16 Traits Recruiters are Looking For

Excerpted from the bestselling book Confessions of a Hardass

An insiders advice on passing your law enforcement preemployment interview.
When a law enforcement or corrections agency interviews you, what
is really happening is that they are deciding how well you fit in with
the people, the mission and the daily work environment of the
organization. Each agency has aspirations of greatness the leaders,
managers and the career minded officers / deputies and staff all
want what is best for the agency and that translates to the best
people possible to work beside them. They judge these areas by
exploring your background usually starting in high school, through
your education and of course your employement and personal
history.
Some of these traits will also be judged by volunteer and
neighborhood activities, and even hobbies. After exploring your
background, they will ask stressful scenario questions, aimed at
giving them information on how to rate you, without you even being
aware of it. Everyone Ive ever interviewed for a law enforcement
position told the interview panel what we needed to know about all
16 of these areas, whether they were aware of it or not. Of course,
no one is expected to be perfect. But the closer you can get to 10
in each of these areas through answering the questions that will be
asked, the better your chances of being hired.
Here are the traits and principles involved in oral interviews and
assessments. Give yourself a 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) for each one.
Think honestly about your life, your work history, volunteer history,
hobbies, your education and everything else about you, and then ask
yourself inwardly some very tough questions about each of these
areas. As an example, have you ever been detained, ticketed or
arrested by the police? If yes, one or more of these areas will give
the board critical information so BE PREPARED! Since no one is
looking over your shoulder, rate yourself honestly in order to see
how how well or poorly you do, so you will be able to focus on the
areas needing the most improvement.
1) Trustworthiness can the applicant be relied upon to do what they
say they will do? Will they fabricate stories to cover their errors or
inadequacies? Will they be where they are told to be and do what
they are told to do, even in difficult circumstances?
2) Honesty A statement from a police officer in this country is
enough to put people in jail for a long time. In a one-on-one
confrontation, an officers word is still accepted as truth unless
clearly refuted by other sufficient, credible evidence. This is a great
deal of power does this applicant show the ability to state the truth
even if it negatively affects them or other officers? Will the
applicant even stand up to authority to state the truth when it is
difficult to do, and going along with a lie is a better course of action?
Will the applicant join a conspiracy because it is much more difficult,
in their view, to lose the friendship, trust and respect of other
officers?
3) Leadership Being a leader is not often something you can
choose to be or not be. In law enforcement, each officer becomes a
leader in the performance of helping people to solve problems and
work through difficult situations. Does the applicant seem willing to
take on extra responsibility? Do they limit the positions they wish to
work in because of the level of responsibility? Do they refuse
advanced assignments because of perceptions of difficulty or fear of
failure?
What qualities characterize a great police officer?
Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to great places! You're
off and away!
You have brains in your head...
Fair and even-handed. An officer obviously has to know the law, but
he or she also has to know how to most effectively enforce it. You
can't ticket every offense and arrest every offender - you'd be a stat
fiend, but you'd be a terrible police officer. You can't be friends with
people on the street, but if you nuke your goodwill, nobody is going
to let you in. Sometimes the people you would have written off first
provide you with the best information.
...you have feet in your shoes...
Physically fit. The application process and academy will weed out the
worst; but even if you get through, if you completely let yourself go,
you're not being responsible. It's not about you losing a foot pursuit.
If you need to back up a colleague who's throwing down with two
guys amped on uppers, you're not bringing much to the table if
you're gassed when you finally get there.

Out there things can happen, and frequently do, to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
Articulate. You have to be able to articulate everything you do as a
police officer. Everything. If you make an enforcement decision,
you'd better be able to defend why to your sergeant and lieutenant.
If you complete an investigation task, you'd better put it in the
report, or it didn't happen. And you'd better handle yourself well on
the stand when you're testifying in court - that's where the rubber
meets the road. Hundreds of man hours can be for naught if you
bomb in testimony.
And when things start to happen, dont worry. Dont stew. Just go
right along. Youll start happening too.
...yet accessible. If you work in an area characterized by low income
and low education levels, you've got to both be able to understand
what they're saying and tell them what you want them to do so they
can understand. I was once trying to mediate a dispute over the
ownership of a mangy cat on the west side, and made the mistake of
asking a female if she was "going to relinquish" the cat. I got crossed
eyes and a vacant, "Huuh??" My streetwise sergeant piped up and
said, "Are you going to give her the damn cat or not?" Issue solved.
The street is an intellectual bizarro world where descent takes the
most work.
You wont lag behind, because youll have the speed. Youll pass the
whole gang and youll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, youll be
best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Sympathetic... when you work in the long shadow of depravity every
night, you have to take measures to make sure that the job doesn't
devour your soul. It's a simple matter of scarring.
Classic domestic assault case. Hook the dude and stuff him into the
patrol car. Victim's blotting tears from her black eye. You give her
the case number, explain the process, give her resource information,
and offer transport to a shelter. She declines, saying she's going to
stay with her mom/sister/friend until she can get her possessions.
Won't be long, though, because she is leaving that bastard. She
stomps her foot and clenches her tear stained fists for effect.
You take said bastard to jail. Nine days later. Same address. Same
call. You walk in to find bastard and black eye sitting on a couch
across from a newly minted crater in the drywall.
Black eye is now yellowish-purple eye with a sore back. Bastard is
still a bastard.
You exchange a look with her. She remembers her vehement
proclamation, since obscured by a fistful of cheap flowers and a
patronizing apology, followed by spirited but unsatisfying sex that
she hoped would bring closure, but which he knew merely served as
a waypoint of validation marking another spin in his cycle of
bastardry.
She averts her gaze. You ruefully whip your handcuffs out, knowing
that no matter the rhetoric, your next ninety minutes of work will be
a complete waste of time. She'll come back.
And so will you.
You can only do that so many times before every suspect is
worthless and every victim hopeless. If you don't fight it. For a
number of people on the street, a great police officer will need to
ensure that he or she keeps and guards a soft heart.
Except when you don't. Because, sometimes, you won't.
...yet unaffected. A great police officer has to differentiate his
uniform from his civvies. You'll have punk teenagers spit in your face.
You'll have drunks crow about how violently they ravaged your wife
and how much she liked it. You'll have church going soccer moms
say things in response to a ticket that they would disown their
children for saying. You'll have suspects tell you that they're going to
abduct and rape your kids. If you allow yourself to believe that
they're saying it to you the person, the husband, the dude who loves
Jimmy Eat World and deep dish pizza, you will die. Hopefully not in
the self-inflicted gunshot wound way, but in some way, and to some
degree, you will die. If you instead realize that they're talking to the
badge, that no matter what lifeform was inhabiting your uniform at
that moment, they would be indiscriminately spraying spittle and
vitriol on it, then you're well on your way to greatness.
And if you go in, should you turn left or rightor right-and-three-

quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in

from behind? Simple its not, Im afraid you will find, for a mindmaker-upper to make up his mind.
Decisive. The motto of field training is a stern admonition: "Make a
decision." When you pin that badge on, forget Truman's desk - the
buck stops with you. There is no other recourse. When someone calls
911, they are in essence admitting that they are completely out of
options and/or their immediate environment has gotten completely
shot to hell. When you roll up to a scene that's out of control, there is
nobody else to ply, no consensus to build. You are the law. You are
order. As Paul Harvey once said, you have to make an instant
decision which would take a lawyer months to make. But make it you
shall, for it won't make itself, and the people you're looking at are in
a rapidly descending handbasket.
You can get so confused that youll start in to race down long
wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across
weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
Discreet. As a police officer, you will have Pandora's Box dumped in
your lap most every shift. You'll learn lots of things about lots of
people. Some of it will be very, very juicy. But you may say nothing.
You will later be at a party and will be presented with a perfect segue
into the revelation of your tidbit. But you may say nothing. Next
week you will be having dinner with your family and someone will
ask you if you've got any "interesting cop stories" to tell. And you do.
You really do. But you may say nothing.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some
windows are lighted. But mostly theyre darked. A place you could
sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you
dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?
Prudent...lone wolves in law enforcement have a proclivity for
winding up ostracized, depressed, disabled or dead. There are
people around you for many reasons, and an important one is to
keep you alive. You can play John Wayne or Matt Dillon...for a while.
They're both dead, too.
Somehow youll escape all that waiting and staying. Youll find the
bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flipflapping, once more youll ride high! Ready for anything under the
sky. Ready because youre that kind of a guy!
...yet fearless. If it's time to roll, it's time to roll. Active shooter in a
shopping mall. You're across the street. The next closest available
unit is seventeen blocks away fighting wall to wall traffic. You're
going in alone. Is it advisable? Safe? Sane? Nope. But you're doing it,
because the happenstance of your proximity just turned you into a
hunter of men. You're going to be outgunned. Probably outmanned.
But you will win. Because you can't not win.
Oh, the places youll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to
be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you
can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Well-adjusted. You need to be able to wash it all off in the shower
after your shift and leave it in the locker room. You need friends who
aren't cops, hobbies that have nothing to do with law enforcement,
places to release pent up stress and aggression somewhere north of
Serenity Now and south of your spouse's face. Sitting and listening to
the scanner while you watch worn out VHS recordings of old
episodes of Real Stories of the Highway Patrol is not a sign of
dedication - it's a flaming red flag.
Im afraid that some times youll play lonely games too. Games you
cant win cause youll play against you.
An iron stomach. God in Heaven, the things you'll see. Of course,
your academy instructors tried. Early in the process they pulled up
the infamous gallery of death to gauge your reaction to the sight of
physical carnage. The decapitated head of a drunk who stumbled
onto the tracks and passed out, oblivious to the coming train. The
suicide via a twelve gauge to the bottom of the chin. So odd. The
result was a ragged, ghastly symmetry; the inside of the victim's
head had been splayed open in a form chillingly reminiscent of the
petals of a calla lily, as though Satan himself were leaving the
faintest whisper of beauty in an otherwise horrifying form factor, a
calling card fraught with tactless, tasteless irony meant only to taunt
and haunt the living. I remember feeling guilty for noticing this.
...but there is no slide show that could prepare you for the five
senses and three dimensions of life on the street. The immediacy
was inescapable.

Viscous, frothy, bright red blood streaming from the right nostril of a
drunk driving accident victim, as his passenger sightlessly gropes
about in utter shock. It's so oxygenated - where is it coming from?
Why is it holding its shape - it's the thickness of my pinky
finger...and why only that nostril??
The cacophony of sirens begins its crescendo in the distance. You
look up and see a rustle in the grass. It's the drunk driver, trying to
flee the scene. He'd run, but his dislocated hip, his only injury, is
making mobility a slight challenge - so he's content to crawl on his
forearms into the ditch. And somewhere in the chaos of medical
information relays and triage, you feel the crushing weight of an
exasperated realization.
You can't decide which sight is more pathetic.
You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You'll get mixed
up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step,
step with care and great tact, and remember that Life's a Great
Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never
mix up your right foot with your left.
An iron mind. You'll need constitutional law in there. You'll need
defensive tactics. You'll need arrest procedures, department policy,
investigation steps, frequent contacts, supervisor names, phone
numbers, and scores of other law enforcement arcanities. But you'll
need something else. Something more.
And that indefinable something more is ultimately what caps off the
characterization of a "great police officer." An uncanny ability to be
in the right place at the right time. Begrudging cooperation from
people on the street, even when it might not quite be in their best
interest, because you've been working that street long enough to
establish your intentions and have gained a functional trust.
Maintaining an inspiring aura of calm in the presence of screaming
and chaos and gore.
But it goes beyond the gears and levers of the street. Every police
officer must make the conscious effort to allow their humanity to
inform their profession, and not the other way around. An iron mind,
welded to something other than your badge. Something sturdy and
stable, something that will inspire you to keep pinning your badge on
every night. What this is will vary from person to person, but it's
incredibly essential. When the nights go wrong and the shadows
grow long, you'll need its presence to remind you of why you keep
going to the places you go.
And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed!
It's changed over the years. Forty years ago, recruiters looked for 6+
foot tall height and a calm demeanour. There's even a joke in some
services that you can determine the decade an officer's career
began often based on his height.
Now the stress is more and more being put on finding cadets who
are good at diffusing scenarios before they escalate. Empathy,
articulation and resourcefulness are being recognized as being just
as important to general duty policing as any other tool available to a
police officer.
integrity, compasion, empathy, mercy, longsuffering, forgiveness,
conversationist, happy, smiley, judicial.....
I will say it is not to catch and punish the criminals but to prevent
crime from happening in the society. A good police officer will find
the root cause of crime and do his/her best to stop it. A great police
officer is the one who also strives to improve the life of the criminals
and transform them to decent people.
Policing is a unique and demanding career, and recruiters only want
the best of the best to apply. While training will prepare you for
police work, youll be a better candidate if you already have some of
the most essential skills. Before committing yourself to the long
selection process, make sure you have what it takes to be a stellar
police officer.
Good stress management
While much of police work is routinesometimes even mundane
you wont be patrolling without incident or filing paperwork all the
time. Certain situations, like apprehending criminals or pursuing
traffic offenders, can be incredibly stressfulphysically and
emotionally. When your job is to protect the public, you cant afford
to fold under pressure or make irrational decisions.
Quick decision-making

Police officers make decisions all the time: to chase or not to chase
traffic offenders in busy areas; to charge, hold, and/or release
suspects; what routes to take and which areas to patrol; which
vehicles to stop, people to question, or activities to investigate; if its
necessary to call for backup or emergency services the list goes on
and on. If youre not comfortable making decisions, police work just
isnt for you.
Strong communication
As a police officer, youre almost always in touch with other people.
While working at the station you have to liaise with others. While
patrolling, youre always connected to dispatchers and emergency
operators. You have to be able to give clear and concise instructions
like which documents people have to supply, asking armed
suspects to drop their weapons, and threatening use of deadly force
ask and answer questions, and provide information.
Communication skills also come in handy when asked to testify in
court or speak at schools, conferences, or to media.
Play well with others
While many police duties are solitary, being able to work as part of a
team is paramount to safe and successful police work. Police officers
often coordinate and strategize with others to complete tasks or
arrests. They also have to work with other professionals, such as
emergency service workers, fire fighters, and educators.
Published on August 5, 2012
Some disabling symptoms which may cause failure in Neuro exams:
1. Psychopatic Deviance (likely to devise and commit crimes or acts
of corruption without feeling any remorse)
2. Depression and suicidal Ideation (withdrawn, hopelessness,
preoccupied with death)
3. Addiction potential
4. Psychasthenia (abnormal fears/guilt, self-criticisms, difficulties in
concentration, anxiety)
5. Schizoprenia (disordered thinking, delusional, poor contact with
reality, hallucinatory)
6. PARANOIA (Suspiciuos and hostile, vengeful and may act upon
mistaken beliefs)
7. Hypochondriaisis (bizarre and non specifgic body complaints
without medical basis)
8. Hysteria (sudden anxiety and panic episodes, unihibited,infantile
tantrums)
9. Hypomania (unstable mood, poor temper control, impulsive
decisions, restless, impatient)
10. Malingering (tendency to be indolent due to somatic complaints)
11. Addiction and substance abuse admission (indicates substance
abuse problems)
12. Problems with authority
13. Anti-social Practices and rebelliousness (tendency to break rules
and norms)
14. Hostility, cleptomaniac, pervert and among others
Note: The exams include ABSTRACT REASONING, ENGLISH VERBAL
PROFICIENCY AND NUMERICAL ABILITY
Qualities of a good cop
During every interview i've ever had, they always ask "What
qualities do you think a police officer should have........."
So i'm curious, besides the standard honesty, bravery, etc. bla
blah...what are some other qualities that you all think a good cop
should have?
I think you should have a sense of humor....if you don't this job will
make you insane. Also i think you should be
compasionate/empathetic because besides all the dirtbags out there,
there are people that genuinly(sp) need/want our help.
What do you guys think?????
Fear not the night.
Fear that which walks the night.
And I am that which walks the night.
But only evil need fear me
and gentle souls sleep safe in their beds
because I walk the night.
Quality of Service
Introduction
We deal with a wide range of enquiries from you, the public. Some
are straightforward and can be resolved immediately over the
telephone, at a police station or through other contact points. Others
need further investigation or the benefit of specialist knowledge or
expertise before they can be resolved.
At West Yorkshire Police, we take pride in providing a high quality of
service to you regardless of why or how you have made contact with

us. We cannot guarantee that we will always be able to solve every

crime or incident that you report to us. However we are committed
to providing a service that responds professionally and appropriately
to your particular needs. We want you to feel satisfied that we have
provided the highest quality of service and that we value you as our
customers and take all your concerns seriously.
So what level of service can you expect when you have contact with
West Yorkshire Police?
We will provide excellent customer service by:
Qualities of a Top Law Enforcement Professionals
So what really makes a good law enforcement professional? Some of
the more obvious qualities and characteristics--integrity, honesty,
calm under pressure, and strength--may be the first things that come
time mind. But the qualities of top law enforcement professional go
far beyond the obvious to include less obvious qualities including
refined interpersonal communication skills, psychological
competencies, unwavering commitment, and physical strength--all of
which are required in order to provide effective, efficient law
enforcement services.
Communication Skills
We all heard the old adage, "The best way to win a fight is to avoid a
fight." and this couldn't be more true of the law enforcement
profession. Law enforcement professionals only want to use physical
force and restraint as a last resort as a tactic to enforcing the law.
The most effect law enforcement professionals are those that are
able to resolve issues and enforce the laws without resorting to
physical confrontation.
As such, effective verbal communication is probably the number one
asset and quality of any law enforcement professional. Effective
communication skills enable law enforcement officers to develop
rapport with the public, colleagues and informants and disarm would
be criminals. Good communication skills may enable a law
enforcement officer to avoid serious injury or even death.
In addition, an effective law enforcement officer will have the ability
to comprehend a large variety of verbal and non-verbal cues and will
know how to respond to these cues in the most appropriate or
advantageous way. Effective communication skills will also enable a
law enforcement officer or professional to interact successfully in
both work and community environment which may include diverse
cultures, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Good law
enforcement officers will also have refined interviewing and conflict
resolutions skills.
Law enforcement officers and law enforcement professional in
general who take the time to develop their communication skills will
not only become better at their job but they'll also have more
advancement opportunities throughout their careers. Law
enforcement professionals who are promoted into supervisory or
management positions typically have superior communication skills.
Commitment to Helping People
Good law enforcement officers are not only strong and manly but
they are also meek and mild. A good law enforcement professional
should be driven by a strong and sincere motivation to help better
other peoples' lives and situations, protect those who cannot protect
themselves, and make a positive difference in the world be it large or
small. Good law enforcement officers and professionals feel a sense
of duty and commitment to community service. Good law
enforcement officers demonstrate their commitment by continually
assisting those in the community notwithstanding the inherent risk
and dangers of the job.
Ability to Handle Working with Difficult People in Difficult Situations
Law enforcement officers often find themselves dealing with those
elements of society that refuse to obey the law. Consequently, they
must face difficult people and potentially dangerous situations on a
regular occasion. These situations may include confronting an angry
husband while responding to a domestic violence call, dealing with
the perpetrator of road rage, or in more serious cases participating in
the apprehension of dangerous felons. Even in these difficult
situations a good law enforcement professional will always maintain
his or her composure and manage the situation with the least

amount of physical force necessary while complying with all relevant

procedures and laws.
Good law enforcement officers are also good at taking educated risks
and finding creative solutions to problems. Despite the best
preparation and training, law enforcement officers face many
situations in the field that they have not confronting previously. Law
enforcement officers must be able to think quickly and act decisively
while simultaneously uploading the law. And when a mistake is made
a good law enforcement officer or professional will recognize the
mistake, acknowledge it, be accountable for the mistake and rectify
it.
Physical and Psychological Attributes
Outside of professional sports, there are few careers that are as
physically challenging and dangerous as law enforcement. Law
enforcement officers (police officers) must physically and mentally fit
at all times in order to effectively carryout their duties. Not only is
law enforcement physically demanding but it is also emotionally
demanding. In order for a law enforcement officer to be successful
he or she must be mentally fit as well as physically fit.
Law enforcement officers are required to pass routine physical
exams and drug tests. Excellent vision (20/30 or better in each eye
with or without corrective lenses) is also a requirement to be a law
enforcement officer. All other aspects of eye sight and hearing are
also required to be within an acceptable range. Not only physical
strength but stamina and agility are also important. Routine physical
exams, comprised of site-ups, push-ups and running, ensure that law
enforcement offers are always in peak condition.
Good law enforcement officers are also psychologically sound and
can readily adapt to new and changing situations. They must show
sound judgment and reasoning in stressful situations and under
extreme pressure.
Skills and Abilities
Community policing is an important aspect of a law enforcement
career. Many agencies today hire in the spirit of service, not in the
spirit of adventure. In other words, agencies are looking for
individuals who are drawn to and exhibit characteristics in line with
the service element of policing over the prospect of excitement and
adventure. And rightly so -- analysis of calls for service shows the
vast majority of calls to which officers respond are not crime related.
A U.S. Department of Justice-funded research project entitled Hiring
in the Spirit of Service identified the following as core competencies
for law enforcement officers:
Ability to use good judgment and to problem solve
Capacity for empathy and compassion
Capacity for multi-tasking
Ability to demonstrate courage and to take responsibility
Ability to be resourceful and show initiative
Demonstrating assertiveness
Possess and demonstrate integrity
Capacity for engaging in teamwork and ability to collaborate.
How can you develop these skills and abilities?
Developing these skills comes with experience and exposure. Below
are some ways to get started.
Volunteer. Volunteering with your local police department is a great
place to start. However, volunteering with any community service
organization can provide you with some of the skills abilities needed
to be an effective community policing officer. More on volunteering.
Gain work experience. Almost any type of work experience can help
you develop the skills needed to be an effective community policing
officer. Whether its serving as an intern, working in retail, or doing
clerical work, your ability to interact with others, think on your feet,
and prioritize work will help you in policing. Work experiences in your
community will help you better understand the dynamics of the
community you may serve and improve your ability to show courtesy
and respect to others in the work setting. These jobs will also help
you to understand the surrounding environment and culture.
Take related courses. This could be through educational courses
focused on communication or critical thinking. Understanding
listening strategies and how to communicate with the various
populations you will come in contact with is incredibly valuable.
Critical thinking takes practice and will help you to develop better
problem-solving abilities.

Police Officer: Skills and Qualities

Are you interested in becoming a police officer? Here are a few of the
key qualities you'll need to do this type of work.
Neutrality
Police officers have a family, friends and acquaintances, but the law
must be the same for everyone! They must be neutral when they
apply the law, even if they find that hard to do.
You might be good at being neutral, if you have these skills:
You're objective during a dispute, even if your best friend is directly
involved.
You can help resolve conflicts and find fair solutions.
You can resolve problems by weighing the pros and cons.
Ability to Deal to People
Police officers must be able to develop a good network of
relationships within and outside the police department. They must
also be able to work as a team and understand the importance of
cooperating with others.
You might have this skill if you're good at these things:
You're good at making friends.
You're supportive of other people and interested in them.
You like taking part in discussions and you're often the one who
initiates them.
Ability to Be Firm
To intervene in difficult situations, police officers must be selfassured and show authority.
You're good at being firm if you can do these things:
You can defend a different point of view during a discussion, even if
your friends disagree with you.
You can intervene to have rules applied or to solve a problem.
Ability to Control Your Emotions
Since police officers often have to handle crises, they must be able
to keep their cool when tensions rise.
You're good at controlling your emotions if you can do these
things:
You remain calm even when someone tries to annoy you.
You can keep your concentration in stressful situations, such as when
you're studying the day before an exam.
Psychological Principles and Practices for Superior Law
Enforcement Leadership
By Laurence Miller, Ph.D., Boca Raton, Florida
articularly in a hierarchical system such as law enforcement,
competent leaders are critical. This article integrates the twin
perspectives of police and management psychology2 and applies
these perspectives to two of the most crucial, mettle-testing
aspects of law enforcement leadership: making command
decisions during crises, and maintaining discipline and integrity
within the police organization.
Command Decision Making under Stress
Many books and seminars on leadership under fire outline
broad principles of crisis management in dealing with
emergencies. But what does the operational command leader
actually think, say, and do during a major critical incident, which
may involve a hostage crisis, multi-vehicle accident, terrorist
attack, civil disturbance, industrial accident, or natural disaster?
Characteristics of Effective Critical Incident Commanders
Why are some leaders better at crisis management than others?
What allows one commanding officer to remain calm and focused
in the heat of battle while another melts under pressure? Are
certain commanders just born leaders, or is superior command
leadership a quality that can be learned?
Human traits and skills combine innate talent, bolstered and
refined by hard work and proper training. The professional
athlete, artist, or musician illustrates this point. Certainly, without
a natural gift, all the training in the world will not raise the
individual into world-class status.
But raw talent alone is insufficient: the athlete or artisan must
work at developing that skill to its ultimate level in order to attain
and stay at peak performance. Research shows that those
individuals at the top of their fields never coast; in fact, they put
in far more time and effort into training than those with less
innate talent. They take what is great and make it greater. This
principle applies both to individuals3 and to organizations.4
The same is true of the kind of decision-making and peopleinfluencing skills that comprise true leadership. By dint of
intellect, temperament, and personality, some individuals may be

natural leaders. But if these individuals do not hone those skills in

the real world of managing people under stressful conditions,
theirs will remain undeveloped potential.
With that in mind, most psychologists and emergency service
professionals would agree on the following representative
inventory of traits and skills as the basis for effective command
leadership during critical incidents.5
Communication: This involves both input and output. The
effective critical incident command leader quickly and accurately
assimilates what others tell him or her from a morass of often
rushed, confused, and conflicting information, and is then able to
translate complex plans and strategies into specific, focused
directives.
Team Management: The command leader coordinates individual
team members' efforts. He or she is able to delegate
responsibilities as needed, but can quickly jump in and take
personal control where necessary.
Decision Making under Stress: It is not enough to keep from
panicking under life-and-death conditions; the effective
command leader must be able to think clearly and make critical
split-second decisions under fire. This characteristic requires the
ability to distinguish signal from noise, to take in and distill
relevant data and come up with a useful response. The key is not
to relax, but to maintain an optimal arousal state of focused
concentration without becoming distracted by anxiety.
Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating: This
is related to decision making under stress.
Grace under pressure does little good if the
leader lacks the necessary cognitive skills to quickly and
efficiently size up a situation, evaluate appropriate actions,
implement those actions, and then accurately assess their effects
on the overall crisis management situation. For skilled critical
incident command leaders, this cyclical process seems to occur
in a coordinated flow-which is why effective crisis commanders
always seem to do their job smoothly. It is not easy, but skill,
practice, and experience provide the level of expertise that
creates the zone of optimal performance.
Emotional Stability and Maturity: A certain basic emotional ballast
and stability of character form the base for the traits of superior
command leadership. Often described as charisma, this
leadership quality is more than just the brashness, swagger, and
popular appeal that the term implies. Rather, it consists of a
calm, purposeful, self-assured interpersonal style that inspires
troops with confidence and commands respect without having to
ask for it. This kind of leadership loyalty cannot be bought,
coerced, or cajoled-team members will extend themselves for
this commander because they absolutely trust his or her
judgment and commitment to the job and to their own wellbeing.
Making Rapid Critical Decisions Under Fire
In the cool, logical world of the academic classroom or corporate
boardroom, decisions are usually made by a dispassionate, stepby-step process: first access all the relevant information, then
weigh the evidence carefully, and finally come up with a
balanced spreadsheet of risks and benefits to guide the
appropriate decision.
But in the real world of emergency crises, cognitive psychology
demonstrates how effective decision makers operate in times of
chaos: they employ naturalistic decision making (NDM), which
describes rapid decision making in complex, messy, real-time
settings-for example, what transpires during the course of
responding to and managing a major chemical spill, traffic pileup,
or hostage crisis. NDM has been studied for over a decade in the
fields of military and civilian emergency response,6 but only
recently has it begun to apply specifically to law enforcement
work.7
In these kinds of critical situations, effective command decision
makers seem to invoke a cognitive skill that doesn't require the
kind of algorithmic, trial-and-error thinking typically taught in
formal courses on reasoning and decision making. Instead, since
they have accumulated a comprehensive storehouse of
knowledge and experience, leaders who have become true
experts in their fields rely on recognition-primed decision-making,
or RPDM8, a kind of holographic, at-a-glance kind of command
decision-making that usually results in the right answer. During
crises, RPDM is vital, and most effective commanders employ it
intuitively.

In times of crisis, a commander's brain instantly marshals his or

her deep and broad knowledge and experience, comparing and
weighing factors that the situation requires. In fact, the
commander has done this before hundreds of times in the past:
in hundreds of situations, and in various combinations, either in
real life, in training scenarios, or in independent study.
So when the time comes to apply knowledge to the present crisis,
the commander's brain does not have to scroll down a list of
options until the right one appears; instead, his or her brain
quickly sizes up the situation, performs a rapid internal mental
feasibility study of acceptable options, and instantly finds the
best available solution, which he or she then communicates to
the response team.
Though it looks like a hunch, it is actually a distillation of a vast
storehouse of operational wisdom applied to the current
situation. Even though it is described here as a series of steps, to
the actual on-scene decision maker, the RPDM process feels like
a quick, intuitive response rather than a laborious analytic
process.
The RPDM model has practical recommendations for on-scene
commanders, the most important of which is assessing the
situation as soon as possible, even before arriving on scene, as
soon as the call is received. In any crisis, all the information or
resources needed to ensure the best possible outcome is-and will
never be-available. While precious seconds are ticking away, the
immediate job is not to optimize, but to satisfice- to make a
decision and implement the appropriate action that will control
and stabilize the situation for right now-critical incident first aid.
The ability to employ RPDM depends on a track record of
knowledge and experience-expertise, or what some might call
wisdom-that guides the thinking of the true master of any
domain. It is the same principle by which accomplished athletes,
musicians, surgeons, hostage negotiators, and other experts
carry out their craft with ease and skill. While, like any other
human trait or talent, different individuals will show different
levels of natural aptitude for a given skill, almost all practitioners
can improve their proficiency by continued learning, practice, and
application.
Management through Personal Integrity
Police commanders have to deal with more than just major
critical incidents. Successfully managing a law enforcement
agency involves all the stresses and challenges of running any
private or public organization, with the added factor of having the
department's product or service consist of frequent, often
contentious, contact with citizens, sometimes in life-and-death
circumstances. Indeed, expertise-guided naturalistic decisionmaking doesn't apply solely to emergencies, but informs most of
the major and minor command decisions and judgment calls that
law enforcement leaders make every day.
Organizational Stresses in Law Enforcement
Police agencies have undergone important changes in recent
decades, some in line with changes in the larger organizational
world, others more specific to law enforcement agencies, and all
a potential source of stress for today's police managers. 9
As in any hierarchical organization, police middle managers are
responsible for the people below them and responsible to the
people above. They have many masters: senior-ranking
departmental officials, city and county leaders, citizen and
community groups, the media, employee union groups, and even
their own families. The management task of accounting to these
different masters is frequently complicated by communication
problems and by the emphasis on exceptional failures. In some
circles this is known as the "you're-only-as-good-as-your-lastmess-up" principle.
Middle- or upper-level police managers may feel isolated from the
daily street-level realities that patrol officers face, leading to
friction between them and the street officers, who complain that
the top brass have lost touch.
Demands for greater technical proficiency and the commensurate
changes in police tactics, strategies, philosophies, and
community relations require police managers to train their
personnel at the same time that resources are dwindling. As
public organizations face restricted budgets, opportunities for
advancement within departments tend to shrink, as do
opportunities for transfer to other agencies. Police managers may
feel stuck in a career rut, leading to frustration, demoralization,
and burnout.

At that point, a vicious cycle often begins, where deteriorating

morale leads to poor police performance, which in turn results in
either lackadaisical supervision (a form of command
capitulation), or to harsh supervision to "keep the lid on," further
eroding troop morale. The result? Resentful officers who shirk
duties and even escalate abuse-of-force incidents that leads to
citizen complaints. When the situation becomes public and faces
censure by executive management and city officials, the process
then enters its final cycle-a call for a complete overhaul of the
department, often by a new administration. Unfortunately,
without addressing the core problems, the cycle soon begins
again.
Managing Organizational Stress
Sewell's10 conceptualization of the police commander as a law
enforcement executive is a good place to start the process of
organizational stress management. In this model, the police
executive develops a vision or internal mission statement that
guides his or her image of the department's goals and purposes.
With the energy and stamina to stay the course and see projects
through to completion, he or she can also deal with the day-today challenges of running a department or section. The effective
law enforcement executive possesses the traditional
management skills-planning, organizing, staffing, training,
communicating, reporting, and budgeting-yet also has the ability
to creatively improvise in the service of the vision or mission.
Two essential leadership qualities are credibility and respect,
because without these, most other management skills will not
work. Credibility is a product of communicating and acting
consistently with the executive's values, beliefs, and principles,
as embodied in his or her vision. Personnel in any type of
organization may not always agree with the leader's opinions and
directives, but they will respect them and follow them to the
extent that they believe the leader to be a person of honor, who
operates out of principle, and who is willing to consider
alternative viewpoints in an atmosphere of mutual respect.11
Because the law enforcement executive straddles several worlds,
he or she must know how police organizations work, must know
the latest developments, must be able to adapt to stresses, and
must have a broad, detailed knowledge base about the
community that the department serves. While some of this data
can be gleaned by intensive research, much of it will necessarily
be a function of experience.
All too often, in law enforcement agencies as well as other
organizations, the endemic stresses that accumulate over time
are a symptom of systemic problems within the department.
Correcting these problems requires the police executive to take
difficult but necessary steps to institute organizational changes
that address stress within their own departments. Although these
measures do not necessarily require a psychologist, they are
based on a few commonsense psychological principles of
leadership.12
To begin with, the law enforcement leader must be visible and
accessible. He or she must be seen by the troops as actively
running the department, open to constructive feedback, and
sincerely concerned with both people's welfare and how well they
perform their duties.
In times of departmental crises, the ideal leader should be a
bedrock of stability and consistency; the troops must know that
he or she can be counted on to do the right thing, to not confuse
urgency with crisis, and to handle problems effectively. Leaders
who want to lead need to take the extra time and effort, not just
work by the clock.
True leaders do not fear feedback, and are always ready to learn
and expand their knowledge base. They do not have
subordinates who are afraid to confront them with conflicting
data if the goal is to improve the department's overall
performance. True leaders are not afraid to be wrong in the
present if the correction will lead to being right in the future.
Knowledge growth works in the other direction, too, and true
leaders make continuing education and training a priority. Many
departments link continuing education credits to promotions
and/or pay bonuses, but the police executive should make
learning a virtue in itself.
Learning should not be a punishment, although basic training
necessary to do the job is required. Leaders do better to create a
culture of knowledge13 where becoming smarter about an aspect
of law enforcement - or any other type of professional work - is

not an indulgence, but as a admirable example in selfdevelopment, on a par with intensive postgraduate firearms
practice or advanced crisis negotiation training.
Discipline and Behavior Change
Being fair does not mean relaxing tough standards; on the
contrary, honorable leadership builds morale and motivates the
troops for better performance. To maintain this morale, the police
leaders must treat all members of the department with respect.
Even though individual management styles may vary - from
formal and hierarchical to casual and egalitarian -the basic
common elements of respect and integrity suffuse successful
organizations of all types. The troops know when their
commanders are treating them right and will strive to
reciprocate.
Too many would-be leaders confuse respect with fear; the latter
works only as long as the situation is avoidable, or until someone
more fearful comes along. True respect is built on consistency,
trust, and integrity.
Effective police executives demand excellence, but they freely
acknowledge and reward their troops' honest effort and hard
work. They delegate responsibly and avoid micromanaging, but
know when to step in and provide hands-on help when
appropriate. They make a good-faith effort to rehabilitate
underperforming officers, but know when to cut their losses, and
will not let a truly bad apple continue to rot the departmental
barrel.
Good discipline begins with assessing and monitoring a problem
officer's behavior to detect precursors or patterns of misconduct
or substandard performance, and to apply effective interventions
early. Discipline should be consistent, impartial, immediate, and
definitive. Ideally, the goal should be to correct the misbehavior,
while salvaging an otherwise effective officer.14 To this end,
interventions should be targeted to a specific problem. Initially,
using non-punitive interventions, such as coaching and
counseling, is usually preferable to using punitive measures,
which should be reserved as a last resort.
Discipline by Coaching
The difference between coaching and counseling lies in their
focus and emphasis. Coaching deals directly with identifying and
correcting problematic behaviors. It is concerned with the
operational reasons those behaviors have occurred and with
developing specific task-related strategies for improving
performance in those areas. Most of the direction and guidance in
coaching comes from the supervisor, and the main task of the
supervisee is to understand and carry out the prescribed
corrective actions.
For example, an officer who fails to complete reports on time
should be given specific deadlines for such paperwork as well as
guidance on how to word reports so that they do not become too
overwhelming. An officer who behaves discourteously with
citizens could be given specific scenarios to role-play in order to
develop a repertoire of responses for maintaining authority
without abusing the public.
One useful model of law enforcement coaching15 divides the
process into stages.
Coaching Stage 1: Identify and define the problem. "There have
been four complaints filed against you for excessive force or
abusive behavior in the past nine months."
Coaching Stage 2: State the effect of the problem. "When citizens
view an officer's behavior as unnecessarily harsh, it makes it
harder and more dangerous for all of us to do our jobs. Each
officer's actions have repercussions for every other officer and for
the whole department."
Coaching Stage 3: Describe the desired action. "There seem to be
some common threads in these complaints. Let us review some
of these situations and see if we can come up with better
responses. But the bottom line is your style of interaction with
citizens has to change." At this point, the supervisor and officer
review scenarios and discuss alternative responses, using
discussion and role-play as needed.
Coaching Stage 4: Make the resolution to the problem attractive.
"We appreciate your efforts to be an enthusiastic, top-notch cop.
These new ways of doing your job will help you to be even more
effective on patrol."
Coaching Stage 5: Document and summarize the action and
changes to be taken. "Okay, I'm noting here that we reviewed
this and that you agree to make these changes."

Discipline by Counseling: Counseling differs from coaching in two

main ways. First, it is less task-focused and more supportive, nondirective, and non-evaluative, and seeks to understand the
broader reasons underlying the problematic behavior. This is
especially appropriate when the difficulty lies less in a specific
action or infraction and more in the area of attitudes and style of
relating.
Second, counseling is less top-down directive than coaching, and
puts more of the burden of change on the supervisee,
encouraging the officer to creatively develop solutions to his or
her difficulties. Much of the feedback is in the form of reflective
statements, so that a dialogue emerges that moves the
supervisee increasingly toward constructive problem solving.
Supervisor: Do you know why I asked to speak with you today?
Officer: Well, I guess there have been some complaints about me.
[Discussion continues about the nature of the complaints and
their consequences]
Supervisor: I see you have been here seven years with a pretty
good record. What's been going on lately?
Officer: I don't know, maybe the job's getting to me. Ever since
the Jones' shooting, it's like everything seems to drag. And the
civilians seem more of a pain than ever-every little thing ticks me
off. Oh yeah, and things at home haven't been going that great
either.
[Some further discussion about job and personal problems]
Supervisor: Well, I'm glad you told me that, and I understand
things have been rough the past couple of months, but I'm sure
you understand that we need to maintain a certain standard of
professionalism. I am going to refer you to our employee
assistance program for some counseling to help you get your
bearings. In the meantime, I would like you to take the next few
days to think of some ways you can improve how you're doing
things out on patrol. Jot them down, in fact, and we will meet
next time to discuss this further. You do your part, and we'll help
you get through this, agreed?
Officer: Okay, I'll try.
Supervisor: Well, I need you to do more than try, because the
situation does have to change. So get back to me with some
specifics next week and we will take it from there.
Leading in Changing Times
True organizational reform is not easy, and it does not happen
overnight.16 Even committed law enforcement executives often
come up against a municipal, state, or federal bureaucracy that
is accustomed to doing things the old way and expects the
department leader to straighten out his or her own housewithout, however, being given the latitude or resources to make
the truly needed changes.
But if the police executive is a person of integrity in both crisis
and routine situations, the rank-and-file will genuinely appreciate
his or her efforts to improve conditions on their behalf and, even
more importantly, will respect and comply with required changes
on their part, if these are seen as being fair and equitably
distributed throughout the department.
In other words, it's not all or nothing: a law enforcement leader
with a vision can almost always accomplish something valuable,
even if external circumstances force the reality to fall far short of
the goals.
Do you have the necessary Police Officer Qualities to be successful?
Find out below...
Do you want to be a cop? Do you have the necessary police officer
qualities that would make you successful in this challenging career?
Yes, lots of folks are interested in being cops. But do all of them have
those qualities?
The answer: No. Not all.
That doesn't mean that they aren't being genuine or sincere in
wanting a career as a cop.
They may indeed want to help others and give back to their
community. But, you can help others in many many different ways.
Being a cop is a very challenging and difficult job, and although you
can help others, you need to have specific qualities and be the right
kind of individual to do it.
So, what are these qualities? Think you can list a bunch? It's easy to
just list a bunch of them. Really, it is. Just list a bunch of words that
would describe a good person- a reliable, honest, hard working
person.
But, words are easy. Really, it is. Lets list a bunch.

In no particular order, Police Officer Qualities that would make a

good police officer:
1. Honest
2. Hardworking
3. Personable
4. Intelligent
5. Courageous
6. Reasonable
7. Trustworthy.
8. Motivated
etc, etc, etc.
But, what does all this mean? And how can you tell if you have these
qualities?
I think deep down, you know to a certain extent. But some of these
cases, these qualities, or lack thereof, may not be readily apparent.
Do you really have these qualities when you evaluate yourself? Do
you PRETEND to have them, or do you truly have them? What would
your friends and family say if someone asked them confidentially,
behind closed doors?
Are you only "reasonable" or "trustworthy" in certain situations, or is
it a quality that is ingrained in you?
10 key qualities of law enforcement leaders
Leaders are not made by human hand.
Instead, they are born with a character trait that can be developed
through education, training and hard work. Leaders come into being
by their own unique nature and make good use of their talents,
emerging as competent members of any organization.
Not everyone can be a leader; in fact, very few exist. Most are found
in the business world, military services or law enforcementwhere
the rubber meets the road! In the real world of success and failure
life and death, competition separates the leaders from the managers
and their cousins, the supervisors. Theres a distinct difference
between these three concepts. You may have good managers, even
good supervisors, but leaders? Thats something special. You dont
inherit this quality, delegate it or have it handed to you. Neither do
you have it by virtue of promotion or election.
You cant buy it or give it away. The essence of a leader is mixed and
molded by physical and mental traits, intelligence level, aptitude and
temperament.
Leaders inspire others.
Forged by the strife of life, leaders learn to set an example. Not only
do they care about the people they lead, they also possess a
genuine compassion for others, and are not afraid to accept
responsibility. They embrace the concept of being held accountable
and accept the consequences of such. A sense of decisiveness
pervades their thinking, enabling them to get things done, and they
arent afraid of making mistakes. Theyve accepted the fact that
mistakes are a part of the job. Despite obstacles, leaders normally
prevail against the odds.
Leaders are able to accept what comes with dignity and
humility.
They instinctively know when to fight battles and when to use
diplomacy. They dont play politics, regardless of the political heat.
They know that values and ethical precepts are the foundation of
leadership. As such, their sense of duty calls them toward quality vs.
quantity and substance over symbolism.
Although at times, leaders are required to stand alone when others
run for cover, they dont waiver when the going gets rough, because
their competence rests upon their adherence to good principles and
practices.
Leaders come in all shapes and sizes.
While personalities are unique, leaders educate themselves about
their own style. Good leaders tend to have a forceful nature and
routinely set examples for others to follow. There is a kind of
magnetism about a leader that sets him apart. You can often spot a
leader in a room full of people merely by his presence.
Although many people admire the attributes of leadership, some feel
jealously. In any organization, there are those who plot and scheme
to undermine leadership.
Leaders believe in themselves.

Knowing oneself is a foundational issue. Such notions cant be taught

in precise terms out of text books or government-sanctioned
curriculathey must be experienced.
Leaders believe in the ability of their subordinates.
In the process, subordinates learn to believe in leadership. Leading
by example is crucial to the leadership continuum. Leaders know
when to take charge and when to delegate authority. And, when it
comes to work-related productivity, a leaders subordinates always
get credit due.
Leaders are not afraid to get their hands dirty.
Effective leadership encompasses tactical and technical
proficiencies. True leaders do not forget where they came from,
regardless of rank. Ranking officers have a unique responsibility to
demonstrate leadership this is their primary operational function.
In discussions about leadership characteristics, people often cite
such things as honesty, integrity and reliability. Things like
adherence to a code of conduct comes to mind. This is the result of
a well-grounded sense of self.
When one looks in the mirror, what do they see? Do they see
someone who is confident, forthright and capable? A leader does.
The reality of these aspects suggests that subordinates appreciate
ranking personnel who have been there, done that and got the tee
shirt. These leaders have the ability to look out for their
subordinates. One college class of criminology majors listed the
following attributes: integrity, honor, professionalism, high moral
character, strong code of ethics, courage, fairness, intelligence, welleducated, respectful, open minded, and understanding. The list goes
on.
Leaders know how to motivate others.
They are able to create excitement and genuine pride in
accomplishing an objective. In addition to motivation, some make
frequent references to the care and welfare of subordinates. Good
leaders look after their personnel. Police recruits point out
selflessness in people they view as leaders. On the job, line officers
routinely look to certain supervisors, the ones who really care about
them. To suggest that law enforcement leadership follows a fixed
definition is misleading.
A rigid explanation might suggest that leadership is a social order

situation, where one person is in charge of another. However, a

leader is more than just someone who has authority over others.
Broader attributes surface and allude to a leader being something of
a maverick, a risk taker, a creative personality. He isnt afraid to
venture out into new territory. Such a person is bold and imaginative
and strikes a special resonance within his followers. In a society of
myth, magic and metaphor, influenced by the media, politicians and
mass marketing, true leaders have become something of a scarcity.
Leaders are a special breed.
And, just because you have the rank, doesnt mean you are one.
Leadership in law enforcement, government, or other haunts of life,
waits to be lived by those who feel the calling. Not everyone feels
the calling and not everyone answers. In fact, very few rise to the
challenge.
Given the formative foundation of their early years, leaders strive to
build upon their leadership strengths. Overcoming weaknesses and
building upon their skills, gifts and talents, emerging leaders strive
to stay at the top of the human pyramid. They are motivated to
succeed, prevail and live beyond the normal, mundane and less risky
modes of life. Personal motivation is at the heart of leadership. This
leads to actions by exampleleading by example encourages people
to follow.
Leaders are like heroes and heroines they come in many
forms.
When they arrive, you see something about them that stands out.
The inner strength of their leadership ability emerges. A leader is on
a quest, and you can see it. They want to lead their subordinates in a
competent, fair and forthright manner. When necessary, they will
offer acts of selfless compassion in support of their followers.

Leadership is at the top of a pinnacle of human interaction, and

leaders intuitively know this. Although these lofty heights scare
some, leaders dont mind the high altitude of social complexity.
They work and produce at many levels. The more one applies his
skills as a leader, the more he realizes the importance of people over
processes.
Over time, a leader becomes less concerned with rank, privilege or
ambition. Self-centered motivations give way to a more profound
concern for others, the mission and the results. Policies, procedures
and rules become less and less a fixation. Leaders know they must
develop their skills on an ongoing basis. Keys to the enhancement of
leadership capabilities include: self-knowledge, personal enrichment,
professional proficiency, effective cohesion with subordinates,
decisiveness, acceptance of responsibility, fearless accountability,
provision of quality information, positive team building and a passion
for action
Key Qualities of the Effective LE Supervisor
Communication, collaboration and credibility create an effective
officer/supervisor relationship
Confetti falls on the new police officers during a graduation
ceremony for the July 2013 New York City Police Academy class,
Tuesday, July 2, 2013 at Barclays Center in New York. We owe our
young officers all the support they deserve. Remember: Leadership
is a relationship between the supervisor and the street cop and that
relationship requires trust and confidence in the organization.
This article is written from the perspective of a street cop. After nine
years as a patrol officer, I have strong feelings about the importance
of leadership in policing. Too often, officers who get promoted to the
next rank become arrogant and prideful. The result: They treat patrol
officers like garbage.
This is more than just poor relationship building. It's also ineffective
in motivating cops to be better at their jobs. I never met a cop who
enjoyed being micromanaged and treated as less than humanafter
all, it's stressful enough dealing with criminals on the streets! The
average citizen gets rewarded for being a hero when they do
something courageous, but often times when patrol officers do
something worthy of praise, they get scrutinized and secondguessed. This undermines confidence and makes the organization
dysfunctional.
This is not about a specific agencywhen I talk to officers from other
agencies, the main complaint is about ineffective supervision and/or
lack of leadership. There is often a major divide between
management and patrol officers, a divide that causes nothing but
drama.
Don't get me wrong. I've met plenty of good command staff
members over the years, and many supervisors are professional and
well-intentioned. Nonetheless, there seems to be a significant level
of tension between management and the patrol officers.
When it comes to being a good leader in law enforcement, I harken
back to some excellent advice I received in the academy. Perhaps
you remember your academy instructors telling you not to get
caught up in departmental politics. For me, those statements went in
one ear and right out the otherI just wanted to get out there and
lock up the bad guys, reduce crime and save lives. But when I
graduated from the academy, I heard it again from the veterans.
They told me that there are two ways to handle a conflict: politically,
or using common sense.
The bottom line: Common-sense solutions are the key to leadership.
Following are a few specifics.
Street cops must understand the business side of policingthat is,
police administrators must satisfy their constituents. If not, then they
are susceptible to complaints and even litigation.
Positive Leadership Traits
Build healthy relationships
Communicate
Listen to employees
Collaborate
Delegate responsibility
Don't shirk responsibility
Have confidence
Keep a positive attitude
Motivate others
Inspire shared vision
Be proactive vs. reactive
Show flexibility
Keep an open mind

Be enthusiastic
Take initiative
Be courageous
Take risks
However, this doesn't mean that lower-ranking personnel should be
demeaned or belittled. When a significant event occurs,
management should look for ways to acknowledge and encourage
the positive aspects. If there is room for improvement, it should be
conveyed constructively and without an air of Monday-morning
Negative Leadership Traits
quarterbacking.Micromanaging,Poor communication,Not listening
Refusing to learn from others,Reacting negatively to criticism
Making decisions based solely on emotion, Blaming others for
mistakes
Showing favoritism,Indecisive,Deceitful,Unwilling to learn,Conflictcreator,Unethical,Being a dictator,Refusal to admit fault
If managers make micromanagement and second-guessing the
norm, officers will be reluctant to make the tough decisions and may
hesitate in situations where hesitation could have serious, even
deadly, consequences.
For me personally, I decided that I would not contribute to the
problem by being a complainer. Instead, I wanted to make a
difference. I had a master's degree in organizational leadership and I
began to share what I had learned. Example: Leadership is a
relationship between the supervisor and the street cop and that
relationship requires trust and confidence in the organization. Street
cops don't like being continually told how to perform their jobs and
they have to know that they are empowered to make decisions.
Being a great leader also means avoiding negative and
counterproductive behavior.
Supervisors should praise good officers for doing the right thing,
especially when no one is watching. Leaders who choose to create
positive relationships in the work environment will be more effective
and engage individuals to get extraordinary things done. People
don't follow leaders based on intimidation and fear. Want to inspire
employees? Earn their trust first. In return, officers will go the extra
mile.
Officers want to feel appreciated for their hard work on the streets.
As police officers, we are often criticized for not listening to the
concerns of citizens. Officers are trained in the academy to be in
control and give direct orders. If not careful, that attitude, when
directed towards subordinates, can result in an ineffective leader
who frustrates those under his or her command.
The bottom line: Supervisors must build healthy relationships in
order to be considered leaders.
5 Qualities of a Great Police Officer
When we think of a police officer or law enforcement professional,
one of the first images to pop into our mind is that of a gun-toting,
donut-eating person flashing his badge and ordering people around.
There is a big difference between being just another police officer
and a great police officer. Anyone can fit into the shoes of the
former, but to become the latter is no mean task.
Here are 5 qualities that every outstanding law enforcer possesses:
Excellent Communication Skills
A great police officer excels at encoding as well as decoding verbal
and non-verbal messages. He or she is clear, concise, persuasive,
and confident in their communication. They use physical force and
restraint only as a last resort.
Deep Abiding Honesty
Police officers are expected to lead the community by example. It is,
therefore, crucial that they set the right precedent for the society to
follow. An honest police man is not only a great role model, but also
an asset to the police force.
Impressive Fitness
Law enforcers should be physically and mentally fit enough to chase
down and deal with felons and criminals, and rescue and protect the
weak and the vulnerable.
Good Conflict Resolution Skills
Whether it is difficult situations or people, a great police officer
knows the right way forward in most situations. This is a lot trickier
than it sounds, but it is also where the ability to deal with conflict
and difficult situations sets a great police officer apart from merely a
good one.
Commitment to the Cause
A great law enforcement officer feels an inherent sense of duty and
commitment towards the well-being of his community. He

demonstrates this commitment by continually assisting the needy,

irrespective of the risks and dangers of the job.
Conclusion
If you think you have the above qualities in you, you could be eligible
to play an important role in the affairs of your community. With
proper training, you can enhance your qualities and skills and start
on your way to becoming a well-respected law enforcer.
ethics, integrity, honesty, compliance with rules, regulations and
orders, dependability, good judgement, self control, interpersonal
skills, respect for others, repect for diversity and teamwork
highest possible integrity throug honesty and ethical conduct, police
must be truthful, faithfully perform duties. do the right thing for the
right reason.
"Waiting For The End"
Yeah!
Yo!
This is not the end, this is not the beginning
Just a voice like a riot rocking every revision
But you listen to the tone and the violent rhythm
And though the words sound steady something empty's within them
We say yeah with fists flying up in the air
Like we're holding onto something that's invisible there
'Cause we're living at the mercy of the pain and the fear
Until we get it, forget it, let it all disappear
Waiting for the end to come
Wishing I had strength to stand
This is not what I had planned
It's out of my control
Flying at the speed of light
Thoughts were spinning in my head
So many things were left unsaid
It's hard to let you go
(Oh) I know what it takes to move on
(Oh) I know how it feels to lie
(Oh) All I want to do
Is trade this life for something new
Holding on to what I haven't got
Sitting in an empty room
Trying to forget the past
This was never meant to last
I wish it wasn't so
(Oh) I know what it takes to move on
(Oh) I know how it feels to lie
(Oh) All I want to do
Is trade this life for something new
Holding on to what I haven't got
(Yeah, yeah!)
What was left when that fire was gone?
I thought it felt right but that right was wrong
All caught up in the eye of the storm
And trying to figure out what it's like moving on
And I don't even know what kind of things I said
My mouth kept moving and my mind went dead
So I'm picking up the pieces, now where to begin
The hardest part of ending is starting again
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
[Chester ('til end):]
All I want to do
Is trade this life for something new
Holding on to what I haven't got
I'm holding on to what I haven't got
I'm holding on to what I haven't got
This is not the end, this is not the beginning
Just a voice like a riot rocking every revision
(I'm holding on to what I haven't got) But you listen to the tone and
the violent rhythm Though the words sound steady something
empty's within them
We say yeah with fists flying up in the air
Like we're holding onto something that's invisible there
(Holding on to what I haven't got) 'Cause we're living at the mercy of
the pain and the fearUntil we get it, forget it, let it all disappear