January 26, 2022
By Jay Schroeder
The Missouri Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)—the recognized voice of Missouri law enforcement—launched a statewide initiative to increase membership and generate a wave of community support for law enforcement officers.
The Missouri FOP encourages all Missourians to proudly become “Community Members” and partners with the FOP. Memberships and additional information about the organization are available online at MissouriFOP.com or by visiting the Missouri FOP’s Facebook page.
“We encourage all Missourians to join us as Community Members of the FOP and make a stand to defend and promote Missouri’s front-line law enforcement officers,” said Rick Inglima, President of the Missouri FOP. “As an FOP community member, you are joining a dedicated effort to support the families and efforts of the Missouri FOP—strengthening support for Missouri’s law enforcement officers in every way possible.”
The FOP highlighted several ways these new memberships will help advance and strengthen the statewide organization. As a Community Member of the FOP, contributions will;
• Directly support Missouri’s front-line law enforcement officers and their families, who are dedicated to keeping our communities safe.
• Support public relations, legislative, and educational efforts that foster respect for our law enforcement officers and improve the conditions under which they serve society.
• Assist family members in instances where police officers have given the ultimate sacrifice, being killed in the line of duty.
• Support the annual service held at the Missouri Law Enforcement Memorial in Jefferson City to honor law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the line of duty.
• Contribute to FOP scholarship opportunities for dependents of law enforcement officers.
Independent Public Polling research shows, contrary to what national media would have you believe, that Americans support the police. According to Pew Research, the share of adults who say spending on policing in their area should be increased now stands at 47%, up from 31% in June 2020. That includes 21% who say funding for their local police should be increased a lot, up from 11% who said this last summer.
“Our law enforcement officers are under attack like never before,” said Jay Schroeder, Executive Vice President of the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police and President of the St. Louis City Police Officers Association. “The lack of respect for law enforcement and the impact of soft-on-crime policies have led to a rapid rise in crime across our country. Ambush attacks on law enforcement nationwide increased by 126% in 2020.”
“As law enforcement officers, we cannot succeed without the support of the community that we proudly serve. We need your help on a variety of fronts as Missouri has become a difficult state to serve in,” said Brad Lemon, President of Kansas City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 99. “Enough is enough. We encourage all Missourians to join us and make a stand to Back the Blue,”
The Missouri State FOP seeks to make positive changes in their new membership initiative to enlist community support to better the lot of all law enforcement members. Rick Inglima continued, “One of our main goals as law enforcement officers is simple—rid the street of criminals and provide the best working environment for those that employ themselves in that endeavor. We are always available to you, the public that we serve.”
The FOP has three levels of Community Memberships available starting at $45 per year. In addition, the FOP opened an online storefront offering merchandise and apparel, which proceeds directly support the FOP’s initiatives.
Missouri’s FOP membership is comprised of 8,000 full-time rank-and-file law enforcement officers employed in Missouri and has 30 local lodges that provide support to their respective membership. The FOP is a non-profit organization, and contributions are not tax-deductible. It is important to know that one hundred percent of all contributions go to support the Missouri FOP and are used for advocacy, continued training, and line of duty death benefits, just to name a few.
