Excerpts from a speech by John A. Hannah
Hannah, John A.
Address to International Police Academy, Washington, D.C. (as published in Police, May-June, 1970) You, the members of the Academy class of July 1969, have also learned that in these days the...
...Few needs can be instantly satisfied...
...Twenty years ago, in historic Point IV of President Truman's Inaugural Address, the United States responded to this determination...
...as published in Police, May-June, 1970) You, the members of the Academy class of July 1969, have also learned that in these days the status of the law anti its enforcement raise questions not only in your home countries, but also in this country...
...To the man on the street, the police are the government...
...We hope you will return home with a new determination to strengthen the conviction of your people that they have a stake in order ant in progressive change...
...When'the police are fair, the government is just...
...We hope that your work here will help you to reach new peaks of success...
...If the police are arrogant, their government will seem oppressive...
...They want better lives for themselves and their children...
...These days, in most of the nations to which the members of this graduating class will return, change clearly is the law of life...
...The police can help to keep legitimate opposition from degenerating into subversion and violence...
...Around the world, this friction is a byproduct of change anti "Change," te proverb tells us, "is the law of life...
...An effective police force is the first line of defense against subversion and violence, but it is also the public's first point of contact with its leaders...
...if the police are ineffective, government will seem weak...
...Change does not occur because leaders decide on it as a matter of policy...
...In a single generation, the world has changetl-growll cosnpact...
...Today, disadva.ntaged people everywhere know full well that there is nothing predetermined about hunger, disease, illiteracy and hopelessness...
...We believe it is doing so...
...They can contain those who are bent on turning disappointment into destruction...
...It will be your responsibility, when you return to your own countries, to pass on what you have learned to your colleagues and subordinates...
...The poor are no longer ignorant about the ridh...
...The mission of the Agency's International Police Academy is to help law enforcement to contribute to the t.,k of development...
...The big house on the hill," as the late Wendell Wilkie put it, "has lost its awesome charm...
...The very process of change inspires hopes for progress which, once it comes, may be imperfectly shared...
...They can help to shift dissatisfaction from the barricade to the ballot...
...As agents of order and change, your opportunities will be challenging, your responsibility will be immense...
...As with all AID participant training programs, your work at the Academy is only the beginning-the commencement...
...Neither are these new problems to the Agency for International Development of whichll this Academy is a distinguished part...
...ertainly, the developing nations are not experiencing change because the Agency for International Development or the United States have decreed it...
...vlhen violence or mob rule threaten order and the rule of law, progress slows to a halt...
...The progress of development is seldom smoothly...
...Change and its consequences are not new problems to you or your governments...
...What the police tell the people, by word and by deed, the people believe about their government...
...W'e hope your work here has enhanced your ability to maintain order with a minimum of force...
...A bold new program was launched to make "the benefits ot our scientific advances and in-dustrial progress available for the improvement and growth of underdeveloped countries...
...We ignore it only at our peril...
...There is friction between the desire for order anti the determination to win equal opportunity...
...Tomorrow's success of today's graduates will be one measure of the impact of this Academy...
...When the police are competent and compassionate, their government is efficient anti humane...
...The number of graduates from the Academy is about to reach a total of three thousand persons...
...For the support of orderly change is the central responsibility of AID...
...The management of these conflicting pressures puts the police in a crucial and difficult position...
...are confident that you will succeed...
...In your home countries you will be responsible for the law enforcement performance of many thousands of men anti women...
...Today, American foreign aid focuses sharply on the changes which men must make in their lives and their communities if their nations are to achieve development...
...They are determined to encourage change...
...In America and throughout the world many who are committed to social justice hear a different drummer than do those whose overriding interest is stability...
...Expectations inspire not only achievement, but disappointment and frustration, and controversies may start over who gets what, and who gets to do what...
...Today, the police are not only the agents of order, they are also the agents of change...
...The needs are acute...
Vol. 4 • July 1970 • No. 4
