How Recyclers Can Honor Law Enforcement During National Police Week 2026

This ReMA News article about National Police Week was written by Todd Foreman, ReMA's Senior Director of Law Enforcement Outreach

Originally established by a presidential proclamation from President John F. Kennedy in 1962, National Police Week includes Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15 and a week of observances recognizing officers who have given their lives in the line of duty. It also includes those who continue to serve and protect our communities with dedication and courage.

As a retired Chief of Police, National Police Week holds deep meaning for me as a time to remember those I knew personally, along with the many others who sacrificed everything for their communities.

After my retirement, I've been honored to continue to work with law enforcement across the country through my position with ReMA. Through my career in law enforcement, I tried to follow Sir Robert Peel's Policing Principles. The one that I still follow is the seventh principle, which states that the police should maintain a relationship with the public that reflects that police are citizens in uniform being paid for their duties. In other words, the police are the public, and the public are the police.

Through my work with law enforcement, stakeholders, and recyclers I try to share this philosophy that it takes collaboration to prevent crime and catch criminals. Police officers can't do it all themselves. They need the public's help, and in my line of work that means members of the recycled materials industry.

ReMA provides several avenues to help foster connections between recyclers and law enforcement. Launched by ReMA in 2009 to help fight material theft, ScrapTheftAlert.comopens in a new tab allows users to submit and receive alerts about stolen materials or suspicious incidents. Once a report is submitted to ScrapTheftAlert.com, the system searches U.S. and Canadian postal codes within 100 miles of the theft location and sends an email to all those who have enrolled in the system in that radius. Approximately 3.5 million dollars' worth of material has been recovered with the system. This is a successful system that allows recyclers to assist in the recovery of stolen property.

In 2013, ReMA created a Law Enforcement Advisory Council (LEAC), a select group of experienced law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and security personnel from around the country with an understanding of the metals' theft issue. The Council advises ReMA in the development of a comprehensive program to address metals theft, including a multi-layered training program to assist law enforcement. The LEAC is part of an even more advanced, comprehensive approach by the recycled materials industry to address the problem of metals theft through training and greater outreach efforts.

In addition to these tools, I want to encourage industry members to reach out to local law enforcement to build trusted relationships. National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign held on the first Tuesday of August that promotes police-community partnerships to make neighborhoods safer and more connected. Coffee with a Cop also brings police officers and the community members they serve together-over coffee-to discuss issues and learn more about each other.

Relationships with law enforcement are important whether you're connecting with the Sheriff, Chief of Police, a detective, or a patrol officer. It's important to remember that law enforcement faces many challenges with manpower and having to prioritize calls, so we need to be patient as we work with them on property crimes. Property crimes can be deadly for the public and for responding officers. These officers may face a deadly situation because of what was stolen or if they need to approach someone who may be violent. When you build that trust and develop relationships with law enforcement, you'll be better able to communicate with one another, which in turn increases understanding from both sides.

This is a week to remember our fallen officers and honor those officers still serving our communities and sacrificing time with their families and loved ones. Take time to thank an officer and show them the honor they deserve as they are in our communities serving in difficult times and in difficult situations keeping our communities safe.

Photo by Fred Moon on Unsplash.