Forces of Change Guide

20 Are You Ready for Change?

Are You Ready for Change? What The Community Expects from Its Police

By: Commander Mike Hallinan, Irvine Police Department

Commander Mike Hallinan currently serves as University Area Commander with Irvine Police Department. He has 27 years of experience and holds a Bachelor of Art’s Degree in sociology and a Master of Science in administration of justice and security. He is a graduate of the California POST’s Sherman Block Leadership Institute, the LAPD WestPoint Leadership Program, the International Association of Chiefs of Police Law Enforcement Business Fellowship, the Senior Management Institute of Police, and the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training Command College. He has prior police experience with the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department and the Los Angeles Police Department.

Imagine having a job where every decision you make is captured on high-definition video, from multiple angles, and can be scrutinized in slow motion over-and-over again by your supervisor and, in some cases, by the public through the news media and social media. What happens when mistakes are made? Even with all the advances in technology there is still room for human error. Humans make mistakes every day. Mistakes can cause distrust and resentment that last for years. When more mistakes are made, the problem is compounded exponentially. The phenomenon occurs in law enforcement. Police work is subject to human error like any other job, but mistakes and even perceived mistakes in this profession can lead to significant problems. It does not matter if the mistake was made by a police officer in a local department, the neighboring police agency or one across the country. It is interesting that as a profession, we do not share each other’s successes, but are judged together by our failures and missteps. More than ever, the scrutiny the law enforcement profession faces is tremendous and can ripple across the entire country. Together we must work to restore confidence and trust, legitimacy, and fulfill societies’ expectations of the police. The following pages will examine several factors associated with the growing distrust of police officers by the public, and how the law enforcement community can reverse and regain trust and legitimacy. Ziad K. Abdelmour, president of Blackhawk Partners, Inc., a New York private equity firm said that “trust is earned, respect is given, and loyalty is demonstrated and betrayal of any one of those is to lose all three.” In this same vein, the police need to understand that trust, respect and loyalty have eroded and simply evaporated similar to the proverbial frog in a pot of boiling water. However, all is not lost; there is good news in efforts to rebuild trust in the police. Law enforcement leaders are beginning to embrace new police training models. They are also reinvesting in the principles of

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Community Oriented Policing, but not by merely stenciling patrol vehicles with the motto “In Partnership with the Community.”

A Profession in Crisis The evening news is plagued with stories portraying distrust of the police, racial inequalities, excessive police force and community divide. A recent Harvard University study showed that half of the youth in the United States and 80 percent of African Americans distrust the police (Martin, 2015). Technology has played a significant role to rapidly change all phases of law enforcement. Much like instant replay in sports, cell phone video of police interactions is uploaded to the Internet and dissected in the media, in forums, and on social media. Social media’s speed of information can have a major impact on the perception of police and shift public support in a moment. This phenomenon must be understood and addressed to ensure public trust does not deteriorate. Transforming police to be effective in their communities requires significant effort and collaboration. This transformation will require committed leaders who foster a collaborative approach. When organizational factors are considered (such as motivational levels, department culture, community support, demographics, economics, political factors, labor issues and the availability of resources), community support stands out as the biggest challenge. The division between the police and the public can take significant amounts of effort to bridge; especially in communities where significant police incidents have occurred. The difficulty is that many of the social problems of America have been relegated to the police, who are now forced to finding creative methods to handle the massive disinvestments in mental health care, social services for the homeless and disadvantaged, and substances abusers. The Washington Post recently released an analysis of 462 police shooting deaths in the United States that occurred in the first six months of 2015. More than one-fourth of those deaths involved individuals distraught and in emotional or mental crisis (Lowery, et al. 2015). The nature and frequency of these lethal encounters is one area ripe for change. On average, police in the United States kill 920 individuals per year (Martin, 2015). More than half of police agencies nationally involved in deadly encounters this year have not provided officers training in dealing with the mentally ill. An analysis of police tactics used revealed officers made volatile situations even more dangerous (Lowery, et al. 2015). When law enforcement fails to understand they are dealing with an individual in crisis, the outcome might be a deadly use of force that is legally and morally ethical. However, deadly use of force could be avoided by utilizing alternative tactics. “Words instead of guns, questions instead of orders, patience instead of immediate action.” (Police Executive Research Forum, 2012).

Implications on the Future of Policing Law enforcement has developed over time to reflect the ever changing environment, the social values and expectations of a community, and technological and other advances (Gascon and Manheimer, 2013). From the time Sir Robert

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Peel created the London Metropolitan Police force, the principles of policing have remained constant. The environment in which the police operate, though, is constantly changing and can experience dramatic shifts from a single incident. Protecting life and property, maintaining order, and enforcing the law are now challenged by ever-changing social expectations, technology, the increased sophistication of crime, the economy, and severe budget cuts that funded many social programs. Modern policing is far more complex than responding to radio calls for service and making arrests. Understanding the changes that can affect the services provided in the future is vital to the service provided by law enforcement today (Accenture, 2013). The most important changes likely to affect law enforcement organizations are improving police functions and being able to meet the demanding social expectations. Police agencies are expected to be more proactive rather than reactive; getting involved in the substance of policing by improving relationships with the community. Today, most police agencies implement some type of community oriented and problem oriented policing program (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014). However, the traditional approaches must be delivered differently. It means ensuring police officers understand this mission and have a plan when they go in service each shift. Examining the ways in which law enforcement officers are providing service to the community is required to meet future challenges. Law enforcement organizations must constantly look for new ways of doing business, utilizing innovative ideas and being resourceful. Understandably, what works in one community might not be appropriate in another. Garnering and maintaining public trust, promoting transparency, and working in partnership with the community to solve mutual problems is more than a tagline – it is the keystone of contemporary policing. Successful organizations understand these priorities and understand the pivotal role community caretaking has in achieving these goals. We cannot build trust, if we are not willing to realize the importance in non-traditional police activities. Law enforcement organizations must ensure their officers understand these priorities and adopt this as a foundation to their policing plan. In part, rebuilding a foundation of trust begins with training recruits and in-service police officers with a Creative Problem-Solving Model developed by Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) and embracing the “Six Pillars” of policing. On December 18, 2014, President Barack Obama established the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. President Obama charged the Task Force “with identifying best practices and offering recommendations on how policing practices can promote effective crime reduction while building public trust.” It’s not by mistake that “Building Trust and Legitimacy” is the first of the Six Pillars of the Task Force. “Promoting trust and ensuring legitimacy through procedural justice transparency, accountability, and honest recognition of past and present obstacles.” (United States Department of Justice, 2015). With this in mind, the community expects and deserves competence, patience, respect,

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responsiveness and creative problem-solving delivered with care and compassion. Police and Sheriff’s departments should adopt procedural justice as the guiding principle for internal and external policies and practices to guide their interactions with the citizens they serve (United States Department of Justice, 2015). Police legitimacy and procedural justice involves: • Treating people with dignity and respect • Making decisions fairly, based on facts, not illegitimate factors such as race • Giving people a “voice,” a chance to tell their side of the story • Explaining your actions • Acting in a manner that encourages community members to believe that they

will be treated with goodwill in the future For law enforcement to meet future challenges, the police must be able to connect to the community and fulfill their expectations; even when those expectations are in providing non-traditional police services. Law enforcement must embrace social, operational, cultural, technological and organizational change. Studies have shown that citizen expectations are rising around crime reporting, emergency response effectiveness, citizen care, and public safety and public involvement in policing (Accenture, 2013).

New Police Training Models for Both In-Service and Academy Recruits Law enforcement officers are trained to rush into an event and become immediate problem solvers, sometimes creating their own emergency by failing to properly evaluate the situation. The Police Executive Research Forum conducted extensive research on the De-Escalation and Minimizing Use of Force Incidents. Many of their outcomes can be adopted and incorporated into a creative problem- solving model. Adopting this model will provide officers with alternative options when responding to force situations rather than rushing into the scene. Scenario training is the key and will allow officers to work through issues before facing them in the field during a real situation. The main points from PERF’s study are: • Slowing the situation down and getting a supervisor to the scene can reduce

the chances of violence. • Establishing crisis intervention teams and partnerships with mental health

officials can result in more effective handling of encounters with individuals in crisis.

• Proactive work to identify “frequent customers” and provide early intervention to help avoid crisis situations.

• Hands on law enforcement training so officers recognize real threats posed by individuals with mental illness to elevate the anxiety officers feel about the situation.

• Avoiding overreliance on weapons, such as the Taser, as opposed to hands-on tactics and verbal skills.

• Training officers in “tactical disengagement.” • Placing the mentally ill into a custody environment does not solve the problem

and only exacerbates the problem. It burdens the jail and court systems, places

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custody officers in predicaments when they do not have the appropriate training to deal with the mentally ill, and causes problems in society when they are released.

In sum, law enforcement officers must be provided the necessary training to develop the skills to handle these difficult situations.

Academy Training: Balance Curriculum to Teach Both Guardian and Warrior Models Changing the culture and attitude of police work from the beginning of a recruit’s career from the traditional “Us vs. Them” to collaborative partnerships. Changing police culture must start from the beginning during academy training and resonate throughout the entire department. Recruits are conditioned early on in the police academy with saying like, “Prepare for the best, but expect the worst.” It is the “warrior vs. guardian” debate. During every scenario at the police academy, recruits nervously wait for something bad to happen so they can immediately react with force to defend themselves. Instead, officers should be trained early on to ensure that every contact with the public is an opportunity for law enforcement to make a lasting impression through the delivery of stellar service. We must remember that law enforcement officers are public servants and should demonstrate genuine care and compassion, competence, patience, respect, responsiveness and creative problem-solving with every individual they have contact. Being a “guardian” does not make a person weak. To the contrary, a guardian is a protector of the community and has earned the level of trust, respect and confidence in not only the individual officer, but the officer’s organization and profession. “In Plato’s vision of a perfect society — in a republic that honors the core of democracy — the greatest amount of power is given to those called the Guardians. Only those with the most impeccable character are chosen to bear the responsibility of protecting the democracy.” (Rahr and Rice, 2015)

Building Trust in a Community: A Policing Plan for 2016 and Beyond One of the principal challenges for a police department is evaluating their mission, vision, and values and determining if they are in line with the expectations of the community. This is a philosophical challenge. As the expectations of the community change, so might the mission of the police department. Ensuring officers understand and embrace the departments’ mission, vision, and values statements are at the very core of the policing plan. Next, leaders should be providing personnel with training, direction, support and understanding, and confirming they have a plan in place when they go out into the community. When they leave the station, do they turn right or left? And more importantly, do they know why? The policing plan involves the following: • Responding to radio calls for service is a primary responsibility. Officers

must understand they have a responsibility for a timely response; which is professional, caring, helpful, patient, understanding, competent and

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knowledgeable. Every action an officer takes will leave a lasting impression, regardless if it is positive or negative. It will impact not only how you are personally perceived, but also how the organization and the profession you represent are perceived (Hamel, 2014).

• Officers must have a patrol plan based on the understanding of crime, traffic and quality of life issues unique to the policing area they are patrolling. Providing up-to-date crime analytics and important information each day at briefing is critical to this step. This allows officers to understand where problems are and crime is occurring so they can focus their time in effort in those specific areas when they are not responding to radio calls.

• Community Oriented Policing (COP) is a policing philosophy that incorporates partnerships and problem-solving techniques to solve community problems. Officers must have a firm understanding of COP and integrate this philosophy into long-term collaborate problem solving. This cannot be accomplished unless officers know they have management support in their decision making. Each day, officers routinely respond to incidents involving crisis and chaos and community requests may seem unreasonable. Officers must be able to make problem-solving decision that, even if unorthodox or unconventional, are able to solve the problem.

• Spending five minutes each shift to deliberately and purposefully engage the community and build mutual trust is critical. Imagine how mutual trust and support can be compounded exponentially if every officer did this each shift. Supervision and management must also learn what their officers’ passion and goals are and then support their personnel in accomplishing them. We must earn the trust of the community every day!

Every policing organization is different, but ensuring officers have a policing plan in place before they go out into the community is critical. In 2012, the Police Executive Research Forum conducted a study on the Future of Policing and identified numerous technological advances in policing. These included: engaging the community, predicting and improving services through analytics, enhancing collaboration with the entire community (business, schools, religious institutions, special groups, etc.), optimizing ways of working through technology, and empowering the line level officer through education and training (PERF, 2014). Leveraging technology in all aspects of policing for efficiency, transparency, trust and competence is an opportunity for law enforcement organizations to be more effective and connect to the communities in which they serve. Technology is rapidly changing, which will change the manner in which policing services are delivered. Law enforcement personnel must continue to develop so they can efficiently and effectively provide a range of services to the community.

Conclusion It is going to take a collaborative approach and significant effort to regain public support and trust in many communities. This is especially true in areas

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that have experienced significant police incidents. Supporting personnel, providing the necessary training and equipment, and ensuring they have a policing plan in place is imperative. The community demands their police serve with professionalism and legitimacy in every encounter. Building and fostering trust within a community requires competence, patience, respect, responsiveness and creative problem-solving delivered with care and compassion.

References Accenture. (2013). Preparing Police Services for the Future: Six steps towards transformation. Retrieved March 4, 2015 from http://www.accenture.com/us-en/ landing-pages/Documents/13-1583/download/preparing-police-services-for- the-future.pdf Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2014). Community Policing. Retrieved February 28, 2015 from http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=81 Collins, Michael. (2015). The 5 Worst calls in NFL postseason history. Fansided January 6. Retrieved November 4, 2015 from: http://www.aol.com/article/2015/01/06/ the-5-worst-calls-in-nfl-postseason-history/21125518/ Gascon, G., Manheimer, S., & O’Neill, R. (2013) “Report: Organization of the Future I (2012).” A paper of the BJA Executive Session on Police Leadership. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice; and St. Petersburg, FL: Center for Public Safety Innovation, St. Petersburg College. Hamel, Mike. (2015). “Patrol Officers Duties”. Digital Illustration. Irvine Police Department. Used with permission. Hamel, Mike. (2014). “Incident-Driven Customer Care.” Law and Order: Hendon Publishing Company. Retrieved October 19, 2015 from http://www.hendonpub.com/ law_and_order/articles/2014/01/incident_driven_customer_care. Lowery, Westley, Kimberly Kindy, and Keith L. Alexander. (2015) “Distraught People, Deadly Results.” The Washington Post, June 30. Retrieved October 20, 2015 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2015/06/30/distraught- people-deadly-results/. Martin, Abby. (2015). “Harvard Study: Half of the Youth in the US Distrust Police Forces.” The World News Today, April 29. Retrieved October 15, 2015 from http:// www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Harvard-Survey-Half-of-Youth-in-the-US- Distrust-Police-Forces-20150429-0024.html. Police Executive Research Forum. (2012). “An Integrated Approach to De-Escalation and Minimizing Use of Force.” August, pg. iii. Retrieved October 20, 2015 from http://www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/Critical_Issues_Series/an%20 integrated%20approach%20to%20de-escalation%20and%20minimizing%20 use%20of%20force%202012.pdf. Police Executive Research Forum. (2014). “Future Trends in Policing.” Retrieved July 14, 2015 from http://www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/Free_Online_ Documents/Leadership/future%20trends%20in%20policing%202014.pdf. Rahr, Sue and Stephen K. Rice. (2015). “From Warriors to Guardians: Recommitting American Police Culture to Democratic Ideals.” Harvard Kennedy School, National Institute of Justice. Retrieved October 9, 2015 from http://thecrimereport.

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s3.amazonaws.com/2/54/5/2822/warriorstoguardians.pdf. United States Department of Justice. (2015). “Draft Potential Recommendations on Building Trust and Legitimacy”. Retrieved February 26, 2015 from http:// www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=2778 United States Bureau of Justice Statistics website. (2013). Retrieved October 15, 2015 from http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=71.

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