Analyzing law enforcement leadership within contemporary policing during crisis management was evident during the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson and the Alfred Olango shooting in El Cajon. Enhancing community engagement & trust through technology and changing the institutional culture of law enforcement are challenges agencies struggle with every day. The implementation of a robust community engagement/policing model is a must, given the current climate of distrust as well as the political climate- within the Latino population of an extension of federal immigration enforcement by local law enforcement agencies. The focus and climate in communities of poverty and color are to exhibit transparency and the understanding of cultural perceptions and norms. Ferguson and El Cajon (ECPD) were both examples of the break-down of trust, transparency and decision making by Ferguson Police Chief Jackson as he failed to recognize the challenges of policing his community of color in the 21st Century & ECPD Chief Jim Davis who failed to initially take a leadership role which thrust the Mayor into a press conference that resulted in irreversible comments that painted the officer involved shooting as a murder of Olango. The lack of community engagement and diverse work force enhanced the distrust and hatred towards law enforcement in those cities. The decision to release video surveillance of Michael Brown simultaneously with information regarding the shooting was again an example of the agencies lack of knowledge regarding cultural norms and values that impacted the Ferguson community. The same can be said with ECPD as they released a still picture of Olango pointing a metal object at police as opposed to releasing the entire video, giving the impression law enforcement was selective in their release of information that benefited their narrative. Many lessons were learned that transcend across many social and political boundaries and have impacted law enforcement leaders, policies and procedures throughout the nation. Law enforcement agencies must focus on legitimacy as the public's expectation has leaned towards a bifurcated balance of constitutional policing & community engagement. With the advent of body-worn cameras to improve transparency though technology and community policing efforts we can change the image and perceptions of law enforcement from that of an occupying force in those communities of color where crime rates tend to be higher. We must balance the traditional enforcement posture with a posture of community policing. Law enforcement leaders must adhere to a real-world understanding of information gathering, to enhance the community engagement model with the use of surveys in an effort to gauge community concerns for a better practice philosophy. We must enhance recruiting efforts to create more diversity within the ranks of law enforcement agencies so to represent the demographic we serve in an effort to establish positive public perceptions of law enforcement. A department of predominately white males policing communities of color is an unacceptable past cultural norm; along with the "given" law enforcement professionals can be trusted by their word alone no longer exists in contemporary policing. We cannot discuss enough the importance and impact community policing has on a community and agency. Unfortunately given the current trend within law enforcement agencies to address crime measures through analysis driven policing, community efforts cannot be measured within that method. SANDAG doesn't publish community policing impacts in their end-of-year reporting. Impacts of community policing are measured during critical incidents in challenged communities. How that community reacts and responds will transcend in the level of trust the agency has established through relationships, engagement, programs and diversity. Analyzing Law Enforcement Leadership during Crisis The officer involved shooting in Ferguson involving Michel Brown and the Ferguson Police Department failed to respond in an effective manner and positively influence the public it serves. Actually in reviewing the facts, actions and statements of Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson a critical review is no doubt necessary. The Ferguson police Department has 53 officers; all but four are white, in a community made up of 67% African American. The department does not represent the demographic they serve. That single issue can cause distrust and lend to a perception of racism and lack of transparency. The Ferguson Police Department did not release information regarding the officer-involved-shooting in a timely manner and they left the deceased corpse of Michael Brown on the ground for (4) hours. The community already frustrated with the department had an expectation of transparency into the investigation. There was outrage by the community and groups like, The Project on Criminal Justice at the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think-tank regarding the perceived militaristic response by the Ferguson Police Department in addressing the protestors. . After white Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed 18-year old Black male Michael Brown, the corpse of Brown laid in the street for 4-hours. The Chief never addressed why the body lay there for that amount of time, was it due to the investigation? Was it for evidentiary purposes? It didn't help that the Chief put out a false statement regarding the probable cause for the contact that resulted in the death of Brown and injuries to Officer Wilson. "The Ferguson police officer who shot Michael Brown didn't stop him because he was suspected in a convenience-store robbery, but because he was "walking down the middle of the street blocking traffic." We later determine Officer Wilson recognized Brown as the robbery suspect from an earlier strong arm robbery at a grocery store." What the Chief didn't release was that Officer Wilson received information regarding a strong arm robbery at a local store and Brown fit the suspect description. The Chief needed to paint a time line of what transpired leading up to the officer involved shooting. To quell community concerns the Chief should have immediately put out a press release articulating the facts that took weeks to uncover, one very important fact, that MICHAEL BROWN ATTACKED THE OFFICER! That information would have at a minimum along with the robbery and the traffic violation painted a time line and mind set of Michael Brown. The community demanded the name of the officer, six days later the Chief releases the surveillance of Brown committing a strong arm robbery of a store, simultaneously releasing the name of the officer. The Chief claimed the two were unrelated; his intentions were questioned by the community. Public perception was that the Chief was launching a smear campaign against Michael Brown. Captain (of African American decent) from the Missouri State Police; Ron Johnson took a leadership role in deescalating tensions in the community. My recommendation is to put out a press release in a timely manner (see below press release), begin an aggressive recruiting campaign from the community, and establish relationships with African-American leaders to include faith based leaders from Ferguson. I would create a Citizen Review Board in an effort to solicit input form the community in regards to policy and procedure development and recommendations for transparency. One more recommendation, fire Chief Thomas and replace him with a qualified African American Chief. Gilliam, Carey. "State of Emergency Ferguson after Gunfire Mars Protests." Ferguson POLICE DEPARTMENT NEWS RELEASE INFORMATION SHEET Subject: Officer involved shooting Person Providing Information: Lieutenant M. Marco Garmo Media Contact: PIO Jan Caldwell Date of Release: August 9, 2014 Time of Release: 5:00 pm Synopsis: Today at 3:00 pm a Ferguson Police Officer attempted to contact two strong arm-robbery suspects, described as Black Male Adults later identified as Michael Brown, 18 and Dorian Johnson, 19. Brown stole several packages of cigarillos from a nearby convenience store by force. Brown was accompanied by his friend Dorian Johnson. The Officer, in full uniform driving a marked patrol vehicle had been notified by police dispatch of the robbery and descriptions of the two suspects. He encountered Brown and Johnson as they were walking down the middle of the street. The Officer stated he realized that the two men matched the robbery suspects' descriptions. The Officer attempted to contact he suspects, an altercation ensued with Brown, who attacked the Officer and struggled through the window of the police vehicle for control of the Officer's department issued pistol. Brown and Johnson then fled on foot with the Officer in pursuit. Brown stopped and turned on the Officer, refused to comply with verbal commands and moved toward him in a threatening manner. The Officer fearing for his safety fired his department issued pistol at Brown striking him. Michael Brown succumb to his injuries at the scene. The investigation into the Officer Involved Shooting is on-going and more details will be released in the coming days. Yahoo News. Web. 10, August 2015 CNN News. "Ferguson Reacts to Grand Jury Decision" Online Web. 6 August 2015 The Huffington Post. "Ferguson Riots" Online Web. 12 April 2016 Hildebrandt, Amber. "Michael Brown shooting: The police's military-like response to Missouri riots." Online Web. 14 August 2014 Case Study Analysis: Response to Officer Involved Shooting in El CajonFACTS: Alfred Olango, 38, was shot and killed in El Cajon on Tuesday September 27, 2016. He was an unarmed African-American adult. El Cajon Police Officers were responding to a radio call of a subject running through traffic acting erratically. Officers responded, attempted to contact the subject identified as Alfred Olango. During the contact Olango displayed a metal object later identified as a "vape smoking pipe". During the contact Olango took a shooting stance towards the officers pointing the metal object/vape smoking pipe. Officers responded by using lethal force; Olango died as a result of 5-gunshots to his upper torso. Almost immediately the City of El Cajon experienced hundreds of protestors. The group was initially made up of El Cajon citizens, Black Lives Matter members and faith based/community groups, by the last day of the protests a radical extremist group "Black Riders" arrived, they are a splinter group of the Black panthers. The San Diego Sheriff's Department responded to a Mutual Aid request. I deployed a squad from my command to supplement the platoon response. On September 28th, 2016 the Mayor of El Cajon, Bill Wells gave a live news release discussing the fatal shooting of Alfred Olango. In that press release Mayor Bill Wells replies to News Media questions regarding the video of the incident by stating, "I have viewed the video, I saw a man who was distraught, a man who was acting in ways that he was in great pain, and I saw him get gunned down and killed, it broke my heart, if it were my son I would be devastated." Also present at the press release was Miles McPherson, the Pastor of the Rock Church in San Diego, Cajon Valley Superintend of Schools Dr. David Miyashiro and County Board Supervisor Dianne Jacob. The City of El Cajon has a population of between 100-110,000 residents. The racial demographic break down for the city according to Suburbanstats.org for 2015-2016 is as follows: Hispanic or Latino 28,036 Black or African American 6,306 White 68,897 Middle Eastern 40,000 (Chaldean, Kurdish, Iraqi Shiite, Syrian) The El Cajon Police Department is comprised of 122-police officers, 1-officer is African American and 1-Officer of Chaldean decent whom of which speaks Arabic and Chaldean and 5-6 Hispanic Officers (source of information is an anonymous ECPD LE source). The ECPD has a Police Chief, 2-Captains, 7-Lieutenants and 17 Sergeants and serve 110,000 citizens. For a frame of reference, my command serves 180,000 citizens with 1-Captain, 4-Lieutenants and 16 Sergeants; with a total of 130 sworn. They appear to be somewhat "top heavy"; this may be partly due to the lack of movement and opportunities at a smaller agency. There must be in place, a career path for officers. ISSUES: There are 3-main issues I have identified when analyzing the response to the protest, events and relationships prior to the response and key concepts and mistakes in determining personnel choices.
3. Lack of representation of the social-demographic within the ranks of the El Cajon Police Department. Once the protest began in response to the officer involved shooting which initially were peaceful the ECPD reached out and implemented the San Diego Region Mutual Aid agreement. The Sheriff's Department responded with a full platoon; what soon followed added fuel to the fire of the already infused crowd. On September 28, 2016 Mayor Bill Wells conducts a televised press release. On stage with him were San Diego County Board of Supervisor Dianne Jacob of District 2 (East County), Pastor Miles McPherson and Cajon Valley Superintendent of Schools David Miyashiro. El Cajon Police Chief Jeff Davis was absent from the press release. I received feedback immediately following the press release from community I have a strong working relationship with; the Community Assistance Support Team (CAST), an African American community outreach team. They shared with me the concerns of the protestors which I relayed to the Incident Commander (IC) at the Command Post (CP). First and foremost the message should have come from the Chief not the Mayor. In that the press release should have had actual community leaders from the surrounding neighborhoods not a White Board of Supervisor who lives in Jamul, a Pastor who's Rock Church is in Pt. Loma and a Superintendent of schools who is painting cops as heroes, more important NOT a Mayor who says, "I have viewed the video, I saw a man who was distraught, a man who was acting in ways that he was in great pain, and I saw him get gunned down and killed, it broke my heart, if it were my son I would be devastated." In addition the "still photo" of Olango pointing a vape smoking pipe and a photo of the "vape" smoking device released was also a poor decision by the management team, it perpetuated the false narrative in that law enforcement will only release information that bolsters their case. The decision to sit on the video was also a detriment; the ECPD may release the video at any time sans the DA's input. The decision to hold off on releasing the video citing a review must be completed by the FBI and the San Diego District Attorney was not of concern to those wanting a reason to criticize the police department. Namely the American Action Network, they are a divisive Black organization headed nationally by Al Sharpton, locally by Pastor Shane Harris. Strategically, video footage that has the potential for civil unrest should be released during morning hours preferably during the week so that law enforcement can prepare a response. To quote retired FBI Agent, Chuck Joyner reference releasing footage, “Feed the animals.” We must employ the organism metaphor; meeting needs, adapting and growing to the current climate and expectations of the communities we serve. Metaphorically speaking the Mayor's response was mechanistic in nature, reaching out to the "status quo" to represent community leadership and outreach. None of the so-called representatives actually have ties to the African Community in El Cajon. This information was brought to my attention via Community Assistance Support Group (C.A.S.T) member Tasha Williamson; who also manages the Center for Community Cohesion on Euclid Ave in the city of San Diego. The Mayor's message was lost; similarly the message by the other speakers was also lost since there was a lack of representative-leadership. The representatives chosen to be at the press release were known to upper-middle class white community members, they lacked credibility; they lack a connection to the protestors and Olango's family. This empowered organizations like the American Action Network to reach out to the family and exploit them in their emotional state. Chief Davis did not demonstrate the ability to lead to provide calm during the recent protests. There is an old Arab proverb that states, “An army of sheep led by a lion will defeat an army of lions led by a sheep.” I have been in the presence of Chief Davs in July of 2016 when a group of law enforcement professionals met with Dr. Branch of the NAACP, San Diego chapter to discuss challenges within the African American Community. Chief Davis remained silent, never uttering a word. He lacks the social skills for engagement to lead an agency in turmoil. SOLUTION: There are numerous issues therefore numerous solutions. The first solution is to replace the EL Cajon Police (ECPD) Chief with a Chief from outside the ECPD, since the police culture at that agency is truly the largest hurdle for them to overcome. I would recommend a non-white Chief of Police from a large diverse agency that has a strong background in public speaking, community relations and ties to community organizations. I would also suggest the elimination of a Captain position and 3-Lieutenants. The cost savings could be allocated towards hiring 5-additional officers and the creation of a Community Relations Unit; which brings me to the next recommendation. Aggressively recruit from the diverse community to represent the demographic you serve! They are in dire need of Middle Eastern and black officers to address the diverse community and apply the organism metaphor, grow and adapt to the growth around you, status quo is not a leadership style. I also have a secondary solution that I will be discussing with the Mayor of El Cajon Friday, October 21, 2016. The San Diego County Sheriff's Department currently services 9-contract cities for law enforcement services. Contracts vary from $3 million a year to $21 million a year. They are Vista, San Marcos, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Poway, Santee, Lemon Grove & Imperial Beach. My secondary solution is to recommend a Sheriff's contract for the City of El Cajon. Advantages internally would be an immediate increase in salary for the officers, more job opportunities, better equipment and benefits. The citizens would be served by centralized specialized units, not individual detectives covering 3-4 genres. For example the IA Lieutenant is also the SWAT Lieutenant. They wear many hats and shared responsibilities, which hinders their ability to develop an expertise. SWAT Officers are patrol officers who respond as needed. The Sheriff's Department has the following resources, centralized with anywhere from 5-6 detectives/deputies to 30+ deputies per unit. We are 2,400 sworn with a total of 4,100 employees county-wide. K-9 Homicide Child Abuse Sex Crimes S.E.D/SWAT Bomb Arson Astrea (air-support) Internal Affairs Division of Inspectional Services Juvenile Investigations Special Investigations Division: -Criminal Intelligence Detail -Gangs -Task Forces (JTTF, FBI-VCTF, DEA-NTF, HIDTA, BCST, ECGTF, NCGTF, CATCH, DOJ Sexual Assault, Human Trafficking) The above resources are included in the contract as well as the County of San Diego being "self-insured" against law suits and judgments filed against the department. JUDGMENT: My assessment is that initially Mayor Bill Wells and the El Cajon City Council may interpret "Sheriff's Deputy's" patrolling their city as an occupying force with no control over how, what, where and when enforcement efforts are directed. In addition, they city may feel as if they are losing their "brand" since the patrol cars read, "El Cajon Police" with the city emblem on the door. The city was incorporated in 1912 and have enjoyed their own police department ever since. As a department we must instill trust in the El Cajon City Government to address the issues they may have with potentially losing their department. I would utilize recent actions by the Sheriff's Department regarding the response of over 100 deputies deployed to their city to handle the protestors; focusing on their inability to secure city and provide basic security to their citizens. In referencing to branding we can overlap the city's emblem over the sheriff's Silver Star on the door and, "City of El Cajon" along the front fenders of the patrol vehicle. To address "control" issues I would host a meeting with other contract cities and El Cajon Mayor, City Council and City Manager to discuss any challenges and answer questions by the EC representatives. References: Sandhya Somashekhar and Steven Rich, Washington Post "National Final Tally: Police shot and killed 986 people in 2015." 6 January 2016. "Fatal Shooting Press Release." Fox5sandiego, 28 September 2016. http://fox5sandiego.com/2016/09/28/el-cajon-mayor-to-discuss-fatal-shooting-of-alfred-olango/ Joyner, Chuck. "Why riots won’t die: 3 contributing failures of leadership." Survival Sciences, 6 May 2016. United States Census Bureau. Quick Facts El Cajon City, California, 2016. http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/0621712 Medium Choices for Community Engagement The top five public safety issues law enforcement are community oriented policing and problem solving (COPS), technology, leadership and structural change, increased accountability and oversight and recruitment and retention of personnel. They would have a uniquely persuasive voice on the issue because it impacts law enforcement agencies and their ability to effectively police communities. To get the message out an agency must first determine the best method, community policing is best shared through neighborhood watch meetings, public safety/city council meetings, and follow up on certain community issues. Press releases are best utilized for technology updates, for example body worn cameras, a TV News release with live demonstration and statement by Police Chief or Sheriff supporting the program followed up by print media. When discussing structural change, print media would suffice since it's more of an internal process. Accountability and oversight are very important and instill trust and support by the public, TV press release plus print and radio media mediums will work as well as town hall meetings by the Sheriff or Chief in communities that pose the biggest challenge to law enforcement. Attending job fairs, utilizing print media and college events to promote and recruit is the best method to target interested applicants, using the LE Association publication to promote the department, its benefits and pay is best suited in addressing retention.
There is currently nationwide attention on the issue of community policing, departments are implementing strategies to work more harmoniously with their local communities. According to discoverpolicing.org, community policing “involves three components: developing community partnerships, engaging in problem solving and implementing community policing organizational features. This is best achieved by attending neighborhood meetings, city council meetings, following up on certain citizen complaints and reaching out to community groups. Technology is making it much easier for police professionals to ensure public safety and security, freeing up resources, and enabling proactive policing, while at the same time creating a new level of transparency. Body cameras and Facial recognition are some of the most recent examples. Television and press releases are great mediums to demonstrate the tech product and inform the public. Leadership and Organizational Structure Changes are best shared through internal email and the association since policy and structure change is an internal process. As far as the public is concerned, print media and town hall meetings will suffice. Increased Accountability and Oversight includes the introduction of body worn cameras and a bold complaint process, the medium best utilized to inform the public is print media as well as the Sheriff/ Chief making public statements on TV and radio. Police oversight is expected to increase as the nation watches closely for any sign that police officers are infringing on citizens constitutional rights, using inappropriate and undue force or acting biased towards particular groups. Recruiting and Retention are currently one of the most challenging issues facing law enforcement agencies in the state. Having recruiters attend career fairs and college campuses are an important medium, just as important is print media advertising in Latino, African American, Military and College magazines and newspapers. The use of billboards to advertise employment is a viable medium as well. Representing the demographic we serve within law enforcement ranks plays an important role in recruiting. Employee retention is best achieved by providing a positive working environment through career opportunities and fair business practices coupled with competitive pay and benefits. This is best reflected in recruiting through mailers/hand-outs outlining the information, internally disseminated through email. Law enforcement associations may also inform members by attending association membership meetings, email, mailers, and association website and monthly publication. Specific mediums are better utilized than others based on the message and the audience. COPS involves direct contact with the community therefore print/TV aren't the best form of outreach, in technology a department may demonstrate and explain the tool to increase public awareness and accountability, choosing TV and print media gets that information to a larger target group. All forms of medium have benefits to recruiting. Internal process such as retention and structural change are not necessarily community functions therefor internal mediums such as email or association reps can be effectively used as opposed to print or TV mediums. Choosing the right medium is crucial in getting the right message out to the desired target market, effectively and efficiently.
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My mantra is "status quo is not a leadership style", the antithesis to the status quo is change. Institutional change within a law enforcement organization and culture must not be an achievable goal but a constant on-going process based on case law, public perception and climate. We must constantly evolve by looking inward to our career advancement processes, moving forward with technology in locating offenders as well as community outreach and effective partnerships with our law enforcement and community stakeholders. Our goals include increased transparency, encourage an inward gaze into leadership and promote a change-making attitude that begins at the highest ranks and filters down. Law enforcement organizations are using social media for a number of reasons. The two basic purposes are for disseminating the department message to the public and to gather information from social media sites to prevent and investigate crimes. The San Diego Sheriff's Department utilizes social media to facilitate criminal investigations by observing suspects’ postings and photos on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and twitter as well as for self-incriminating comments. We used it during the El Cajon officer involved civil unrest/protests to be aware of the mood of the protestors. We can also share information with the public during times of critical incidents and about everyday news and events, suspects, crime trends and promote community events we attend. Effective partnerships between law enforcement and community stakeholders is essential to public safety, and it is important that government/law enforcement agencies, community groups, nonprofits, businesses, and private citizens all embrace public safety as a shared responsibility. Law enforcement and community members must develop positive, honest working relationships in order to build solutions to conflict and increase the trust between the police and the public. When law enforcement provides innovative and creative resources that engage community leaders it builds lasting partnerships, and improves the welfare of our communities. Communication & Collaboration The most important five organizations and community groups law enforcement should seek to partner with are faith based organizations, youth groups, homeless outreach, mental health professionals and other law enforcement agencies. The Key is to identify leaders within the organization most concerned about crime in the neighborhood and organize a meeting of these individuals to discuss safety and strategy. When creating a communication strategy, it is important to keep in mind your audience. In many cases the intentions may initially differ with the results or end goal being the same. For example youth group organizations keep kids off the street which results in less criminal behavior and a lower crime rate. It's about developing a partnership with all the shareholders and identifying strengths and weaknesses and what each entity brings to the table. Coordinating efforts with bordering law enforcement agencies is extremely important in addressing crime, since criminals do not have borders nor should we. Crime and criminal behavior is fluid across all jurisdictions. Creating the partnership with outside agencies is based on finding a common nexus of criminal behavior, utilizing proactive communication and strategies. It comes down to community policing; a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies that supports partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder & fear of crime. There are four basic elements in developing a positive communication strategy when working with community groups; they are prevention, problem solving, partnerships and organizational change. We do this through the advocacy model of identifying our vision, mission, and objectives in an effort to allocate law enforcement resources to their cause to persuade them to join our coalition. The flexibility and cooperation of respectful communication can also lend towards a successful working relationship. Community organizing is an important tool of communication since it allows community members to recognize their problems and needs, decide on what they can do and how we can act collectively to achieve it. Law enforcement agencies in San Diego generally enjoy a strong working relationship based on trust and personal relationships. Proactive and transparent communication is crucial in working with other law enforcement agencies. A primary benefit of proactive and transparent communication is the ability to confront problems head-on. Multi-Agency supervisors meet to set goals and strategies, proactive communication contributes to implementing strategies across the organization. Transparency avoids surprises and provides follow-up for concerns that are raised. Multi-Agency supervisors must discover common ground by utilizing Intelligence Led Policing to determine multi- jurisdictional crimes and joint strategies to address them. The art of persuasion is a concept to consider in soliciting and recruiting community groups to share a common goal. Some organizations are more likely to cooperate with local law enforcement, others require more effort. Advocacy as a communication strategy is a much better fit then proactive communication with community groups. They may require a "less aggressive" form of communication than a law enforcement agency. Advocacy communication puts you in a "standing for", or advocating posture for a particular action, position or set of principles. When coordinating strategies within law enforcement agencies much of that is a given, the focus is more so to target a particular criminal activity, and often a particular geographical area that impacts both jurisdictions. Working with community groups can lend to achieving common goals, since a large proportion of law enforcement contacts involve community and social challenges not criminal behavior. For example homelessness and mental health, although we are in most cases the first responder and required to act, in many cases a criminal nexus is not present. An MOU in place with mental health professionals and PERT as well as homeless shelters can empower law enforcement to become part of the solution. In cases of juvenile offenders, coordination with faith based and youth group organizations can provide alternatives and development of young teens for their success in lieu of incarceration and stigma of being on probation. Having open lines of communication with bordering agencies can assist in criminal investigations, addressing multi-jurisdictional crime and identifying key players involved in criminal behavior. Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another-Proverbs 27:17 Medium Choices The top five public safety issues law enforcement are community oriented policing and problem solving (COPS), technology, leadership and structural change, increased accountability and oversight and recruitment and retention of personnel. They would have a uniquely persuasive voice on the issue because it impacts law enforcement agencies and their ability to effectively police communities. To get the message out an agency must first determine the best method, community policing is best shared through neighborhood watch meetings, public safety/city council meetings, and follow up on certain community issues. Press releases are best utilized for technology updates, for example body worn cameras, a TV News release with live demonstration and statement by Police Chief or Sheriff supporting the program followed up by print media. When discussing structural change, print media would suffice since it's more of an internal process. Accountability and oversight are very important and instill trust and support by the public, TV press release plus print and radio media mediums will work as well as town hall meetings by the Sheriff or Chief in communities that pose the biggest challenge to law enforcement. Attending job fairs, utilizing print media and college events to promote and recruit is the best method to target interested applicants, using the LE Association publication to promote the department, its benefits and pay is best suited in addressing retention. There is currently nationwide attention on the issue of community policing, departments are implementing strategies to work more harmoniously with their local communities. According to discoverpolicing.org, community policing “involves three components: developing community partnerships, engaging in problem solving and implementing community policing organizational features. This is best achieved by attending neighborhood meetings, city council meetings, following up on certain citizen complaints and reaching out to community groups. Technology is making it much easier for police professionals to ensure public safety and security, freeing up resources, and enabling proactive policing, while at the same time creating a new level of transparency. Body cameras and Facial recognition are some of the most recent examples. Television and press releases are great mediums to demonstrate the tech product and inform the public. Leadership and Organizational Structure Changes are best shared through internal email and the association since policy and structure change is an internal process. As far as the public is concerned, print media and town hall meetings will suffice. Increased Accountability and Oversight includes the introduction of body worn cameras and a bold complaint process, the medium best utilized to inform the public is print media as well as the Sheriff/ Chief making public statements on TV and radio. Police oversight is expected to increase as the nation watches closely for any sign that police officers are infringing on citizens constitutional rights, using inappropriate and undue force or acting biased towards particular groups. Recruiting and Retention are currently one of the most challenging issues facing law enforcement agencies in the state. Having recruiters attend career fairs and college campuses are an important medium, just as important is print media advertising in Latino, African American, Military and College magazines and newspapers. The use of billboards to advertise employment is a viable medium as well. Representing the demographic we serve within law enforcement ranks plays an important role in recruiting. Employee retention is best achieved by providing a positive working environment through career opportunities and fair business practices coupled with competitive pay and benefits. This is best reflected in recruiting through mailers/hand-outs outlining the information, internally disseminated through email. Law enforcement associations may also inform members by attending association membership meetings, email, mailers, and association website and monthly publication. Specific mediums are better utilized than others based on the message and the audience. COPS involves direct contact with the community therefore print/TV aren't the best form of outreach, in technology a department may demonstrate and explain the tool to increase public awareness and accountability, choosing TV and print media gets that information to a larger target group. All forms of medium have benefits to recruiting. Internal process such as retention and structural change are not necessarily community functions therefor internal mediums such as email or association reps can be effectively used as opposed to print or TV mediums. Choosing the right medium is crucial in getting the right message out to the desired target market, effectively and efficiently. Leadership Foundations Law Enforcement agencies can collaborate with community members to develop policies and strategies in communities and neighborhood disproportionately affected by crime by identifying community leaders. Currently I am the Captain of the most diverse Sheriff's Command in San Diego County. The Rancho San Diego Command encompasses the 2nd largest population of Chaldeans in the United States, the largest African Communities within Spring Valley and Lemon Grove and the largest Filipino Community in Bonita. The Command also has a large Latino population in Lincoln Acres and Imperial Beach. I have found that working with and identifying those who work with our youth to be a great resource. In Spring Valley we are working with a food bank (Heaven's Windows) and the County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation has been very fruitful in establishing a rapport with those who normally have almost no positive contact with law enforcement. We recently sent our Juvenile Diversion Officers to attend an after school program for at-risk elementary to middle school aged children in South Spring Valley, we received a very positive feedback. I have also reached out to Faith Based organizations for community outreach, namely Black Men United, C.A.S.T and Bishop Cornelius Bowser to assist my Community Support Team and SRO assigned to Mt. Miguel in gang outreach. I have personally met with Pastor Harrison and Forbes of the American Action Network (Al Sharpton's group) in San Diego in an attempt to develop an organized African-American Community in Lemon Grove and Spring Valley; this is in an effort to get ahead of a critical incident or questionable use of force, to establish dialogue and a working relationship. There isn't a structured African American Community leader(s) within those communities.
I believe community leaders play an important role in improving police-community relations. This is more evident now than years past since in the current climate of police distrust and perceptions of our ability to police in a constitutional and unbiased manner is being questioned. They should also play an active role in assisting us in developing policies and procedures that embrace a police cultural of transparency and trust. This approach I believe has a benefit when serious incidents occur, including those involving alleged police misconduct and with those relationships in place we communicate with citizens and the media in a timely open manner, respecting areas where the law requires confidentiality. It also empowers the community to come forward with information that can lead to a better quality of life for the citizens. I would lead the deployment of resources by getting the specific entities together as a collaborative to address specific criminal behaviors. My Leadership style had always been "Servant-Leadership" long before I knew who Robert Greenleaf was. I have been on the Sheriff's Department for 24-years, 11 of those as a supervisor. I have found humility; listening and apathy towards subordinates are traits for success. When I attend patrol briefings, the first words out of my mouth are, "what can I do for you"? The action I would take is first and foremost "listening" to the needs and concerns of the community and asking the hard questions? For example, what is the current perception of law enforcement? What can we do to effect change? I would follow up with surveys, as I mentioned in Module-1, "I recommend the Sheriff's Department begin to gather data from community surveys so that we can gauge public satisfaction within our communities. This would include not just people who call the Sheriff's Department for service because they have been victimized or are witnesses to a crime but also people who never interact with deputies and have had involuntary contact with deputies, such as during traffic stops, arrests, or questioning as a suspect or witness. We can collect additional data for analysis to look for effective and appropriate/constitutional police practices for example looking for absence of bias or prejudice in contacts, searches and arrests and fairness in the application of force." Trust between law enforcement agencies and the people they protect and serve is essential to the stability of our communities, the integrity of our criminal justice system, and the safe and effective delivery of law enforcement services. Developing skills for 21st Century Policing fosters trust, promotes transparency, equity, and safety within the communities we have been sworn to protect & serve. Communication, Community engagement and Community assessment of crime are concepts and strategies that must be developed to skillfully police our communities in the 21st Century. Communication is crucial for our success, understanding this reality is a must for law enforcement professionals. Being effective at communicating generally means you will be successful. Communication must span from interdepartmental communication, media, inter-agency communications, communication with the public and community groups as well as social media. The lines of open and honest communication, often and constant can mitigate conflict and resolve issues before they become unmanageable. Engaging our communities and community leaders plays an important role in improving police-community relations. This is more evident now than years past since in the current climate of police distrust and perceptions of our ability to police in a constitutional and unbiased manner is being questioned. These goals can be achieved by a variety of methods, community surveys to gauge public trust and identify dark figures as well as identifying community leaders to solicit their input in developing policies and procedures that impact their communities. Community assessment of crime is also a very important component of 21st Century Policing. Creating a strategic plan to identify a need to develop new approaches in crime prevention, data collection and analysis in an effort to obtain an accurate assessment of crime problems is a goal of developing a robust community-assessment model. The San Diego Sheriff's Department utilizes ILP (Intelligence Led Policing) and monthly station IMPACT meetings (Intelligence Managed Policing Addressing Community Threats) as a policing strategy. These resources, strategies and concepts can assist law enforcement agencies to assess, plan and address policing issues in a variety of areas to impact a plethora of challenges to help strengthen not only our policing methods but gauge our capacity to better serve our communities. Promoting ethical and effective leadership for law enforcement and public safety organizations.1/31/2017 LEPSL-Capstone Sir Robert Peel, the founder of modern police culture, stated, “Police seek and preserve public favor not by catering to the public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.” Officers are and should be held to a high standard in relation to obeying the laws they strive to enforce and policies set forth by their respective agencies. We do this as law enforcement leaders by adopting a code of ethics and as leaders set the pace for departmental policy and ethical behavior; holding personnel accountable by recognizing warning signs to prevent incidents with proper training and intervention; utilizing policies that dictate communication and technology (body worn cameras) to encourage public trust. Engaging the community with community based policing creating an inclusive environment with the communities we serve and organizations to support our mission is crucial for effective policing in the 21st century. Providing leadership to our troops so that the lines of communication and expectations are not blurred is also a crucial part of effective and ethical policing. Implementing the transformational leadership model inspires and stimulates the intellect of our followers and is individually considerate of them. The goal is to develop deputies into leaders to cause change in the individual deputies giving them value to the organization by connecting them to the mission and collective identity of the San Diego Sheriff's Department. Being a role model inspires as well as challenges them to take ownership of their work and community impact. This must result in an improved quality of life and increase trust in the communities we have been sworn to protect and serve as well as creating a professional and ethical environment for deputy sheriff's to flourish. Community Oriented Policing The sheriff's department implementation of intelligence led policing information managed policing addressing criminal threats seems to focus more on enforcement and less on police-community relations. It has also evolved to focus on statistics and crime rates; how can we improve community relations and continue our focus on enforcement in addressing crime rates? Please include a method and benefit to measuring the success of community policing. RECOMMENDATION Within the past three years the Department has adopted and implemented ILP and IMPACT. Intelligence Led Policing, in concept, is described as information driven, systematic, proactive law enforcement model to identify crime trends, target criminals and coordinate crime-fighting tactics and resources. Information is gathered at all levels of the organization and externally analyzed to create useful intelligence and enable rational decision making. ILP not only reduces crime, but utilizes criminal analysts to craft strategies through a cohesive process involving information fusion and analysis. There is no mention of community policing, transparency or developing community partnerships. The Sheriff's IMPACT mission is to integrate crime and intelligence analysis into all aspects of operations. The goal is that all stations, units, and individual deputies will "go into service with a purpose." Quality intelligence will be created and shared by all levels of the organization. Sources of information will be integrated, analyzed and turned into high quality products which will inform decision makers at all levels of the organization enabling them to make San Diego the safest urban county in the nation. Intelligence sharing with regional, state, and federal partners will be enhanced by our leadership role. There again is no mention of community involvement or in any way impacting current perceptions of law enforcement or a method to improve police/community relations. In the mid-1990's I spent five years in a Community Oriented Policing & Problem Solving Unit (COPPS). We embraced a philosophy that promoted organizational strategies to support the use of partnerships and problem solving techniques. We were proactive in addressing the issues impacting public safety such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime. We were also somewhat more reactive to the needs of the specific community we served. COPPS deputies regularly attended community and public safety meetings and utilized community groups to further the mission; we were transparent in our efforts and methods keeping the community apprised of crime trends in an effort to solicit community cooperation. In my opinion it was very successful. Placing all of the emphasis on crime levels creates tension because it overlooks law enforcement's other role and function. If local government believes improving police-community relationships is important, it is imperative to start measuring them. If crime is the only policing metric that is measured, it is understandable that a deputies' primary consideration would be to be to take action to affect crime rates. The current trend is deputies are being judged and advanced to specialized units based on their crime stats, number of cases cleared and arrests made. If community relations are not measured and success in that area is not linked to deputies' career paths, then ensuring these relations is a priority for all deputies will become a challenge. I recommend the Sheriff's Department begin to gather data from community surveys so that we can gauge public satisfaction or dissatisfaction within our communities. This would include, not just people who call the Sheriff's Department for service because they have been victimized or are witnesses to a crime, but also people who never interact with deputies and have had involuntary contact with deputies, such as during traffic stops, arrests, or questioning as a suspect or witness. We can collect additional data for analysis to look for effective and appropriate/constitutional police practices, for example, looking for absence of bias or prejudice in contacts, searches and arrests and fairness in the application of force. Although, the collection of data may incur cost and be labor intensive, I believe the payoff in the demonstration of transparency and accountability, as well as positive community relations, will outweigh the cost of additional data collection and analysis. In conclusion, the Board of Supervisors should assess the Sheriff's Department on more than crime stats while the department and its deputies should be held publicly accountable for meeting the community's expectations. The goal of positive police/community relations needs to become embedded in the police culture. Body Worn Cameras RECOMMENDATION FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF BODY WORN CAMERAS (BWC) My recommendation is to have BWC be worn by Deputies and Community Service Officers (CSO) at the rank of Sergeant and below. The BWC will be activated "prior" to actual contact with citizens, to include but not limited to victims, witnesses and suspects. The BWC will be activated as soon or safely as possible until the contact has been concluded. Law enforcement related contacts include but are not limited to the following: traffic stops, field interviews, vehicle tows, issuing of citations, issuing of parking tickets, detentions, arrests, persons present at radio calls who are accused of crimes, serving court orders or civil papers, investigative interviews, deputy initiated consensual encounters and private person initiated contacts of a confrontational nature and any other situation the deputy or CSO deems appropriate. Private Citizens have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their homes. However, when Deputies and/or Community Service Officers are lawfully present in a home (for example: warrant, consent, or exigent circumstances) in the course of official duties, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. BWCs shall not be used to record non-work related activity. BWCs shall not be used to record in areas or activities such as pre-shift briefings, Department locker rooms, break rooms, or other activities not related to law enforcement activity. BWCs shall not be activated in places where persons have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as locker rooms, dressing rooms, or restrooms. BWCs shall not be recording during court proceedings however; a deputy should activate the BWC during any emergency situation inside the courtroom and during any activity deemed by the deputy to be enforcement related. Reviewing Digital Evidence Deputies/Community Service Officers may review their own BWC video prior to the completion of their written report or court testimony when necessary to ensure accuracy. A deputy may review the BWC video of other involved deputies prior to writing a report. In Deputy involved shootings or situations where an investigation is being conducted, and a report has not yet been written regarding the incident, the assigned investigative supervisor will determine when BWC video will be reviewed by those directly involved. In any case where digital evidence is reviewed prior to writing reports, it shall be notated in the report. PURPOSE To ensure ethical and practical BWC policy & procedures for upcoming P&P manual, we should take the Specific uses of the BWC into consideration.
Supplemental Documentation BWCs may be used to document physical injuries to persons injured during an incident. Using a BWC to document an injury does not relieve a deputy of a responsibility to properly identify and describe the injury in a deputy's report. BWCs may be used to document the scene of an incident. Using a BWC to document the scene of an incident does not relieve a deputy of the responsibility to properly identify and describe the scene in a deputy's report. BWCs may be used to record during the transportation of an arrestee/inmate. Using the BWC to record during the transportation of an arrestee/inmate does not relieve the deputy of a responsibility to document the recording in a deputy's report. Deputies, Community Service Officers and supervisors may find it useful, and are encouraged, to review recordings of incidents of which they were involved when beneficial for the purpose of conducting a tactical debrief. When an incident is recorded, a supervisor should contact the Sheriff's Training Unit to review the digital evidence to determine the training value. Recordings from body-worn cameras may be shown for training purposes upon completion of a criminal case. Transformational Leadership My project consists of the implementation of a Community Based Policing model within the current department's Intelligence Led Policing (ILP) and Information Management Addressing Community Threats (IMPACT) policing philosophies. I plan on implementing this utilizing the Transformational Leadership style; the challenge is two-fold, to empower the Sergeants to "sell" the project to line level deputies and for deputies to take ownership of the project. If they take ownership and the project fails is the supervisor's inclination to blame outside variables for the lack of success. I am also concerned about the unconscious perception or bias that "they're too busy" to complete a project which may impact their ability to be successful. I plan on organizing my narrated PowerPoint presentation with an introduction and definition of Intelligence Led Policing and Information Management, pointing out there is no mention of community policing: ILP is a great organizational method of operation, as it integrates vast amounts of data and information to provide a direction to point our resources; however, it tends to create a disconnection between us and the citizens we serve because we operate within our own department-generated information bubble. The team projects described below should not only assist deputies in developing their own leadership abilities, which will benefit them and the department for years to come, but also connect the ILP method of policing to our community oriented problem-solving philosophy. Ultimately, my vision is to have all our deputies take a leadership role, be motivated to take ownership of their community, empower them make decisions about who to bring together to solve community problems and take the actions necessary to resolve them. I also want to encourage first line supervisors (sergeants) to utilize Transitional Leadership in "selling" this to the troops, below are my directions to the Patrol Sergeants: I am a big fan of Servant, as well as the Transformational Leadership model; it's defined as a leadership approach that causes change in individuals and social systems. In its ideal form, it creates valuable and positive change in the followers with the end goal of developing followers into leaders. Enacted in its authentic form, transformational leadership enhances the motivation, morale and performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms. These include connecting the follower's sense of identity and self to the mission and the collective identity of the organization; being a role model for followers that inspires them; challenging followers to take greater ownership for their work, and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of followers, so the leader can align followers with tasks that optimize their performance. Goal: The goal of this project is to improve the quality of life for our citizens, encourage time management skills, encourage information exchange with your opposite team/partner & most of all create an environment for Patrol to succeed. I have termed it the "stitch" approach to policing as opposed to the current "Band-Aid" approach, hopefully it will decrease calls for service in the area of concern. This is a 90-day project with updates on what you're doing at patrol briefing at 30/60/90 days respectfully. We should see an impact at the end of the 90-days in either a decrease of calls for service or a visible improvement. You, the community and your beat partners will be the judge of that. At the end of the 90-days, we will go into "maintenance phase" which should take very minimal effort. |
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