Do not underestimate the power of a simple gesture and the positive effect it can have on your officers.

The Advanced Officer Training Day was designed to be an internal conference-style training event to make learning policing fun again and share our new training philosophy.

Positive leadership and creating a positive squad culture are on-going commitments that must be nurtured and developed over time.

As the sergeant or first-line supervisor, you are responsible for establishing the lens of your squad. Whether it is positive or negative is determined by you.

It is undeniable that law enforcement is a unique working environment and one in which the word positive is not always easily associated.

I see this responsibility as a vital one because if I do not do a good job, I am not just affecting that new sergeant, but every officer that serves on his or her squad.

With the current climate surrounding law enforcement, how would a help wanted advertisement have to read in order to be just as truthful and unflattering, yet attract exactly the type of people we want in policing?

As leaders, there are terms you hear bantered about on a regular basis that are great conceptual ideas, but often lack real-world practice – culture, vision, mission, purpose, alignment, value.

When it comes to the paramilitary model that law enforcement agencies are built upon, a similar “trickle-down” concept applies to leadership.

These consequences can affect a person’s life both personally and professionally and it does not have to be that way. The good news is that, as supervisors, we have the ability to combat the 3 signs of a miserable job...