Why Police Officers Have to Help Build Morale within Police Departments

Edward Brown, M.S.

Becoming an effective leader is a notion bandied about within the private and public sectors, regularly. Leadership pundits from John Maxwell to Jim Collins have created a cottage industry on the subject of leadership. However, there is very little written or said about the power of front line employees to improve organizational morale. With the inordinate amount of information on leadership development at the supervisory and upper management levels, what role can police officers play in the global economy for improving departmental morale?

Edward Brown, M.S., of Core Edge Police Professional Development, provides questions and answers about the bigger role police officers can play in building department morale.

Q: It appears that you are shifting leadership and morale building initiatives from police management to police officers. What is the rationale behind your thinking?

Brown: I have had to evolve 180 degrees in my thinking on morale building initiatives due to the changing work environment in the global economy. If effective leadership is somehow connected to morale building, and we are not producing more and better leaders based on statistics, our compass must be off. Perhaps the age-old question as to whether departments should be ran from the top down or bottom up in decision-making didn’t go far enough. Obviously, ultimate decision-making and responsibilities rest with supervisors and managers. A better question would have been, “How do police departments meet the needs of its mission while satisfying the needs of its personnel?” In the highly competitive global economy, individual drive and determination determines morale and performance. This level of competitive options warrants different questions that may not have been asked in the past.

Q: Besides the global economy, what other factors do you believe requires morale initiatives to be officer-centric?

Brown: Departmental poaching, budget cuts, the Millennial Generation and departmental retirement, dropout rates and death. Many new cities are incorporating or annexing from larger cities to gain more control over tax dollars. More areas that are affluent are developing, forming their own police departments, and recruiting police personnel from other departments. With larger cities losing tax dollars from breakaway cities, these new cities can offer higher pay, better benefits and a higher quality work environment.  In addition, the Millennial Generation is motivated by more freedom and entitlements than their predecessors.  Consequently, departmental initiatives have to consider this shifting mindset. Finally, officers are retiring, resigning or dying faster than they can be replaced with quality applicants. Many departments have begun lowering their standards just to attract “qualified” applicants.  Whatever leverage, large centralized police departments once had, has rapidly dried up.

Q: So, as a result of these changes, what should be done to enhance morale and productivity?

Brown: My research on employee motivation and morale led me to the works of Richard Dawkins. Dawkins wrote a book called, “The Selfish Gene,” which postulated that humans, through biology and social engineering, operate solely in their self-interests for maintenance and survival. If we accept Dawkins’ theory, then our actions towards building departmental morale should consider the self-interests of applicants and employees.

Q: Interesting. How would this  work?

Brown: Well, police vetting from application to background checks to psychological services is effective in creating an indoctrination process much like fraternities, sororities and the military. When people have to earn their way into an organization or profession, they feel more valued once they’ve been accepted. However, once inside the organization, this acceptance wears off.  “Gung Ho” turns into complaints and diminished aspirations. If during the recruitment process, the applicant’s core needs and motivations are discovered; those needs can be used as career development indicators.  An officer can be moved around  and assigned based on the needs of the department as well as the needs of the officer.  Burnout usually comes with repetition and lack of reward. This professional development cycle would take 20-25 years for the average officer, which would stave off mediocrity and pessimism.  Assignment rotation would not be punitive, but aspirational. 

Q: Assignment rotations don’t sound new. Many departments implement this process now. What’s different?

Brown: The difference is the philosophy and psychology behind it. If during the recruitment process, I express a desire to become a Homicide Investigator. If after 5 years of working the streets, I have shown exemplary performance, my supervisor should be encouraging me to submit my investigator request forms. Computer software could be utilized within human resources to ensure that hire anniversary and assignment change correlate. If I have changed my mind, based on overall performance, I should be given the flexibility to choose assignments that are available.

Q: That sounds ideal, but what about situations where resources are limited and manpower short?

Brown: Let’s take the Smyrna Police Department (Georgia) that has 94 sworn police officers. There are 5 divisions, including a uniform division that handles everything from street patrols to special operations. Additionally, there are 10 full time investigators. If there are at least 10 sections within the uniform division and investigations, an officer could be reassigned every 5-7 years. This does not include supervisory promotions.  When an informal poll was given, officers said that rotation assignments based on individual interests would boost morale and productivity. 

Q: Have all police officers bought into assignment rotations as a conduit for morale building?

Brown: No. One officer said that he had been offered opportunities within his department, but rejected all of them. He enjoyed his days off and extra jobs and felt another assignment would interfere with his plans. Now, he is feeling burned out and recently applied for a new assignment. However, since burnout has set in, he wants to move right away, admitting that getting up in the morning to work has become a psychological struggle.  Since assignments are at the pleasure of the department, police supervisors and managers should push officers out of their comfort zone for the good of the department as well as the officer. Although officers that are more ambitious will create and develop their own morale building strategies through professional development, underachievers may have to be provided compulsory options.

A supervisor to officer conversation might go, “Officer Smith, over the last 6 years you have improved the community oriented policing (COP) initiatives in the McDaniel Glen City Housing Complex. We want to move some officers to learn some of your best practices for community buy-in.  Do you want to a.) Teach new officers, hands on, by working with a specialized unit before taking the next sergeant’s exam, b.) Assume an instructor’s role within the police academy for new recruits and in-service training, or c.) Become a field-training officer (FTO)?  Which one do you want to do based on your police application response to improve the quality of life within our city by taking on more challenges and responsibilities?”

Edward Brown, M.S., is a researcher and lead instructor for Core Edge Police Professional Development.  Ed is a former Atlanta police officer and has trained command staff and supervisors throughout the U.S. on communication and leadership development skills. He also is an Adult Education instructor for the Atlanta Public School System.

He has advanced legal training from the University of Dayton School of Law and a master’s degree from Mercer University in Public Safety Leadership.

Ed is the author of nine books including: Police Leadership: The Morale Driven Police Department and The A-Team: How to Be a Top Police Department in Recruiting, Training and Retaining Employees.  For more information about improving morale within your police department, check out this information: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J3I58H0

Start a Business and Improve Your Morale Within Your Police Department

Edward Brown, M.S.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) website, small businesses are big business.

According to the SBA:

• The 23 million small businesses in America account for 54% of all U.S. sales.
• Small businesses provide 55% of all jobs and 66% of all net new jobs since the 1970s.
• The 600,000 plus franchised small businesses in the U.S. account for 40% of all retail sales and provide jobs for some 8 million people.

The small business sector in America occupies 30-50% of all commercial space, an estimated 20-34 billion square feet. Additionally, since 1990, as big business eliminated 4 million jobs, small businesses added 8 million new jobs.

Edward Brown, M.S., of Core Edge Police Professional Development provides questions and answers about the impact of starting a small business on police morale.

Q: Is it true that you left the Atlanta Police Department (GA) to start your own business?

Brown: Yes.   After nearly a decade of policing the streets of Atlanta, I decided to go into the field of human development to train police personnel on leadership and morale improvement. I used the skills and informal research I had gathered as a police officer to create modules that solved police problems (or at least attempted to.)

Q: Since you left the Atlanta Police Department before starting your business, why are you so confident that active police officers can enhance their morale by starting a business?

Brown: My evidence is anecdotal and stem from research on employee morale and productivity, that suggest that people are happier when they are rewarded and recognized for their contributions. When an officer has developed something on their own that is rewarding, it enhances other aspects of their life.  Because of my “All or nothing” personality, I had to venture out on my own by leaving the police department and starting a business. But, if I had been wiser and more mature, I might have stayed with the Atlanta Police Department and either leveraged my police skills within a new business or started the business that I did develop.

Q: Based on your experience with police officers, are they entrepreneurial?

Brown: Most definitely.  After spending  years straightening out other people’s lives and making society safer, the last thing the typical officer wants to do is assume a job that requires a corporate manager who micromanages. Policing is one of the most independent jobs a person can experience. After facing risks, danger and death, operating a business is right up an officer’s alley.

Q: Would you say extra jobs (EJ’s) are small businesses for police officers?

Brown: It depends on the individual officer. For some, it’s an easier way to make more money than their regular police job. As a matter of fact, any extra job that requires as much or more work than their city job is not a good extra job. For other officers, extra jobs are handled like a small business with business licenses and  1099’s for subcontracted work. Officers who manage extra jobs for a company can earn well over six figures.

Q: Why do you believe starting a business helps police morale?

Brown: Because officers have options when policing is not the only source of income.  They can experience a different type of power through business ownership-political, financial and decision-making. There were too many occasions when officers were burned out from the job after about 8 years, but because of alimony, a new wife, child support, new cars and house mortgages, they couldn’t leave the force.  Extra jobs became a lifeline from not drowning in financial debt.  If officers had been shrewder and leveraged their skills to create a business, they would have felt more rewarded by their creativity as well as kept more money through tax deductions.  The police culture often wields either increased opportunities or extreme conspicuous consumption.

Q: Do you believe starting a business is the best or only way for increasing morale?

Brown: It’s one way, but not the only way. As I said earlier, if humans desire reward and recognition to feel happy, starting a business does both. Since the responsibility for morale cannot rest squarely on the shoulders of police managers, officers have to take responsibility for their happiness and productivity. Many of the morale building strategies offered to corporations and police departments rely on effective leadership skills by police supervisors. Recently, I asked a veteran police officer what her department could provide her to boost her morale? She replied “Nothing.” She wanted more options for her life, but didn’t know what. I think her views represent a lot of the sentiment of police officers. Maybe interests, outside of policing, can reconnect officers to the dreams and ideas they held as children. If they can discover a compelling interest, turn it into a business and fulfill a need in the marketplace, officers can do good and well simultaneously.

For more information about improving departmental morale, click here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HFZO2V6

Does Policing Keep You Young?

Edward Brown. M.S.


Burger (2014) noted that in 2013, heart attacks were the third leading cause of death among on-duty law officers in the U.S., trailing behind gunfire and auto accidents.  Burger also asserted that the off-duty, health related death toll is much higher. In this research, Burger didn’t document the percentage of law enforcement officers affected by these numbers or the impact of stress on overall wellness. However, the point was made that police officers could do a better job of taking care of themselves across the board.  The telltale signs of ill health may not be visually apparent, although, it could be hypothesized  that proper rest, balanced nutrition, and regular exercise, promotes optimal health and a more youthful appearance for a psychological edge.

Edward Brown, M.S., of Core Edge Police Professional Development provides questions and answers about the nature of policing, in conjunction with a progressive wellness program, that keeps police officers young.

Q: What got you interested in the correlation between the job of policing, exercise, and staying young?

Brown: I would see police officers, that I patrolled with 25 years ago, and noticed a correlation between weight management and youthfulness.  The officers, who maintained their weight, had not aged much over two decades. In one discussion, an officer said that the job of policing preserved him.

Q: What did you take that to mean?

Brown: Despite the challenges and stresses that come with policing, the nature of the job does not cause excessive aging.  I can’t speak for what’s going on physiologically with an officer, but just going on their physical appearance alone. 

Q: Having policed the streets of Atlanta (GA), what do you think attributes to this anti-aging process within policing?

Brown: I’ve been a gym rat since I was 10 years old. The officers I worked out with twenty-five years ago, never stopped working out. Their fitness routine changed as they got older, but they maintained some form of physical exercise. If you control your weight, as you age, the aging process seems to slow down. Although policing has some stressors and dangers involved, contrary to popular belief, there are other professions more dangerous than policing. Off the top of my head, I would say professional football, boxing, and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) are more dangerous than policing. No one is shooting at athletes in a stadium, but these athletes take regular physical punishment that has to take a toll on them over time.  

Q: What other factors do you believe lend themselves to preserving police officers?

Brown: Cop humor, camaraderie, and independence. Cops are as funny as comedians are. When I was in the police academy, I asked a police captain, why police officers were so funny.  This captain told me that he believed humor was a subconscious way of dealing with the risks of danger. His comments stuck with me over the years. When I watch police shows like “Southland,” I know the writers did their homework, when they capture the essence of police culture and its humor.  

Second, having a “one for all, all for one,” mentality (like the military), makes you feel like you’re working with family members, not mere co-workers. Working with people, who need you, is different than working with someone in the next cubicle, whose life doesn’t depend on you. 

Finally, the independence of policing allows a great deal of flexibility. Even if you spend 15 minutes in roll call with your least favorite supervisor, typically, you will not see him again, until after your watch. And that’s only to turn in paperwork. The nature of policing makes it difficult to micromanage police officers, if supervisors are doing their jobs effectively.  A supervisor who consistently comes on an officer's call, as some form of harassment, end ups merely providing back up.  In many jurisdictions, once supervisors are promoted, the last thing they want to do is answer calls. So, officer independence allows for creativity, freshness, and flexibility. All these factors make for good feelings and psychological wellness.

Q: Interesting. Maybe I should join a police department to maintain my youth. What do you think?

Brown: It still takes a certain level of discipline and fortitude to effectively do the job. The points I am outlining are mere observations and by-products of preserving yourself in this profession. You have to have much more motivation than merely trying to stay young.

Q: When did you figure all this out for yourself?

Brown: Well, I love research and attempting to understand human phenomenon is a passion of mine. I’ve tried on my old police uniform, from twenty-five years ago, and I can still fit it. It’s when I saw officers maintaining a certain look over decades, that I became intrigued about the ideas surrounding their wellness choices. I’ve jumped back and forth within law enforcement at will, so I know healthy choices work.  More importantly, it gives you the option to determine your terms and conditions for policing.

Q: I read somewhere  that you mentioned the importance of changing your physical appearance as you got older. What did you mean?

Brown: Although policing can preserve your youth overall, parts of you are still aging. For example, men who are going bald can maintain an even more youthful appearance by shaving their heads. If you let go of what the aging process depletes from you, you can still exhibit an image of vitality and virility. If you change your look, people will judge you by contemporary standards rather than what you looked like in your youth.

A few other suggestions are:

• Maintain a diet consisting of fish, grains and vegetables
• Stay abreast of current events to keep your mind active
• Dress in contemporary clothes, but age appropriate
• Focus your exercise regimen on cardiovascular and lean muscle training. After a certain age, bulky muscle loses tonality and looks flabby
• Drink more water
• Date or marry a mate with healthy and progressive outlooks on life
• Don’t smoke and drink alcohol moderately (if at all)

For more information about this, check out How Attractive Are You? Reinventing Your Image, Power & Charisma at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HGZWOIS

Reference(s)

Burger, L. (2014 April 2). Workout site for cops offers 10-minute fitness plans. PoliceOne.com. Retrieved from: http://www.policeone.com/police-products/fitness-health-wellness/articles/7036424-Workout-site-for-cops-offers-10-minute-fitness-plans

Do Police Officers Change After Being Promoted?

Edward Brown, M.S.

Becoming a police supervisor is an enviable accomplishment in a police officer’s career.  Merely going through the promotional process says a lot about the drive, determination and responsibility on the officer’s part.  But, does something happen to some police officers when they become promoted to supervisor?  Does the desire for power shift the camaraderie they once enjoyed with their co-workers?  Can you become a police supervisor and still remain grounded?

Edward Brown, M.S., of Core Edge Police Professional Development provides questions and answers about the psychological and emotional considerations endemic within police promotions.

Q: What differences have you seen when some officers got promoted?

Brown: Some differences included officers who engaged in regular brotherly love, and said they would remain unchanged, if they ever got promoted.  Interestingly, these were the officers who changed the most when they got promoted.  It’s understandable that management requires a different set of responsibilities.  However, some of these new supervisors became the worst to work with.  Eminent economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen said that the lower echelon (rank and file) never want to destroy a system (even if it’s unjust), because their value system is the same as the upper class (management).  Consequently, when employees, who once felt disempowered in the past, receive power, they are the biggest protectors of a system.

Q: What’s your take away from Veblen’s analysis?

Brown:  Essentially, that officers, who are the most outspoken about Pro-officer issues, want more power and control over their professional lives irrespective of any injustices they might have once felt.  Instead of destroying the dispassionateness of a system, they want to join it.

Q: Is desiring more power a bad thing?

Brown: No, it’s not.  There wouldn’t be any police supervisors, if all officers opted not to advance within the hierarchy.  Who would be tomorrow’s leaders and managers?   But, sometimes newly promoted supervisors go overboard to maintain their positions at the behest of demotivating personnel.  Invariably, they can be effective managers, as well as, morale builders, if they attain the employee motivational skills necessary to successfully engage with people.

Q: So, an “Us against them” struggle emerges between officers and police management, because of the need for power by some supervisors?

Brown: In minor situations. But, I wouldn’t go that far as a whole.  I’m referring to those officers who pledged that they would never forget the challenges of being an officer once they got promoted and seemingly did the reverse.  The role and mentality of officers versus management causes a natural schism.

Q: What do you mean?

Brown: I did my master’s thesis on the impact of the officer-centric style of management compared to the command style (autocratic) on police departments.   I wanted to explore if it would be better to make operational decisions from the bottom up or top down within the police hierarchy?  Based on surveying officers and supervisors within 14 police departments within the state of Georgia, it was clear that information should come from the rank and file for departmental decision making, but cyclically.   In short, data or intelligence should come from the ground troops and should be used by command staff for daily decision-making.  Information should also travel back down to the troops to ensure effective and proper responses and procedures.  This “Yo Yo” effect would serve as a means of continuous communication up and down the chain.  The challenge becomes where you sit within the hierarchy.  There’s a saying that “Where you sit is what you see.” The long-term, strategic considerations made by police chiefs superseded daily functional decisions made by police officers.  The Chief's role is to consider issues of liabilities, politics, and budgets; whereas, police officers have limited responsibilities in these areas.  These critical areas then become the sticking point for what is deemed fair and equitable.

Q: So, the mentality of police officers and management were different because of objectives?

Brown: They all are playing on the same team, but don’t always read from the same playbook.  Or said another way, there is a communication void.  Police chiefs reported that they could do a better job of communicating operational procedures (“Why we are doing what we are doing”).  But, resigned to communicate on a need to know basis.  Chiefs said that they were committed to staving off daily political battles for police officers by politicians and citizens. Some chiefs said that police officers may never hear about a politically motivated complaint lodged against officers.  This was one way of chiefs protecting police officers.

Q: It seems that we have gone a long way from what happens to some newly promoted officers to the concerns of police chiefs.  How do we reconcile this disconnection?

Brown: Perhaps, in the police academy and in-service training, a basic management class should be part of the curriculum. Not only would everyone understand what leading/management means and entails, but a “gut check” for those who aspire to climb the hierarchy.  This will definitely quiet the false promises and expectations of officers who claim to do so much good for other officers once they become promoted. If everyone is aware of the responsibilities of managing, it would bridge the communication divide and help management do their job more effectively.  Police officers would then have realistic ideas and expectations of what promotions mean.  In theory, understanding and awareness should go a long way in managing unrealistic expectations.

For more information on ways for improving departmental communication, click here: http://www.amazon.com/Police-Leadership-Morale-Driven-Department-ebook/dp/B00J3I58H0

School Age Bullying: A New Age of Micro-Terrorism