The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | May 2017
Continued from previous page
these three factors alone are known to activate chemicals in the body that goes a long way to supporting a community belonging, as well as ownership.
So, let us look at the detail here. What was Chief Williams actually saying about“ control?” You can clearly see this in some of the reality TV programs in the UK that have TV crews riding along with police in the big cities, policing the night time economy, for example, where UK police officers are seen to want to“ control” what they see, and are pretty much pessimistic about who they may be dealing with that night, never trusting anyone. They have an acute need to control the situation based upon years of exposure to drunks, and for the public that step out of line the police need to control them, telling them to do as they are told. The trouble is, it is not easy to turn this switch off when you arrive back at the office, or even when you arrive home.
The police lock up those criminals overnight, and are rewarded for their success, the more people that do not do as they are told, the more arrests they make, and as a consequence the more the officers appear to be doing a good job.
Continuing to exercise control in this way over a period of time in law enforcement affects the mind-set, something appears to happen that makes the officers want to control more and more, and trust less and less. The lessening of trust is essential safety mechanism for police in order to remain both successful and safe on the streets. This then becomes a bit of a paradox, as Dr Stephen Covey mentions in his book about the 7 habits of effective leaders; there are many things outside of your control or influence, and this includes certain groups of people, such as your boss, captain, chief, or family members, who are not bound to follow your orders. In effect, there is only one thing that you can fully control, and that is yourself.
Chief Williams explains this in terms of trying to control three dogs on three leads. It’ s almost an impossible task to do this smoothly, if one dog is say a Rottweiler, one a Labrador and one a small Jack Russell, for example. They often walk at different speeds, and pull in opposite directions. As I am sure those that have tried to walk three dogs will appreciate, one can even prove to be an immovable object. Chief Williams describes these three dogs as‘ The Street’( where‘ control’ is exercised often without too much problem, but where the officer has recourse to legal backing);‘ The Department’ is dog No. 2 where control can be exercised over those subordinates but not peers nor superiors; and the third dog is the family, your spouse, and kids. These are the 3 dogs you try to walk every day. Think about it for a moment- do you try to exercise‘ control’ at home too, without success, or which results in frustration all around … perhaps even treating your spouse and kids like criminals, exercising a growing desire to control and a lessening wish to trust them? Honestly? Good for you if you don’ t try to control your family.
However, it is hardly surprising when we look at what misdemeanours officers are routinely exposed to in the workplace, it can be difficult at times differentiating our attitude towards the 3 dogs, often treating family like criminals in pursuit of this control, rather than treating them like the loving family and friends they are.
Chief Williams observes that this need to control more and trust less can take place over a period as short as four years in the department, from date of joining.
Officers routinely turn towards pessimism,( because the world is not as rosy as we thought it was when we signed up for the job); as a consequence we soon trust less, have a desire to control more and, despite constantly complaining and being pessimistic that the job is‘ broken’( I’ m being polite at this point), law enforcement officers with over 4 years’ service are reluctant to change, in fact go as far as to say they hate change, and they are quick to attribute blame to everyone else.
A little self-reflection may be required at this point: is it me Chief Williams is talking about? Is it you? He calls these the 5 strings that control the law enforcement professional like puppets on a string. The 5 strings are 1) pessimism, 2) a desire to control more, 3) trusting less and less, 4) resisting change and 5) quickly assessing blame.
But you know what? It is police culture that causes this( here we go again blaming something else). The reason I say this is because successful cops are those that control the streets, the criminals, and by trusting less they remain safe( a key objective for every US law enforcement officer); performance is therefore assessed as good,( criminals locked up, safer streets, happy Chief) and colleagues respect them for this. In fact, senior officers may recognise this“ success in control” by rewarding the officer with specialist skills, or promotion. Officers are rewarded for high control, and low trust, and success is measured in such terms, and everyone is happy ….. aren’ t they? Well, not really. This is a vicious cycle, a caustic risk of performing well in law enforcement, which causes officers to want to control more and this becomes second nature, taking it back to the department and taking it home. In cases where officers are unable to control their bosses or family, this leads to frustration and work /
22
Continued on next page