Five Bold Steps That Will Help Build Trust and Support of Your Police
In keeping with the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing and my own belief in the high-calling of police in a democratic society, the following five steps need to be immediately taken and committed to by your civic leaders. You need to know that…
1. Your police department will work closely with you and is accountable to you in effectively responding to crime and other disorder in your community.
2. All new police officers hired will hold a minimum of a bachelor’s degree and are well-trained and competent in the essential skills of policing a democracy.
3. Overall, at least 10 percent of your officers will be from racial minority groups and at least 20 percent will be women.
4. Your police will be unconditionally respectful in performing their duties, non-biased, controlled in their use of force, and will be highly committed to the preservation of life.
5. Your police will strive to continuously improve and exceed your expectations.
Effective policing happens when police listen, work closely with, and are accountable to those whom they serve.
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.
View all posts by improvingpolice
6 Comments
This stuff is great, DAvid. Who is your main audience for your blog? >
Thanks, Kris, I have never surveyed my audience. There’s about 1,500 followers and I think they are a combination of police, concerned citizens, and community activists…
Chief – I just listened to you live at the PERF Town Hall in Chicago – you make some great points, and your tenets are as timeless as ever. Some of the goals are lofty, but none are unattainable. Well said.
Really good stuff. The procedural justice discussions are tuned more easily to infusing these ideals into the police culture. I’m hopeful about the lessons and about the empirical results.
This stuff is great, DAvid. Who is your main audience for your blog? >
LikeLike
Thanks, Kris, I have never surveyed my audience. There’s about 1,500 followers and I think they are a combination of police, concerned citizens, and community activists…
LikeLike
Chief – I just listened to you live at the PERF Town Hall in Chicago – you make some great points, and your tenets are as timeless as ever. Some of the goals are lofty, but none are unattainable. Well said.
LikeLike
Thanks. We can turn this all around. I am impressed by what I have seen and heard here in Chicago.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Really good stuff. The procedural justice discussions are tuned more easily to infusing these ideals into the police culture. I’m hopeful about the lessons and about the empirical results.
LikeLike