Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Dealing with what goes wrong or helping things go right
Bureau of Justice Statistics research indicates that
up to 10% of the people who have contact with the police feel they have been
mistreated. Furthermore, up to 83% of
people who had force used on them by police; felt the force used was excessive. Noteworthy however, is this - of the people
who reported feeling mistreated by the police, only 13% filed a complaint and
only 1% filed a lawsuit.
While an individual's experience is not necessarily objectively correct - these
statistics are potentially very insightful.
One can see pressure and resentment mounting on a day-to-day basis. At the same time,
the vast majority of the people apparently have so little trust in the system
that they make no formal complaint. However we know they talk, blog and write comments on public forums regarding police
stories in the media. This animosity continues to
build until an event releases the pressure and explodes into open
hostility.
It is common to deal with the explosion and act as if “these people” are unreasonable and
ignorant. However, that belief does not make the associated costs go away. One police chief recently
commented that the overtime alone for the recent unrest was over $600,000, but
that cost pales in comparison to the “international black eye” suffered by a
city that depends upon tourism – defending a $20 million law suit and potential
results of an FBI probe.
Some agencies are beginning to see the folly of remaining on the well worn path of simply dealing with what goes wrong. Does yours?
MATTHEW R. DUROSE ET AL., BUREAU
OF JUSTICE STATISTICS, U.S. DEP’T OF JUSTICE,
CONTACTS BETWEEN POLICE AND THE
PUBLIC: FINDINGS FROM THE 2002 NATIONAL SURVEY, at v (2005)
Joanna C. Schwartz. What Police
Learn From Law Suits. Cardozo Law Review. 2012, Volume 33:3
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Justice and Compassion
These
two concepts intersect at the noble roots of policing, and together provide
solid foundation for Noble Courage. Let
us consider extreme lessons from history in hopes of better understanding these
precious virtues.
Justice - Tyrants argue that justice is
obtained by enforcing all their laws with cool, calculated precision. Bullies and thugs derive twisted satisfaction
from being enforcers of the despot’s tyranny.
Could desperate times ever create a breeding ground open to a “Hitler-esk”
siren call, hypnotizing the masses in America?
If so, the “thin blue line” of courage, running through
the heart of every American Guardian, would stand strong to protect our society
from lapsing into tyranny. Humanity must
never wait until tyranny is knocking at the door, to begin to sustain Noble
Courage. At that point, no one will be
able to care, if or when people begin to care; it will simply be too late. The courageous ones will be the outlaws; the
“cops” will be the thug enforcers.
Compassion – Despots go through great
pains to drain the sap of human compassion - from their minions first and
ultimately from all who fall under their tyranny. The most noble of guardian’s have a deep
conviction in the exact opposite direction.
Noble guardians have an almost innate sense which harkens back to
ancient times, calling them to a life style commitment. This commitment is the driving force for them
to develop and maintain individual STRENGTH.
At the same time, these noble guardians temper their strength, attending
to the greater good with a pledge to selfless SERVICE, personal SACRIFICE and shared
SUFFERING. These character qualities merge
in the noble guardian to produce empathy for others, with a commitment to
justice and a strong desire to relieve suffering – this is Noble Courage.
Hold
the line noble guardian while others rest secure. Just remember when you face down street level suspects - value and honor them as people. If you do this, these suspects will teach you
a valuable lesson with every interaction.
The real difference between a noble guardian and a strong thug is an
unwavering commitment to justice and compassion, which fosters and sustains -
individual STRENGTH, selfless SERVICE, personal SACRIFICE and shared SUFFERING. Waiver in these commitments and Noble Courage
fades – a strong thug emerges.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Force Science Research Institute Reviews Unleashing Respect Project
Take a look at the recent article from Force Science Research
www.forcescience.org/unleashingrespect.pdf
www.forcescience.org/unleashingrespect.pdf
Monday, February 20, 2012
Restoring Nobility
The profession of policing is noble because it based on timeless, universal, objective principles that are inherently good - Good for people, families and society. (Ancient Warrior codes of humble, sacrificial service; Aristotelian principles of the Noble Guardian, Peelian and Constitutional principles of working for and under the consent of the governed with the general welfare of our communities NOT the visible actions of policing as indications of success). All of these would to connect policing to what Aristotle would have called the “telos” or core purpose of policing. Character development in these areas is the most complex to accomplish, requiring education and moral development.
At the same time the procedures or actions of policing are not inherently good, they can be good or bad, depending on the context and motivation. Skill set development in these areas is less complex to accomplish, requiring training with repetitive drills.
Let us take a simply understood example, which has direct correlation: disciplining a child. The noble motivation “telos” is the love, care and concern for the immediate and long-term wellbeing of the child. The “actions” or procedures of disciplining a child can be done with good or evil (you pissed me off, you inconvenienced me, you made me look bad) motives. The problem: The moment one mindlessly (subconsciously) slips into the insidious belief that the actions of discipline are inherently good; one has become a potential danger to the well being of children. The self-righteous indignation one can feel while doing the activity of discipline, devoid of inherently good motive, sends one down the slippery slope to evil and insulates one from reasoning to the contrary (the loss of wisdom).
Oddly, the reverse can be true. If another sees the evil done by discipliners who have become disconnected from the inherently good motivation of love and care – and reacts by ceasing all actions of discipline – they too have become a danger to the well being of children (the loss of wisdom).
Problem: The procedures and activities of policing has generally become the focus of training, management and accountability systems within policing. This tends to create a subconscious disconnect from the “telos” or inherently good and noble principles of the profession (particularly when an organization makes little or no investments in moral character development). Not only does this breed discontentment and resistance from disenfranchised community members (losing the consent of the governed) it also breeds misery and apathy within our noble guardians.
The combination of these creates an operating environment ripe for problems – at the same time most police interactions are being video recorded. On the rare occasion when an officer slips, or appears to slip, over the line – the organization tends to isolate and scapegoat the officer implicitly saying; “we have no intrinsic flaws in our education, training, management or systems, this officer was simply a fluke bad apple.” Occasionally the organization circle around the officer and the entire organization tends to become a scapegoat. Once again, mindlessly dismissing the idea that there are lapses in overall moral character development along with intrinsic flaws in the training, management and systems of policing – “This organization is a bad apple.”
Unfortunately, the cycle tends to repeat itself because corrective measures taken against officers and organizations tend to be purely and simply punitive (actions and procedures taken devoid of inherently good motives – good motives simply cannot exist in a state of ignorance of underlying causes). After punitive actions, the next phase (of corrections disconnected from noble cause) tends to take aim at limiting the ability or inclinations of officers to engage in a sacred public trust: The sanctioned use of force and violence to uphold the rights and secure the safety or community members. This again is akin to ceasing all discipline and corrections for a child; it spoils the child, ruins the relationship and leaves the child miserable, unsafe and unprepared for the realities of life – all in the name of protecting the child from a corrupt discipliner. As Aristotle said:
"Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting a particular way. We become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions." - Aristotle
When bravery (the acts of policing) becomes disconnected from commitment to simple justice and the moderating affects of humble self-control (the telos of policing) you end up with raw authority carried out with cool indignation. All of which flies in the face of the noble cause of policing, even while professionally carrying out the actions of policing.
At the same time the procedures or actions of policing are not inherently good, they can be good or bad, depending on the context and motivation. Skill set development in these areas is less complex to accomplish, requiring training with repetitive drills.
Let us take a simply understood example, which has direct correlation: disciplining a child. The noble motivation “telos” is the love, care and concern for the immediate and long-term wellbeing of the child. The “actions” or procedures of disciplining a child can be done with good or evil (you pissed me off, you inconvenienced me, you made me look bad) motives. The problem: The moment one mindlessly (subconsciously) slips into the insidious belief that the actions of discipline are inherently good; one has become a potential danger to the well being of children. The self-righteous indignation one can feel while doing the activity of discipline, devoid of inherently good motive, sends one down the slippery slope to evil and insulates one from reasoning to the contrary (the loss of wisdom).
Oddly, the reverse can be true. If another sees the evil done by discipliners who have become disconnected from the inherently good motivation of love and care – and reacts by ceasing all actions of discipline – they too have become a danger to the well being of children (the loss of wisdom).
Problem: The procedures and activities of policing has generally become the focus of training, management and accountability systems within policing. This tends to create a subconscious disconnect from the “telos” or inherently good and noble principles of the profession (particularly when an organization makes little or no investments in moral character development). Not only does this breed discontentment and resistance from disenfranchised community members (losing the consent of the governed) it also breeds misery and apathy within our noble guardians.
The combination of these creates an operating environment ripe for problems – at the same time most police interactions are being video recorded. On the rare occasion when an officer slips, or appears to slip, over the line – the organization tends to isolate and scapegoat the officer implicitly saying; “we have no intrinsic flaws in our education, training, management or systems, this officer was simply a fluke bad apple.” Occasionally the organization circle around the officer and the entire organization tends to become a scapegoat. Once again, mindlessly dismissing the idea that there are lapses in overall moral character development along with intrinsic flaws in the training, management and systems of policing – “This organization is a bad apple.”
Unfortunately, the cycle tends to repeat itself because corrective measures taken against officers and organizations tend to be purely and simply punitive (actions and procedures taken devoid of inherently good motives – good motives simply cannot exist in a state of ignorance of underlying causes). After punitive actions, the next phase (of corrections disconnected from noble cause) tends to take aim at limiting the ability or inclinations of officers to engage in a sacred public trust: The sanctioned use of force and violence to uphold the rights and secure the safety or community members. This again is akin to ceasing all discipline and corrections for a child; it spoils the child, ruins the relationship and leaves the child miserable, unsafe and unprepared for the realities of life – all in the name of protecting the child from a corrupt discipliner. As Aristotle said:
"Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting a particular way. We become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions." - Aristotle
When bravery (the acts of policing) becomes disconnected from commitment to simple justice and the moderating affects of humble self-control (the telos of policing) you end up with raw authority carried out with cool indignation. All of which flies in the face of the noble cause of policing, even while professionally carrying out the actions of policing.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
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