The start of a new year or the beginning of the new chief’s or sheriff’s tenure brings forth several new endeavors within the department. This will be the starting point for new departmental initiatives or projects. New goals and objectives are announced. Nobody is facing this with excitement; more like dread and waiting for next shoe to drop. Who will be placed on the new project team usually comes to mind? More realistically, is how will this newness affect me? If this is not happening to you, this scenario is being played out across the nation – sooner or later it will land at your doorstep. Let’s get a few truisms out of the way.
Change is constant in law enforcement. Laws, technologies, methodology and generational issues will manifest in front of you every month. If you do not like change- get out of law enforcement now. It is not how devastating the change is but your adaptability to adjust and apply it. Through the years I have heard the ‘I will never do this or that’ but in a few weeks, the adjustments are made. Good cops are adaptable and adaptability should be a part of the job description.
I hate the word ‘project’ – I have survived vast ‘projects’ and have the stories to prove it. The new chief announces that we have a new project and it will be our new way of doing business. Here is the reality statement, a project always will have a start date and will have an end date. Most projects are attached to a grant or some funding stream, which will all dry up eventually. So, this new way of doing business has a lifeline attached to it; keeping its life sustaining money stream pumping dollars into it. Let the political atmosphere change, so will the funding or the budget and alas there goes the project. Most veteran staff members know this and will tolerate the new project for their political survival under the new leadership – appointed or elected.
So Chief, how do you achieve buy-in for the new project? The answer to the question is to determine what is in it for the average patrol officer/deputy? The baseline of support for any new project is how it will benefit the end user. Face it- if this does not make the officers safer, ease their workload or afford them direct benefits, they could care less. Officers will accept it, as it does not hurt them. My best offer for total buy-in is to have vertical input, from the lowest rank to the highest. The end users must be considered and included. I have seen great ideas that came from command staff fail. Why- they did not consult with the line officers for its applications.
Mission statements and core values – everybody has one, have you read yours? New leadership will rewrite these to model after their leadership style or goals. Should you get placed on a team to revisit yours, here is a tip. Most every mission statement mentions governmental officials, leadership, business community and citizens. Rarely will a mission statement mention the employees. Don’t believe me- do some reading. What is wrong with this – your employees are your most valued assets. No police officers – no service delivery. I do not care how you view this – honor your employees and care for them. Ensure that fair treatment and finding value in your employees is written. Your staff reads these things and their omission speaks volumes. Include their worth in writing and your actions.
Accreditation - Chiefs and Sheriffs will seek various forms of accreditation at national or state levels. In most circumstances, this is a very good thing. The process (if performed correctly) will force the administrator to review how they are conducting business. Have all of your standard operating procedures (SOPs) been reviewed recently? Just the new case law changes alone will void several policies. Not every accreditation scheme is best for your agency. Research the most achievable and best applicable to your agency. This will be a costly affair- it is manpower and budget specific. Make sure as you update policies and procedures that proper, timely training occurs – rules mean nothing if the staff is not trained in them.
The best question I have to ask any chief or sheriff is - What is in it for the officers? As a former chief, I know you have goals and objectives placed on you by the governing body or leadership. There will be times you must stand up and defend your staff, do not toady down for your career. There will be times you are told to perform changes that are not good for the operations or general safety of your officers. You are their leader, so be one! Good leaders take care of their staff. If you do not do care for them, they will find out. And when they discover you sold them out, prepare for the fallout. Invest in your staff on all levels, they are the ones that make the department’s image and creditability – not you.
What is in it for the department? New chiefs and sheriffs, this agency was here before your arrival. It will weather your stint of office. I know every chief and sheriff wants to leave their fingerprints on a department. You want to look back at your term and boast your successes. Trust me, it is about the department- not you. Commanders come and go; the flag moves forward. I recommend you read the poem The Indispensable Man by Saxon White Kessinger for your personal reality orientation. Any leader should know, it is not them that made the difference but the overall contributions of all that makes the department what it is and will be.
William L. Harvey | Chief
William L. "Bill" Harvey is a U.S. Army Military Police Corps veteran. He has a BA in criminology from St. Leo University and is a graduate of the Southern Police Institute of the University of Louisville (103rd AOC). Harvey served for over 23 years with the Savannah (GA) Police Department in field operations, investigations and completed his career as the director of training. Served as the chief of police of the Lebanon City Police Dept (PA) for over seven years and then ten years as Chief of Police for the Ephrata Police Dept (PA). In retirement he continues to publish for professional periodicals and train.
