Can We Adapt?

Have you heard the news? The law enforcement profession is changing. We are hiring better educated and more technologically minded officers than ever before. They are smarter about the way things work. They are not patient; they grew up in an environment that changed rapidly. However, most law enforcement organizations are stuck in prehistoric management philosophies. The law enforcement profession, with the exception of a few innovative leaders, is still managing officers as they did in the 1970s. Yet they cry out in amazement about their organizations’ ineffective recruiting. The plain truth of the matter is that most police officers or people interested in becoming police officers don’t want to be treated like property. This creates a dilemma since most organizations are still treating their officers as if they own them. This philosophy is driving people away in droves.

Another ongoing practice is to push decisions to the highest level. We as a profession are scared to death of mistakes. But mistakes are the way we learn. If you are growing and evolving to the next leve, then you are going to make mistakes. The idea is to not have lethal mistakes. We as a profession are intent on not developing independent officers who are capable of working with little supervision. When you prevent officers from growing at their own pace and making independent decisions then you stymie their development. If you stymie the development of individual officers, then you stymie the overall development of the organization. Creativity comes from individual development. Organizational development, growth and success is directly proportionate to the growth and development of the individual officers as a group. There is no other way. Our current management practices are one reason we are having trouble recruiting.

Another area of concern for the profession is the compensation or should I say lack of. You cannot continue to require more and more job knowledge from your officers without acknowledging that competency with increased compensation. We are one of the few professions that the state completely regulates, to include hiring, firing and mandatory training. Yet law enforcement is not recognized as a profession. Most law enforcement officers see less and less benefits each year. If we are serious about recruiting a top caliber officer, then we need to pay top rates and give more benefits. Unfortunately simply appealing to the public service desire of individuals is not working. We as a profession need to show more appreciation for our most valuable resource, which is the people. If ever a profession needed massive changes it is law enforcement.

The North Carolina Sheriff Police Alliance is the leading voice calling for change within the profession. We know that the task ahead is not an easy one, but we are committed to changing with the environment. We know the dangers of not adapting. We are true advocates for the law enforcement officers of this state. We are not just asking the organizations to change; we are also helping to develop better officers. We are offering assistance to officers and organizations alike. We are in the process of developing career enhancement training for our members. This will be training that is intended to help the individual officers realize their full potential. Because the individual officers are one aspect we can influence right now. Stay tuned for more details.

God bless ya’ll,

Andy Miller, President