James McLaughlin, Lt. Colonel Dept. of Natural Resources
Executive Director John Edwards
GBI, retired
Legislative Liaison
Harlan Proveaux
Dir. of Law Enforcement and Inspector General
GA Dept. of Agriculture
Past President
Scott Andrews Retired, Georgia State Patrol
DISTRICT DIRECTORS
North Georgia
Wesley Wellborn
Metro Atlanta
Vacant
West Georgia
Vacant
North Central
Willie Bolton Northeast
Matt Miles
Middle Georgia
Dottie Harden and Guy Fussell
Southeast
Cyrus Purdiman
Southwest
Jason Anthony
South Central
James Waters
Coastal Georgia
Ronnie Lynn and Bob Lynn
ANNUITY & BENEFIT FUND
Homer Bryson, hbryson59@gmail.com, 770-228-8461
LEGAL ADVISOR
Jay Swindell, Claxton
CHAPLAINS
Dr. Rick Lanford
Reverend Greg Loskoski
ACCOUNTANTS
Dabbs, Hickman, Hill & Cannon, LLP Statesboro
In Unity There Is Strength
• Volume 75 Number 1
Executive Committee Minutes
Executive Director and Legislative Update
Property Room Audits: What You Don’t Have Matters
The Road to Zero Traffic Fatalities
Reaching the Right Audience in Critical Communication
Battling Stress in the Communincations Center
Strategies to Combat the Officer Shortage
An Updated Look at Active Shooter Data
Seven Habits of Successful Police Officers
Three Keys to a Happy Police Retirement
On the Cover:
In times of critical communications, are you reaching the right audience? Find out more on page 51.
Official Minutes of the Executive Committee of the Peace Officers’ Association of Georgia, Inc.
The Executive Committee of the Peace Officers’ Association of Georgia, Inc. held its board meeting on Sunday, September 8, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. at Sea Palms Resort, St. Simons Island, Ga.
Committee members attending included President Dennis Baker, and Board Members, Scott Andrews and Hal Braswell, Harlan Proveaux and James McLaughlin. Others in attendance included Executive Director John Edwards and Administrative Director Kristal Odum. Guest Chaplain Rick Lanford, Chaplain Chip Strickland, Cory Andrews and Corporal Jesse Lamb.
President Baker called the meeting to order and led the board in the Pledge of Allegiance. Rick Lanford gave the invocation.
President Baker acknowledged and introduced the guests in attendance.
President Baker asked for the approval of the meeting agenda. Scott Andrews approved the agenda with a second by Hal Braswell.
Edwards presented the financial statements. Baker asked for approval of the financial statements. Andrews made a motion with a second by Bell.
President Baker asked to approve the minutes from previous meeting. Scott Andrews made the motion, seconded by
Harlan Proveaux.
Conference Update
Edwards gave a conference update. Luncheon/Banquet Agenda: Payton Biggers/Speaker, DNR will post colors, door prizes, and Meritorious Award.
Edwards asked to present to award to Bill Kicklighter. Edwards provided an update on training, the cost of the networking platform, raffles and door prizes that will be given out at the closing meeting.
Edwards gave an update on the magazine Royalties. Royalty remains very low and inconsistent with ad history. Edwards has spoken numerous times to Robert Callan to see what can be done to increase the income.
Hoffman provided the investments report to the board.
Rick Lanford advised the board that he, Jimmy Waters and Monsignor Kiernan came to the POAG in 1992. He advised that he will be stepping back from duties and would request that POAG consider pastor Chip Strickland in his place.
President Baker asked to adjourn the POAG meeting and move in the POAGF meeting. The motions were made by Andrews and second by Braswell.
Baker announced that at the request of Dennis Bell and Scott Andrews the board will hold our next meeting on November 15th at 10 a.m. at the Curahee Club
in Stephens county to consider a golf fundraiser.
President Baker asked for a motion to adjourn the POAGF meeting. Hal Braswell made the motion, and Harlan Proveaux seconded.
Official Minutes of the Executive Committee of the Peace Officers’ Association of Georgia, Inc.
The Executive Committee of the Peace Officers’ Association of Georgia, Inc. held its board meeting on Sunday, November 15, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at the Curahee Club, Toccoa, Ga.
Committee members attending included President Dennis Baker, Dennis Bell and James McLaughlin. Others in attendance included Executive Director John Edwards and Administrative Director Kristal Odum. Guest Cory Andrews.
President Baker called the meeting to order and led the board in the Pledge of Allegiance. John Edwards gave the invocation.
President Baker acknowledged and introduced the guests in attendance.
President Baker asked to move the golf pro Mr. Shannon Howard to the top of the agenda and then for the approval of the meeting agenda. Dennis Bell approved the agenda with a second by James McLaughlin.
There is an 18-hole practice / teaching facility, pool, tennis, basketball, pickleball, hiking and the clubhouse. Dennis Bell advised golf pro that we hold a 4-man scramble typically around April.
Howard provided the following information: There are rooms, suites, condos (43), the Inn and some personal homes they can rent out. 120 player max. 70 carts on site. For them
to open on a Monday the range will be from $7,500-$8,500. There are beverage carts available to go around the course for groups. The green fee would be $75. Golf fee for 40 players is $100 each. Lunch would be around $22 per player. Tuesday thru Thursday would also be an option to play. For the training, they can host around 85 trainees. 50% of food cost is payable up front. 7-9 day out food numbers would need to be turned in. There would be no availability during the Masters in Augusta.
Edwards presented the financial statements. Edwards asked for table the financial statements until the next meeting. Baker asked for a motion to table. Bell made a motion with a second by McLaughlin.
Edwards asked to table the minutes from previous meeting. Baker asked for a motion to table. Bell made the motion, seconded by McLaughlin.
Edwards gave a debriefing of the 2024 annual training conference that was held at Sea Palms on St. Simons Island. Edwards provided the cost and other financial reports derived by Kristol Odum
Edwards next gave a update on the POAG magazine royalties. They have been decreasing. He has spoken to both John Bodin and Robert Callan. The following data was excavated by Kristol Odum: 2021-$96K,
2022-$86K, 2023-$68K, 2024$43K. Such demonstrates the depth of loss by POAG.
Edwards advised that we cannot continue to make withdrawals from the savings and investments revenues POAG had earned over the years.
Baker wants us to be provided with a detailed quarterly report on the investments. He stated he will be willing to write a letter to the company. Bell made a motion with a second from McLaughlin.
Edwards advised the board that he needs board members articles ASAP for the magazine. Callan will also need to provide POAG with the deadline/release dates for 2025.
Baker suggested that we also set a soft budget during the January meeting.
Edwards advised that he is already working on the training for the 2025 conference. Already has the executive lined up. Dale Mann, Butch Beach and Tom Kirkbride. He advised that Hal would like to have the general session done no later than the end of January.
Baker and Hal have been working on the email initiative. They will work on trying to get a brief email sent out by Christmas to see how it works. Baker also said that during our January meeting we need to discuss our social media output and our group email.
Edwards reminded the board to be considering a succession strategy for the Executive Director position. Edwards announced that this would be his last conference as executive director of POAG.
POAG will meet in January for a strategic plan regarding the future of POAG. Mclaughlin will look into the state parks and Edwards will look into Sea Palms as possible locations to hold this meeting.
Edwards stated it is imperative that every board member attend.
President Baker asked to adjourn the POAG meeting and move in the POAGF meeting. Motion was made by Dennis Bell and second by James
McLaughlin.
POAGF Meeting Minutes
Edwards presented the board with an option GSU approached him with for an intern to work with POAGF. It would be $19,500 per year.
January, in the meeting, we need to discuss holding a mini symposium up in North Georgia. President Baker asked for a motion to adjourn the POAGF meeting. Hal Braswell made the motion, and Harlan Proveaux seconded.
Past Presidents and their Vice Presidents of the Peace Officers Association of Georgia
2020 Chris Hodge, Vice President Scott Andrews
2019 Garry Moore, Vice President Chris Hodge
2018 Garry Moore, Vice President Chris Hodge
2017 Dennis Bell, Vice President Garry Moore
2016 Dennis Bell, Vice President Garry Moore
2015 Tommy Spires, Vice President Dennis Bell
2014 Kyle Sapp, Vice President Tommy Spires
2013 Stephen Adams, Vice President Kyle Sapp
2012 Stephen Adams, Vice President Kyle Sapp
2011 Mike Jones, Vice President Stephen Adams
2010 M. Keith Glass, Vice President Mike Jones
2009 M. Keith Glass, Vice President Mike Jones
2008 Jimmy W. Jones, Vice President M. Keith Glass
2007 Gary W. Hill, Vice President Jimmy W. Jones
2006 Gary W. Hill, Vice President Jimmy W. Jones
2005 Keith Moran, Vice President Gary W. Hill
2004 Homer Bryson, Vice President Keith Moran
2003 Harry Colbert, Vice President Homer Bryson
2002 Wayne Avery, Vice President Harry Colbert
2001 W.W. (Bill) Hitchens, Vice President Wayne Avery
2000 W.W. (Bill) Hitchens, Vice President Carson Knight
1999 Mickey Pearce, Vice President W.W. (Billy) Hitchens
1998 Mickey Pearce, Vice President Billy Hancock
1997 Wesley Mott, Vice President Mickey Pearce
1996 Martin Moses, Vice President Wesley E. Mott
1995 Martin Moses, Vice President Wesley E. Mott
1994 Donnie Haralson, Vice President Martin H. Moses
1993 Donnie Haralson, Vice President Martin H. Moses
1992 Bob Brown, Vice President Donnie Haralson
1991 Cliff W. Tacket, Vice President David L. Willis
1990 Cliff W. Tacket, Vice President David L. Willis
1989 Norman E. Denney, Vice President Derrell R. Carnes
1988 Charles D. Sikes, Vice President Norman E. Denney
1987 Bill Hutson, Vice President Don Arnett
1986 Bill Hutson, Vice President Don Arnett
1985 Terry McAffee, Vice President Bill Hutson
1984 Terry McAffee, Vice President Bill Hutson
1983 Robert S. Boney, Vice President Terry McAffee
1982 Robert S. Boney, Vice President Jackie P. Smith
1981 Harold D. Thomas, Vice President Harold Lloyd
1980 Doyle D. Broome, Vice President Harold D. Thomas
1979 Doyle D. Broome, Vice President Claude E. Sapp
1978 Jack E. Benford, Vice President Doyle D. Broome
1977 Jack E. Benford, Vice President Doyle Broome
1976 John F. Collins, Vice President Jack Benford
1975 John F. Collins, Vice President W.E. Strickland
1974 Porter Weaver, Vice President John F. Collins
1973 A.L. Phillips, Vice President Porter Weaver
1972 Raymond Purvis, Vice President Henry Dillard
1971 Dave Higingbotham, Vice President James G. Beck
1970 Dave Higingbotham, Vice President William L. (Bill) Cline
1969 Harry E. Schmid, Vice President Ray Wilkes
1968 Ray Pope, Vice President Ralph D. Ruff
1967 Luther F. Butler, Vice President Fred (Slick) Culberson
1966 Luther F. Butler, Vice President Fred (Slick) Culberson
1965 George Mutimer, Vice President Dave Higingbotham
1964 George Mutimer, Vice President L.P. (Pinky) Allen
1963 P.C. Peacock, Vice President J.W. Beasley
1962 Grady W. Cochran, Vice President Kermit Sanders
1961 L.B. McCallum, Vice President T.J. Mahoney
1960 John Redding, Vice President Hoyt Henry
1959 Carlus Gay, Vice President P.C. Peacock
1958 Carlus Gay, Vice President J.H. Bisson
1957 Carlus Gay, Vice President J.H. Bisson
1956 John Redding, Vice President J.H. Bisson
1955 John Redding, Vice President J.H. Bisson
1954 G. Allen Maddox, Vice President J.H. Bisson
1953 E.S. Burke, Vice President G. Allen Maddox
1952 E.S. Burke, Vice President G. Allen Maddox
1951 No record
1950 No record
1949 E.S. Burke, Vice President Geo. Allen Maddox
Mission Statement of the Peace Officers Association of Georgia
We will achieve this mission by:
Message From Your Executive Director
Save the dates for the 2025 POAG Conference. September 7th through 10th 2025 at Sea Palms on Saint Simons Island. We have another wonderful conference planned. In the meantime, mark your calendars for May 13th through 14th POAG Homicide Symposium at Sea Palms. We will have all the details in our Spring magazine.
Legislative Report
The Georgia General Assembly is in full swing. The Governors budget included funds for the health of the State Employees Retirement System and support of the Senate and House recommendations for major funding for corrections. A more detailed report will be published in our
next magazine.
Please continue to remind your senators and representatives of the continuing retention crisis in law enforcement.
Update
Executive Director John Edwards
Property Room Audits:
What You Don’t Have Matters
by Chief (Ret.) Robert Temme Assistant Professor State University of New York
Have you ever lost sleep wondering what may, or may not, be happening in your property room? If the answer is yes, you are not alone.
Law Enforcement Chief Executive Officers spend very little time in the Property and Evidence Room and believe they are best served by not having their name appear on the secure area sign in log. Unfortunately, instances of misfeasance, malfeasance and criminal activity can be found in news stories across the country.
A simple internet search of “Firing Police Chief” in your favorite search engine will result in a return of numerous uninterrupted pages in response to such a query. Pay-
ing closer attention to what is occurring, or not occurring, in your Property and Evidence Division is a proactive way to protect the integrity of criminal investigations, your agency’s reputation and reduce your possibility of termination, becoming yet another search engine return.
If you are an accredited law enforcement agency by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) or awarded accreditation by a state accreditation program, you are more than likely well aware with the best practices when it comes to managing a Property and Evidence Division.
However, accrediting agencies do not dictate “how” to conduct audits and inspections of property rooms, but rather they simple indicate that audits and inspections should occur along with specific intervals and
in certain instances the quantity of items to be audited.
More often than not, these audits occur involving the in-custody property of the evidence storage system.
Even the CALEA compliance standard statement focused on property and evidence control audits and inspection reports references “… evidentiary integrity over agency controlled property and evidence…” Therein lies the problem, property or evidence that is no longer in control of a law enforcement agency should additionally be audited.
No matter what process an agency chooses to select items for an audit, whether it be for an annual audit, semiannual audit, unannounced audit or a change of evidence custodian audit, the methodology for the selection of items to be audited should be
(229) 868-2507
clearly articulated in your agency’s written directives.
These written directives will provide needed guidance to those conducting the audit.
The focal points of the selection methodology should include items across all disposition fields of your property and evidence software, to specifically include items no longer in the custody, care and control of your property and evidence function that have a final disposition entered in the records management system.
These dispositions include, but are not limited to, property turned over for agency use, retuned to the owner, released to another agency, destroyed or ordered by a court to be sold or traded, etc.
Once items of property or evidence that records indicate are no longer in control of your agency appears on the audit list, a reasonable effort should be made to ensure that the final disposition is accurate and actually occurred with all required documentation available creating an “audit trail.”
For example, if an item to be audited reflects a disposition that indicates that item was returned to its owner, an effort must be made to confirm that such an action actually occurred, and all the associated paperwork is available and was completed correctly for this final disposition.
Unfortunately, instances have occurred where an employee entered a final disposition so the agency records represented an item was no longer in the custody of the agency and it was then criminally diverted to the employee for their own personal use.
One such instance was found in which an agency had a policy in place that required property returned
Property Room Audits (continued)
to its rightful owner required that a copy of the owner’s identification be attached to a property release form which the owner affixed his signature acknowledging receipt of the property.
This form was to be included in the audit trail for the returned property. In this instance, several items of found property were turned into the Property and Evidence Division, one of which was a valid drivers license for the owner of the property.
The appropriate agency form was completed by an employee reflecting that the items were returned to the owner. The employee affixed the owner’s signature to this form and attached a photocopy of the drivers license that was turned in along with the other items of property as proof of identification.
A simple phone call to the owner of the property to confirm that the property was returned quickly ex-
posed the crime that was committed. Had the audit phone call determined that all was in order and the property in question was appropriately returned, the opportunity presented itself to engage in positive community relations and elicit public support.
The common thought process of audits being problematic, irrelevant, unnecessary and a waste of time by an auditor will produce an audit report that is useless to the agency and the CEO.
Property and evidence audits should be time consuming for them to be thorough and useful. It should not be unusual for smaller quantity audits to take an entire day or an annual audit to span over several days.
More often than not, most agencies that assign an employee from the agency to conduct an audit find
that these employees attempt to expedite the process so they can return to their preferred assignment.
Law Enforcement agencies should consider properly vetted employees from surrounding jurisdictions or professional law enforcement associations such as the F.B.I. National Academy Associates, Accreditation Networks, Chiefs of Police Associations, Property and Evidence Associations, etc. making sure to reciprocate when requested.
Training of those doing the audit along with guidance by others outside of the property function is necessary to consistently produce a final audit product that achieves the desired results.
The audits may also identify staffing deficiencies, needed policy changes, equipment needs and other areas of needed potential improvement.
Inspections of a property room are much more informal and less
Property Room Audits (continued)
time consuming task. Inspections of evidence areas are more focused on cleanliness, orderly operations, security measures being followed, etc.
In conclusion, as you have seen here, it is clear that comprehensive property and evidence audits are necessary to ensure the integrity of the property function of your agency.
The old adage of “what is measured can be improved” falls squarely into the audit process. There are some clear benefits to properly conducting audits to specifically include items in the audit that have final dispositions that reflect they are no longer in the custody care and control of your agency.
Selecting the correct individual(s) to conduct property and evidence audits will benefit the agency exponentially and serve to keep the agency out of the news cycle and its CEO gainfully employed.
1. Peer to peer officer guidance and assistance program.
Advice, guidance and counseling for officer navigation through a traumatic event or adverse issue.
2. Regional training outreach.
A premier up-to-date regional training delivery system regarding important subjects relating to peace officers’ duties and responsibilities that will enhance expertise, provide personal and professional growth and result in POST credit.
3. Strategic and tactical think tank service.
Opportunity to receive information and participate in discussions regarding the latest evidence-based law enforcement best practices involving law enforcement operations.
POAG retains a pool of subject matter experts in the field to promote research, share knowledge and experiences.
Access to POAG-published white papers regarding these strategies and tactics formulated.
Active website depository of information and contacts.
Social media updates and outreach regarding timely and important subjects to peace officers.
4. Subscription to The Georgia Peace Officer magazine.
Articles and information regarding our organization, law enforcement operations, equipment, supplies, financial planning, peace officer history and benefits.
5. Special membership discounts on association merchandise, police supplies and other benefits.
Discounts on clothing, shirts, caps, emblems and other POAG items.
Discounts from other police supply retailers, such as 5.11 Tactical.
Discounts for retirement planning, legal insurance, college tuition and other benefits.
6. Scholarships for officers and their dependents.
Members may apply each year for funding to support and further their education or the education of their children.
7. Annual POAG training conference. 20 hours of exceptional training covering three tracks: executive, patrol and investigative. Firearms range and competition, officer awards, chaplain resources, statewide networking and fellowship opportunities.
8. Partnership with the Georgia Southern University to preserve peace officers’ history.
Documentation of interviews and collection of records for the accurate capture and retention of credible stories, accounts and events regarding Georgia peace officers to ensure your legacy.
9. Lobby for, and the promotion of, important legislation for Georgia peace officers POAG promotes the passage of laws that protect, promote and benefit peace officers. Our membership motto is “in unity there is strength.”
10. Line of duty and accidental death benefit. Line of duty and accidental death benefit /dismemberment benefit payment.
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1429 Statesboro Highway, Sylvania (912) 863-3412
7 N. Tallahassee St, Hazlehurst (912) 375-4213
2157 West Point Road Lagrange (706) 883-7576
Reaching the Right Audience
Properly Directing Critical Communications
Originally Published in Police Chief magazine
By Shane Foley
Adapting Communication Methods to Today’s Audience
Think back to some of the major public safety events that have unfolded in the past few decades compared to ones that have taken place more recently. How did most people learn about the Waco siege in 1993, the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, or the 9/11 attacks in 2001?
Likely, people got information from television news, the radio, or from another person.
However, how did most people learn about the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016 or the Uvalde school shooting in 2022?
Many members of the public probably learned of these events from social media.
Facebook opened to the public in 2006. To some, this may seem like a long time ago. In the past two decades, social media has changed how people learn about what is taking place in the world and even what is happening in their own communities.
According to Pew Research study in 2020, more than 8 in 10 people in the United States get
their news from digital devices, including social media apps.1
Decades ago, the media, including TV networks, radio stations, and newspapers, were needed to communicate information to the public. Today, that is not the case.
Understanding how people consume their news and where they get it from is extremely important when it comes to communicating during critical incidents.
Defining a Crisis or Critical Incident
For the purposes of this article, a crisis or critical incident is an incident in which the police
are involved, or one that has a significant public interest or impact.
The types of events include an officer shot, officer seriously injured, active shooter, a mass casualty shooting or other mass casualty incident, an officerinvolved shooting (when an officer shoots someone), or a fatal police vehicle pursuit.
The Media Is Not the Audience
The decision of how to communicate impacts both public safety and the agency’s credibility. During a crisis situation, the media should not be the primary audience for the police.
Instead, police agencies should focus their attention and energy on informing and communicating with the public by using social media.
The approach of focusing on communicating with the media or saying nothing may have worked in the 1990s. But in today’s age of continuous information flow, police agencies should utilize social media to communicate directly to the public.
This is an issue of public safety because, in a crisis, every second matters. Waiting on traditional third-party media to share critical information could impact resident safety and could risk lives.
Additionally, what police agencies share on social media is typically picked up by the media and reshared on their platforms, thus increasing the
reach of the message.
The communication strategy is also an issue of agency credibility. Releasing information on social media during and following an incident allows people visiting the agency’s social media pages to learn information directly from accurate sources.
Silence, on the other hand, will result in the void being filled with misinformation, false information, and insecurities. Misinformation and false information can result in distrust of police and civil disorder— which could have been avoided if accurate and timely information were shared with the public about incidents. Again, public safety depends on it.
Getting a message out quickly can be challenging. Those in charge of communications should have messages drafted for various types of critical incidents and should ensure multiple people have access to the social media platforms, even if the backup person is from another agency.
The Internal Audience
When there is not an immediate public safety threat to the public such as an active shooter, agency members should release information internally to its members before sharing information with the media or general public.
Even if a basic notification
and details are shared mere minutes before being released to the public, sharing the information internally must be done. Doing this shows the agency’s members that they are valued.
This should not be seen as an opportunity to boost morale; however, not prioritizing the agency’s personnel can certainly hurt morale during a critical incident.
Share the Process
Oftentimes during critical incidents, there are details that cannot be shared because of an ongoing investigation or because the information simply isn’t available. This is not an excuse to remain silent. When
the details of an investigation cannot be shared, police leaders can discuss the process.
Keep in mind, explaining the investigative process involves much more than saying “it is under investigation.”
For much of the public, their knowledge of investigations is limited to what they have seen on television or in movies. Explaining the investigative process allows an agency to engage with the public while building credibility and trust.
Traditional Media Should Not Be Forgotten
While it is important to focus on the department’s social media pages to communicate directly
with the public, this does not equate to ignoring traditional media. The media — particularly local media — still have a key role in communicating information to members of the community.
When time permits, police agencies should still provide briefings or interviews with the media as those outlets remain an important avenue to communicate the agency’s message.
The media will also find others to speak with if the police aren’t open to sharing. The agency should have a plan for communicating during and following a crisis and communicate that plan to the media in advance. This will help estab-
When the time comes, give local media the first opportunity at interviews. They will be there when the crisis is over and the national media leaves. Local media will be there when the agency wants coverage of positive events in the future.
Bottom Line
During and following critical incidents, it is important for police agencies to ensure they are communicating information to the public. While traditional
media can be a medium for communicating information, the most direct way of communicating is through social media. Getting the message out directly from the source is important to avoid miscommunication and, more importantly, to promote public safety.
Captain Shane Foley previously supervised the Public Affairs Office for the Indianapolis. Indiana, Metropolitan Police Department. He has coordinated multiple regional PIO workshops for PIOs in Indiana and surrounding states.
He currently serves as a patrol captain. He has a Masters of Public Affairs degree from Indiana University and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
Notes:
1Elisa Shearer, “More Than Eightin-Ten Americans Get News from Digital Devices,” Pew Research Center, January 12, 2021. Please cite as:
Shane Foley, “Reaching the Right Audience: Directing Critical Communications,” Police Chief Online, February 26, 2025.
Valor and merit award nomination
PEACE OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA VALOR AND MERIT AWARD
Eligibility
To be nominated for an award:
The nominee must meet the criterion that would be necessary to be a POAG member.
The nominee for valor must have engaged in a “above-and-beyond the call of duty” action or event and must be selected by the board as a qualified nominee meeting that criterion before receiving an official endorsement and recognition as a board nominee selection.
The nomination can be made by an individual, agency, association or citizen, and must be submitted via the nomination form on the POAG website.
The nominee shall be free of any pending disciplinary actions.
Award Categories
Two categories of awards will be established: The first will recognize valor, acts of heroism or outstanding deeds which resulted in the protection of life and/or property. When submitting a nomination via the website a letter of support from the agency head, statewide association or statewide board should be uploaded with the supporting documents of the nomination. If one cannot be provided, then the nomination cannot be accepted!
The second category recognizes merit or the contribution to profession or outstanding job performance, which serves to enhance the public safety profession. Anyone nominated for this award should be someone who has made a significant contribution to the betterment of their profession. Significant consideration to be given to impact outside the nominee’s local area, including leadership and contributions on regional, state and national issues related to the profession. When submitting a nomination via the website a letter of support from the agency head, statewide association or statewide board.
These categories are not intended to recognize employees for merely “doing a good job,” or responding to a call, but to recognize employees who actually go beyond the ordinary to protect Georgia’s citizens and property, or who contribute significantly to the public safety profession.
Selection
Selection of individual recipients from each group will be the responsibility of the POAG Executive Committee.
Officer of the Year Application
Deadline is July 9th
• Date* Date Format: MM/DD/YYYY
Nominee information
• Name* First Middle Last Suffix
• Address* Street Address Address Line 2 City State ZIP Code
• Title
• Agency or Department
• Phone
• Business Phone
Officer of the Year Application
• Basis For Nomination*
(A narrative description of why the nominee should be chosen “Officer of the Year”) (Additional pages may be attached as well as witness statements, newspaper articles, photographs, supervisor endorsements, etc.)
Phone
Business Phone • Photo of nominee* Bottom of Form
9-1-1 Emergency: Battling Stress in the Communications Center
Article originally published by police1.com.
By Adam Timm
Many Americans experience heightened levels of stress and anxiety. For those who serve as a lifeline to the public during these uncertain times, the stress level is especially compounded. We must ensure 9-1-1 professionals take proactive measures to prioritize their mental health and well-being now more than ever.
What Studies Show About Dispatcher Stress
Studies that explore the mental
and physical risks posed by the cumulative stress of a 9-1-1 career provide evidence of what 9-1-1 professionals have known for years: the job takes a toll.
Vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue and burnout result from being exposed to the suffering of others, manifesting as lower feelings of life satisfaction, depression, anxiety, weight gain and other negative health effects.
While the evidence is clear and the effects striking, one needn’t quit the job they love in order to escape this grim reality. In fact, a 2015 study by Dr. Michelle Lilly and Christy Allen
highlighted both an immediate challenge and an opportunity. The study found a significant correlation between respondents’ level of psychological inflexibility and their experience of symptoms of stress, including dissociation, neuroticism, anger and emotional dysregulation.
That is, 9-1-1 dispatchers who are rigidly stuck in habitual ways of thinking experience more stress as a result of the job. They grow more emotionally distant (or numb) over time, are more prone to negative thinking and rumination, are more apt to get angry, and
are less able to manage intense emotions. These effects have been shown to cause diminished work performance, depression, substance abuse and lower quality of life. That’s the challenging news.
Also contained in this statistic is the opportunity. By improving our psychological flexibility, we can reverse these effects, even during a pandemic.
Identifying the symptoms of stress in your life will help you to develop a personal resilience plan
What is Psychological Flexibility?
Psychological flexibility means holding our own thoughts and emotions a bit more lightly and acting on longer-term values and goals rather than short-term impulses, thoughts and feelings.
It’s the measure of how we adapt to fluctuating situational demands, shift our perspective, and balance competing desires and needs. To remain flexible and resilient during fast-changing times it helps to watch what you think and to take great care of yourself.
How much time do you spend each day neurotically ruminating over something that happened to you or someone you know, constantly replaying the event in your mind and dwelling on the injustice of it all? As you do this, what happens to your stress level? And your capacity to think clearly, or focus on other, more productive thoughts?
Many Type-A overachievers fall into such thinking traps, spinning themselves into a frenzy of negativity and anxiety. It’s difficult to provide great customer service to the next caller when still angry at the last one. It’s nearly impossible to enjoy time at home when your mind is stuck in overdrive.
How to Stop Ruminating and Refocus
When rumination makes you feel stuck, there are a few ways to catch yourself and refocus: Establish a time limit. “Venting and complaining are good!” one of my coworkers used to say. And while it’s true that talking things out and getting difficult emotions “off your chest” can have a therapeutic effect, complaining all day long has the opposite effect. Instead, ask a good friend, “Can I have five minutes of your time?” and
then leave it at that. Write in a notebook for 15 furious minutes and then see how you feel. Keep an open mind. When you notice that you’re stuck thinking about something, try to see another perspective. Is it possible there’s another side to the story? Maybe it wasn’t as personal as you initially thought. Try to empathize with the other person’s point of view, and then let go.
Create boundaries. If you frequently take on other people’s problems, you may be facing an opportunity to say “no.” Instead of building a case for the perceived injustice, use the situation to grow. Rather than remaining hurt or angry, come from a place of strength and understanding.
Practice Self-Care
It’s easier to control negative thoughts and lower stress when
you also practice regular selfcare. This is a conscious act that you take in order to promote your physical, mental and emotional health. Self-care is vital for building resilience toward stressors in life that you can’t eliminate. Sounds great, right? Unfortunately, many caregivers think that self-care is selfish or a luxury. As a result, they avoid it and are left feeling overwhelmed, tired and ill-equipped to handle life’s inevitable challenges. It’s impossible to give from a depleted state, and in order to keep taking care of everyone who depends on you, you need a self-care regimen.
Over the next few days, reflect on how well you’re taking care of yourself physically, mentally and emotionally: Are
you planning downtime? Are you doing the things you enjoy? Are you getting enough sleep and exercise?
When you discover you’ve neglected a certain aspect of your life, create a plan for change. Check-in with yourself then write down something specific you can do in the next week to prioritize you. Schedule it, protect it and enjoy it. Start small, and see where it takes you.
One dispatcher in Memphis reconnected with her passion for the job simply by taking 10 minutes each day to listen to upbeat music, connect with gratitude and remind herself of why she got into this line of work in the first place.
Stress
Over time, subtle shifts in thinking add up to big results, offering greater levels of resilience to draw from during challenging times. When uncertainty is the only thing that is certain, it helps to know you still have the power to choose.
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Here’s Where the Police Went — and a Way to Help Get Them Back
Originally published Dec. 2, 2024, by Police1.com by
John Erich
U.S. police departments may be struggling to hire enough officers, but they’re not struggling alone.
America as a whole is suffering from a pervasive shortage of able and willing workers, including in other vital professions like health care and education.
The main reasons for it are twofold, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent labor force review and projections: Slower population growth, driven by reductions in
birth rates and immigration; and an aging workforce, with baby boomers now reaching retirement age.
Unfortunately, this recent paucity of personnel will probably get worse before it gets better.
“The impacts of lower population growth and an aging labor force are projected to accelerate over the coming decade,” the BLS report warned.
“BLS projects that the annual rate of labor force growth will decelerate to 0.4 percent over the projection period, down from 0.6 percemt in the preceding decade.”
At the same time, police
agencies are desperate to hire. That creates a hypercompetitive marketplace where departments often must compete directly for the same candidates.
In such conditions, they need every advantage they can get, whether it’s salaries, benefits, promotional opportunities – or even just a quick and responsive hiring experience.
It’s an endeavor too important for shortcuts – police candidates must be thoroughly vetted, and aspects of the hiring process may be grounded in law – but a fast, smooth and simplified pathway can be a major competitive advantage.
How Did We Get Here?
The law enforcement profession faces some additional challenges too, and they didn’t just start in 2020.
A larger decline in the numbers of American police actually occurred from 2008–13, when the number of full-time U.S. officers dropped by 11.5%. That correlated with a time of economic downturn and growing public support for decriminalization of certain nonviolent offenses.
The total number of American police bottomed out at around 627,000 in 2013 but rebounded to just over 697,000 by 2019. Then the twin catastrophes of 2020 struck: The high-profile deaths of George Floyd and several other people of color triggered months of sometimes-violent protests, and the COVID-19 pandemic arrived.
Amid a flare-up of public hostility and amplified scrutiny, many cops hung it up; between April 2020 and April 2021, police retirements were 45% higher, and resignations 18% higher, than in the previous year. COVID-19 also hit police hard, killing more than 700 in its first year and a half and sidelining thousands of others.
While the deadly period of COVID-19 is (hopefully) over, the alarming pace of departures has continued. Data from the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) found sworn staffing among U.S. police departments 0.9% lower in Janu-
ary 2023 than a year earlier, and almost 5% lower than January 2020.
The upshot has been many departments left shorthanded – by hundreds of positions in some big cities.
“You’ve got a workforce that’s being compressed on the front end, you’ve got a drop in people who want to be cops. And on the other end, you have a significant increase in people who are resigning and retiring,” PERF President Chuck Wexler told CNN in 2022. “It’s a trying time to be a police officer in this country … police chiefs are wondering who are going to be the cops of the future.”
Departments have compensated for shortages in multiple ways, from curtailing nonemergency activities to disbanding specialty units, and taken additional measures to broaden their applicant pools, including improved salaries, hiring bonuses and relaxed prohibitions around things like tattoos
or past marijuana use. But the traditional cumbersome police hiring process has been slower to change.
A Process in Need of Modernization
When you describe it in 2024, the process seems especially archaic.
A department conducts its initial testing and identifies top applicants to potentially receive offers. Historically they’d send those individuals thick personal history questionnaire packets by mail (now that may happen by email), with instructions to fill everything out and return it. Security is an obvious concern and possible weak point, as these documents will include social security numbers and other valuable personal information.
From the applicant’s perspective, there’s a lot to collect: not only past jobs but former addresses, education, roommates, etc., and many rather invasive questions to answer to help
weed out bad fits. When that information returns to the PD, investigators must sift it page by page looking for disqualifiers or items that require follow-up. That can result in substantial additional back-and-forth.
“Even if that’s happening over email, it poses a number of shortfalls, including lack of efficiency,” said Tyler Miller, founder and CEO of Miller Mendel, Inc., a prominent software provider whose eSOPH solution facilitates and streamlines the in-depth background investigations required for law enforcement hiring.
Ultimately a candidate who clears all the hurdles reaches a point of hiring, but the overall process can take months. And during that time, it’s easy even for interested parties to drift away to other opportunities.
Comprehensive background investigations take time, and applicants’ bills need paid today.
It’s a process that eSOPH – an acronym for “electronic statement of personal history” – can accelerate by up to 50%, helping departments complete their vetting and get offers on the table far quicker than traditional methods.
After applicants are invited by an agency to create their profile in eSOPH, they complete any initial paperwork, tasks and personal history questionnaires required by the agency. Their background investigator then reviews their submitted background information to address any issues and then moves onto other tasks such as reference checks and interviews. It’s not prescriptive; the software is highly configurable and adapt-
able to each organization’s needs and processes.
Some of the time savings in this experience result from the applicant taking on certain duties traditionally completed by background unit personnel.
“By completing the smart personal history questionnaire in eSOPH, the applicant inherently completes a lot of the laborious work the background investigator had to do previously,” explained Miller. “For instance, investigators will get a list of roommates and other reference points, and they can just click a button and send those people links to complete reference questionnaires in eSOPH.”
eSOPH also simplifies the search for any potential involvement by candidates with the criminal justice system. Previously investigators had to
search manually for contact information for law enforcement agencies or court systems in the area around where a candidate lived or worked. eSOPH provides that for them from its national database to jump-start the process.
“If you don’t have something like eSOPH, you’re going to Google, entering an address, drawing a circle and trying to find every police jurisdiction and court system in that area,” Miller noted. “With eSOPH you can complete a radius search around the addresses provided by the applicant and quickly find all the law enforcement agencies and court systems within the chosen radius.”
The platform also highlights red flags at the outset, sparing
evaluators the sinking feeling of discovering deeply buried disqualifiers after hours of plodding through pages.
Other attributes of eSOPH include customizability of questionnaires, task lists and other documents; support for different reference types; exam tracking; integrated credit reports and social media screenings; address and email validation; and a messaging system that connects investigators, applicants and references. It’s also mobilefriendly for personal devices.
A Quicker Process Benefits Everyone
Making it hard on your applicants makes it easy to go elsewhere. Modern electronic tools can help agencies provide
a smoother, easier process for candidates that ultimately helps get well-qualified officers on the streets and fighting crime faster. And that benefits everyone: departments, officers, the public they serve and even candidates who aren’t a match but can move on more quickly to something that fits them better.
“Last year our staff were at a conference and encountered a commander at a police department that uses eSOPH,” Miller recalled. “He told us, ‘It’s great – I just approved three backgrounds last night in the hotel room.’ That’s not something you can do when a paper packet has to move from desk to desk.
“There’s also a considerable quality assurance benefit in terms of processing more consistent backgrounds and ensuring each necessary step of a background investigation is completed and documented. This can be more important when there’s more than one background investigator, and each has a different experience level and skill set. eSOPH allows supervisors and decision-makers a much more streamlined and organized way to review backgrounds and be assured all steps were completed and documented.”
For more information, visit Miller Mendel.
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Updated Active Shooter Data: The Most Dangerous Call in Law Enforcement
This article is reprinted with permission from Tactical Science
by Pete Blair and Jack Johncox
This article builds on a 2023 study that analyzed how officers are shot and killed during active shooter incidents. The original research covered data from 2000 to 2018. We’ve now extended the dataset to include five more years (2019-2023) and will compare trends between these two periods.
What Was the Issue?
Responding to active shooter events is inherently dangerous, but how dangerous? The origi-
nal study quantified this risk by examining how often officers were shot in these incidents. Now, with additional data, we can provide a more complete picture and identify any evolving trends that impact officer safety and training.
How Did We Look at It?
We analyzed 567 active shooter attacks documented in the FBI/ ALERRT dataset from 2000 to 2023. The original study only examined the first 250 attacks (2000-2018). Our sources included official reports, police records, news articles and other verified summaries of these events.
What Did We Find?
From 2000 to 2023, at least one police officer was shot in 69 active shooter events. That is about 12% or 1 out of 8 events! A total of 136 officers were shot during these events and 31 (22.79%) of these officers died.
When the researchers started to dive into the circumstances of the shootings, they found that 37 (27.2%) of the officers who were shot during an attack were shot at the outset of the attack. Often, they were ambushed while standing a duty post. These officers were also more likely to die. When shot at the outset, more than half (51%) of the officers died. When shot
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responding, about 1 in 8 officers was killed. The figure below shows the difference in mortality between officers who were shot responding and those who were shot in ambushes at the outset of an attack.
The rest of the analysis is focused on the officers who were shot when responding to an attack. Ninety-nine (99) officers were shot when responding to 56 events. So, even when the ambushed officers were eliminated, an officer was still shot in about 1 out of every 10 active shooter events.
The figure to the right presents where the officer was when they were shot. More than three-quarters of the officers who were shot were shot outside!
The most frequent situation was while moving outside. The next most common situation was that they were shot on arrival, which we defined as in or immediately next to their car.
Note: The figure does not include fourteen cases where we were unable to determine the location of the officer at the time of the shooting.
What’s Changed?
First, active shooter response is still the most dangerous call in law enforcement! The ratio of events with officers shot during response is lower (1 in 10
vs. 1 in 8) when we add the last five years of data. If we look at only the 2019 to 2023 data, it is dramatically lower (1 in 20). We would love to say that this is because officers are being better trained and are better at responding, but there are a couple of things that we must address before making that claim.
In the last 5 years, there has been an influx of cases that meet the technical definition of an active shooter event as used by the active shooter working group, but really do not seem like active shootings.
In house (at ALERRT) we refer to these as escalated events or walk-by shootings. These generally involve a fight that starts at a bar or a party. One of the parties to the fight leaves the location to get a gun and then returns to the scene, opens fire, and immediately leaves. About 10% of the events in the last five years fall into this category. The escalated fights almost all
end with the attacker fleeing. On top of that, we have also seen a general increase in the number of events where attackers flee the scene. Early on, this was quite uncommon, but in the last 5 years about 42% percent of all attackers flee the scene before law enforcement arrives. If we eliminate these flee cases from the data, about 1 out of 10 active shooter events result in an officer shot during response in the last five years. So the rate of officers being shot appears to have gone down a little bit even when the flee cases are eliminated.
Second, officers who were shot in the last 5 years were substantially less likely to die. From 2000 to 2018, about 16% of the officers who were shot when responding died. From 2019 to 2023 only 7% of the officers shot during response died.
That means in the last five years, officers who were shot when responding were 2.25
times less likely to die! Our data don’t allow us to determine exactly why, but it is possible that the increase in medical training that police officers have been receiving is helping to save lives.
Third, a larger proportion of the officers that were shot during active shooter events were shot outside. In the original data, about 72% of the responding officers that were shot were shot outside. Now it is 78%. If we look only at the last five years of data, it is 86%.
Officers who are shot outside are also about 3x more likely to be killed (3% killed when shot inside and 9% when shot outside)!
This is clearly an area that needs serious attention in training. Yet, if we look at how most active shooter response training classes are structured, much more time is spent on moving inside of structures and room entries than on outside issues.
Let us offer a brief observation on this point. When active shooter response training first began, it was dominated by SWAT trainers. That made a lot of sense at the time. You were dealing with someone actively engaged in committing violence and that was an area that was within the SWAT mission set.
What SWAT guys taught was basically a mini-SWAT school for patrol officers. They applied SWAT sensibilities to the active shooter problem. SWAT skills were what they knew, so that is what they taught.
That made sense when active shooters were a new phenomenon, but we now have almost 25 years of data and experience in dealing with these threats. We know that active shooter events are different from SWAT events in a lot of ways. We have made some changes based on this knowledge.
We no longer expect officers to wait for a team of 4 or 5 officers to make entry for example. Yet, some of the original sensibilities of SWAT officers still have undue influence on active shooter response training and many trainers are still trying to run mini-SWAT schools.
It is time to move beyond the traditional SWAT approach (as a side note, this is not to say SWAT teams are not skillful. Without a doubt, most teams are extremely capable. However, their operational context differs, and their skills do not transfer seamlessly to active shooter training.)
Nearly 25 years of data clearly demonstrate that the outside environment poses significantly greater danger than the inside. Why doesn’t our training reflect this reality?
We are not saying that interior skills don’t matter. They do, but this is not where most officers are being shot and killed. Reflecting on the data, how much training time in your classes is allocated to addressing outside versus inside problems? Do officers start outside and move inside during forceon-force scenarios? Do officers choose where they will arrive or do you choose where they start? Do any of your force-on-force scenarios involve contacting the attacker outside of the building? If you are doing what most
people are doing, your answers to the above questions are obvious. You spend much more time on inside than outside problems. You tell participants where to start your force-on-force scenarios, they start inside, and they never encounter a bad guy outside.
What kind of threat picture do you think that creates for your officers? Is that part of why more officers are being shot and killed outside?
Across the policing world, everyone has been saying that they are evidence-based for some time now. If you are being evidence-based, then you must let the evidence drive your training. The data here are clear. The outside of the building is more dangerous than the inside
for responding law enforcement officers. Training must reflect that.
Because training time is limited, focusing on exterior threats will mean taking time from somewhere else. That is uncomfortable, but being truly evidence-based demands it.
Seven Habits of Successful Police Officers
Article originally published by police1.com
by Charles Remsberg
What personal traits do you have to possess for your peers and public to think you’re one helluva cop? In other words, what does it take these days to be a successful police officer?
We previously reported the views of nationally known trainer Kevin Davis on the qualities of a successful policing agency. Now we’ve asked Davis to construct a companion list, itemizing the attributes of successful officers, those stand-out hard-chargers who are best constituted to take care of business effectively and legally in even the most challenging assignments.
“Success is not defined by time on the job,” says Davis, a
veteran with a medium-sized municipal agency in northeast Ohio. “You may bring some of these qualities with you when you start on the job and you can develop them all regardless of tenure.”
These traits are not all-inclusive, nor are they static goals, he points out. “They require constant nurturing and reinforcement. But in my observation and experience, if you want to be the kind of officer that others respect and want to emulate, this is the core of what it takes to get there.”
Like Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” here are Davis’ vital qualities of successful police officers.
1. Intrinsic motivation “It’s tough to be a cop anywhere
in the world today,” Davis allows. “When was the last movie you saw where a police officer was a squared-away individual and not a human wreck? Disrespect for law enforcement seems to be part of a general societal degradation.
“These days, you may not get motivating pats on the back from extrinsic sources. You have to be driven by a steelplated, intrinsic positive attitude that’s your durable epicenter of professionalism, regardless of the reactions of others.
“There’s a saying that you should ‘shine your shoes for yourself, not for anyone else.’ That’s the attitude of the true professional, and it’s manifest in the way your uniform and leather look, in the way you take care of yourself so you can do a better job, and in the way
you go out every day looking for crime and offenders instead of being a ‘spectator cop’ who sits back and watches others be the ‘real police’ getting things done.
“Policing is not a game. You have to be mentally and physically prepared each day for whatever may come down the road. Focus on what you can control (your attitude and behavior) rather than what you can’t control (society’s perceptions). The aura you create will radiate out from you.”
2. Decisiveness Based on Legal Knowledge
Uncertain, indecisive officers are a threat to themselves, fellow officers and the community they serve. Successful officers,
in contrast, “can make quick, confident decisions because they know what they can and can’t do under the law and according to their department’s policies and procedures,” Davis says.
“You can’t make a good decision on anything – vehicle stops, Terry stops, use of force, search and seizure – unless you know what conforms to the rules of your profession.”
Although the continuous flow of legal information may seem intimidating, “it’s important to stay up on court decisions because they affect what you do every day,” Davis says.
“The best cops will have a better working knowledge of the law than most prosecutors and judges.”
These decisions could redefine police procedures, training and community interactions nationwide
3. Devotion to Training and Practice
“Training is what you learn from someone else. Practice is a gift you give yourself,” Davis says. “For success, both need to be constant. The best musicians tend to be those who practice the most. The same is true for cops. The more you sweat in training and practice, the less you’re likely to bleed on the street.
“We’re a fast-food nation. We want things now, in 10 easy lessons, one DVD. But the truth is that there’s no easy way to become good. Some behavioral
scientists have estimated it takes 10,000 hours of practice and experience to truly master complex skills.
“When bullets are flying and people are trying to kill you, you need to rise to that occasion and go home safely when it’s over. But you better have practiced extensively and regularly for that day. If you haven’t, you risk doing something really stupid by over-reacting or underreacting.”
Davis says that successful officers recognize law enforcement as a “true profession” that incorporates a wide variety of skill sets. To perfect them may require seeking outside training at your own expense if your department won’t foot the bill. Training and practice are an officer’s “lifeblood,” Davis says. “They’re an investment in your own future. You gain confidence from competence and competence from hard work that never ends.”
Actionable strategies, key resources and a structured plan to help law enforcement professionals master the policing skills required to excel
4. Weapons Mastery
Any professional to be successful must be familiar and competent with the tools of his trade. For LEOs, that includes the duty firearm, the tactical baton, pepper spray, the TASER, and “all other weapons systems you carry, including your personal physical and verbal weapons,” Davis says.
“For successful cops, there is no acceptable alternative option: You must master the weaponry for every level of force you may be called upon to use, beginning with command presence. In a life-threatening situation, you want your pistol to appear in your hand and on target without conscious thought. Developing skill to that level takes time and effort, but without mastery, the results when your life is on the line could be catastrophic.”
Good tactics that allow you to gain and maintain an edge of advantage can be thought of as part of your weapons system.
“A successful officer knows how to prevent a fight as well as what to do in a fight,” Davis observes. “With tactical skill, you deny an adversary the op-
portunity to assault you, so you don’t have to go toe-to-toe with him or blindly race into a situation and make yourself an easy target.”
Tactical competence needs to be an evolving art. “Take time to learn trends – what the criminal population is innovating, what’s new that you’re facing out there – so you can adapt your alertness and behavior accordingly,” Davis advises.
“Again, take the initiative in educating yourself to understand your enemy. Waiting for your agency to inform you can be dangerous.”
5.
SMEAC Planning
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. It’s that simple,” Davis declares. He’s talking about goal-
setting and pathway-mapping across a broad spectrum: your next call, your career, your life outside of policing.
He believes that successful officers employ a planning approach represented by the acronym SMEAC – Situation, Mission, Execution, Administration and logistics, Command and Signals.
Situation: First, you identify clearly the individuals and circumstances you’re dealing with. What are you involved in or heading into? “You access as much current intelligence and background as you can to help you see as complete a picture as possible,” Davis says.
Mission: What is your goal; what exactly are you trying to accomplish? “Without a goal, you have no focus.”
Execution: You lay out simply and methodically a strategy for how you’re doing to accomplish your mission. What help do you need from other people? Who does what exactly? “You have to be flexible enough to alter your plans as the situation evolves, but thinking about your tactics in advance is a safeguard against winging it,” Davis explains. “In law enforcement when we just wing things tends to be when we screw up bad.”
Administration and Logistics: This refers to nitty-gritty practicalities. “On a SWAT call-out, for example, this step includes deciding what radio channel you’re going to use, checking to be sure everyone has a vest and handcuffs, assigning who’s rid-
ing in what vehicle, determining how you’re going to get to the scene – important details that assure your plan moves forward smoothly,” Davis says.
Command and Signals: How are you going to communicate and relate to the parties involved?
6. Integrity
“The dark side of law enforcement is always looming,” Davis warns. “The history of this profession is filled with good, aggressive officers who lost their way. The challenge is to go about your life on and off the job in an ethical way.
“A successful officer can swim in the swamp of life on the street and not come out stinking. He or she can hunt monsters without becoming one. Ethics is often taught in law enforcement classes. The successful officer makes it an action as well as an idea.”
7. Continuous Improvement
Successful officers consider themselves a work in progress, regardless of their years of service or the successes they’ve accumulated. When it comes to successful performance, “you are never completely and permanently there,” Davis says. “There are always opportunities for improvement, and the successful officer actively searches for ways to be better.”
There may be breakthrough moments when radical changes occur. But more likely – and usually more reliable – is an
ongoing series of small changes that arise through self-reflection and identification of ways to enhance your personal and professional lives.
“Taking incremental, continuous steps is usually more desirable than attempting giant leaps,” Davis says. “Improvement that’s not drastically different is easier to implement. As times change and circumstances change, it’s important to keep evolving in positive ways if you want to stay successful.”
Three Keys to a Happy Police Retirement
This article was originally published by police1.com by
Patrick M. Foley
Police and other first responders face particular challenges in retirement. If you are a cop nearing the end of your service you may see it as an escape that you long for, particularly in this time of political and societal pressure toward law enforcement.
But when you retire you will leave some good things behind. Those good things should be considered so you can replace them in retirement. Your happiness may depend on it.
The role of a police officer provides a sense of camarade-
rie. You know that your brothers and sisters on the force have your back. The department is a community, even a family. And there are a lot of laughs. You will give that up in retirement. Sure, you will stay in touch with folks, but it won’t be the same.
The job can be exciting. Depending on your role either occasionally, or every day. Maybe that is the aspect of the job you really want to get away from.
But even so, won’t you miss the action at least a bit? Or maybe you love that part of it, the level of challenge and even the risk. Some people come hardwired to handle and enjoy high-pressure situations. Those
people especially need to consider that they will leave that behind in retirement.
Perhaps most importantly, consider that the job of a police officer brings with it a rock-solid sense of identity and purpose. Even in this time of (outrageous) scapegoating of the profession, most Americans know we need the police.
Maybe you have become disillusioned – you feel unappreciated, besieged even – and you have slipped into doubt of that purpose. But make no mistake: What you do is critical, and on one level or another you know that.
So, in retirement, you will be leaving behind certain measures
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I don’t mean to make that sound so pessimistic. Retirement can and should be the best years of your life. But your odds of that happening improve if you actively plan to make it so, and part of that involves thinking about what your identity will be in retirement – what will motivate you and keep you springing out of bed in the morning.
In researching our book “Winning at Retirement,” fellow financial planner Kristin Hillsley and I discovered some data trends that are important to consider in a quest for retirement happiness.
Some elements of what we learned were so different for those in your role that we recently released a first responder edition of the book that better tailors the information for police officers, firefighters, EMS providers and others who serve.
For anyone retiring from any job, there is good news. About half of retired Americans describe their post (primary) career years as the best time of their lives. Those are pretty good odds. But you can improve your own odds if you take steps to address three factors that seem to most influence the outcome.
First, you need to look after your mental and physical health and wellness. Second, you need to have enough money to support your lifestyle, whatever that lifestyle is, such that you
aren’t feeling constant stress about finances.
And finally, you need to have a sense of purpose in retirement, something to drive you, engage you and shape your identity in a positive way. Let’s examine those factors in more detail.
Health and Wellness
We can divide the subject of health and wellness into two parts: physical and mental.
Advice on the physical side is straightforward. Structure your diet around whole, minimally processed foods. Exercise in some form pretty much every day, mixing a strength routine with a cardio routine. Pain and lack of energy owing to physical neglect become a recipe for physical and mental distress.
And the physical/mental aspects are cyclical: taking better care of yourself makes you feel better, which makes you more likely to take care of yourself, which makes you feel better. It’s not about living to 100 years old, it’s about living well for as long as you live.
Police, specifically, score poorly as a group on every metric of mental wellness. Rates of suicide, substance abuse, depression and divorce are off the charts. Taking care of yourself physically will help with mental wellness, but the rest of the strategy is not as clear.
The best advice we can offer is to actively pursue an attitude of optimism (not easy in your job), seek and reinforce in yourself a sense of purpose and
contribution to society, maintain a feeling of connectedness to other human beings, and get help when you need it.
There is a powerful factor retiring police should be aware of called the happiness curve. In studies of cultures across the world, a strong tendency has been revealed. On average human happiness is at a high level in our early 20s, then declines to a low point around age 50, then – here’s the kicker – it rises to all-time highs at age 70 and beyond.
That’s right, in opposition to common assumptions in our youth-obsessed culture, peak happiness typically comes late in life. It is important to note that police tend to retire somewhere around age 50, a natu-
ral nadir for happiness. So be aware that the blues you may feel around then are somewhat hard-wired, but also be aware that things should get better with time.
A healthy retirement for officers doesn’t just happen — it requires planning from day one for the next chapter of your life, both on and off the job.
Money Matters
Money can buy happiness, but only to a point. When a person is living below the poverty line, money correlates closely with happiness. That’s understandable, if more money means adequate food and shelter, more money is going to make you happier. But the correlation falls off once your basic needs are
met.
Beyond that, the bigger issue is whether money is a cause for stress (which it can be for people of limited means, and also for the very wealthy). If your nest egg is big enough, or your spending low enough, money worries shouldn’t keep you up at night. Achieving that requires a combination of keeping debt low, having a strong sense of your budget and investing wisely.
One thing you hopefully have going for you is a good pension, something that has become a unicorn outside of the public sector. The certainty provided by a pension can form the bedrock of financial stability. The rest of it, and obviously there is much more to it, is beyond the
scope of this article. Know this much in short: avoid putting your head in the sand when it comes to your finances. As with the rest of this, make a plan. Seek help as needed, starting with your human resources department.
If this article manages to make its way to a few rookies, listen up: One thing literally every retiring police officer will tell you to do is to start early when it comes to saving. You will thank yourself later. Whatever your age, if you have not started saving, start today.
Note: Check out these highlyrated resources for planning your retirement from a public safety career.
*Retirement Planning for Law Enforcement Officers
*Surviving Retirement
*The Psychosocial Experience Of Retired Police Officers
*Winning at Retirement (First Responder Edition)
*Life After Law Enforcement
*Beyond the Thin Blue Line Identity
Take inventory of your life right now, including your career. What do you hate about it?
More importantly, what do you love about it? Anything positive that will be left behind in retirement should be replaced.
Start with camaraderie. Is there a hobby, club, or second career that would provide that sense of friendship, of tribal closeness?
How much will you miss the action? Are you an adrenaline
junky? That is not an insult; some people are built to crave excitement, and that motivation can be channeled in positive directions. If you will miss that aspect of the job, come up with a way to replace it.
And what about your purpose? What drives you, what are your values and what makes you proud of the work that you do? Again, give thought to this and plan accordingly as you shape the next phase of your life.
As we say in the book, “retirement is a blank sheet of paper.” Give serious thought to what you will do with that empty canvas so that it maximizes your sense of positive contribution to the world, and by extension, your happiness. Go find happiness in retirement
We as a society owe you a debt of gratitude for the risks and difficulties you took on for
us. You owe yourself a happy retirement. Our advice is to move beyond just hoping for that outcome and start planning for it.
Retirement happiness is a goal worth working toward. Look after yourself physically and mentally, be smart about your money, match your lifestyle to your resources, and seek out a sense of engagement and purpose for the remainder of your happy days.
163 Ernest Biles Dr, Jackson (770) 504-3220
De-escalate Encounters with Persons in Mental Health Crisis Using Noninvasive Alternatives to Force
Originally published by Police1.com
by Laura Neitzel
Use of force by law enforcement has always been under scrutiny, but that scrutiny has grown more intense in recent years as public demands for reform in policing have grown louder.
Officers are already undergoing a crisis of public confidence as well as internal struggles as agencies grapple with recruiting and retention problems and short staffing.
Meanwhile, other problems — like opioid addiction and untreated mental illness — are growing and putting further
pressure on police officers, who are often the first to respond to a person in crisis (PIC).
The American Psychological Association estimates that at least 20% of police calls for service involve a mental health or substance use crisis.i
While police departments are under pressure to reduce use of force, they are also responding to more calls with people who are not necessarily unwilling — but often unable — to comply with police commands.
Having to use escalating levels of force to bring an individual into compliance not only increases the risk of injury or death to the person in crisis, it also increases the risk of death
or injury to the officer.
Using force against a noncompliant PIC can lead to other negative consequences for the agency or officer, including litigation, increased insurance costs, loss of career and emotional and psychological trauma.
What is needed to reduce use-of-force encounters with PICs are alternative tactics and tools – like BolaWrap – that reduce conflict with no or minimal physical contact.
Risks Inherent in Encounters With Persons in Crisis Treatment Advocacy Center estimates that at least “one in four fatal police encounters ends the
Photo credit: Antonio Diaz
325 Old Oxford Rd, Covington
life of an individual with severe mental illness.”ii
“People with severe mental illness are being routinely abandoned by the mental health system. It forces law enforcement officers (LEOs) to step into a dangerous situation if the untreated become a ‘danger to self or others,’” according to Mental Illness Policy Org.
“This too frequently results in people with untreated severe mental illness being injured, incarcerated and sometimes killed by police. It also, too frequently, results in police being injured or killed by people with untreated severe mental illness.” iii
Often these encounters end in injury or death for the person in crisis, and the department and responding officers can face allegations of using excessive force. Whether or not an individual officer is found liable, an incident like this can impact not only the department, but the officer’s career and mental health.
According to a 2006 review of officer-involved shootings: “The sources of stress attached to an officer-involved shooting are multiple and include the officer’s own psychological reaction to taking a life, the responses of law enforcement peers and the officer’s family, rigorous examination by departmental investigators and administrators, possible disciplinary action or change of assignment, possible criminal and civil court action, and unwanted attention — sometimes outright harass-
ment — by the media.”iv
While encounters are unpredictable and officers often have no choice but to apply more aggressive tactics or lethal force, no officer wants to risk their life or career or take an innocent life.
There is increasing recognition that police officers are often thrust into positions where they have to make difficult judgments about the mental state and intent of an individual perceived to be in crisis. Special skills, techniques, abilities and tools are required to effectively and appropriately resolve the situation while minimizing violence.
Here are some of the actions law enforcement agencies are
taking to reduce the risk of having to use force in encounters with persons in crisis.
Crisis Intervention Team Training
The International Association of Chiefs of Police recommends that law enforcement agencies provide officers with training to determine whether a person’s behavior is indicative of a mental health crisis and equip their personnel with guidance, techniques, response options and resources so situations may be resolved in as constructive, safe and humane a manner as possible.
Crisis intervention team (CIT) training teaches law enforcement officers to safely de-
escalate mental and behavioral health crisis situations. Law enforcement agencies that have CIT programs in place have reported as much as an 80% decrease in officer injuries during mental health crisis situations.v
Research has indicated that police CIT training is effective and has good outcomes for police officers who receive the training. A survey of police officers indicated that CIT-trained officers perceived themselves as less likely to escalate to the use of force in a hypothetical mental health crisis encounter.
There is also good evidence for benefit in officer-level outcomes, such as officer satisfaction and self-perception of a reduction in the use of force.vi
Coresponder Teams
In addition to CIT training, some law enforcement agencies are moving to a model for crisis response that pairs trained police officers with mental health professionals to respond to incidents involving individuals experiencing behavioral health crises.
While the coresponder model is fairly new, preliminary evidence indicates it shows promise in enhancing crisis deescalation, increasing individuals’ connection to services and reducing pressure on the criminal justice system by reducing arrests, police detentions and time spent by officers in responding to calls for service.vii
9-1-1 Dispatch Diversion
Police officers are often asked
to respond to calls that may be better suited for behavioral health professionals. Implementing 9-1-1 dispatch diversion can help communities conserve public safety resources and reduce reliance on police by first determining whether law enforcement is necessary for the response.
If connection to an embedded clinician or other mental health professional is more appropriate, dispatchers are able to facilitate a response that helps link the person to services or treatment. Embedded clinicians can also help glean information from callers such as psychiatric history, treatment compliance, current medications and symptoms.viii
Add noninvasive methods to the use-of-force continuum
The use-of-force continuum is a widely accepted model presented to law enforcement officers as a guide to address threat, resistance, evasion and potential harm.
The use-of-force continuum has been a five-stage model: Officer presence, verbal commands, empty hand control using bodily force, less-lethal force – like pepper spray, baton and conducted energy devices –and, finally, lethal force.
However, the increased focus on de-escalation and development of new noninvasive tools that can help officers gain compliance when faced with potential force encounters suggests it’s time to add a new step to the model: noninvasive methods,
including CIT and non-lethal methods like BolaWrap.
Noninvasive methods provide alternative approaches for officers to consider when communication efforts break down but they are not ready to escalate to pain compliance. Noninvasive methods minimize the need for physical contact and may prevent the need for forced takedown, which can cause severe trauma to the person in crisis and the officer as well.
According to an unpublished white paper advocating for the addition of noninvasive methods to the use of force continuum,ix noninvasive methods include:
1. Engaging mental health practitioners as coresponders, as in
the CIT and coresponder models or 911 dispatch diversion approaches mentioned above.
2. Directing or redirecting backup officers to increase or decrease visibility and avoid overresponse.
3. Using noninvasive, pain-free devices like BolaWrap.
4. Engaging family, neighbors, friends or peers to provide support to the PIC.
5. Using backup officers to distance family members, observers and others who agitate the situation.
6. Controlling noise to minimize the PIC’s stress and confusion
caused by excessive noise.
7
. Controlling lighting to the officer’s advantage, such as using light as a means of control, diversion and cover.
8. Requesting K-9 officers to use police-service dogs to circle-and-bark to contain the PIC.
Use Noninvasive, No-Pain Devices
BolaWrap is a noninvasive restraint device that can help officers achieve compliance from a PIC without the need for close physical proximity – which is where injuries are most likely to occur.
Because it restrains from a range of 10–25 feet without inflicting pain, it is a useful addition to the officer’s toolbelt in situations where a subject is noncompliant but use of force is not desired, as with a person in crisis or with a physical or mental disability. BolaWrap immobilizes the subject long enough for officers to approach and restrain the individual in handcuffs without incident.
Many agencies that are actively expanding their ability to resolve increased encounters with PICs, like Detroit Police Department, are adding BolaWrap to their noninvasive toolkit, along with coresponse teams and CITs.
As long as police departments continue to respond to calls involving people in crisis, they need tools and tactics that
will help them respond effectively and humanely. Adopting noninvasive methods before escalating to pain compliance is more likely to lead to better outcomes for individuals, officers and communities alike.
References:
[i] “Building mental health into emergency responses,” Abramson, Ashley. Monitor on Psychology. May 2021. https://www.apa.org/ monitor/2021/07/emergencyresponses
[ii] “Overlooked in the Undercounted: The role of mental illness in fatal law enforcement encounters.” Fuller, Doris A., Lamb, Richard H., M.D., Biasotti, Michael, Snook, John. Treatment Advocacy Center. December 2015. https://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/overlooked-in-theundercounted
[iii] “115 Law Enforcement Officers Killed by Mentally Ill.” Mental Illness Policy Org. https:// mentalillnesspolicy.org/crimjust/12 0LEOSkilledbyMentallyIll.html
[iv] “Officer-Involved Shooting: Reaction Patterns, Response Protocols, and Psychological Intervention Strategies.” Miller, Laurence. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health. 2006. https://ovc.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/ xyckuh226/files/media/document/ imp_officer_involved_shooting-508.pdf
[v] “Police Response to Mental Health Emergencies: Barriers to Change.” Dupont, Randolph, Cochran, Sam. U.S. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. 2000. https://www. ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/ abstracts/police-response-mentalhealth-emergencies-barriers-
change
[vi] “Effectiveness of Police Crisis Intervention Training Programs.” Rogers, Michael S., McNiel, Dale E., Binder, Renee. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. September 2019. https://jaapl.org/content/early/2019/09/24/JAAPL.003863-19 [vii] “Assessing the Impact of Co-Responder Team Programs: A Review of Research.” IACP/The University of Cincinnati Center for Police Research and Policy. October 2021. https://www.theiacp.org/ sites/default/files/IDD/Review%20 of%20Co-Responder%20Team%20 Evaluations.pdf
[viii] “Tips for Successfully Implementing a 911 Dispatch Diversion Program.” Council of State Governments Justice Center. October 2021. https://www.ojp. gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/ tips-successfully-implementing911-dispatch-diversion-program [ix] “Expanding the Use of Force Continuum to Include NonInvasive Methods.” Greenberg, Sheldon, DeVita, Charles. January 2023.
Lessons for the Field: A Checklist for Fair and Just Data-Driven Policing
Originally published by Police1.com
by Chief Maris Herold and Tamara D. Herold, Ph.D.
Police agencies engaged in data-driven policing use data to identify and address patterns (e.g., in crime incidents and personnel behaviors). Data-driven policing improves strategic and tactical decision-making by enhancing agency capacity to detect problems and develop efficient and effective solutions to inform deployment and maximize the impact of limited departmental resources.
Some police reform advocates contend that data-driven
policing represents a “threat to (society’s) constitutional rights,” and demand the dismantling of biased data systems (e.g., gang databases, prolific offender lists) and defunding of “discriminatory police technology” (e.g., predictive policing software, gunshot detection systems). [1]
Critics of data-driven policing argue that police data are biased, unreliable and inaccurate, and use leads to targeted harassment of vulnerable individuals and communities. Instances of injustice — calls-for-service from racially biased individuals, police targeting of persons mislabeled as gang-affiliated,
unarmed persons shot by officers responding to gun-shot alerts, police cover-ups involving data manipulation (consider early COMPSTAT scandals [2]) — serve to support the perspective that data-driven policing is dangerous and unethical.
Police executives faced with data-driven policing criticisms should consider two facts: First, police data are imperfect and subject to misuse or misinterpretation. Inaccurate reports, coding errors, missing information and many other issues compromise data integrity.
Policing history is rife with examples of data corruption and misuse, both intentional and
unintentional. Yet, these issues plague data use in medicine, education, agriculture, social work and all other professions. Nonetheless, it is difficult to imagine how ignoring data could improve patient outcomes or food safety.
Police executives should not avoid using data, but they should work to improve the quality of data, create in-house capacity to interpret data, and promote continuous review of data-driven policy and practice outcomes.
Second, failure to collect and incorporate data into police decision-making is simply unethical. Without data, police risk ineffective action (or inaction). Status quo and nonproductive practices, like random police patrols, [3] remain unchallenged and waste taxpayer dollars.
Police risk producing or reinforcing social inequities when stop, arrest, citizen complaint and use of force data are uncollected or neglected. Supervisors need data to monitor officer decision-making, identify training deficiencies and intervene to correct problematic behaviors.
Police leaders also need data to ensure officer health and safety. Data can track workplace stressors and identify tactics and strategies that continually place officers in harm’s way.
Data is not the enemy of good policing. But the absence, misreading, or misuse of data by police agencies is.
Fair and Just Data-Driven Policing in Action
Policing research and leadership experience across three police agencies (major city, campus and mid-sized) highlight the benefits of data-driven policing and pinpoint five steps police executives can take to promote effective, equitable and ethical data-informed policing practices.
The following initiatives show how data-driven approaches can improve public safety while promoting police accountability and building community trust.
Step 1: Enhance data integrity, accessibly and interpretation
In 2020, the Boulder Po-
lice Department (BPD) lacked personnel and technology platforms to support data-driven policing. The agency hired an IT innovation specialist to build systems that integrate all city data and allow BPD’s executive team to track key performance indicators, including crime, case management and officer performance.
In addition, public-facing dashboards were developed (e.g., police blotter, interactive crime maps) to increase agency transparency. A newly hired data scientist continuously improves the quality and type of data collected to prevent misinformed strategic decisionmaking.
Further, skilled analysis turns data into actionable informa-
tion. Executives’ budget decisions should prioritize these critical positions.
Step 2: Enable inclusive policing practices
Inclusive policing helps guard against potential unintended consequences of data-driven interventions. It is akin to what Dr. Nancy LaVigne, Director of the National Institute of Justice, calls inclusive research. [4]
Inclusive policing asks those who are most impacted by crime to assist in developing and implementing solutions. It encourages participation by officers, dispatchers, victims, arrestees, social service providers and community members — anyone who has direct experience with the problem being addressed.
In 2015, the Cincinnati Police Department (CPD) observed
a significant spike in shootings and developed the PIVOT (Place-based Investigations of Violent Offender Territories) strategy to reduce gun violence. A key component of PIVOT is community partnership.
Community members who live and work in the city’s most persistent violent hot spots were involved in PIVOT’s development and implementation. PIVOT’s inclusive policing approach intentionally fostered community dialogue and partnerships resulting in:
A better understanding of police data, including community observations that explained why gun violence clustered in particular locations
Suggestions for alternative solutions to traditional criminal justice responses, including intervention by other city agencies like traffic and engineering
to prevent drive-by shootings
Community-driven neighborhood improvements (e.g., walking trails, parks, lighting, community gardens, grocery stores), rather than city-driven redevelopment projects
Overwhelming community buy-in and improved policecommunity relations
Step 3: Embrace evidencebased interventions
After a University of Cincinnati Police Division (UCPD) officer fatally shot an unarmed black motorist in 2015, UCPD launched an extensive police reform effort.
The department subsequently implemented 276 recommendations, including evidence-based and data-driven practices, under voluntary external monitorship. The reform agenda called for proactive crime reduction strategies and extensive officer training.
Police executives used evidence-based resources to reduce numerous crime problems. For example, police reduced off-campus student burglary victimization by 30% the first year and over 70% the second year, using a combination of evidence-based strategies (e.g., Koper Curve directed patrols, improving natural surveillance, target hardening, awareness campaigns).
When evidence did not exist concerning the effects of de-escalation training, UCPD partnered with researchers to collect data and ensure that trainings
improved outcomes without sacrificing officer safety.
Step 4: Empower data-driven decision-making
The Cincinnati Collaborative Agreement resulted from a class-action lawsuit alleging police brutality and biased policing. It has become an international model for improving police-community relations.
Problem-oriented policing (POP) is the main component of the historic agreement. Backed by strong research evidence, the POP process requires police to use data to identify and analyze crime problems and develop solutions in partnership with key stakeholders.
It also requires police to collect data and evaluate their efforts. It provides the framework to engage in data-driven decision-making and inclusive policing.
Further, POP improves officer wellness and safety. It eliminates long-standing problems that require a continuous police response, reducing stressors and risk of injury associated with repeated exposure to high-risk situations.
Under the Collaborative Agreement, Cincinnati experienced significant crime reductions, improved police-community relations, and reduced reliance on traditional criminal justice mechanisms, including arrests and incarceration.
Step 5: Ensure accountability
Traditional police organiza-
tional structures are built to be reactive (i.e., respond to calls for service and conduct investigations).
Police executives must develop accountability models to create agency incentives and capacity to engage in proactive data-driven decision-making.
UCPD developed a Tactical and Strategic Investigations Policy and BPD adopted the Stratified Policing Model to align agency practices with problem-solving. Both models assign crime reduction roles and responsibilities to every rank within the department.
They also mandate the implementation of evidence-based interventions and external partnerships. Regular meetings be-
tween executives and command staff ensure that personnel are engaging in problem-solving, meeting crime reduction goals and viewing crime prevention as a primary policing function.
Action Items
The five following action items will help executives to build a fair and just data-driven police agency:
• Hire personnel to enhance data integrity, accessibility, and interpretation
• Promote partnerships to enable inclusive policing practices
• Create a learning culture that embraces evidence-based policing interventions
• Use problem-solving to empower data-driven decisionmaking
• Adopt organizational models to ensure accountability
Executives who embrace these steps toward best practices in data-driven policing will promote agency efficiency and effectiveness and preemptively address critics who argue that police use of data negatively impacts equitable practices and ethical decision-making.
References
1. Díaz A. (September 13, 2021.) Data-driven policing’s threat to our constitutional rights. The Brookings Institu-
tion, Washington, D.C.
2. Francescani C. (March 9, 2021.) NYPD report confirms manipulation of crime stats. Reuters.
3. Sherman LW, Weisburd D. (1995.) General deterrent effects of police patrol in crime “hot spots”: A randomized, controlled trial. Justice Quarterly, 12(4):625-648.
4. La Vigne N. (December 7, 2022.) From the Director: Harnessing the Power of DataDriven, Inclusive Research. NIJ.
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