The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 24, Number 4 | Page 31

The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | April 2018
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the street; but if they let the mayor down, their career was short lived. Rules of conduct were ambiguous, supervision and
direction was lacking, the pay was horrendous, job security was non-existent (especially if the mayor did not like an action taken
by the officer), and opportunities for corruption were abundant. Professionalism would never be possible in this environment.
So, what does all of this mean? I believe with all of my being that Police Chiefs must be allowed to lead his/her police department
without undue political influence. The key word is "undue" because the Police Chief must be accountable to the governing body.
The ideal is a balance of power where the Chief is given the necessary authority to fulfill the responsibility of the office while
maintaining an open and honest line of communication with the governing body. The reality is that the Police Chief has a lot of
responsibility and is not a rank to aspire to so that he/she can coast through their last years on the department as some officers
think.
Having risen through the ranks from patrol officer to chief in the same department, I realized that I had inherited a department
that I had a limited influence on building; but hopefully an influence on developing. The reality was that I was now responsible for
the good, the bad, and everything in between.
One of the earliest lessons I learned as a new officer was the critical importance of leading by example. However, there were a
number of really bumpy roads traveled and many mistakes made as I learned that I had to live by the same standards that I
wanted to hold everyone else to. As time passed and as I matured in the job and as a person, the value of humility and integrity
in all aspects of my life became crystal clear. I did go through phases where after taking two steps forwa rd I would take four
steps backward. Thankfully this diminished over time and I began to really "get it".
Another important realization was that there is a high honor in being named Police Chief that should never be taken for granted
or be viewed as a resume builder for the after retirement job. Chiefs cannot let the allure of their next chapter in life become their
focus when the entire department is depending on this chapter. The overall environment of a police department is influenced
more from the top down than from the bottom up. We must all remember too that the badge the Chief wears also says "Police"
and that he or she was a police officer prior to being named Chief, and is still a police officer after being named Chief. 6
Have you given any thought to how you will be viewed after retirement? How important is the legacy you will leave behind? Both
of these questions still linger with me and yes they are both important. And yes, these apply to every Police Chief past, present,
and future. A foundational goal of mine during my tenure as Chief was to ensure that I left the department in a better place than
when I took over. This can be a lofty goal, but one that clearly demonstrates to each officer and the governing body that you
strive for continual improvement in policing standards of performance for the community.
We have seen numerous changes affecting how the police are viewed and how they function in society today. Some were helpful
but some were hindrances. There was such a disparity in these changes that I would argue that the litmus test would be the
impact on public safety and the number of officers killed and assaulted in the line of duty.
Citing a few examples of these changes, do you remember Broken Windows? 7 How about Community Oriented Policing, Problem
Oriented Policing, Intelligence Led Policing? The implementation of School Resource Officers opened the door to building bridges
between the police and kids. The media evolved from a time when the television programming ended at 2:00AM with the National
Anthem to news coverage around the clock. Violence escalated in all levels of schools around the country with an increase of
students being shot by an armed intruder. The 24/7 news covered these stories, but still many felt it was too traumatic for the
students to be subjected to Active Shooter drills. Some even felt that the police had become too much like the military and steps
were taken that lead to the de-militarization of the quasi-military police. In-car video cameras to body worn cameras developed
during a time when everyone has recording capabilities and no one is shy using them. The list goes on and on and on.
Police officers are criticized after the use of deadly force based on what people have heard but before the investigation is
complete. Police officers are criticized when people think deadly force was warranted but not used based upon what they have
heard. The difficulty is that what people "have heard" many times is not based on accurate information. It is also impossible for a
person who has never been a police officer to fully understand an officer's mind set, thought process, level of fear for his /her life,
split second decision making, or lack of complete facts when facing a critical incident that may culminate in the use of deadly
force.
What this means Chief is that you have an opportunity to influence the building of your department for today that will also have
an impact on tomorrow when you are just a memory. Your choice of who is recommended to the hiring authority in your
community will be a significant part of your legacy. The traits of the officers hired do reflect on your priorities for the department
and community you serve. A true measure of a person's character can be simply defined by his or her response to something of
substance being the same even if no one was watching or no one would ever know if words and actions did not line up.
This also means that you must choose your words very carefully at all times. I remember the banter between officers leaving me
sometimes shaking my head, sometimes laughing, and sometimes thinking that I wished I had not just heard what I had just
heard. However, I learned early on that when those words came from the Chief that they could tear an officer apart just because
the Chief said them. I also remember times of being quoted by someone from something I had said previously that I did not
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