Berkeley Police Association

09/03/2026

When a disaster hits, the phone network does not fail evenly. Voice calls go first.

Here is why. A phone call holds an open channel for as long as you talk. A text message is a tiny packet that queues, retries, and slips through gaps a call cannot use. That is why the FCC's emergency guidance says plainly that in many cases text messages will go through when your call may not.

The second half of that guidance is the part almost nobody follows. Pick a contact who lives outside your area and make sure everyone in your household knows to check in with that person. When something happens locally, local lines jam. Long distance often still works. Your out of area contact becomes the switchboard while the neighborhood ones are useless.

September is National Preparedness Month. Two things, ten minutes, no shopping required. Agree on the out of area contact, and make sure everyone knows to text rather than call.

Our members work the days these plans get tested. The households that made one are noticeably easier to help.

Comment below with the one preparedness step you have actually done. Not the one you keep meaning to do.

08/29/2026

Happy 110th birthday to the Marine Forces Reserve.

On August 29, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Naval Appropriations Act, formally establishing the Marine Corps Reserve as World War I loomed and the country began preparing for the possibility of entering it.

Here is the growth curve: in April 1916, the Reserve consisted of 35 Marines. By the time Germany surrendered in November 1918, it had reached 6,467. Reserve Marines fought at Belleau Wood, Soissons, St. Mihiel, and Meuse-Argonne.

Today, Marine Forces Reserve is the largest command in the Marine Corps, with roughly 40,000 drilling Selected Reserve Marines across 184 Reserve Training Centers nationwide. They hold civilian careers and stay mission-ready at the same time.

Several members of this association do exactly that. Two commitments. One standard.

Semper Fidelis.

08/21/2026

Please join the BPA for our 1st Annual Charity Golf Tournament. Family and friends and welcome to participate. All proceeds will go to support the Berkeley Humane Society.

For more information, and how to sign up please see the attached flyer.

There are still golf team spots and opportunities for tee sponsorship/recognition. Any support is welcomed.

08/15/2026

Twenty minutes. That is roughly how long a kid spends walking to school and walking home again, and it is the riskiest part of their entire day.

NHTSA data shows more school-age pedestrians are killed between 6 and 8 in the morning and between 3 and 5 in the afternoon than during any other hours. Two narrow windows, at the exact times when the light is bad, drivers are rushed, and children are the smallest and hardest things on the road to see.

Here is what actually helps. Walk the route with them once before the first day so they know where to cross rather than deciding in the moment. Teach them to make eye contact with a driver before stepping off a curb, because a stopped car is not the same thing as a driver who has seen you. Bright colors on a backpack do more than people think in morning fog. And the phone goes in the pocket until they are through the door.

None of it takes long. All of it works.

Our members will be out on those routes when school starts back up, same as always.

Share this post before Monday morning. Someone on your feed is walking a kid to school for the first time this week.

08/14/2026

08/07/2026

There is no medal a service member volunteers for. The Purple Heart is the one nobody wants to earn.

It is awarded for being wounded or killed in action against an enemy of the United States. Not for valor. Not for leadership. For bearing the cost.

Established by George Washington on August 7, 1782 as the Badge of Military Merit and revived as the Purple Heart in 1932, it is the oldest military decoration still awarded in the United States. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor estimates roughly 1.8 million have been given out, though records from the early years are incomplete. Approximately 430,000 were awarded posthumously.

Many members of this association are veterans. Some carry this decoration. Some lost friends who earned it the hardest way possible.

Today, and every day, we honor them.

Tag a Purple Heart recipient or a family member who carries that legacy in the comments.

08/04/2026

Happy 236th birthday to the United States Coast Guard.

On August 4, 1790, at the request of Alexander Hamilton, Congress authorized the construction of ten cutters to patrol the young nation's coastline. That small fleet, originally called the Revenue Cutter Service, became the oldest continuous seagoing service in the United States.

Here is a detail most people never learn: from 1790 until the Navy was reestablished in 1798, those ten cutters were the only armed maritime force this country had. Eight years where the entire defense of the American coast rested on a handful of ships and the people who crewed them.

Today the Coast Guard carries out eleven statutory missions, from search and rescue to maritime law enforcement to environmental protection. Different tools, same job.

To everyone who has served, thank you for 236 years of standing watch.

Tag a Coast Guard veteran in the comments who deserves recognition today.

Semper Paratus. Always Ready.

07/26/2026

This past week the decision was made to cut our Community Services Bureau to fill critical shortages in our patrol division. This, in addition to the removal of the mobile crisis clinicians puts even more strain on our already understaffed patrol officers. This will lead to a reduction in service for quality of life issues and less community outreach. Between staffing shortages, lack of industry standard technology and tools, and more competitive salaries at nearby agencies, there’s not much cause for optimism. Instead of implementing the recommendations of 21st century policing task force we are seeing 21st century defunding in action. Contact the mayor and council here;

https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/council-roster

07/25/2026

🌟 Christmas in July is here, and yes, that is actually a thing.

In 1933, Keystone Camp in Brevard, North Carolina decided their summer campers should not have to wait until December to feel Christmas spirit. They put up a tree, exchanged gifts, and the tradition started spreading. Almost 100 years later, it is officially observed on July 25.

To the members of this association who spend so much of the real Christmas season at work, today is a small reminder that the people who serve our community deserve to feel a little holiday spirit too.

Drop a 🎄 in the comments to wish someone in our profession a Merry Christmas in July. Let's get the spirit going.