JOURNALISTS GET NEW APPRECIATION FOR POLICE DEPARTMENT

Even in a community the size of Cape Girardeau, the uniformed police officers on the street are often nameless figures who represent the full authority of law enforcement. A typical reaction from a motorist who sees a patrol car in the rear-view mirror is to step on the brake, even if the motorist isn't exceeding the speed limit.

There is, to be sure, a healthy regard for police officers among most residents of any community. And those among us who know officers personally or have them for neighbors tend to have a deeper appreciation for the work they do. For the most part, however, officers do their job in relative anonymity and without much public notice. They work when we are sleeping, or when freezing rain is falling or when hot, humid temperatures make the days unbearable.

To find out more about the operations of the Cape Girardeau Police Department, four reporters and three photographers from the Southeast Missouri spent an entire 24 hours with officers and other police department personnel as they did their jobs.

The result was presented in last Sunday's newspaper. It was a fascinating glimpse at the ordinary -- and not-so-ordinary -- routine of the men and women who are responsible for protecting this community from elements that would otherwise do us harm.

One observation of all the newspaper folks involved was that our police department has high professional standards based on hours of training and procedural policies. But beyond that, officers must possess the ability to use common sense in situations where quick thinking can mean the difference between order and chaos.

The city's new police chief, Rick Hetzel, has inherited a basically sound department. But already there are signs of improvements that should make the police department even better. For one thing, Hetzel is looking at ways to may the pay of his staff competitive with other departments. And he has taken a proactive position on low-level crime. Simply put, petty thieves and drug pushers had better watch out.

The 24 hours that this newspaper's staff spent observing the department close up has produced a genuine respect for officers, dispatchers, jailers and all the rest of the police department personnel whose labors never end.