Justice Based Policing/Law enforcement Training

 

THE FOUR PILLARS OF

JUSTICE BASED POLICING

 

 

Listen and Explain with Equity and Dignity

 

 

 

 

King County Sheriff Sue Rahr

Seattle Police Chief John Diaz, and

Washington State Criminal Justice Training Center Director, Joe Hawe

 

 

JUSTICE BASED POLICING

Our current state of law enforcement can probably be best described with this statement: “People don’t care so much about crime stats; they care about how they are treated”.  This article will discuss why that matters and what we can do about it.

Professor Tom Tyler of New York University has done extensive work in this area under the rubric of Procedural Justice and Police Legitimacy.  Simply stated, this means that a critical, and sometimes neglected, part of law enforcement’s legitimacy and effectiveness is impacted by the perception of fairness and justice by those we serve.  This dynamic is especially important in minority communities.

It explains why, after three decades of dramatically falling crime rates, improved training, and widely used community policing strategies, public perception of police has not improved.

Justice Based Policing is a strategy to improve the quality and outcome of interactions between police and citizens while improving officer safety.  Over time and across multiple interactions it strengthens community trust and confidence in the police and increases future cooperation and lawful behavior by citizens.

Justice Based Policing is not a new idea.  It’s not a program.  It’s not complicated.  It’s the way good cops have always done policing.

Rather than adding another layer of training and mandates to our current practices, it can be easily and logically integrated into everything we do by following the four basic principles represented by the LEED model:

“Listen and Explain with Equity and Dignity”

• Listen – Allow people to give their side of the story; give them voice, and let them vent.

 

• Explain –Explain what you’re doing, what they can do, and what’s going to happen.

 

• Equity – Tell them why you are taking action.  The reason must be fair and free of bias, and show their input was taken into consideration.

 

• Dignity – Act with dignity and leave them with their dignity.

By addressing these four needs on every call, officers elevate the quality of the interaction and people are more likely to see police as helping rather than controlling.  The result is improved officer safety and increased community trust.

In the Seattle area, recent high-profile incidents involving uses of force by and against the police have significantly heightened the issue of public perception of law enforcement.  The need to build and strengthen trust and confidence between the police and the community is urgent.

To address this pressing need the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (WSCJTC) Director Joe Hawe, King County Sheriff Sue Rahr, and Seattle Police Chief John Diaz formed a unique and powerful partnership committed to incorporating Justice Based Policing practices into the standard delivery of police services.

The WSCJTC provides training statewide to all new police recruits; as well as ongoing training for veteran officers, supervisors, and law enforcement leaders.  The Seattle Police Department (SPD) and the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) are the two largest local police agencies in the state.  These three partners (SPD, KCSO, and WSCJTC) reached out to the COPS Office and the National Institute of Justice with a proposal to develop a Justice Based Policing curriculum for line personnel.  We proposed to work in coordination with Illinois State University (ISU) where a curriculum is being developed for “organizational transformation to procedural justice.” (The focus of that curriculum is to provide supervisors and leaders with the tools to prepare the culture in police agencies for Justice Based Policing.)

In February of 2011 the three Washington partners invited the COPS Office Director Bernard Melekian, NIJ Deputy Director Ellen Scrivner, NYU Professor Tom Tyler, and other stakeholders to meet in Seattle to discuss how to most effectively proceed with this initiative.  Sheriff Rahr and Chief Diaz agreed to assign their personnel to work with WSCJTC personnel to develop a curriculum and training strategies for line officers.  Seattle University agreed to assist with the research and evaluation component for the line level curriculum.  The Washington partners agreed to collaborate with ISU to ensure that the line curriculum aligns with ISU’s organizational transformation curriculum.

To successfully institutionalize Justice-Based Policing into the culture of our police agencies we will take the following three steps:

1. First, ensure that leaders and supervisors understand and embrace the principles of procedural justice and police legitimacy – the foundation for Justice-Based Policing.  This will be accomplished by adopting the curriculum under development at ISU to build a culture that employs the LEED model in all internal police interactions.  (Fall 2011)

 

1. Shortly after the ISU curriculum is implemented, we will implement the line officer curriculum for new recruits and for veterans attending in-service training at the academy.  The line curriculum will go into depth about the principles and research related to procedural justice and police legitimacy.  Each element of the LEED model will be fully explored through scenario-based adult learning methods.  Additionally, the LEED model will be integrated into each element of police academy training related to police/citizen interactions, especially defensive tactics and de-escalation skills. (Late 2011)

 

1. Throughout this entire development process, we will work with our community leaders to develop an effective community outreach and education campaign.  We will share information about our culture change around Justice-Based Policing and the role of community members.  We will take steps to establish credible and reliable communication and partnership strategies so we can continually assess trust and confidence of the community.

Throughout the process, we will work closely with Seattle University Criminal Justice programs to measure and analyze the perceptions of community members and police officers to gauge effectiveness of the training.  Based on those assessments, we will make adjustments along the way.

*It is important to note that while the line officer and leadership curriculum are under development, SPD and KCSO will implement short modules for immediate “Use of Force and De-Esclation Skills” training that incorporate the LEED model.  These modules will focus on current veteran officers and supervisors and will be implemented in the spring of 2011.  There is an urgency to begin integrating Justice-Based Policing practices and demonstrate to the public that there is a strong response to current community concerns.

 

Justice Based Policing is the next evolution of an effective Community Oriented Policing strategy.  In order to fully engage the people we serve, we must have their trust and confidence.  This relationship is built one interaction at a time.  As we face a future with fewer and fewer police resources, we must increasingly rely on citizen cooperation and voluntary compliance with the law.  The research is clear – as trust and confidence increases, so will cooperation with police and compliance with laws.  We can’t afford not to implement Justice Based Policing for the sake of community safety and the safety of our officers.

 

(Will include key references to Professor Tyler’s work – articles, web page, etc…)

 

THE FOUR PILLARS OF

JUSTICE BASED POLICING

 

                              LEED: Listen and Explain with Equity and Dignity

 

JOHN BULLER’S REGIONAL INTERVIEWS ON JUSTICE BASED POLICING

AND THE LEED COMMUNICATION MODEL

 

The interview process:

In conjunction with the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (WSCJTC), the interviews were conducted to understand how the leadership of the law enforcement agencies in WashingtonState views the initiative of the LEED Communication Model.

 

The following pages are my effort at summarizing the voice and tone of these conversations. I came away from these conversations believing that this is not a new initiative, but it is a defining moment in declaring that these four tenants of communication behavior are the basics of what law enforcement leadership in the state of Washington wants to support as the standard of good law enforcement communication. I also believe that this group is genuine in believing the time for this initiative is now.

 

In the month of August, I interviewed 16 regional chiefs and sheriffs asking three basic questions:

1. What do you believe this communication model is      really about?
2. Why do you believe it is important to do something?
3. How should the WSCJTC proceed with this effort, and what ideas would      you suggest to make this effort successful?

 

Overall impressions:

Everyone interviewed believed that a renewed focus on communication skills was important and needed to be done.

 

The most common conversation from what is this effort was, “This is what good cops have always done.”

 

The most common conversation about why is this important was, “Officers are safer if they know how to communication well.  De-escalation and citizen interactions should be at the lowest level of the law.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JUSTICE BASED POLICING

 

Our current state of law enforcement can probably be best described with this statement: “People don’t care so much about crime stats; they care about how they are treated.”  This article will discuss why that matters and what we can do about it.

 

Professor Tom Tyler of New YorkUniversity has done extensive work in this area under the rubric of Procedural Justice and Police Legitimacy. Simply stated, this means that a critical, and sometimes neglected, part of law enforcements’ legitimacy and effectiveness is impacted by the perception of fairness and justice by those we serve. This dynamic is especially important in minority communities.

It explains why, after three decades of dramatically falling crime rates, improved training, and widely used community policing strategies, that public perception of police has not improved.

 

Justice Based Policing is a strategy to improve the quality and outcome of interactions between police and citizens while improving officer safety. Over time, and across multiple interactions, it strengthens community trust and confidence in the police and increases future cooperation and lawful behavior by citizens.

Justice Based Policing is not a new idea. It’s not a program. It’s not complicated.  It’s the way good cops have always done policing.

 

Rather than adding another layer of training and mandates to our current practices, it can be easily and logically integrated into everything we do by following the four basic principles represented by the LEED model:

 

“Listen and Explain with Equity and Dignity”

• Listen – Allow people to give their side of the story; give them voice, and let them vent.
• Explain – Explain what you’re doing, what they can do, and what’s going to happen.
• Equity – Tell them why you are taking action. The reason must be fair and free of bias, and show their input was taken into consideration.
• Dignity – Act with dignity and leave them with their dignity.

                           

NOTES FROM THE INTERVIEWS

 

What is the LEED Communication Model?

This is the central philosophy that is a formal articulation of “What good cops have always done.” This is the foundation of a value that needs to become a standard in the field of law enforcement.

 

LEED is the answer to a perceived need for officers and law enforcement professionals to communicate better in all areas of the profession:

• Officer to citizen
• Officer to officer
• Leadership to officers
• Leadership to citizens

 

This concept applies to all of our interpersonal communications. We are in the people business. We not only regulate the conduct of other people; we communicate with them daily on some of the most raw and human levels. Trust is the outcome of strong relationships. LEED communication skills are a clear pathway to building stronger relationships.

 

• The LEED Communication Model has a direct impact on how Law Enforcement communicates better with diverse communities in all of our jurisdictions.

 

• LEED is a culture changer; a motivating force to change our focus from physical policing tactics to be balanced by increasing focus on communication tactics.

 

• LEED is better than specific communication techniques such as verbal judo. This is not a manipulation; this has a more focused intent “we are in the business of contacting and communicating with people.”

 

• LEED communication skills enhance officer safety.

 

Why is the LEED Model important?

All of our departments have mission statements that have aspirations of the highest degree of ethical behaviors, fairness, and professionalism. They all talk about decreasing crime, protecting life and property, and enhance the building of community and quality of life. We will achieve this through our policing tactics and training, but most importantly with our communication skills, because ultimately we are in the people business.

 

LEED improves officer safety by giving officers more tools.

• The LEED Communication Model will enhance officer safety by giving officers more tools to control situations.

 

• Better communication skills are the most cost effective way to save money for both the officer and citizen; it reduces litigation costs and saves time.

 

• With fewer resources we need to be more efficient and effective. We need to enhance the effort of the citizens to help us do our jobs. Effective communications is the way to get this accomplished.

 

• We are asked to handle more mentally disabled citizen; our Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) is the best tool set we have.

 

LEED rewards our best people and it sets a standard for everyone else to meet.

• The LEED model gives us the opportunity to define, support, and reward positive communication behaviors.

 

• A good savvy street cop will always have lots of ways to impact peoples’ behaviors. We need to speed up officers’ learning more ways to get compliance.

 

• Complaints seem to follow some officers with poor communications skills. Rudeness, in particular, is the complaint many of these officers receive even though they actually did nothing else tactically wrong. If we could change one simple behavior to have officers to be consistent at explaining what and why they are doing something, perceptions of rudeness could be dramatically decreased along with complaints.

 

The LEED Communications Model helps criminal justice professionals find their “VOICE” through communication skill training instead of years of “on the job trial and error.”

 

Which generation has the communications problem?

Can we profile the communication skill issue? Is this an officer on the staff under 5 years, an officer between 5-15 years, the seasoned but burned out officer, or is this simply a personality trait; you either have communication skills or not. I believe the most common thought was cops learn to use their voice over time; hence, “This is what good cops have always done” statement.  So, how do we get them to be good at communications faster?

 

I found no way to determine if there is a clear answer, but there are compelling stories about all of these profiles having some truth. In the end, all of the stories went back to culture and oversight. Communication has not been focused on as a clear management objective; policing is a personality business.

 

The three truths about types of people an officer will have to deal with.

One of my favorite conversations was talking about the types of people an officer will have to learn to deal with.

1. There are way more good people than bad. Talking to people is very rewarding and helpful to keeping communities safe.
2. There are good people who have made a bad decision or are in a crisis. Talking and listening to these peoples’ stories help an officer make a good decision as to how to use discretion in resolving the problem.
3. Bad/evil people: Trying to use voice with these individuals is still worth the effort, as most likely your department will be dealing with these individuals over and over; therefore, this is about officer safety in the future. Handcuff, but explain and let them save face; in may help in the future.

Possibilities vs. Probabilities; Officer Safety:

The issue is most people are law abiding; however, in an officer’s mind, it is the possibility that if you can not see someone’s hands, you don’t know what they have. Therefore, all decisions are viewed from the possibility of a problem vs. the probability of a problem. This means that while an officer is trying to ask and explain, they also have to direct the individuals behavior until safety is insured. Again, this is at the baseline of how an officer manages their decisions and communication skills.

 

The dilemma of discretion in law enforcement:

The officers are in the middle of the effort to manage the behavior of the community and the legal system. There are many ways that discretion might be applied. In almost every conversation, stories were told about how each individual made decisions that had impact on how they decided to enforce the Law. Recruits need to be confronted with both the fear of the possibility of what might happen, and the reality that the justice system does not always work evenly. How do they use discretion in their job?

 

Why correction officers do a better job of using communication skills:

There were only a couple of conversations about correction operations, but they stayed with the idea that in these controlled environments talking inmates through stuff is way more efficient that use of force. The officers know that they are in a long term relationship, as these inmates are not going away, so the effort is to get the inmate to voluntary comply. By doing this, it saves energy and the other approach is costly. There was some general feeling that if police recruits could spend time in the corrections operations, it would have a very positive impact on them discovering their voice in policing.

 

The role of the traffic stop:

Almost everyone interviewed told a story about their version of a traffic stop. It seems that the traffic stop may be the best place to make sure officers have the basic LEED Communication Model in mind. Several talked about their goal of being thanked even when they issued the ticket.

 

 

The secret was:

• Start the conversation by explaining why they stopped the individual. Define that this was a safety concern, because there had been accidents on the road.
• Being by asking for voluntary compliance in showing their hands and turning off the car while getting their license, registration, and insurance.
• Ask for their story and see if they take responsibility for their actions.
• After giving the ticket or warning, define how the citizen could appeal the ticket and see if the citizen thanked the officer for their professional behavior.

Traffic stops are the fundamental police activity that most citizens experience. If a police officer cannot do this transaction using the LEED model, how can they do any other interaction?

Who am I going to promote?

Several discussions revolved around who gets promoted and how communications skills entered into that decision. In those conversations, the discussion was that it is not the officer that has the highest score on the test, but the one they believed has the best leadership and communications skills. Again, the thing that needs to become part of the culture and training is that if you are looking for a career and promotions, Leadership and LEED Communication skills win.

 

Desired outcomes of implementing LEED:

• We all buy in and treat citizens, and ourselves, in a more structured and positive way.
• This effort gets past compliance to the LEED concept to an owned behavior.
• We get fewer complaints and more accommodations.
• The public perception of our departments gets better, and we take pride in this effort.
• The good officers, that already do this, gain a greater voice in our culture.
• Officers become more scripted in their approach, but do it in their own voice.
• We become very good at explanations of what and why in all of our interpersonal communications.
• Officers become very good at handling situations at the lowest level of the law.
• We see increased helpfulness from our citizens in building safer communities.
• We hire, train, and reward recruits with more focus on communication. The entire training continuum from recruit training and department training works from the same philosophy on communication training.

 

Ideas on how the WSCJTC should approach LEED training:  

The training of the LEED Communication Model needs to be specific for each of the four pillars. All of these needs to be clear and define what is in it for the officer and the first line supervisors.

 

The first one-to-two days of recruit training should focus only on communications skills and the LEED concept. If we are going to change the culture, let’s start with communication. The rest of the recruit training should reinforce the use of the LEED communications standards as standard practice.

 

There needs to be a short, but clear, training/communication effort targeted to the field training officers (FTOs) and sergeants at all of the state’s law enforcement agencies. If this is to work, the sergeants and FTOs need to understand this approach. The WSCJTC needs to also figure out how to take the LEED effort “on the road.”

 

The most fundamental skill in the LEED model is explaining. Everybody told the story of the traffic stop and the script of first telling the citizen why they are being stopped. Officers should always explain.

 

There were many conversations about the value of the current Crisis Intervention Training as one of the WSCJTC’s best offerings. How do we get a one-day version of this class?

 

Everything needs a train the trainer component, as we need everyone to focus on training this concept.

 

The LEED Model needs to place focus on a more scripted approach to communication to ensure we are setting the right tone for our interactions.

 

We should not pass a recruit if they cannot do a traffic stop according to a LEED model script. If you can’t do a traffic stop well, you most likely will be poor at the rest.

 

LEED Dashboard Ideas, What you measure is what you get:

We need a LEED Communications Dashboard to show how we are doing.

 

The WSCJTC should create an awards program by giving departments with the highest scores a LEED Communication Award.

 

 

REGIONAL INTERVIEWS ON JUSTICE BASED POLICING

AND THE LEED COMMUNICATION MODEL

 

 

BACKGROUND: What is the LEED COMMUNICATION MODEL?

 

This is the central philosophy that is a formal articulation of “What good Cops have always done”.  This is the foundation of a value that needs to become a standard in the field of law enforcement.

 

LEED is the answer to a perceived need for officers and law enforcement professionals to communicate better in all areas of the profession:

• Officer to Citizen
• Officer to Officer
• Leadership to Officers
• Leadership to Citizens

 

This concept applies to all of our interpersonal communications. We are in the People Business. We not only regulate the conduct of other people, we communicate with them daily on some of the most raw and human levels. Trust is the outcome of strong relationships.   LEED Communication Skills are a clear pathway to building stronger relationships.

 

The LEED Communication Model has a direct impact on how Law Enforcement communicates better with diverse communities in all of our jurisdictions

LEED is a culture changer, a motivating force to change our focus from physical policing tactics to be balanced by increasing focus on communication tactics.

 

LEED is better than specific communication techniques such as Verbal Judo. This is not a manipulation, this has a more focused intent “we are in the business of contacting and communicating with people. “

 

LEED Communication skills enhance officer safety.

 

Why is the LEED Model important?

 

All of our departments have Mission statements that have aspirations of the highest degree of ethical behaviors, fairness and professionalism. They all talk about decreasing crime, protecting life and property, and enhance the building of community and quality of life. We will achieve this through our policing tactics and training, but most importantly with our communication skills, because ultimately we are in the people business.

 

LEED improves officer safety by giving officers more tools.

 

• The LEED Communication Model will enhance officer safety by giving officers more tools to control situations.

 

• Better communication skills are the most cost effective way to save money for both the officer and citizen – it reduces litigation cost and saves time.

 

• With fewer resources we need to be more efficient and effective – we need to enhance the effort of the citizens to help us do our jobs.  Effective communications is the way to get this accomplished.

 

• We are asked to handle more Mentally Disabled citizens – our crisis Communications Class is the best tool set we have.

 

LEED rewards our best people.  And it sets a standard for everyone else to meet.

 

• The LEED model gives us the opportunity to define, support and reward positive communication behaviors.

 

• A good savvy street cop will always have lots of ways to impact peoples’ behaviors.  We need to speed up officers learning more ways to get compliance.

 

• Complaints seem to follow some officers with poor communications skills. Rudeness in particular is the complaint many of these officers receive, even though they actually did nothing else tactically wrong. If we could change one simple behavior to have officers to be consistent at explaining what and why they are doing something – perceptions of rudeness could be dramatically decreased along with complaints.

 

LEED gives the community a realistic set of expectation of how they will be treated by our employees.

 

• As professionals we need to be more consistent in how we interact with citizens and each other. We need to have a major culture shift and have a more structured approach of engaging citizens. We need change from a Conflict Model to a more Voluntary Compliance Model.

 

• Authority comes from legitimacy.  We need to change the dynamic of Authority from Institutional Authority to Positional Authority.

 

 

 

 

 

THE INTERVIEW PROCESS

 

In conjunction with the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) effort to understand how the leadership of the law enforcement agencies in WashingtonState views the initiative of the LEED Communication Model, in the month of August, I interviewed 16 regional Chiefs and Sheriffs asking 3 basic questions:

 

1. What do you believe this communication model is really about?
2. Why do you believe it is important to do something?
3. How should the CJCT proceed with this effort and what ideas would you suggest to make this effort successful?

Overall impressions:

Everyone interviewed believed that a renewed focus on communication skills was important and needed to be done.

 

The most common conversation from What is this effort was: “this is what good cops have always done.”

 

The most common conversation about Why is this important was: “Officers are safer if they know how to communication well.  De-escalation and citizen interactions should be at the lowest level of the law.”

 

The following pages are my effort at summarizing the voice and tone of these conversations.  I came away from these conversations believing that this is not a new initiative –but it is a defining moment in declaring that these four tenants of communication behavior are the basics of what law enforcement leadership in the state of Washington want to support as the Standard of good law enforcement communication. I also believe that this group is genuine in believing the time for this initiative is now.

 

VOICES FROM THE INTERVIEWS

 

Great quotes from the interviews:

 “If we are going to expect officers to have better communication skills, we need to focus and improve our hiring and training to get what we want”

 

“The most important asset an Officer has is their voice”

 

“We celebrate physical tactics we need to also celebrate communications tactics”

 

“There is a difference between an officer being compliant to this effort – what we want is for our officers to OWN this effort”

 

“We need Officers to realize that they don’t own the laws – the government owns the laws”

 

“We stand for what we are willing to tolerate.”

 

“The purpose of discipline is to restore behavior.”  

 

“What you measure is what you get.’

 

“We need to get our citizens to think WE.’

 

“People and officers see the world through their own lens. We need officers to be able to realize that different cultures have different lenses.”

 

“It is easier to talk someone a mile than drag them 1 inch.”

 

“We need our training to help officers to find their own voices, not just to mimic someone else’s voice.”

 

“LEED Communication can be used in both the handcuff 1^st and ask later or ask before you handcuff – The secret is being very good at explaining what and why you are doing.”

 

 

On the topic of equity of officer discretion:

“Like cases in like manner”

“Greatest good for the greatest number”

“Economy of interaction with the law at the lowest level of the law”

“Professionalism is really about –when someone goes off- the Officer stays above the behavior- Dignity is letting the bad person “SAVE FACE”

“Officer Safety is not a spectator Sport”

 

GREAT CONVERSATIONS

 

The communication skill difference between small and large Departments

 

Throughout this process there has been an ongoing discussion about the differences of the size of the operation and the impact on police work and in particular Officer  communication skills.   The most common story is that if you work in a smaller Department you will learn to use your voice because you know if you are by yourself  and you have been called out to a situation where there is trouble you will need the help of the girlfriend, the brother, the neighbor – everyone because that is all you have.  In big departments you know that help is only a few minutes away so you are less concerned about being out numbered and you know helping hands are on there way.

 

Why correction Officers do a better job of using communication skills

There were only a couple of conversations about correction operations but they stayed with the idea that in these controlled environments talking inmates through stuff is way more efficient that use of force   The officers know that they are in a long term relationship –these inmates are not going away so the effort is to get the inmate to voluntary comply –it save energy and the other approach is costly – there was some general feeling that if Police Recruits could spend time in the corrections operations it would have a very positive impact on them discovering their voice in policing.

 

Which generation has the communications problem?

Can we profile the communication skill issue? – Is this an officer on the staff under 5 years –an Officer between 5-15 years – the seasoned but burned out officer or is this simply a personality trait, you either have communication skills or not. I believe that most common thought was cops learn to use their voice over time – Hence “This is what good cops have always done” statement.  So the question is how do we get them to be good at communications faster?

 

I found no way to determine if there is a clear answer ,but there are compelling stories about all of these profiles having some truth – in the end all of the stories went back to culture and oversight. Communication has not been focused on as a clear management objective, Policing is a personality business.

 

The three truths about types of people an officer will have to deal with

One of my favorite conversations was talking about the types of people an officer will have to learn to deal with –

1. There are way more good people than bad –Talking to these people is very rewarding and helpful to keeping communities safe.
2. There are good people who have made a bad decision or are in a crisis—talking and listening to these people’s stories help an officer make a good decision as to how to use discretion in resolving the problem  and finally
3. BAD/EVIL PEOPLE.  Trying to use voice with these individuals is still worth the effort as most likely your department will be dealing with these individuals over and over – so this is about officer safety in the future. Handcuff but explain and let them save face, in may help in the future.

 

 

The role of the Traffic Stop

Almost every one interviewed told a story about there version of a traffic stop.  It seems that the traffic stop may be the best place to make sure officers have the basic LEED Communication Model in mind. Several talked about their goal of being thanked even when they issued the ticket.

The secret was

• Start the conversation by explaining why they stopped the individual and defining that this was a safety concern because there had been accidents on the road.
• Being safe asking for voluntary compliance in showing their hands and turning off the car while getting their license, registration and insurance.
• Asking for their story –and seeing if they took responsibility for their actions.
• After giving the ticket or warning defining how the citizen could appeal  the ticket  and seeing if the citizen thanked the officer for their professional behavior.

Traffic stops are the fundamental police activity that most citizens experience. If a police officer can not do this transaction using the LEED model, how can they do any other interaction?

 

How to get your department on the COPS TV SHOW ?

One of the most watch cops show is “Cops” which is live ride-a–long  filmed to be shown on TV. It is one of the few times where real police work is shown to the public and one of the major issues is helping  citizens to understand police work. Two  organizations have had some opportunity to be featured on these shows –If you want to be featured here is what you need to know

• the officers have to not be “Potty Mouthed”
• you have to display good police tactics
• you have to arrest a broad selection of the population and
• it helps if the officers treat the individuals with some humor

 

The reason for telling recruits the history of Policing in this region

As our society becomes more and more diverse giving new recruits context on the history of policing could have a healthy impact on these future officers empathy toward long standing beliefs of a variety of communities-with the hope it would have a positive impact on the LEED Communication efforts. In 1968 in Seattle most neighborhoods had ethnicity clauses in their laws that governed who could purchase homes in each neighborhood. Police don’t own the Laws – they enforce government Laws .Grand parents tell stories and stories are the lenses that families see the world through.

 

 

 

The dilemma of discretion in Law enforcement

The officers are in the middle of the effort to manage the behavior of the community and the legal system.  There are many ways that discretion might be applied.  In almost every conversation stories were told about how each individual made decisions that had impact on how they decided to enforce the Law – recruits need to be confronted with both the fear of the possibility of what might happen and the reality that the Justice System does not always work evenly.  How do they use discretion in their job?

 

Possibilities vs. Probabilities

As an officer concerned with Officer Safety, the issue is most people are law abiding but in an officers’ mind it is the possibility that if you can not see some ones hands you don’t know what they have, so all decisions are viewed from the possibility of a problem vs. the probability of a problem. This means that while an officer is trying to ask and explain they also have to direct the individuals behavior till safety is ensured Again this is at the base line of how an officer manages their decisions and communication skills.

 

Who am I going to promote?

Several discussions revolved around who gets promoted and how communications skills entered into that decision. In those conversations the discussion was that it is not the officer that has the highest score on the test but the one that they believed has the best leadership and communications skills. Again the thing that needs to become part of the culture and training is that if you are looking for a career and promotions Leadership and LEED Communication skills win.

 

Our new world requires Officer Responsibility and Citizen Responsibility to fulfill the mission.

The world has changed and is changing even faster – for Law Enforcement efforts to be successful there needs to be a continued growth in both the Officer and Citizen working together. The LEED communication effort should have as one of its defined outcomes the greater participation of community involvement and cooperation.

 

 

DESIRED OUTCOMES OF IMPLEMENTATING LEED

 

• We all buy in and treat citizens and ourselves in a more structured and positive way.

 

• This effort gets past compliance to the LEED concept to an owned behavior.

 

• We get less Complaints and more Accommodations.

 

• The public perception of our departments gets better and we take pride in this effort.

 

• The good officers that already do this gain a greater voice in our cultures.

 

• Officers become more scripted in their approach but do it in their own voice.

 

• We become very good at explanations of What and Why – in all of our interpersonal communications.

 

• Officers become very good at handling situations at the lowest level of the law.

 

• We see increased helpfulness from our citizens in building safer communities.

 

• We hire ,train and  reward recruits with more focus on communication-The entire training continuum from Recruit training and Department training  works from the same philosophy on communication training.

 

IDEAS ON HOW CTJT SHOULD APPROACH LEED TRAINING

 

The first one to two days of Recruit training should focus only on communications skills and the LEED concept. If we are going to change the culture, let’s start with communication. The rest of the recruit training should reinforce the use of the LEED communications standards as standard practice.

 

There needs to be a short but clear Training/Communication effort targeted to the FTO’S and Sergeants at all of the States Law enforcement Departments. If this is to work the Sergeants and FTO’s need to understand this approach. CJCT needs to also figure out how to take LEED effort “on the Road”

 

The training of the LEED communication model needs to be specific for each of the four pillars—Listen—Explain—Equity and Dignity  All of this needs to be clear and define what is in it for the officer and the 1^st line supervisors

 

The most fundamental skill in the LEED model is explaining –everybody told the story of the traffic stop and the script of first telling the citizen,”Why are they being stopped?” Officers should always explain

 

There was good conversation about recruits getting time in the correction facilities, both for knowledge of what an arrest leads to as well as how you see what communications skills work there. Maybe a field trip day.

 

There should be lots of efforts to position this as what good officers have always done

• Signage all over LEED WHAT GOOD OFFICERS HAVE ALWAYS DONE
• Video of the commission leadership telling the recruits that this is important
• Reading materials that support this concept
• Rewards weekly or monthly for the best recruit working on the LEED skills

 

All training the commission does, needs to have a LEED training component.

 

The following were some of the specific skills that were mentioned:

• Selling skills training
• classes on how to ask questions
• Interview skills vs. interrogation skills
• Body language skills
• Conflict resolution.

There were many conversations about the value of the current Crisis Management class as one of the commissions best offerings – how do we get a one day version of this class?

 

Everything needs a train the trainer component, we need every one to focus on training this concept.

 

The lead Model needs to place focus on a more scripted approach to communication to ensure we are setting the right tone for our interactions.

 

We should not pass a recruit on if they can not do a traffic stop according to a LEED model script. If you can’t do a traffic stop well you most likely will be poor at the rest.

 

Add more video – Cops-Corrections Officers and 911 CallCenter people have lots of stories that support the LEED concept –they should be heard.

 

We need an on-line training option.

 

We need a clear definition of the traits we are looking for when it comes to communications competencies.

 

LEED DASHBOARD IDEAS: What you measure is what you get

 

We need a LEED Communications Dash Board to show how we are doing.

 

• Create specific ways to have all agencies look at citizen Complaints [especially rudeness] the same way:

 

• Create specific ways to have all agencies look at Citizen Accommodations in the same way.

 

• Measure the use of force by defining criteria that all agencies use.

 

• Create a standard Citizen Perception Survey that is affordable by region.

 

• Create a 24/7 on-line citizen perception survey that is affordable by region.

 

CJCT should create an awards program – giving departments with the highest scores      LEED COMMUNICATION AWARDS

 

          THE FOUR PILLARS OF THE LEED COMMUNICATION MODEL

My Thoughts

 

 

LISTEN – We always think you can teach Listening Skills –it’s possible but my thoughts are teaching Questioning Skills gets you listening and because you write reports it’s a must have skill to survive in the business.

 

EXPLAIN – Explaining is a yes or no behavior, did you explain or did you not explain? Every part of training and oversight should reinforce the behavior of explaining What and Why. Recruits should never do any policing situation with out having to practice explaining.

 

EQUITY – This word has two distinct tracks:

• SOCIAL JUSTICE – Which is the idea that Culture and Race differences are not the driver of officer behavior.
• LAW ENFORCEMENT- Which is like crimes receive like treatment.

This is the dilemma the recruits need to struggle to become comfortable in dealing with

 

DIGNITY – This is by far the most important, as leaving someone with Dignity is the biggest behavior that will impact everything from officer use of force to the community perception of your department.  At the minimum officer professional behavior should be to let people “Save Face”– this should be the base level of Dignity.