Each month we send out a number of random community perception surveys to see what our customers think about us and to elicit anonymous suggestions and concerns. One I recently received had the following comment/question: "I get contacted by 5 different police organizations. Do you get any of the money? You do a great job!"
I really liked that last part, so even though it has nothing to do with this post, I decided to leave it in. Thanks Mr. M for your kind comment.
This post is about the first part of his comment, primarily because I've been asked about this before. What Mr. M speaks of are those annoying telemarketing calls that we all get from time to time in which someone purporting to represent the police want our money for this or that law enforcement cause. Next time you get one of these (just before you hang up), take time to ask the caller if he or she is actually a police officer. They are not allowed to lie, and I'll bet they'll answer they are not. To answer Mr. M's question: The Papillion Police Department has NEVER received a dime from any telemarketing program, nor has PPD ever solicited donations from individual taxpayers. Once in a while we accept unsolicited donations from generous corporate, community and non-profit partners, usually for specific targeted programs (DARE, Neighborhood Watch, K-9 program, etc.), and we might apply for a corporate grant from time-to-time. We firmly believe that our citizens donate enough to our causes via their annual tax bill, and there's no need to shake anyone down for more.
I think there's a certain creepiness about these types of telemarketing schemes. Although never stated overtly, there's always a hint that these law enforcement "organizations" have special license to coerce a buck out of people, especially those who can't easily distinguish between their local police departments and national or state organizations which use proceeds to lobby one cause or another. The other fact that's never stated is that about 75 to 90 percent of amounts collected go to the telemarketing firm, not the cause that's being advertised or peddled.
If you are inclined to donate to a worthy charity, find one that doesn't use most of their collections to fund administrative fees or salaries. There are plenty of them out there (i.e. Salvation Army), and you can research many on the web (A good place to start is http://www.charitynavigator.org/ ).
The Bottom Line: If someone calls you, wants to get in your wallet, and says they are representing us ---- THEY AIN'T REPRESENTING US.
