March 2024. Blues Vol 40 No. 3

FROM THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE

FROM THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE Providing a Safe Vote Well, it’s election season again! (Sigh) There’s all the trash mail outs, the trash commercials flooding our televisions, and all the trash talk mixed with empty promises where nothing ever gets done. The Early Voting Polls are open! And there are a lot of folks who take advantage of it. Like me. I am one of those early voters who love to get over there and get it done. We all know there’s a lot of work that goes into an election. No matter whether it’s a Presidential Year or not. There’s a lot of people, machines, trucks, tables, chairs, forms, etc, all have to be distributed for continuity of the Election Process. There is also a quiet contingent of people in law enforcement involved. In Harris County, there is a lot of hard work, effort, and time that goes into Election Operational Safety and Security. A lot. So, it goes kind of like this… Deep inside an undisclosed building behind many locked doors and contained within what can only be described as a very non-descript and secure room, is a multi-agency, multi-faceted unified command post. There are multiple law enforcement agencies represented there along with County Election Department Officials who all have immediate contact with their Field Operations units. Numerous radios, video screens, computers, phones, back up radios, computers and devices are present in this room, much like any other Emergency Operations Command Post. There are a couple of Sergeants, Lieutenants, Telecommunications Personnel, and IT experts all participating in the process of ensuring everything that can be done to provide the voters of Harris County a safe and secure place to exercise their right to vote. The Safety and Security Operations Unit is not at all quite like you’d think. The County is so large, it is divided into sections with Deputies assigned to certain areas and they must patrol the Election Polls along with the immediate parking areas to ensure the safety and security of all Election Department personnel and of course, Harris County Voters. These dedicated men and women also respond to any call for service or assistance from any polling location in Harris County. Some folks might ask “Why do we need all that just to vote?” Well, if you’ve ever studied human history, voting can get ugly and even violent. You’ve heard the old saying “Ideas are peaceful, history is violent…” Well, my friend, there ya have it. In order to have a peaceful and safe voting process, there must be order and safety for everyone. No matter what party you are or who you’re voting for, the Harris County Election Department and all the law enforcement personnel involved are dedicated to providing a safe, welcoming environment to all. It’s an amazing process to watch unfold. When you think of the nearly eighty early voting polls and the geographical area to cover, coupled with the sheer number of people eligible to vote in Harris County and even as bad at math as I am, I can cypher that’s going to be a lot. Truly a group of highly educated, dedicated professionals quietly doing what they do, behind the scenes. Giving the citizens of Harris County and all the Cities within, a safe and secure place to vote. Well, it’s the New Year. Which in and of itself, brings about new opportunities. One of those new opportunities is the new TCOLE web site. Its up and running!!! Now to be fair, there’s still some “under construction” going on and I am OK with that. The fact that they finally got the darn thing back up and running is a huge help in more ways than one. For example, finding your account and information is critical to ensure you’re staying up to date on all the required courses the TCOLE Board continues to administer. Equally, there is a lot of information that helps officers understand how TCOLE works and gives an officer an opportunity to see what’s happening around the state. One of the critical features of this site is the Job Listings. This feature helps all kinds of people in our state who are looking for a job in the Law Enforcement / Criminal Justice field. Telecommunicators, Jailors, Peace Officers, and more, can all find the most up to date postings from across Texas. And as difficult as it is to fill those open positions, it’s just as welcome by Department Heads, START SHOPPING 8 The Blues - March ‘24 The Blues - March ‘24 9