before i make my remarks it's my privilege to read a statement from united states senator russ feingold who wanted to send his greetings but is involved in the discussions in in congress today around the confirmation of the new supreme court justice senator feingold says i welcome all of the new police officers who will be joining the milwaukee police department today this is another great sign that the recovery act is helping to put more wisconsinites back to work while providing vital resources to our communities the cops hiring grant and the recovery act are one of the most significant ways the federal government can fulfill its duty to assist state and local law enforcement in protecting our communities i will continue to support programs like cops that give critical support to law enforcement officers working to keep wisconsin safe again that's from senator russ feingold as i stand here today i remember standing in a where you are 37 years ago eager to embark on a career that would introduce me to a world of adventure and challenge and excitement and i will tell you from the advantage of 37 years of experience that everything that i expected to happen did if i was your age but knew what the world held for me i would do this again in a heartbeat and so i envy you and i envy what is in in store for you for me starting the academy represented a turning point in my life it meant that i was going to learn how to be a police officer it meant that i was going to chase bad guys i was going to learn how to use a firearm i was going to learn how to drive up police cars learn how to do all those things intellectually i understood that my academy training was going to help me to serve the public and and the safety of others but the truth it was the idea of action and adventure that captured my imagination that was in 1973 and even at that time i underestimated just how much of this job would ultimately around would revolve around my ability to interact with people my ability to assess people in the situations that they came from and to recognize what i represented to the people with whom i came in contact my first day of the academy was not a shock i had spent three years in the army i had this business of being yelled at and doing a lot of push-ups although chief flynn has assured me that apparently that doesn't happen anymore but i was i was not shocked about that what i did learn what probably was the most valuable lesson to come out of that was the importance of treating everybody that you came in contact with and recognizing that they were a human being just as you were just in more difficult circumstances and the importance of calm and professionalism in the in the face of of significant challenges sometimes if there's anything i would want you to take away from today it is the understanding that you count it is the understanding that you make a difference in the lives of people of the communities that you serve i want you to always remember that your actions how you treat people your commitment to problem solving your commitment to the administration of authority your commitment to the ethics and integrity of this profession will make all the difference in the world to the people that you encounter at the risk of of sounding a little bit preachy it is important to remember that you are training to become the living embodiment of the constitution of the united states most people will never have any contact with government other than local law enforcement the truth or falsity of all the noble ideas that we espouse very often come down to how you will treat somebody at two o'clock in the morning and this is the challenge for you as you go through this training you are learning or you will be learning how to deal with a myriad of circumstances that most people will never have to face but the reality is that for what for you will become routine for the people that you are dealing with may be a traumatic and life-altering event what you do and how you respond to that and how you treat them will determine how they feel about the police department and how they feel about their government at the cops office where i've had the privilege to be the director now for approximately eight months we understand as the senator senator feingold indicated in his remarks how important this reality is since 1994 the cops office has funded 121 000 officers nationwide 937 of those in the state of wisconsin and 106 of those in milwaukee those of you who complete this academy will represent our most recent investment in the public safety of the city of milwaukee 10.2 million dollars to fund your class ultimately you will find that community policing is nothing more complicated than building relationships with the people you serve and the people that you work with and solving problems i used to have to remind myself on a daily basis and remind my command staff and i will say it to the commands of people here that we did not do the real work of policing it was done by the folks who answered the phone and the folks who drove the radio cars and the folks who interacted with the public you determine what the future and what the image of the milwaukee police department actually is during the academy if you haven't already you are going to have good days and bad days there will be days when you're on top of the world and days when you will have trouble remembering why you even wanted to start this process in the first place remember two things i asked somebody once what the man that i knew was was somewhat religious what his favorite phrase in the bible was and he said the number of times that it says it came to pass and i said well why is that he said well imagine what a screwed up world it would be if everything came to stay so if you have these days remember that it came to pass and secondly that you have an obligation not just to yourself but to your comrades each of you will bring strength in your training each of you will also bring areas in which you are less than stellar if you try to do the academy on your own it is likely that you will fail just like the street you must carry your partners you must look to your left and look to your right and say how can i get us all to the finish line today i'm told that there are 47 of you here today a perfect success story would be here if when i come back on graduation day all 47 of you were still standing here that would mean that each of you found the strength not just to carry yourself but to carry your partners it will mean that like this profession on which you are about to embark you recognize that you are serving something greater than yourself working together in this academy will get you to graduation day ultimately it will help you catch bad guys improve the quality of life in your neighborhoods and ensure that you and your partners go home safely being a police officer is not just a job it is a lifestyle it is a way of living and this academy is the first step in that process remember that even now most people who know you do not think of you as a cadet or a recruit they think of you as a police officer and they judge the milwaukee police department on your actions the expectations of the public are already upon you they watch your behavior whether you know it or not and they hold you to a higher standard than they hold other people whether you know it or not you carry the torch for your department and your fellow officers and the public's innate confidence and trust in law enforcement for various reasons each of you decided to pursue this noble career you have competed against others for the right to be here today your aptitude has been tested your physical conditioning has been tested your background has been tested and your your psychology has been tested and the reality of this profession is that that testing never stops i wish that there was some advice that i could give you to make the challenge that challenges that you will deal with in the academy somewhat easier i wish there were magical words that i could speak that would help you to avoid the mistakes that i and others have made and i wish there was something that i could say to make everything clear well here's the deal this is a complex profession and there are no magic words this is why i ask you to remember this time and this place and this day this is the beginning of a great life adventure endure it and enjoy it be ethical and compassionate during this class and you will be ethical and compassionate on the street and lastly remember that honor is more than just a word it is a quality made manifest by our daily action remember that we tend to judge ourselves by our intentions but others judge us by our actions you have been found worthy to enter this profession and i challenge you to remain worthy thank you and god bless