AUSTIN—Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published the policy perspective The Role of Police Unions in the 21st Century.
“Unions are responsible for representing their members’ interests and have created a public perception that it is what they do. But do police unions really represent the officer on the street?” said Sheriff (Ret.) Currie Myers, Ph.D., MBA, senior visiting fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “Developing an understanding among all parties that the police union often represents union interests as opposed to legitimate public safety and liberty concerns, while also recognizing that individual police officers are, on a day-to-day basis, more concerned with police safety and ordered liberty than they are with their union.”
Key Points:
- Police unions have run counter to the best practices of professional law enforcement standards.
- Police unions represent party and political ideologies and no longer represent employees.
- Police unions are designed to enhance membership and survive as an organization.
- Police executives and police officers need to understand their role in the community and how to promote good policing policy.
To read the perspective in full, please visit: