Ha! Police PR departments often consist of uniformed officers acting as spokespeople. They have just about no PR experience and job #1 is to defend, defend, defend. I don't know that a professional PR person is necessary for most departments anyway. They're not real interested in "de-militarizing" or shaping public opinion.

Look at some of the footage from the Times Sq. bomb plot. It looks so ridiculous to see all those cops standing around in their ninja outfits with SMG's, like that's going to deter a single terrorist (especially one they've already caught). It's pure window dressing to show off some of the Homeland Security funds they're spending and to make sheeple think the cops are ready to take on the terrorists.

They are just pawns in a bigger game. They all hate the emphasis placed upon ticketing, the time spent sitting around with RADAR or LASER guns, and the public perception of it all. Unfortunately, their assignments and departmental policies are set more by money grubbing politicians eager to meet revenue targets than by sound police practice. Ticket revenue has, in the U.S., turned into a huge source of income for states, counties, and cities. It's political suicide to raise taxes to meet revenue shortfalls, so they take this route instead. There is starting to be a lot of backlash, though, and they are in real danger of killing their golden goose.

yes

Yeah... pretty much what Jeff said applies here also.