The most ignored problem in law enforcement

Let's be honest, I'm not sure any of us really expected to find some earth shattering news in the JFK assassination files where it said "The CIA hired Oswald to kill the president." If you were expecting that kind of information, sorry to inform you that you're wasting your time reading the files.

Perhaps what many were looking to discover in the files is the age old unanswered question as to "why?" Why did he shoot and kill President Kennedy? Well, sadly I don't think that answer is fully revealed either.

But, what we do see is something subtle, totally ignored by media and others, but yet remains a problem even today. The sad truth is it just doesn't impact the death of a president, it impacts every single person depending on our law enforcement agencies to work together to solve a crime or find someone who has been kidnapped.

Now, let me be the first to say I am totally 100% in favor of our law enforcement officers. My father retired from law enforcement and I appreciate the sacrifice and risk they take every single day they put on that uniform. I also recognize and appreciate the sacrifice the families make and the countless nights of worry and fear.

However, whether you support law enforcement officials or not there is one thing that needs to be addressed and that is the issue of tension, fighting, and "whose badge shines brighter" competition between the agencies that often interfere with a case. Many times, it might even cause law enforcement to spend more time fighting with each other and more energy in proving their agency has more power than in solving the crime.

Case in point: The JFK files have brief mentions of tension and competition between the multiple agencies working the assassination investigation. In fact, it mentions that agencies would gather their own evidence and their own information and not share it with the other agencies working the case. Does that sound like cooperation to you? Does that sound like they are trying to solve a case? It sounds like they're more worried about who gets the credit and trying to out shine the other agencies than in actually solving the crime.

This issue is never addressed in the media. You see all kinds of other problems with law enforcement (and yes, it has its own demons to battle), but this overlooked and seemingly insignificant issue that arises when agencies overlap should be a concern of everyone because it continues to happen today.

My book Shattered Security will be released April 2018 and it highlights the battles that waged between multiple law enforcement agencies while they were all supposed to be working to try to find and rescue 3 kidnapped children and their mother. The battle even waged to the point of filing court petitions on each other and trying to have each other arrested. Does that sound like they were working together to find those missing family members? Despite the "unified" front they presented when they addressed the media during press conferences, they were anything but unified.

This problem has obviously been happening since the JFK days, and I suspect if we dig further we will find it has been happening since the creation of these agencies.

As taxpayers (therefore those who pay their paychecks), we should demand more of these agencies when we need them. We should demand these agencies put aside their childish schoolyard behavior and begin working together to solve crimes, protect citizens, and put the criminals behind bars. Every single one of these officials take an oath to serve and protect. They do NOT take an oath to serve, protect, and battle each other for credit. I think we can all agree that if we are in need of any of these agencies, particularly more than one of them, we don't care who gets the credit as long as the crime gets solved or our loved ones are returned home safely.

If you take a brief glance through the JFK files you will see where there were credible leads in the investigation that were not followed up on because of the competition between the agencies, you will find each agency gathered its own information and evidence and didn't share with the others, and you will see a brief glimpse into the same war that continues to wage today. I supposed until we demand better we will not get better.