Elephant

We all have one, at least one. For some, avoidance is best; attempting to turn away from it and hope it might go away. Others learn to live with it, adjusting to the displacement and accepting it as the new norm. The one thing that is constant though, is the fact it exists. I am talking about elephants.

Within weeks of starting to work in our county jails, my elephant came waltzing in. Working in the largest county jail system in the world, deficiencies abound for a topic that lacked excitement and glamour when compared to topics such as gang intelligence or narcotics. My elephant was disability awareness and required accommodation. This topic and it’s understanding long preceded my becoming a deputy. There had even been multiple revisions and updates since it’s implementation in 1990.

The difference with my elephant was this; it doesn’t go away. While what might be perceived as more interesting topics often cloud the mind of many young officers who answer the call to serve; my mind was drawn to addressing a need that is constant. I saw inefficiencies, I saw misconceptions, I saw an industry-wide deficiency. While existing misconceptions would drive some to believe what we as an agency were doing was “sufficient”, I began to realize this elephant would not go away; and in fact it would begin to grow. The need to answer this call was there, and to date, I don’t believe anyone had answered it yet.

Looking back, I had no idea it would be as difficult as it has been to effect positive change from the inside.