Welcome to this incendiary edition of Light ‘Em Up. We’re now being heard in 104 countries!
We have an exclusive in-depth interview with a high-ranking police administrator with a small police department in the “Magnolia State”.
Speaking on the promise of his anonymity, identified only by his title (Assistant Chief of Police), the municipality that he serves has about 8,500 people, staffed by about 30 accredited officers.
The Assistant Chief mentioned that “working in a small town brings to focus the importance of the development of relationships. The good news is — is that at the present crime is low and it is getting lower” in this growing town.
In this fact-laden episode we explore:
♦ The never-ending challenges of 21st century policing in a small town, including budgeting and the struggle to pay its personnel a competitive wage.
♦ Police “culture” & how retaining staff is a constant struggle.
♦ The findings following a comprehensive, in-depth study on the importance of prioritizing and reducing unconscious bias among officers entitled Seeing Color in Police Discretion.
♦ Unconscious bias and how this can affect officer discretion, views, and perceptions.
♦ The importance of discretion in law enforcement & the wide latitude officers have in their use of that discretion and how this can be relevant to non-law enforcement industries that you may serve.
♦ Systems and standards: The foundational set of good management practices, methods, systems, requirements that must be established to produce high-caliber, top quality, constitutional policing that the citizenry deserves.
♦ How policing changed in his municipality following the killing of George Floyd.
He emphatically stated that, “The presence of the Black Lives Matter movement absolutely raised the bar for police officers and police leaders to know what they are talking about when it comes to equal protection and racial disparities. It no longer cuts it to say, ‘Hey we’re out here doing our jobs — leave us alone’”.
He went on to say, “We really have to have real answers for why things look the way that they do and to me it really raised the bar for accountability. It really raised the bar for us — just because you’re not being held accountable internally — doesn’t mean that it’s not going to come externally … so, it is comin’ one way or another. We need to be competent in order to be able to explain ourselves and serve in a responsible manner.”
While mistakes and errors soak up the bulk of media attention locally and nationally, it is imperative to pause and remember that police officers are people too and the vast majority of them serve with dignity, honor and often times in a heroic and valorous manner.
Through many of the direct efforts of the Assistant Chief of Police, it is clear that his department has put a lot of work in internally which clearly shows on the external side of police management and administration into doing an excellent job at serving the good people of the Magnolia State.
Tune in and be empowered and find out about the footballs in each trunk of every patrol car in their fleet and the awesome news about the police department sponsored youth football league.
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