“Our nation’s police have been unable or slow to return to the community-oriented role they were in the process of working through (prior to 9/11)—such as soft methods of crowd control, neighborhood policing, and focusing on solving community problems. Too many of our nation’s police are busy looking instead for terrorists in the community rather than support from it.
“This new militarism has gripped police and turned them away from the pursuit of community policing to focus on technology to solve their problems and antiterrorism as their new focus. It isn’t that the threat of urban terrorism should be ignored, but rather, who should have the primary responsibility? I see the police as community workers—not urban commandos.”
This video shows that police in Boise, Idaho get it!
I served over 20 years as the chief of police in Madison (WI), four years as chief of the Burnsville (MN) Police Department, and before that as a police officer in Edina (MN) and the City of Minneapolis. I hold graduate degrees from the University of Minnesota and Edgewood College in Madison. I have written many articles over my years as a police leader calling for police improvement (for example, How To Rate Your Local Police, and with my wife, Sabine, Quality Policing: The Madison Experience). After retiring from the police department, I answered a call to ministry, attended seminary, and was ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church. At the present time, I serve a small church in North Lake (WI), east of Madison. Sabine and I have nine adult children, eleven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She is also a retired police officer and we both continue active lives.
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8 Comments
Thanks David. that dancer is a retired career Air Force Captain (military police) who joined us as a second career and has been a school resource officer for 14 years, 10 of which have been at this junior high school. He asked that his “retirement ceremony” be held in front of the school assembly and with the staff and students he served. He was also the coach of the girls 8th grade city basketball champs last year. These are amazing relationships our officers have the potential to develop which have lasting, often lifetime impressions of police.
Mike, it’s what we learned years ago — while it’s nice to recruit youngsters, second-career people bring a lot to the job just like your SRO did and (if you remember) folks like Steve Sheets in Madison who was a high school teacher for many years. When we hire more senior candidates they can come with a lot of life experience even though we may only have them for 10 years. Great video — brought joy to my heart!
This is true professional police work at it’s best. That “Community” of kids loves that officer. There wasn’t an ounce of “Cop Attitude” in that video…it was pure love and joy for those kids. I will share this video with several SROs I work with and if they accomplish half of what this officer has done for his community, their schools are going to be amazing. I truly agree, we need to return the focus back to Community Policing. Thanks for sharing this video. It’s inspiring. —Steve Schmidt (Former Kansas City, Missouri Police Officer)
Right on, Steve. Police do not have to take the singular role of unapproachable warrior, but can also embrace the emotional side of the broad nature of police work. After all, let’s look at the “work.” Is it primarily warrior or primarily guardian and relationship?
Thanks David. that dancer is a retired career Air Force Captain (military police) who joined us as a second career and has been a school resource officer for 14 years, 10 of which have been at this junior high school. He asked that his “retirement ceremony” be held in front of the school assembly and with the staff and students he served. He was also the coach of the girls 8th grade city basketball champs last year. These are amazing relationships our officers have the potential to develop which have lasting, often lifetime impressions of police.
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Mike, it’s what we learned years ago — while it’s nice to recruit youngsters, second-career people bring a lot to the job just like your SRO did and (if you remember) folks like Steve Sheets in Madison who was a high school teacher for many years. When we hire more senior candidates they can come with a lot of life experience even though we may only have them for 10 years. Great video — brought joy to my heart!
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I would like the police to return to the community by taking on rich people and corporations for what they have done to the community.
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And dance with them!
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This is true professional police work at it’s best. That “Community” of kids loves that officer. There wasn’t an ounce of “Cop Attitude” in that video…it was pure love and joy for those kids. I will share this video with several SROs I work with and if they accomplish half of what this officer has done for his community, their schools are going to be amazing. I truly agree, we need to return the focus back to Community Policing. Thanks for sharing this video. It’s inspiring. —Steve Schmidt (Former Kansas City, Missouri Police Officer)
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Right on, Steve. Police do not have to take the singular role of unapproachable warrior, but can also embrace the emotional side of the broad nature of police work. After all, let’s look at the “work.” Is it primarily warrior or primarily guardian and relationship?
LikeLike