CLOSING ARGUMENTS
Here’ s how we win back the hearts and minds of the public
DR. JEFF BERNSTEIN
I think most of you will agree that we are losing the public relations battle. You see it every day on every news channel— so many negative stories about the police. I’ m tired of all the negative press. I’ m sick and tired of all the hating on the police. Something is seriously wrong in our society, when the police are looked at as the bad guys, and the criminals as the poor victims. This thinking needs to change. We really need to do something about it. I believe we need a really good public / community relations campaign! It will be effective in improving our public image, especially if labor and management work closely together on it.
As a group, I believe we actually have the power to help stop all this hating. In order to start changing the hearts and minds of the public, what’ s needed is a concerted national effort by everyone in law enforcement. Years ago, I was in a meeting at the Miami Police Department headquarters with Chief John Timoney. He said,“ The media loves a good story about a firefighter, and a negative story about a cop doing something bad.”
Wow, he was so right! Think about stuff you see on the news every day. A group of firefighters rescuing baby ducks stuck in a storm drain. A firefighter putting an oxygen mask on a cat after a fire. I’ m really tired of watching that stuff on TV, by the way. My wife was sitting next to me on the couch and said,“ Isn’ t that wonderful.” I said,“ Yes dear,” and I immediately changed the channel to another news station and, wouldn’ t you know it, there were the ducks again.“ Ahhhhhhh!” I screamed, and my wife said,“ What’ s wrong?” I said,“ Nothing, I’ m just so happy that the ducks are OK.” But really, I was thinking,“ WTF, those ducks again? Somebody please, please help me.”
It was at that moment, however, that I realized that we really have to help ourselves! I think we can all agree, they get great media coverage and we don’ t. My former Chief Lou Guasto was fond of saying,“ While what the fire departments do is so important, our free society could not exist without the daily efforts of our police officers.”
So true. I’ m hoping that we can make it our turn now to get some positive press. If we all work together on a public relations campaign, we can win back the hearts and minds of the public! We had it once, so I am quite sure we can have it again. Here are five things that every officer and supervisor can do: 1. Make sure that our officers stop doing stupid crap that ends up on TV. We have all seen the pursuit on TV. A helicopter above, pursuit ends in a crash, the bad guys bail out then get caught, no resistance, wait for it, wait for it, THUMP! Stop officers that you work with from doing this. Save them from being arrested. Save their jobs and pensions. Stop the act, and these images don’ t have a chance to appear on TV. It really hurts us when they do. We are the good guys, and we need to be seen that way.
2. Don’ t get baited by people who dislike the police. Understand what they are trying to do. Someone is recording video of them trying to get you to say or do something inappropriate.
100 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ JUNE 2018
They are often hoping for a negative reaction from you. Remain calm, and deal with the situation professionally. If you respond in a professional manner, is that good video? For example: Option A:“ Sir, you are interfering with a lawful investigation. Please step back now and stop obstructing. If you continue, I am going to place you under arrest for obstructing. Please move over to the corner location now.” Contrast that with Option B:“ Hey, I’ m not going to tell you again. This is police business, get out of my face, and get the f @#& out of here now, or I will knock the crap out of you!” I believe option A is a better choice. And for you guys who are not sure which option to choose, just pick letter A, please.
3. Give good customer service. Most people who call the police are honest, hardworking citizens who deserve good customer service. Most have a problem or question and need your help. When they get good treatment from the police, they tell people. When they get bad treatment from the police, they tell 10 times as many people. That’ s just how it is. Think about how you would want an officer to treat your family. If it was your mom who just got knocked down by a purse snatcher, how would you want the responding officer to treat her? You certainly would want someone who is caring, concerned, compassionate and comforting. For the most part, it’ s just following the golden rule. Treat people the way you would want to be treated. Always remember, giving good customer service makes for good video.
4. Use departmental social media effectively. Most of you who are actively employed are Generation X and Y( millennials) and already know how to do this. Just to be clear, I’ m not talking about swiping on Tinder, or liking pictures on Instagram. We need to keep the public informed about emergency situations, missing kids and bad guys on the loose. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, whatever— we need to use it, and use it effectively. Get the good news out as often as possible. Do what you can to improve the image and reputation of your department. Feed the public information officer good stuff.
5. Get those really good body camera videos to your public information officer. That’ s so important and really is the key to swinging the pendulum back towards respect for the police. Recently, Florida Sheriff’ s Deputy Jeremie Nix did a great job saving the life of an infant. He was driving home and was flagged down in his patrol car. He was told by the baby’ s mom, Nechole Cromwell, that her 4-month old son, Kingston, was completely unresponsive. After trying to revive the baby and not seeing any results, Deputy Nix decided to drive the baby directly to the hospital. He saved the baby, and 100 million people saw him do it! Everybody saw him save baby Kingston. He was hailed as a hero, hugged by mom Nechole, and Deputy Nix said,“ God put me in the right place at the right time.” Wow, it doesn’ t get any better than that!
These are just five things that all officers can do to help end this hating on law enforcement. We certainly can do more. For example, if you see a firefighter put an oxygen mask on a cat and the TV cameras are there, just walk over there and insert