Can Retired Law Enforcement Make a Difference?
What does life after a career in law enforcement look like? Partnering retired law enforcement officers with jobs in public safety software can create an incredible opportunity to move the needle on the future of policing. With experiential knowledge, retired officers can provide valuable insight into what technology can and should look like to serve agencies better.
Recently Contributed to Zetron
The transition from active-duty law enforcement to retirement can be difficult. Career officers can struggle with a loss of purpose, a lack of camaraderie, and the sudden life changes retirement brings. With such a difficult adjustment, many former officers take up new hobbies, travel, and enjoy their newfound freedom. Others begin second careers in non-law enforcement centered industries. And some retirees continue to look for ways to be a positive influence on their chosen profession and serve their communities.
Client Success Manager and Retired Deputy Chief Gary Holliday served with the Knoxville Tennessee Police Department for almost 30 years, retiring in 2019. “At 52 years old I wasn’t finished. While my career in active law enforcement was complete, I still felt I had something to offer my profession. I felt like, in a small way, I could still make a difference”. Deputy Chief Holliday found a way to make a difference by leveraging his years of experience and training in the law enforcement software industry and starting his second career at CivicEye, a cloud software company for law enforcement.
Bringing Law Enforcement & Software Together
The development and support of law enforcement software and hardware is a tremendous opportunity for retired law enforcement officers and for the organizations that hire them. They provide a unique perspective, centered around years of practical and tangible experience. These retired officers also bring a real-world perspective to product development, user interface, and system design. They understand the pitfalls and pains of new technology, but also have the knowledge and forethought to develop innovative strategies to overcome issues of change.
Retired law enforcement officers bring added benefits to an organization aside from the development of trade tools. Some have worked in the higher levels of their police agency and have a great knowledge of the purchasing process, RFPs, and the internal mechanics of large projects and contracts. “Just three years ago, I was the customer. When I speak with our clients now, I always keep that in the back of my mind. What would I want to hear from my vendor representative? How long would this contract take me to get signed? What were my goals?’” said Gary Holliday.
Continuing to Make an Impact
Officers spend their careers making a meaningful impact on their communities. For many, it’s important to still have that sense of purpose and drive post retirement. Being able to transition into a second career that is still centered around making a difference not only benefits the retired officers, but the organizations they become part of, and in turn, the products they help develop. The partnership of retired law enforcement professional and innovative business is beneficial to all, and most importantly, to the communities they serve.