachers, fire fighters (i.e., base services the public sector should provide to its population) are now working 4 days a week (10 hours a day). That way they can drive in one less day and live outside the city where the cost of living is less unreasonable.

But the biggest issue is the type of work we do. Last year I posted on how police work is sometimes brutal. The people cops must handle roughly are not people to let things go aside. Yes, a cop who puts a drug dealer (temporarily) out of business has made an enemy. If the cop’s family is nearby (trust me, the neighbors know every cop in the area), they are a target. I will not put my family at risk, so I drive a few extra miles every day to work. And no, $5,000 (or $25,000 in the case of the Houston Police a few years back) will not change that.

Put it another way. When the mayor of Louisville puts his family in a “low to moderate income” neighborhood, he can talk to his cops about putting their families into a “low to moderate income” neighborhood.

Michael A. Thiac is a retired Army intelligence officer, with over 23 years experience, including serving in the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the Middle East. He is also a retired police patrol sergeant, with over 22 years’ service, and over ten year’s experience in field training of newly assigned officers. He has been published at The American Thinker, PoliceOne.com, and on his personal blog, A Cop’s Watch.

Opinions expressed are his alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of current or former employers.

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