Words of wisdom

A good friend wrote to me today and said 'good customer service, a bit like good people management and diversity, fall off the agenda when everyone's in their survival mode.'  How true this is.  I look at a number of the  organisations that I am working with and they are well into survival mode and in many cases this is resulting in a reduced focus on customer satisfaction and diversity. This is after all the easiest area to get rid of.  The fallout from this is that people are losing their livelihood.  Some of these people have worked loyally for many years and have become subject matter experts.  I am sure that the future for many of them looks bleak.  

I think that most people would accept that cuts have to be made, but there are two considerations from my point of view.  Firstly, what are organisations doing to rid themselves of those people who are being paid a salary but do not contribute to the organisation and secondly, how are they dealing with people who are about to be given bad news?

This is where the customer focus needs to be turned inwards.  There should be a personal touch with someone passing on the bad news in person supported by a letter that gives a full explanation of the following processes.  The police in particular have not been in this position before and I was party to a seminar in London recently where the question was asked 'do the police have the leadership and management skills to be able to handle what is coming?'

When stories abound of staff being given unsigned letters that have cut and pasted from other letters; or people being made to do the walk of shame whereby they walk passed colleagues, get told they are losing their jobs and have to walk passed the same colleagues, the answer must be 'No.'  Ultimately you are left with two sets of people; those who are going and those who are staying.  Both need support and motivation as roles, processes and jobs change.  

A more poignant question may be to ask whether the HR 'professionals' have had any customer service training? So maybe when organisations are in survival mode they need to retain their customer service and save some of it for the people who are trying to survive?

Customer Service - is it too much to ask for?

It seems that in these days of austerity that customer service is playing an increasingly important role.  This is not just in terms of building trust and customer loyalty, but in improving relationships and, especially in policing, community engagement.

But is customer service too much to ask for?  As part of my studies I have been writing letters to senior people in private and public life including Mayors, police chiefs, politicians, all manner of people.  Most major organisations have policies for acknowledging communication whether it is by e-mail or snail mail, and yet it is surprising how many do not have the common courtesy to say 'we have received your letter/email and will respond in due course.'  The dilemma is do you re write and run the risk of annoying the person, or do you hold tight and hope that one day they will have the inclination to reply.  

Research indicates that communities like nothing more to hear from the police.  They want to know what is going on in their neighbourhood and who has been arrested, who has been convicted, should they be worried.  Communication is a vital part of modern day policing and it is not as if we do not have the channels to communicate with.

I have just had a fascinating conversation with my friend Peter Olsen from Peabody Police in Massachusetts.  His thoughts on the use of social media include seeking ways to use Apps such as Twitter, Facebook and Four Square relate to the use of GPS to identify where cops are so that the public can speak to them.  This is something that has been looked at for some time and many forces across the world are using social media sites to get out their messages to the e-community.  But how many are using social media to say to the public ‘Hi. This is where I am, come along and say hello.’

Now I can hear the arguments raging that you don’t want to let the public know where you are as you may well become a target.  But surely, being visible is what policing is about? Speaking to people is what policing is about.  How on earth do we expect to gain the respect and confidence of the public if we hide from them?  Ok, that may be an over exaggeration, but we have to acknowledge that we are in a service where the people want to interact with the local cops or PCSOs.  They want to be able to feel safe when they go about their business.

As Peter says, we are heading to a whole new ball game in terms of communication over the next ten years. Using GPS locators, many of which are in iPhones or Android phones, will play an increasingly relevant role in society as a whole.

But, maybe we could make a start by sending a reply to an email or letter and letting people know that we are still out there and we still care.

Footnote – I recently wrote to the Mayor of Chicago Richard Daley to inform him that I had come across some interesting fact relating to his father, who was also the Mayor of Chicago some years ago.  Not only did I get a card saying ‘thanks for the letter’ but I also received a signed book of photographs of Chicago.  Now that is good customer service.

Trouble brews in Chicago PD

This link refers to an article in the Chicago Sun Times entitled Mr Popularity will have big shoes to fill

 http://tinyurl.com/5u7j44r.

 

The article refers to the current head of Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weiss.  Supt Weiss is famous for two reasons.  First, he is only the second Supt to be appointed as head of Chicago PD who is not a Chicago officer and secondly, stories of his unpopularity with his troops are manifest. There are many blogs and SM commentaries on the actions of Supt Weiss and how the officers dislike his methods.

 

However, there is an interesting comparison with the only other external candidate to make it to Supt in charge of Chicago.  OW Wilson was appointed to the post in 1960 after leading the police in Wichita.  To cut a long story short, he was head hunted by the Mayor of the time Richard Daley.  Spookily, the Mayor who appointed Weiss is the son of this Mayor and is also called Mayor Daley.

 

Both Wilson and Weiss were appointed to address issues of corruption, integrity and ethical policing issues. But what perhaps separates the two men is their credibility.  Wilson had been a police chief in two other forces prior to Chicago and had spent time as an academic ensuring that police recruiting and studying standards were improved.  He was a creative and innovative man and was willing to try out new ideas, some of which were developed by his mentor August Vollmer, himself a former police chief and academic.  In order to ensure that he was able to gain speedy results, Wilson established a small network of trusted people to get to the root causes of the corruption.  Amongst these was Prof Herman Goldstein the creator of Problem Oriented Policing.

 

Wilson displayed great leadership and dealt with issues that threatened not only Chicago, but also the USA as a nation.  His dealings with Martin Luther King area an example of this.  But Wilson always had time for the troops.  He would often call patrol officers to his office and ask them how things were going.  He would listen, not something that police leaders are renowned for.

 

Supt Weiss on the other hand is a former FBI agent.  The fact that he is not a sworn officer appears to have upset police officers, especially when he attended an even wearing uniform.  He has used unusual tactics when dealing with the Chicago gang culture, luring them to a meeting and then trying to negotiate with them  Hi tactics for dealing with the alleged brutality of Chicago police have also been criticised.  And yet this newspaper article gives Supt Weiss a fair hearing commenting on a number of his successes.

However, Weiss seems to be short of people to defend him and all four candidates for the role of Mayor of Chicago seem bent on removing him.  I wonder whether this is politicisation in order to gain votes or do the Mayors have hard and fast evidence that they can provide a suitable Chief who is able to deal with the multitude of issues that beset Chicago Police.

Perhaps a bigger question will be is this a lesson that we in the UK should learn from as we head towards elected commissioners?

One thing is for sure.  Anyone who is willing to tackle poor standards of policing in any city is deserving of some credit. How many of us would be willing to take up that challenge knowing that we would not have the support of the rank and file no matter what we did?  I for one take my hat off to Supt Weiss and would wish him well for the future.

Increase in USA law enforcement fatalities

This link relates to a serious increase in the deaths of law enforcement officers in USA during 2010 http://tinyurl.com/23kbmmv.  

In total a staggering 162 officers died during the course of their duties.  A total of 73 officers died as a result of traffic incidents 16 of which were struck by vehicles whilst outside their police vehicle.  a total of 61 officers died from firearms incidents with an astonishing 20% being multiple fatality shootings with five incidents alone accounting for the deaths of ten officers. The report gives statistical details of how the officers were killed and has a memoriam section remembering a number of the officers.

 

I recall the four officers shot and killed in late 2009 in Lakewood Washington State while they drank coffee in a restaurant.  I remember this as I recall doing just the same in Green Bay Wisconsin with my friends Lt Bill Bongle and Officer Dave Schmitz.  Like the Lakewood officers we were sat in uniform and Bill and Dave wore their protective vests.  This is something that cops all over the world do without a thought that someone will walk in and shoot them.

 

The sad events in Arizona have raised the fear that there are right wing activists who are ready and willing to fight the state, and cops are easy targets.  Of the officers killed by shooting in 2010 twelve were killed in ambush style attacks.  Only a day ago I was sent a training video from May of 2010 in West Memphis that showed two officers making a routine stop when a young boy gets out of the vehicle and murders the two officers.  The man giving the commentary is a police Chief and the father of one of the two officers. The boy and his father, who was driving the vehicle, were known as 'Sovereign Citizens'.  These are people who do not recognise the government’s authority to impose laws or taxes.  These are extremists who appear to be waging a war on the US government and authority and they appear to be a derivative of the Posse Comitatus movement that still exists today.

 

The irony of this is that the Posse Comitatus practice can be traced back to medieval times in the UK.  During the 1800s Magistrates had the power by ancient statute to 'raise the power of the county' against sudden commotions.  In practice the Posse Comitatus would consist of loyal and trustworthy farmers and gentry. 

 

The Posse Comitatus developed to the point where they became recognised as Special Constables recruited largely from the 'propertied classes’.  Mobilisation was generally as a result of an emergency, for example, 900 Specials were raised in 1810 to prevent disturbances in London as a result of the incarceration of Sir Francis Burdett.  The Specials remained on duty for ten days.Sadly, the Posse Comitatus of today dishonors those people by twisting their good name and attacking the state in another continent.

 

Irony in the extreme

The police v customer service

Despite the current government deleting the Policing Pledge and Confidence Targets from the police dictionary, the recognition of the requirement to deliver excellent customer service lives on.

 

Only this week the Mail and many Social Media sites have been extolling the virtues of Greater Manchester Police for their use of customer service champions John Lewis in order to teach their staff how to talk to customers.  Late 2010 Consultants Procter produced their 'One voice for a responsive policing document' following a customer service forum with leading police officers and members of the Home Office.  The document states that 'the initial conclusion... is that the police service needs to increase its focus on creating a virtual circle of responsive policing to deal with the dual challenges of public dissatisfaction...and budget cuts.'  The document concludes that 'regardless of Government targets or league tables the good forces have focused on improving their service to the public because it was the right things to do and not because they could tick a box.'

 

Certainly customer service gurus will tell you that complaint systems are important as they enable an organisation to learn.    In essence they are free feedback systems. But how many organisations have equally defined positive feedback systems that enable customers to say 'thanks, you did a great job.'?

 

The WOW! Awards is a goo example of how a simple idea can have a big impact on organisational positivity.  The idea is that an organisation purchases a low cost licenece from this not for profit organisation and then with The WOW! Awards to develop a system that enables customers to say thanks in a very unbureaucratic manner.  This system is ideal for policing as it enables police officers and police staff to gain recognition for outstanding work that may otherwise go unrecognised.

 

Take a look at standard of the nominations from Green Bay Police Department in USA, or check out the national awards won by Merseyside Police.  And the use of WOW! is spreading through policing with Durham and West Yorks joining from UK and Peabody in Massachusetts in USA.

 

Research has shown that being positively 'stroked' can increase people’s willingness to try that bit harder.  To go that extra mile.  The police were once described as 'the band aid on society.'  Maybe the Government is trying to remove the band aid because it costs too much, but the evidence suggests that in order to gain the support of communities the police need to communicate with them in a positive manner.  What better way is there to acknowledge this than by saying 'WOW!, that was great service'

Procter can be contacted at www.procter.co.uk

The WOW! Awards can be contacted at www.thewowawards.co.uk

Police and Firearms

The UK has a lot to thanks Sir Robert Peel for, but one of his best decisions was not to arm the English Police.  Peel was influential in the development of the Royal Irish Constabulary, a force based on paramilitary principles whereby the officers were armed and lived in barracks.  The RIC model was used as a basis for the development of policing in India which at that time was a part of the British Empire. However, Peel wanted the Metropolitan Police in London to be less confrontational, so they were armed with a rattle and a baton that had to be kept hidden.

 

It is a myth to state that the police in the UK have never been armed.  Some inspectors in the 1800s were armed with a pistol and when the occasion arose some staff were armed with a sabre.  However, over the years the carrying of firearms became less and less.  I can remember when I first started my police career some 30 years ago that there was a large safe in our Divisional HQ that contained firearms, but I was never too sure whether they were actually used.

 

Following a number of high profile shooting incidents most, if not all police forces in the UK, have an operational firearms capability.  In my old force we would usually have six double crewed vehicles with officers armed with a sidearm and an MP5.  A number would have carried a less than lethal option until Taser became common place.  Now there are a number of 'non forearms' officers that carry Tasers.  The rest carry CS gas spray.

 

Of course, the weapons and training are of an extremely high calibre (sic).  I have trained with the Armed Response Officers and have seen them in action.  They are extremely professional and I take my hat off to them.

However, I recall being on an official police visit to India and having armed police officers wherever we went.  I spoke to one of the officers who was carrying an old World War Two Enfield rifle.  When I looked at it the bolt and the rest of the weapon was rusted solid.  The best that it could have been used for was to club someone!

 

We sometimes forget how fortunate we are to have so few firearms incidents in the UK, especially those involving police officers.  Police officers in the USA face the threat of firearms being used against them on a daily basis.  I would ask you to spare a thought for two female officers killed in the line of duty in the past week.

 

Jillian Michelle Smith from Arlington was killed in the line of duty when she attended a domestic abuse call.  The offender returned to the house and began shooting.  This officer died protecting a child from being hurt.  Deputy Sheriff Suzanne Hooper was killed in the  line of duty in Clark County when she and colleagues attended a call to a man shooting from his caravan. 

 

The deaths of these officers, whilst tragic, should be a timely reminder of the threat that all police officers, wherever they are, face on a day to day basis.

Information held on police databases

It seems that a number of groups are complaining that the police are unnecessarily holding information relating to victims of crim http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12104215e.  There is a clear rationale for holding this data.

Crime analysis and particularly the Problem Analysis Triangle (PAT) require specific information on Locations of crime, Victims of crime and Offenders.  This enables analysts to identify crime patterns or trends.  However, the police do not have all of the required data.  Health Services, Local Authorities, Education Services etc.  have data that would enhance police held information and give a more complete picture of crime.  This goes someway to enable analysts to get a better understanding of the costs of crime.

 

Crime information held on police systems is sent to the Home Office on a monthly basis.  Recording the age, ethnicity enables analysts at the Home Office to determine a national picture of crime.  Are certain age groups or ethnic groups or genders being targeted etc?

 

At a time when customer service is becoming increasingly relevant, especially in relation to victim satisfaction and public confidence, the information held on police systems is necessary to identify repeat callers or vulnerable callers.

Imagine calling the police for a non-urgent matter and being answered with 'Hello Mrs Jones, I see that you have called us twice in the last month in relation to similar issues.'  We are used to this level of service from retailers.  Where do they get their information from?  Correct - it is held on databases!