Continued from previous page remember saying but they sure had.
The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | April 2018
What are the characteristics, traits, resume entries, and track records of police candidates that you are seeking? Where does each of these rank on your list of priorities? Is the absence of any of these a deal breaker? Where is your line in the sand drawn?
When you first were appointed Chief, did the existing officers line up to your priorities? Will you be able to affect change when we know how hard it is to teach old dogs new tricks? If you have risen through the ranks in your department, have you tried to lead by example continuously even when you were the rookie officer? Have you built caring yet professional relationships all around you? Have you passed over more senior officers any time you have been promoted? 8 Is the department run the same way when you are there as when you are not? Have you lived up to your own expectations? 9
Many Chiefs would list extremely positive things like integrity, dedication, loyalty, discipline, honor, pride, leadership, humility, sense of duty, professionalism, courage, and honesty as what is important in a prospective officer; but how do these things get measured in a 22 year old kid whose life experiences may be somewhat limited. Many of these " kids " however, are military veterans who have served our country valiantly and have been tested in the fire of battle.
How about a potential officer who demonstrates a teachable spirit? This is a humble person who does not know what they do not know, but is eager to learn what they should know. This is a person who can be molded into an ever growing, maturing, and developing officer who will make you proud. Could this officer eventually be Chief someday?
Should a new officer have a strong sense of right vs. wrong? More importantly, can an officer have enough compassion to realize that the gray area might best serve certain situations? No, driving while intoxicated can never be okay; but someone driving home from work who makes a mistake on the road will remember the positive value of a discussion with the officer who made the stop. The gray area here is the discretion given to police officers in deciding whether or not to issue a traffic summons. Even though there was a violation of the motor vehicle laws, will that motorist have a better chance of learning from the mistake and understanding his or her responsibility instead of blaming that cop for ruining their day?
A priority must be given to having a department full of ethical decision makers. If your son is stopped for running a red light, should he be issued a summons? Should a blind eye be turned solely because he is your son? This goes way beyond professional courtesy because he is the boss ' son. If the son of an elected official that you do not see eye to eye with is stopped for running the same red light 10 minutes later, should he be issued a summons? Should the strict enforcement of the law be carried out?
Ethical decision making goes much deeper than motor vehicle enforcement, but this example shows how complex of an issue it is. Officers must do the right thing especially when " nobody is looking ". Some years ago, I attended a leadership seminar hosted by the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police and presented by The Gallagher-Westfall Group. The basic premise focused on their leadership test. We were challenged to ask ourselves in every decision we made: " Am I doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right way, and for the right reason?" 10 If the answer was anything but yes, then it was not an ethical decision. Wow!
Is the potential officer capable and willing to serve each person equally and blindly where race, ethnicity, skin color, religious beliefs, gender, age, sexual preference, and / or country of origin do not matter? Do your current officers serve the public this way? Do you?
Also of critical importance is an officer who will serve selflessly in protecting the community. While we will never forget September 11, 2001, we should also never forget the many first responders who rushed into the Twin Towers before they collapsed in an attempt to save as many people as possible. Many of these heroes perished, and many are still dying today from complications resulting from exposure almost 17 years ago. 11
While it may be tough to gauge a potential officer ' s commitment to strategically enter a school seeking an active shooter immediately upon the formation of a contact team, it may be prudent to ask questions structured to measure self confidence I am willing) vs. cockiness( I can do anything). A confident officer will be receptive to training, discipline, constructive criticism, coaching, counseling, and mentoring while a cocky officer knows everything already.
I remember conducting panel interviews with candidates for the Police Academy who had not been hired by a police department yet but were paying their own way. One of the questions I always asked was that if the candidate were to do a self evaluation of their total self with 1 being low and 10 being high, where would they rate themselves and why. It was alarming how many times I was told that this unemployed person who could not get a job as a police officer yet, sometimes after several years of multiple attempts, saw themselves as a 10!
These candidates were eliminated from further consideration after their interview because their cockiness showed throughout the various answers they gave. I believe that no one is a 10, and that the type of officer you are looking for would rate themselves with honest humility instead of with an untested, unproven, unearned, and inflated ego.
I believe that if you are able to successfully hire officers who are and remain teachable, know the difference between right and 31
Continued on next page