NCJ Number
209259
Date Published
March 2005
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article presents a police officer graduation ceremony speech delivered by Commander Debbie Kuidis, a retired deputy chief of the Albuquerque, NM, Police Department.
Abstract
Commander Kuidis welcomed the 89th cadet class, as well as their families and friends, to their graduation ceremony. The 89th cadet class had the highest percentage of women in its graduating class in the history of the Albuquerque Police Department, with 13 women graduates. Once these women join the police department, Albuquerque’s police force will be 14 percent female, slightly above the 13 percent national average. Commander Kuidis stressed the importance of integrity, honesty, and compassion as crucial characteristics for police officers. She discussed the impact of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on police work in this country and she underscored the point that most of the citizens police officers serve are decent, honest, upstanding individuals. Commander Kuidis stressed the importance of always doing the right thing, even when no one is watching and warned the future police officers that they will encounter people who will disrespect them simply because they are police officers. Officers must not let negative experiences jade their view of citizens or of police work, for it is one of the most important jobs in contemporary society. Exhibit