A look at a police officers life Under the Radar
In Honduras, most police officers are poorly trained, most police officers don’t wear a vest and have never fired their weapons, and most police officers don’t have a motor cycle or vehicle to drive.  To make matters worse, they are placed in various spots in the city which leave them very vulnerable to the gangs.   Their work is grueling and they work long hours.

The police are more like the army. They don’t like to be associated with the army, but the way the police dept. is managed no different than when they join the military. They own them so they can work them to the point where they are experiencing sleep deprivation. They are not counseled on how to deal with the daily, horrible things that they see and experience. There is sufficient teaching on how to resist corruption yet there is great pressure to do so. In some places they are corrupt and “that’s just the way it is”. Finally they are underpaid and under trained (as I mentioned).

It is a fact that corruption is high amongst the police department. It’s been told to me from several different high ranking police officials and government officials, that the fingers of corruption have touched everyone to one degree or another. That’s also frightening because the training is vigorous and hard and the academy facilities are run down, (it would be more fit for putting low risk criminals in their living quarters). It is difficult to keep a cadet in good spirits. It’s almost impossible for most except for those that have come from far worse conditions.  In saying this I am not knocking down the Honduran police. I wouldn’t consider this writing negative towards them. It’s what I have experienced, seen and been involved in the last seven or eight years. Well, that’s a day in the life of a recruit, and a little bit about a day in the life of a police officer. More to come…

  

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