Jan 2022. Blues Vol 38 No. 1

FROM THE PUBLISHER’S

FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK michael barron Happy New Year This issue marks the beginning of our 38th year of serving law enforcement in Texas and beyond. Our digital format has taken us farther than any of us could have possibly imagined. While we haven’t reached our goal of 100,000 readers a month, we came close at 92,400. This past year, The BLUES became the Largest “all-digital” Police Magazine in the U.S. With an average page count of 140 pages and 90,000+ readers, The BLUES ranks highest in a group of over 30 police related magazines. Quite an accomplishment if you consider this digital format is only 2 years in the making. In fact, we published more pages of content in those 24 months, then seventeen years of the printed issues of the Blues. For individuals seeking a career in law enforcement or officers looking to make a lateral move, the BLUES is THE place to search for LE job opening. On average, there are listings for over 200 jobs and recruiting ads from dozens of departments. In fact, The BLUES is credited with influencing hundreds if not thousands of officers in their search for a law enforcement job. If you’re a recruiter for a Texas law enforcement agency, the BLUES should be number one on your list to promote your department. Another milestone for 2021 I hope is never repeated is the sheer number of deaths of law enforcement officers, 479 for the year. That’s 94 more than the year before. And COVID accounted for 322 of those souls in 2021. That’s THREE HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO of our brothers and sisters in Blues that died in one year to a pandemic that has claimed nearly one million lives since it began in 2020. But let’s not overlook the fact we lost 157 officers outside of COVID. The loss of one officer is horrible, 157 is unbearable. Inside this month’s memorial issue, you’ll find a special insert dedicated to these fine men and women. We hope you will take time to look at each and every photo. Remember their faces, the departments they served, and say a prayer for the families they left behind. On the last page of the Memorial, you’ll find links to various fund raisers and non-profit organizations that aid families. Please support these organizations as best you can. They provide valuable resources as well as morale support to the spouses and children of fallen officers. Finally, to answer the most asked question we have at The BLUES “how do I get a copy of the BLUES each month?” There are several ways. First off as stated at the beginning of this editorial, The BLUES is a ‘digital’ magazine. We do not print any copies. The reason being is the cost. To print 90,000 copies with over 140 pages and distribute MICHAEL BARRON those 90,000 copies would cost close to ,000 a month. So obviously we aren’t returning to a printed edition anytime soon. But the world is all digital and we are following the future. You can get a FREE copy of the BLUES sent to your email each month by simply going to our website “bluespdmag.com” and clicking on the subscribe tab at the top. Again, the subscription is FREE. We also post a link to our Facebook page “BluesPoliceMagazine” as soon as the monthly edition goes live. This link is shared with over 100 other police related websites on FaceBook as well as our Instagram page @thebluespolicemagazine. Finally, I’d like to thank all our readers for making The BLUES the largest of its kind in the US and celebrating the beginning of our 38th year. We couldn’t have arrived here without you. Cheers! 6 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 7