Policing - The Next Generation

Following a decline in public confidence in policing in the late 1980s, the Association of Chief Police Officers undertook an in depth ‘Operational Policing Review’ to ascertain perceptions of policing both internally and externally.  The review resulted in a strategic policy document (SPD) called ‘Setting the standards for policing: meeting community expectation.’  The SPD identified a disconnect between the police and communities that can be broadly described as policing arrogance resulting in the police setting community priorities instead of the public.  There was also a lack of focus on customer expectation and a general lack of consistency in relation to fairness, courtesy and sensitivity.  

The SPD made a number of recommendations, but perhaps the main issue to come out of the research was the development of the Quality of Service Initiative (QOS).  The QOS led to many police forces introducing European Foundation of Quality Management, Total Quality Management or similar processes in order to improve performance across a range of areas.   According to Waters (1996) the QOS approach was determined in order to promote a caring service and repair the damage image of the police (the reason for the damaged image is worthy of another blog at a later date).

However, as with any reform agenda, the success or failure would depend on the leadership that it attracted.  Within a short period of time, the attention of police leaders was stimulated by the fact that HMIC declared that it would …‘rigorously purse indications that all forces are pursuing measurement of quality of service to the public…’  Measurement was always going to stir activity!

However, there was an enlightened air developing.  Chief HMI Sir John Woodcock wrote of the police having to develop from ‘…a nominal service to one with a passion for service.  A passion for the customer as an individual, not a view of what the [police] service thinks the public needs as and when the organisation can deliver it.’  (1990).

However, to do this it was accepted that there had to be a change of culture.  Woodcock again referred to a cultural change that had to occur at all levels, although he acknowledged that penetration was not happening.  The Chief Constable of Leicestershire Michael Hurst addressed a seminar at the national police college in 1991 and also stated that ‘the challenge is to translate our intention into measureable action at street level……It means changing the ethos of policing, its values and standards, from regulations and enforcement to service and protection.’ Now where have I heard those words before?  Ah yes, 1829, Peel, Rowan and Mayne in developing the New Police! So almost 200 years later it seems that the police are trying to get back to the principles of 1829.

Let’s fast forward to the 2000s; 2010 to be precise.  Jon Murphy QPM is appointed as the new Chief Constable of Merseyside Police and seeks to implement a strategy called ‘Just Talk.’  The idea is that uniformed officers stop and speak to people about everyday issues rather than stopping them and asking them to account for themselves.  The Police Minister the Right Honourable Nick Herbert MP also espouses returning to the values of policing developed by Peel.  So why does policing seem to be caught in this cycle of late modernity whereby reform is repeated quickly over a short time period and seem to return to the same issue – the standard and manner of service to the public.

Some of the reasons are politicisation of policing; new governments with new agendas; crises in policing resulting in a lack of confidence; a focus on performance and ticking boxes, rather than dealing with people as people and finally, a lack of understanding of what citizens or communities want or expect from the police.  This is not an easy nut to crack as there are too many distractions in modern day society.  Or are there?  We have the EDL – Rowan and Mayne had large scale disturbances in their time.  We have changes in government and a lack of clarity on the Big Society – yet political turmoil in the 1800s resulted in changes of policy and personnel on a much larger scale.

It is also too easy to say that inconsistency is down to poor leadership.  Many leaders of the modern police force have a focus on their career rather than policing communities, but whose fault is that? 

The bigger worry, is whether those identified by Woodcock and Hirst, the front line personnel who are responsible for direct communication with citizens, have the skills and abilities to be able to ‘Just Talk’ or more importantly  develop a passion for customer service.  This will become a bigger issue once police forces start to recruit again and the Y Generation starts to play a bigger role in policing our society, especially as many forces have disbanded their training schools and academies to cope with the cuts.

As outsourcing starts to play a bigger part in policing there is a clear need for some form of regulation to ensure consistency in delivery, especially in relation to training recruits.  It will be interesting to see what part NPIA, or what is left of it, will play in the development of police recruits in the future.  Bring on the next generation

Chicago Police Chief defends his strategy

The passage of time does not seem to help to solve the issues being faced by Chicago Police.  Rarely does a week go by without negative comment or tit for tat media communication about internal politics, external programmes and strategies and Police Superintendent who appears to be under fire from the politicians and his own staff.

This is a letter published in September 2010 in which Superintendent Weiss found it necessary to defend his tactics, decisions and actions as well as comment of the lack of support from staff associations. - http://tinyurl.com/6glqhx2. 

This letter is fascinating from two points. Firstly, Superintendent Weiss defends the action taken against former police officer William Cozzi who is caught on CCTV beating a man shackled to a wheelchair with a leather weighted start called a sap..  This assault, viewable on You Tube, not only shows the assault, but shows four other officers standing watching the beating taking place.  None of the officers step forward to stop the assault.  Cozzi later appeared before a discipline committee and was found guilty of numerous charges.  His punishment, as a result of a review of his previous good and meritorious conduct, was a two year suspension.  It seems that the case was later picked up by a civil court and Cozzi received a 40 month prison sentence.  The issue is that the police of Chicago seem to put the blame for this on the shoulders of Superintendent Weiss who, they allege, referred this case to the FBI.  

In the letter detailed above Weiss refutes this allegation, stating that he “...forwarded the internet link of the footage to the Special Agent in Charge for the FBI in Chicago and asked him if he had seen it. I did not "refer" the case in any sense of the word to the FBI or the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In fact, the U.S. Attorney’s Office had already been investigating the matter.”  

The interesting point is why does the Superintendent have to justify his actions?  Certainly there have been blogs from rank and file officers who feel that Weiss ‘does not have their backs’, but what message would it send to the people of Chicago, the people that Weiss is sworn to service, if he was to support the beating meted out by Cozzi and viewable by thousands on You Tube? (This clip has had in excess of 10,000 hits.)

The second issue relates to the Superintendents strategy of dealing with gang crime.  I have mentioned in previous blogs about the unhappiness of rank and file officers when the Superintendent ‘tricked’ gang members into meeting him - http://tinyurl.com/62wjow5.

The gang members were warned that if they continued their criminal activities they would face all law enforcement opportunities that were available.  Once again the rank and file posted blogs showing their lack of support for Weiss’s strategy, a strategy supported by academic research and tried elsewhere.  However, today the Chicago Sun Times has published an article which details a 40% reduction in gang related murders.  The article also states that civic leaders who were also critical of the strategy were ‘unavailable for comment.’

Leadership is about making decisions, sometimes tough decisions, and taking risks.  Despite the support of one detective who wrote to the Chicago Tribune (16.9.10) it appears that Weiss had had to lead Chicago PD in a hostile environment.  Perhaps this is best evidenced by the Mayoral candidates who have pledged to remove Weiss should they be elected.

There is no doubt that leadership, particularly leading a modern police force in a modern society is a complex issue.  But maybe it just boils down to a judgement call of doing what feels right.

New York Post comments on demise of community policing in Chicago

This article, published by The New York Post on 8.1.11 refers to the demise of community policing in Chicago - http://tinyurl.com/4pmaelg.  The article asks whether Community Policing is an effective strategy that needs to be revitalised, or whether it is public relations gimmick that should be phased out.  The article describes Community Policing as emphasising citizen involvement and preventative action.  This question at best can only be described as naïve, at worst plain stupidity. 

The article refers to the fact that crime levels have reduced in Chicago, but the perception of the public is that crime is rising.  This is a fact that is replicated the world over, but is not something that the police alone are responsible for.  Certainly core responsibilities for the police remain crime prevention and detection, however, the important fact is how they address this.  Since the time of Peel and the policing style that he advocated, a close liaison with communities has been an essential element of policing.  Police reformers such as OW Wilson and Herman Goldstein in USA and former Chief Constable John Alderson in UK have shown that community policing styles have a huge benefit when it comes to levels of public support and confidence in the police.  This is supported by research carried out by the UK Home Office resulting in the development of the Reassurance Policing project in the mid-2000s. 

Professor Nick Tilley stated that Reassurance policing is a response to the acknowledgement that anxiety about crime has not dropped in ways commensurate with the actual falls in volume crime since the mid-1990s in Britain. It is suggested that local fear of crime is a function of signals that are read by residents indicating that there are high levels of crime and disorder and that the risk of being a victim of crime is high.  This would suggest that community policing and engaging with communities is essential if the public are to be convinced that there is a reduced likelihood of them becoming a victim of crime.  This is supported by a line from the evaluation of the Reassurance Project carried out by the Home Office -“Interventions at a community level, much smaller than the whole of a Police Basic Command Unit or Local Authority area, can have significant sustained impact on improving the quality of life in these ‘micro areas’”

Perhaps the New York Times has asked the wrong question.  The question should be ‘Are there communities out there to be policed?’  Yes there are people who live in close proximity within a geographically defined area, but are they a community?  There was a comment on the UK radio yesterday where the caller stated that people live in neighbourhoods, but they are no longer communities.  Communities suggest that the people have an intrinsic interest in the area and each other.  But how many people actually talk to their neighbours let alone take an interest in what they are doing?  This seems to strike a discord with the New York Times piece that states that engagement with Community Cops is poor with only one or two people attending some of the meetings.  This is a key part of the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) that is highly thought of in the UK.  However, my experience is that the public do not necessarily want to meet with police unless they have a specific issue or it is a time of crisis.

But this does not mean that the police should just turn around and give up.  People pay for their policing, so maybe it is time for a different strategy, one that encourages the citizens to take some responsibility for policing themselves and rely less on low level policing intervention. Perhaps this way citizens would have a vested interest in understanding crime levels and would glean a more accurate perception of crime levels.

I guess this is where the UK governments Big Society project comes in.  However, it is not yet ‘bobbing the boat’ of the British public.  Indeed in a political ‘stamping of feet tantrum’ Liverpool City Council has withdrawn from the project.  Not the best of starts.

What is needed is creative leadership that is willing to take some risks.  The work of Milwaukee and Green Bay and their innovative practices seems to be paying dividends.  The introduction of receptacles in police stations for dumping prescription drugs is a way that shows that the police have an interest in preventing harm within their neighbourhoods.  It is a way to bring people into a police environment in a non-confrontational situation that gives the police an opportunity to speak to people and build relationships and networks.  A recent article in the British press commented on how police in one area are refusing to go into a park at night as it is too dark and is a health and safety risk.  I accept that the true facts may be distorted in order to make good copy, however, at a base level, this is a great opportunity for the police in that area to engage with the citizens and develop a solution – I think that is called problem oriented policing. 

And so back to Professor Goldstein, the creator of problem oriented policing.  In a recent interview he told me that the police should always refer back to their core role.  Maybe it is time for citizens to work with police to see how that role can be developed to support each other.

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