Every two years, Nevada legislators make their way to Carson City to pass and amend laws of the state of Nevada. As I am sure you are all aware, this year’s session could have a big impact on law enforcement. The LVPPA will do all in our power to help make sure that your rights and pensions are safe, but we will also need your help. Very few Nevada lawmakers have any clue of what you go through daily during your shift. They will hear from your representatives, but they really need to hear from the front-line cops and corrections officers to put our profession into the proper perspective. They are being told that the community is “hurting” and that police officers are the ones doing the “hurting.” We know this is not true and that we do far more good than bad. 

We will need you to stand and testify about your personal stories where you helped members of the community. The days of apathy from cops must come to an end if we want to continue to combat violence the way it must be combatted. We all need to take our rights and laws that govern our profession more seriously than we ever have. There are some Nevada legislators who are coming for your rights because they believe you do not deserve any. The same people also want to fundamentally change our profession and will make it very difficult, if not impossible, to do this job safely while keeping citizens safe. You all did a phenomenal job emailing legislators last year during the special session, and we will need you to continue to do that and more. Let’s make our voices so loud that they can’t help but pay attention to our message that policing in Nevada is not broken. Policing in Nevada is a model for the rest of the country. Polls conducted show time and time again that Southern Nevada overwhelmingly supports police officers. 

Let’s not let a few voices cause a few legislators to make us a criminal-friendly state. If they are able to succeed in passing these anti-law-enforcement laws, our community will be less safe, our schools will be less safe and the Strip will be less safe. These bills could change our way of life as we know it. Cops who police the streets know that violence will only rise because criminals will not be held accountable. In many ways, this is already happening because the number of violent suspects being given ankle monitors and put on house arrest has more than doubled. The system is being taken advantage of by people who wake up and commit crime the same way you and I go to work every day. There is already a sense of lawlessness that we’ve seen spread all over the country. We need you to help us spread this message to legislators that enough is enough. When you see the LVPPA send out an email asking for your help, please do not delete it. Come join us and help save Nevada. As always, I can be reached at jabel@lvppa.com or (702) 468-0766.