Arnaundville Police Department

Prêt à protéger, fier de servir

Ready to protect. Proud to Serve

The Chief's Blog

The Tide Will Turn

November 17, 2021


As we enter the holiday season – the season of “giving”, I reflect on the last year as your Chief. It has been a challenging year, both professionally and personally, but because I am a man of faith, I have to believe that my Maker is ultimately in control.


As a Police Chief managing a small rural department, my biggest challenge has been recruiting and retaining quality personnel. Arnaudville suffers the same fate and the same struggles as almost every other law enforcement agency in the country. We must recognize those elements that are impacting our efforts, and fight against some of the negative attitudes and perceptions we get from some of our citizens, from municipal officials, and from within our own ranks. We must acknowledge that there exists leadership that does not have the best interest of our citizens in mind; leadership that often turns its back on the brave and committed men and women who carry the badge and wear the uniform. There are invisible forces behind the scenes who would change the fundamental direction and values we have fought for for generations.


My over two decades serving in law enforcement has obviously been met with moments of challenge – Hurricane Katrina, big city crime, facing the tragedy and sorrow of fallen officers, meeting families of victims, and more – all to be anticipated as a police officer. What I never anticipated was a national movement that vilifies, disregards, dismisses and destroys the lives and livelihoods of decent, honest and hard-working law enforcement officers. A top-to-bottom movement that ultimately results in more crime, more disorder, and more chaos in communities and trauma to innocent citizens. As in every such movement, we always see a course correction, and I am optimistic that we will see the tide turn.


As I reflect on a personal level, I count the many family and friends who have been touched by a global pandemic that left us nowhere to hide and no immunity from devastating loss. My own brother succumbed to Covid-19, as did many of his fellow nursing home residents. Otherwise healthy family members, young and old did not escape the clutches of Covid. Attempting to understand the rationale for restrictions, mandates, and closures left more confusion, division and distrust. Covid took lives, but also took much more from us – our compassion, tolerance, empathy and trust. We are left as cynical, suspicious and mistrustful citizens choosing sides, and isolating and ostracizing those who dare to contradict or question.

But, as we move through all of this, we are left with our faith. Faith that tells us that while we are all on borrowed time, the best is still ahead of us. Life is constantly renewing, evolving and transforming into something better. We only need to wait, because the course will be corrected. The pendulum will swing the other way.


For those who can never see beyond their own selfishness or greed, or who fail to believe life is about giving and not taking, I have pity for them. The misery and hurt they inflict on others will come back to rest on their own souls. For the majority of us, the holiday season - the season of “giving” is but a time when our challenges, our pain and our struggles are overshadowed by the good we can do for others.


Happy Holidays, Arnaudville!

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Don't Be Dumb About Your Smartphone...

Posted on April 24, 2014 at 12:09 PM
4/24/14

My wife has had three cellphones stolen in the last 3 years.  Of course, she would never want anyone to know, but on the most part, these thefts could have been prevented had she heeded some of the advice below.  The first phone was dropped from its case which was attached to the outside of her purse.  It was in an airport.  Her hands were full, she was rushing to the parking lot, and realized when she got in the car that the phone was gone.  While she hoped that someone had found it and turned it in to lost and found, she had no such luck.  Luckily, the phone was insured and a new phone arrived 24 hours later.

The second (new replacement) was not even fully activated and was inside the purse this time as she was shopping at a Las Vegas Walmart. She reached for a product on the shelf, and the thief must have reached quickly inside the purse to lift the first thing his hand came in contact with.

A couple of years later, a new cellphone still in the box, was left in the backseat of the car under some other items.  The car was broken into and the GPS and cellphone were lifted.

Smartphone theft is rampant.  A 2012 report from the FCC indicated 40 percent of the robberies in New York City involved smartphones, and Consumer Reports estimated 1.6 million smartphones were stolen in 2012.  An estimated 140 million people in the United States own smartphones, with that number predicted to climb to more than 200 million by 2017.  By comparison, there are roughly 250 million cars in the United States. 

Your cellphone is a virtual storage cabinet for all of your important and private information.  It is valuable enough to the thief as an object he can fence or resale, but the data on your phone is even more valuable, and can bring an even higher price when peddled to the right party.  Smartphones regularly carry contact information for thousands of people, photos you may not have copies of (or don’t want other people to see), bank and credit card data, and website passwords.  Worse, three of every ten smartphone users don’t lock their phones with a passcode, so anyone who finds it has access to whatever is stored there. 

Location tracking technology built into most of these phones allows their users to locate the phone’s position remotely. Sometimes this can be done even if the phone is not turned on. Only removing the battery will make the phone go completely silent, and some phones, notably the iPhone, don’t have removable batteries. 

In the case of the iPhone, a free “Find My Phone” app allows the user to display the phone’s location on a map, where the phone has been recently, to lock or erase the phone remotely, and to display a message to whoever might have it or finds it.  The app will also cause the phone to play a sound file (roughly, “Here I am!”).  Any of these actions run from another iOS device or a web browser.  An app with the same name from the Google Play store permits almost as many options on an Android device. 

While you are attending festivals or concerts, going on vacation, or shopping, be aware of where your phone is – is it in an easy accessible side pocket of your purse?  Is it in your hip pocket where it is easy pickings for a thief?  Did you put it down on a shelf while you were shopping?  Realizing what you may have stored on your smartphone, ask yourself if you have taken the proper precautions to protect yourself against theft.

Categories: The Working Chief

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187 Comments

Reply Kuke Case
5:47 AM on October 16, 2016 
stolen mobile phone is now a common criteria for us. sometime it's just stolen or sometime we forgot to take it with us from any places where we visit. but there is a easy solution to reduce phone stolen problem. we can use phone cover with locking system.
Reply anonymous
8:27 AM on August 13, 2018 
awesome click
Reply bethchas
3:56 PM on January 30, 2022 

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