More Policing “Is/Is Nots”

David Couper

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In keeping with yesterday’s blog, “What Policing Should Be,” here’s two more important “is/is nots” for policing:

 

COMMUNITY-ORIENTED POLICING

IS                                                        IS NOT

Close to people                                  Centralized

Citizen’s problems                            Police problems

Broad problem-solving                     Incident response

“Turf” responsibility                         Time of day responsibility

Organizational values                       Rules and policies

Quality of life                                     Only crime fighting

Way of doing business                     A program

 

QUALITY LEADERSHIP 

IS                                                         IS NOT

Systems thinking                               Event thinking

Data-based decisions                        Decisions by emotion

Customer-oriented                           Self-oriented

Teamwork                                          Individual work

Empowering others                          Restricting others

Coaching                                            Dictating

Respecting others                             Coercing others

Continuous improvement                Status quo

 

[From the Quality Leadership Workbook, Madison Police Department, 1991]

 

 

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Published by David Couper

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. After retiring from the police department, I answered a call to ministry, attended seminary, and was ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church. After almost 30 years serving in and leading two Episcopal Churches in the Diocese of Milwaukee, I am "sort-of" in the process of retirement. Life is good.

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