Smoke

Still waiting for the mirrors:

• Big meeting with Tact Lts & Sgts by Jackson, Dugan, etc. From here on until further notice, my sgt told us, all tact, midnight tact, mission teams, GEU, gun teams, everyone will be working in uniform so the public perceives more police on the street. The bosses admitted to being about 500 cops down from authorized strength and they're afraid of a spike in violent crime. They told the supervisors that homicides and shootings were either even or a bit down from last year and they want to prevent the spike.
  And this will accomplish what? My sgt said he thought they were going to "take the gloves" off and let us be the police. Oh well, more smoke and mirrors on the horizon.

Does anyone else get the feeling that part of the reason we don't have a contract is because the Department is scared shitless that once it's signed, we'll have 200 retirements the next day instead of over the next four months? There's no way in hell they can absorb that manpower hit with the summer months coming on.

In any case, this 90 days in uniform? Rearranging the deck chairs. Again.