The Keys to Navigating the Current Turbulent Waters of Policing: Training, Culture, and Discipline

Training, Culture, and Discipline: The Keys to Navigating the Current Turbulent Waters of Policing
By Ron Camacho, BS, MS

A couple of months ago, I was meeting with two prominent community leaders in my office. One of them said,"Chief, how do you keep your department out of the newspapers?" The answer came to me rather quickly as I replied, “Training, Culture, and Discipline." Three simple, powerful words whose meaning helped me develop a successful philosophy that guided my organization through the most turbulent times of my policing career. For experienced law enforcement leaders who need to course-correct their departments, or the new ones looking for a successful path to follow, the three concepts of training, culture, and discipline served as my North Star as I led my current department over the last five years.  These are the stable, reliable and fixed points upon which I fix my sextant as I navigate my department through all of the usual, and increasingly the unprecedented, challenges to law enforcement command in America today.

Training - Never in the history of policing have the demands for service and knowledge been as great as they are today. In one shift, a typical police officer could respond to a vehicle accident, de-escalate a neighborhood dispute, revive an overdose victim using Narcan, assist a person in a mental health crisis, break up a brawl between “vaxxers” and “anti- vaxxers,” mediate a school board meeting dispute and investigate a computer scam. All of these incidents require specific types of training. There is a saying that police training adds "tools to the officer's toolbox." The more tools in the toolbox, the better prepared an officer is to handle the variety of calls and incidents. Training costs money, but what is the cost to your agency when an officer mishandles a call he or she should have been trained on? A well-trained department is confident, full of genuine self-esteem, ready to handle every call thrown at it. Those agencies that lack training are easily recognizable; false bravado, ego, oppressive behavior and ignorance guide their decisions. If unchecked, under-trained departments will follow a recipe for disaster that can be mitigated by implementing a vetted and regularly evaluated training program.

To those law enforcement executives who must justify your department's training requirements, I offer this piece of advice: cajole, finesse, or beg your local politicians and stakeholders (those who control or influence your budgets) to attend your trainings. Make every effort possible to include them in situational-based exercises and put them in the officers' shoes so they can experience a little bit of the stress your people feel every day they hit the streets. Explain, in the most passionate manner, why training is so necessary. Describe to them the long-term liability implications associated with failure to adequately train your officers. Many of my municipality's council members ride along with my officers, and we have found great value in that program. I have no fear of my officers doing or saying anything"wrong"during those ride alongs; the professional culture of the organization allays all concerns.

Culture - To some, police culture connotates the "us vs. them" mentality, which reflects an overwhelmingly dark view of the profession. While some of that does exist, those departments with professional and service-based cultures are not only weathering the current anti-police storm - they are thriving in it. Law enforcement agencies need to develop internal philosophies that promote critical thinking, positivity and teamwork. Creating successful environments where officers hold each other accountable for their productivity, service and behavior should be the rule, not the exception. All commanders should want a department full of runners, not one filled with those who want to jog in place. Through mentorship, coaching and leadership, the runners will help those officers who are stagnant or falling behind. Positive peer pressure is a powerful force that will produce constructive changes within the department. The setting, enforcing and eventual raising of standards are essential factors in building a culture of excellence. Although law enforcement officers do a great job with "protect,” building an appropriate departmental culture with the right emphasis will get them to the same level with the "serve" aspect.You cannot create a positive, professional culture of service without accountability and discipline instilled in your agency.

Discipline - Discipline, the "art" of self-control or orderly conduct, is a vital and necessary element to effective policing. Leading by example, meeting the standards and equal enforcement of an organization's rules and regulations are proven, well-used methods to build a disciplined department. When enforcing the agency's rules, empathy and fairness should be at the heart of the process. Draconian and unequal enforcement will harm the organization's morale and internal trust. When we mess up, we must all accept responsibility for the mistake and learn from it, including me. Officers should not fear reporting their missteps if they know the punishment fits the crime and that honest mistakes are recognized for being just that.

Accountability is another effective tool used to create self-discipline within an organization. Assigning tasks with the appropriate complexity and time for completion is another excellent way to instill discipline. A technique I have used with great success is to assign an officer the task of preparing a twenty-minute lecture to present in front of peers, command staff, or civilians (depending on the topic). They are given a month to create the lecture, often including a PowerPoint, and a supervisor reviews the project before it is presented. The officers are only assigned subjects they have prior knowledge of or have been trained in. For example, recruiters lecture on recruitment, firearms instructors on marksmanship, the Community Policing coordinators on community policing. None of the officers have ever failed to make the due date, and all the presentations were well received. A positive side effect of these lectures is the officers' increased confidence after successfully building and presenting their projects. The rousing applause accompanying the end of the lectures, especially from civilian audiences, gives the officers a tremendous sense of accomplishment and support. They are then ready for the next assignment, usually more extensive and complex.

Policing was, is, and will continue to be an autonomous profession. When not answering calls, conducting directed foot patrols, or assigned to traffic enforcement details, patrol officers have an incredible amount of freedom to protect and serve as they see fit. Unfortunately, it is in this freedom, or latitude, that officers often get into trouble. Micro-management is not the answer, however, building trust is. Developing trained, disciplined officers will shield them and the department from the many "landmines" they will encounter every time they hit the streets. A departmental culture of excellence will reinforce the values, training, and discipline your officers need to successfully police in these troubling times. Sun Tzu said,"In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity." Look at the current chaos permeating our profession as an opportunity to demonstrate that good law enforcement organizations still exist, and by following the tenets of training, culture, and discipline, they can become more valuable to the communities they serve.