Running

head: REBUILDING TRUST 1

Rebuilding Trust

Steven Shea

University of San Diego

REBUILDING TRUST 2

One of the responsibilities of the chief of police for a small department is the animal

control unit. During spring 2015, a detective in the police agency discovered that the animal

control supervisor was euthanizing dogs in violation state law and city code. The detective

conducted an investigation and recommended criminal charges be filed against the animal

control officer. The chief of police reviewed the report, declined to forward the report for

prosecution, and failed to institute any discipline against the employee. Some months later,

the community learned of the criminal behavior and failure of the chief to hold her accountable

(Ho, 2015). Subsequently, the chief was forced to resign and faces misdemeanor criminal

charges (Associated Press, 2016).

The new chief of police has been brought in to renew trust with the community and

within the agency. Some community members are deeply concerned that the chief would

cover up for an employee who committed criminal acts. Others are outraged that the animal

control officer was allowed to kill animals at all, let alone in violation of state law. The new

chief needs to build trust with the community on both fronts and assure all that this type of

behavior will not be tolerated. At the same time, the chief has an obligation to build trust

within the agency that their criminal investigations will not be suppressed and criminal

behavior by employees is not acceptable.

The former chief chose not to lead, or even manage, the agency. The new chief will

need to determine a leadership style that best meets the needs of the department. One option

is to be a transactional leader who manages through rewards and punishments. This is

probably the least desirable option, but would be an improvement over the previous chief. The

new chief could choose to be a transformational leader who addresses the self-worth of
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employees and incites them to achieve results beyond their expectations (Bass & Bass, 2008).

The recommended leadership style in this case is servant leadership wherein the new chief

places the needs of the staff above his or her own needs, without evading management

responsibilities, and demonstrates a willingness to serve the community. Servant leadership

also goes well with the guardian mentality discussed later in this paper.

The first task for the new chief is to build trust within the agency in order to

demonstrate that malfeasance will not be tolerated and that investigations into legitimate

criminal activity will not be stymied. Enacting peer review of critical incidents and for major

criminal investigations will help promote openness regarding investigations and discussion

without repercussion (Presidents Task Force on 21st Century Policing. 2015).

The next task is to build trust with the community that the animal control unit will never

operate outside of the law again. The chief shall work with the community to develop policies

that change the culture of the police department to a guardian mentality even when dealing

with animals (Presidents Task Force on 21st Century Policing. 2015). Additionally, the chief will

need to acknowledge the criminal activity of the previous animal control supervisor to better

build trust among the community (Presidents Task Force on 21st Century Policing. 2015). In

order to demonstrate transparency, the chief shall build a team of citizens selected from the

community to act as an oversight board for the animal control unit and the animal control

shelter (Presidents Task Force on 21st Century Policing. 2015). The goal of this strategy is not

only to collaborate with the community, but also to empower the community members to have

oversight of policies and practices within the shelter (Lukensmeyer & Torres, 2006).
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The new chief shall build a cadre of employees to develop a clear and consistent policy

manual (Presidents Task Force on 21st Century Policing. 2015). In order to achieve a well

thought out, uniform set of written directives the chief shall consider pursuing accreditation

through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA, n.d.). An

accreditation program helps to ensure that the chief is held accountable to the citizens and to

the employees.

Developing a citizen advisory board (CAB) is critical to building the trust and legitimacy

needed to raise the agency above the errors of the past and to demonstrate transparency to

the public. The CAB should meet regularly to learn about crime trends in the community and

issues internal to the agency. The CAB should be consulted continuously regarding proposed

policy changes and should be encouraged to voice concerns as they collaborate on solving

issues (Presidents Task Force on 21st Century Policing. 2015).

By involving the city manager and city council, the new chief can provide updates as to

the progress of the various initiatives. The chief shall provide, at a minimum, monthly updates

regarding the assembly of advisory committees, policies, and accreditation. Follow-up to

ensure progress is critical so that programs dont falter and disappear. An annual report to the

city manager and city council will help continue progress in the future.

In a situation where the ethics of the agency have been seriously challenged both

internally and externally, the new chief will need to undertake strong initiatives to rebuild trust.

The task of rebuilding trust within the department and the community begins with the chief

employing a strong leadership style that demonstrates a desire to put others first. The chief

will need to show employees that criminal behavior will not be tolerated and legitimate
REBUILDING TRUST 5

criminal investigations will not be suppressed. The chief can build trust for the animal control

unit by empowering a citizen review board for the unit and by developing a guardian mentality.

Developing a strong set of agency policies with input from employees and citizens with

accreditation through CALEA can help to keep the chief accountable. In order to build

transparency of the entire agency, the chief can enact a citizen advisory board that has a voice

in agency policy. Finally, the chief must keep these and other programs continuing and report

regularly to the city manager and city council.

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REFERENCES

Associated Press (2016, April 8) Ex-Boulder City police chief facing misdemeanor in animal

shelter case. Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved from

http://lasvegassun.com/news/2016/apr/08/ex-boulder-city-police-chief-facing-

misdemeanor-i/

Bass, B. & Bass, R. (2008) The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research, and managerial

applications. New York, New York: Free Press. Retrieved from

https://ole.sandiego.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-759593-dt-content-rid-

2371563_1/courses/LEPSL-520-MASTER/bass.pdf

CALEA (n.d.) Law enforcement accreditation. Retrieved from

http://www.calea.org/content/law-enforcement-accreditation-program

Ho, S. (2015, December 7) Boulder City animal control supervisor was licensed to kill despite

noted conduct. Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved from

http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/dec/07/boulder-city-animal-supervisor-was-

licensed-to-kil/

Lukensmeyer, C. & Torres, L. (2006) Public deliberation: A managers guide to citizen

engagement. Retrieved from

http://www.businessofgovernment.org/sites/default/files/LukensmeyerReport.pdf

Presidents Task Force on 21st Century Policing. 2015. Final Report of the Presidents Task

Force on 21st Century Policing. Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing

Services. Retrieved from

http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/TaskForce_FinalReport.pdf