Yesterday's Investment Bankers, Today's HPD

I love USA Today; they are a model newspaper. The news and content of any given issue are always more informative and upbeat than the next story you might read in your local rag (hint: it's about a double-suicide car wreck abortion that caused a Republican senator to viciously assault a 12-year-old page and the DOW to drop 500 points). USA Today is a daily pick-me-up for intercontinental travelers wasting away in a world of plastic silverware and business class blues, and they have my deepest appreciation. Plus, there's a sort of campy charm to those blue paper-dispensers that you find in diners, Best Westerns, and airport terminals across this great nation.

In today's edition, I came across a little gem that mentions Houston's rising rate of police force applications as part of an overall national trend. How many? Two hundred more applications per month in Houston since late last year.

I'm a bit confused about how this makes me feel, but I'm so intrigued by this flux of applications that I had to mention it. On one hand, it's encouraging to think that HPD can finally stop hiring every former high school quarterback with a superiority complex-- instead, they can choose from a pool of applicants to fill their beat force with educated, rational, cool individuals. Of course, the article also mentions that ~50% of applicants fail their FBI background check. Maybe we're in for a lot more of the same old, same old.

In any case, it's never a good reflection on the institution of the police force when it takes a global economic downturn to get people excited about the profession.

[Police agencies buried in resumes - USATODAY.com]