Fraternal Organizations

Law enforcement fraternal organizations are social groups consisting of sworn officers who may engage in legislative and work conditions advocacy for[Page 198] themselves and various forms of community service to benefit others. Thus, officers benefit from fraternal organizations by their membership. Often, specific fraternal organizations will require a secondary trait of commonality. For example, Police Officers for Christ is a fraternal organization where the membership has a Christian faith in common, the Gay Officers’ Action League is a fraternal organization where the membership is likely to have a homosexual identity in common, and the Policewoman's Endowment Association is one where officers would have a female identity in common. Some fraternal organizations include retired officers and/or honorary non-law enforcement persons in their membership. It is also not uncommon for fraternal organizations to have chapters with memberships that represent professions or occupations related to law enforcement, such as chapters for firefighters, parole officers, or immigration inspectors. Other fraternal organizations may limit their membership largely to retired law enforcement officers, such as the Dinosaur Squad of New York, Retired Sergeants Association, New York 1013, and the Superior Officers’ Association.

There are many fraternal organizations. In addition to those mentioned above, other examples include the Anchor Club, Stueben Association, Saint George Association, Saint Paul Society, Honor Legion, Gang Investigators’ Association, Narcotic Enforcement Officers’ Association, Police Dog Association, Asian Jade Society, Haitian-American Law Enforcement Fraternal Organization, Hispanic Society, Columbia Association, Police Square Club, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Viking Association, Shromrim Society, Police Self-Support Group, County Law Enforcement Officers Association, Regina Coeli, Pulaski Association, Traffic Squad, Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, National Latino Peace Officers’ Association, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, and the New York State Shields, Incorporated. Such groups exist as an important source of peer social support for law enforcement officers. This type of support is very important to many officers, who may perceive that individuals outside of their profession might not understand the rigors of their work.

Fraternal organization chapters are often referred to as “lodges” with a numeral in their chapter name that may or may not hold any particular significance. In some cases, the numbering of lodges once represented the order in which the lodges came into existence and/or the region in which the lodges exist. Nevertheless, with the dormancy or closure of some lodges, many numbering sequences no longer reflect the original numbering intentions. Other terms used for organizational chapters include “aerie” or “parlor.” Some fraternal organizations have international chapters, such as the Emerald Society, which has chapters or lodges in the United States and Canada for the support of officers of Irish and/or Gaelic heritage. Another international law enforcement fraternal organization is the International Police Association, which has more than 300,000 members in 58 countries.

However, the oldest law enforcement fraternal organization in the United States is the Fraternal Order of Police. It is a nonprofit group that began in Pittsburgh on May 14, 1915 with two foot patrolmen, Brother Martin Toole and Brother Delbert Nagle, and 21 other officers. It was called Fort Pitt Lodge #1 at its inception, and it had as its focus advocacy for better working conditions for its law enforcement membership. Its motto is “Jus, Fides, Libertatum,” which means “Law is a safeguard of freedom.” Its emblem is a five-point star symbolizing allegiance to the flag and the authority of law enforcement. A part of the star is blue, symbolizing a duty to protect the community, and the background is white, representing purity. The Fraternal Order of Police now focuses on increasing the pride, professionalism, and brotherhood/sisterhood of law enforcement officers. It often weighs in on legislation, both local and national, that will affect its membership. Presently, it has more than 310,000 members (referred to as “brothers” and “sisters”) and about 2,100 lodges in the United States and Canada.

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