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Welcome to the Policetraining.net Newsletter
In this issue
we continue to bring you important training topics of current interest.
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John E. Reid and AssociatesThe act
of committing a crime is always associated with an emotional state. Most
criminals experience some level of shame, guilt or loss of self-esteem. Others
primarily experience a fear of being caught. A very few (the psychopath) will
experience excitement and thrill. Because shame, anxiety and fear are all
undesirable emotional states, the mind will attempt to reduce these negative
feelings by using defense mechanisms. A defense mechanism is a habitually
employed adjustive reaction designed to reduce unwanted feelings by distorting
or denying the truth. We all use defense
mechanisms to cope with everyday guilt and anxiety. If I am late in writing the
monthly Web Tip, and consequently experienced guilt or shame, it would not sooth
those feelings by acknowledging that I procrastinated and was poorly organized.
To reduce my guilt and shame I may utilize any number of defense mechanisms. I
may blame my boss for assigning me too many other tasks which did not leave me
enough time to write the Web Tip. I may reduce guilt by contrasting what I did
to something much worse, e.g., it was only a couple days late, not a whole
month. I may forgive my tardiness by forming a belief that others engage in the
same behaviors as I do and, therefore, I am no different than anyone else. There
are many other possible defense mechanisms, but these illustrate the concept-
they all reduce unwanted feelings and are habitually employed. A person does not
consciously distort or deny the truth. The mind does it unconsciously.
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The Cure is Worse than the Disease
American
law enforcement has evolved from a relatively simple job performed by relatively
unskilled workers to a complex social enterprise performed by highly
skilled professionals. In my view, that is the key to understanding the
managerial approach required for sustained performance in our police agencies.
Unfortunately, the culture of our profession is such that while we use
management terminology consistent with overseeing the work of skilled
professionals, in practice we all too often continue to manage in a fashion more
suited to unskilled workers. The end result is that we try to govern rather than
lead, strive to control the workforce rather than use its potential, and attempt
to shape conduct by regulating behavior rather than by modeling and instilling
values. In many of the law enforcement agencies with whom I've worked, the
unsettling reality is that many of their problems exist not in spite of
management's best efforts but because of their best efforts. The cures we
use to try to address organizational problems often come full circle and are, in
fact, the cause of the problems we wish to eliminate. In the medical
field, they have a term for this: iatrogenic disease - physician induced
disease. I would suggest that the law enforcement mindset encourages iatrogenic
management that oftentimes creates the problems our actions seek to suppress.
The police culture encourages a short-term orientation that focuses upon
suppressing problems in the present then legislating to prevent them in the
future. While the sense of this is seemingly clear, the evidence is that this
approach, when the SOP of the organization, does more harm than good.
Let's look
at why. Law enforcement agencies strive to avoid errors and public mistakes,
particularly serious ones that smack of corruption, unprofessionalism,
discrimination or any number of other serious ills. That makes good sense. But
we need to ask how we best prevent these things from happening. It seems to me
we need to begin by asking: "What does a person more easily violate: 1) a rule
or procedure, or 2) the trust of someone the person respects"? Clearly people
do not want to lose the respect of someone they hold in high regard,
particularly if a direct, meaningful relationship exists between them. In fact,
most people simply won't do it because the personal loss is simply more than
they will risk. On the other hand, rules and procedures - particularly when
agencies have volumes of them - are rather easily violated for as little reason
as personal convenience. Yet the control mechanism most commonly used by law
enforcement agencies is rules and procedures rather than trust and respect. This
adds fuel to the fire rather than extinguishing it. Police managers are not the
organizational firefighters they see themselves as...they are organizational
arsonists.
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By
Russell Ruffin
Law Enforcement Media Training
As the Phoenix Police Public
Information Officer prepared for his news briefing, he carefully reviewed the
facts: At 12:20 pm an explosion rocked the city's largest mall, five people are
dead, a first responder died after being overcome by fumes upon arrival, more
than a hundred people have been injured by flying shrapnel, another a hundred or
so are showing signs of chemical poisoning, but even worse, a plume of deadly
sarin gas has been released and many of those who were exposed to the fumes are
now fleeing, heading to hospital emergency rooms, further spreading the
contamination.
George Washington Elementary
school with seven hundred students, is situated two blocks to the east of the
blast site, while the business district and several residential areas are
sprawled out on the north, south and west sides.
Every available resource of the
police department has been completely depleted as law enforcement awaits the
arrival of federal assistance and relief. Within ten minutes of the blast the
local news media interrupted programming for a series of unconfirmed reports
that left everyone frightened and confused. One radio station was carrying a
LIVE telephone interview with a witness who called in to say he was walking
toward the main dining area of the mall when the blast sent dozens of victims
flying through the air. The caller said the blast hurled him more than fifty
feet outside through a set of double glass doors.
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Top Ten Worst Ideas for Police Uniforms:
- Spandex
- Anything in pink
- Sequins
- Leather Shirts and Pants
- Anything Crocheted
- Pant Suits
- Mid drift shirts
- See Through Mesh Pants
- Kevlar Man Bra
- Top Hats and Tails
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View a list of law enforcement training offered throughout the country.
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