Desert Observer's Page      Have you noticed those police uniform photos of former Palm Springs Chief of Police Gary Jeandron? The ones appearing in the daily political mailings touting his 80th Assembly District candidacy from that out-of-area Small Business Action Committee. The photos of Jeandron in uniform all show him wearing four stars on his collar.

When did a small town Chief of Police job rate four stars? The last time I looked at the Palm Springs  police department line-up, the list of ranks consisted of Officers, Detectives, Sergeants, Lieutenants, Captains and a Chief. Insignia for the Sergeants consists of stripes, the Lieutenants wear a single bar on the collar and Captains wear two bars. The ranking system appears to follow that used by the military. What happened to the Majors, Lieutenant Colonels, full-bird Colonels, Brigadier - Major and Lieutenant Generals? Why did they skip these ranks and assign the four stars of a full General as the insignia for the Chief of Police position?

Is the selection of insignia appropriate for the local Chief of Police position an ego issue? If so, why not go for the whole hog (no lipstick, though) and adopt the five stars worn by a General of the Army? Am I missing something here?

Bond Shands, Desert Observer
Palm Springs
September 11, 2008

The above has been cross-posted as a blog from "Observer" on MyDesert.com