Abraham Lincoln once said, “Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it." Any institute, agency, or individual is best situated to faithfully extend accompanying duty when directly in the service of others. To Protect & Serve—a simple phrase, but it represents a profound relationship between law enforcement personnel and the civilian population who depends on them. As citizens we place in them our trust, our respect, and our support, for indeed, daily Arizona law enforcement agencies—more specifically, individuals, real fathers and mothers, regularly place their lives in harms way to insure the continued flow of civility in our communities. We must surely extend our gratitude in word and precept for these efforts. We must serve with them, as we are able. Ours is an obligation to keep that faith, regularly look for ways to improve, and willingly “do our duty as we understand it.”

Photo Radar

Research on this burgeoning technology is still forthcoming, especially regarding its impact on Arizona highways. We hope to see increased traffic flow, fewer speeders, and fewer accidents. But if we are not careful, a secondary benefit may receive more attention that it deserves and subsequently taint the value that may come from this technology. I speak of photo radar as a source of revenue generation, supplanting the real intent, which is to provide public safety. In stressed economic times, it can be a slippery slope for governments to endorse technology as profit motive when funds are so desperately needed; however, simply supporting a “speed tax” without pausing to reflect on our own intentions may principally undermine public confidence in a system designed to protect us, not profit from us. We must be wise stewards of such technology. I continue to support traditional stops as a successful means of crime prevention.