We see things change around us all the time, but we rarely embrace it. An often-heard line during training sessions is that cops hate just two things, change and the way things are. So why do we struggle with this consistent issue in our lives?
I have been absent from my writing for the last 4 plus years and a lot has changed for me as I am sure it has for you. I lost my best friend after 40 years of marriage, retired from full-time law enforcement after about the same time, remarried, started a consulting and training business along with all the normal changes in our world. I have faired rather well but many don’t in our culture.
What are the cultural issues that make first responders resistant to change?
Our hierarchy and chain of Command can get in the way of change. In talking to officers about their department, I often hear comments like we are twenty years behind, or some similar number. My question is, how long has the chief has been in law enforcement? The answer will echo the years they are behind. Our structure, being top-down, can create a resistance to change since younger officers are either reluctant to opine or disregarded by the “old guard”.
We have a tradition of toughness and self-reliance. Our culture selects and trains us to be strong, independent and emotionless, like Sgt. Joe Friday. (If you don’t know Joe, seek a re-run of Dragnet) These traits make it difficult to seek help or be open to new ideas.
Our culture places a strong emphasis on traditions and rituals. Traditions and rituals certainly have their place, but they can be seen as essential to our identity. Why do we do things in a certain way? How many times have you heard; we have always done it that way! How we do things, ceremonies and even the way we communicate. Look at how we write reports and the language we use. Early in my career, we had an officer who would look up a challenging word and use it in a report just to mess with the lieutenant. That really rocked the shift. Challenging our culture can be a threat to identity.
The Us versus Them mentality within our culture is as prevalent today as it was forty years ago. We circle the wagons in our culture and anyone from outside that circle is a threat. This makes it difficult to receive different perspectives. In my many years among cops, change has not made much progress. There are changes happening, but they are incredibly slow. If I can sum this up with an old phrase (there I go again), the more things change, the more they stay the same – still rings true.
We are a risk averse culture. We are trained to minimize risk and maintain control in all situations. This creates a distrust for change that involves uncertainty or a new way of doing things.
What can we do to make our culture more open to change?
One step in making change to our culture is through leadership. We hear about leadership all the time but for all the reasons above and then some, leadership changes slowly also.
Lead by example. “We don’t think our way into a new way of behaving, we behave our way into a new way of thinking.” is a quote I wrote down many years ago in a class from Ken Murray author of “Training at the Speed of Life”. Leaders should model the behavior they want from their people. Try the new technology, fire the rifle, walk the business district, talk to the people and go on the calls. And here is a biggy, GO TO THE TRAINING! I always attended the same training as my people, but I know of way too many chiefs, etc. who have private range or never attend training.
Training and Education. I just mentioned attending training but education and training needs to actually be emphasized! Some of this is a political problem, lack of training funds but there is more to education than big money. If the budget allows, make attending training and conferences a requirement. So many people asked me how I could be so progressive as an older chief. My forever answer is ILEETA. I have attended that conference for over twenty years, and it constantly challenged my old ideas of policing. Things being taught there were years ahead and it took five years to catch up in the real world. If you live in the silo, you will not be exposed to new ideas. If you don’t have the budget, start a library and encourage reading as education. Either way, allow the discussions and implementations to have a venue with officers.
Encourage participation and feedback. Involve those in the field in decision-making and planning. I mean, who is doing the job? Everyone took handcuffing in training but who handcuffs the way they do in training? Why? Because it doesn’t work in real life the way it does in training. The people often making the training decisions aren’t doing it anymore. At least open the feedback loop and hear what your people have to say about ALL of it. Change will not only be more accepted if they are involved in the process, but the decision makers may have their eyes open to the realities of today.
Recognize and Reward Adaptability. Do you want to encourage change? Reward it! Positive reinforcement can create a culture that values and supports change. And reward yourself for positive change that occurs in you because of your willingness to step out of your comfort zone.
Mental Health and Well-being. This is my final point here, but it is a BIG one. For all the reasons above and more, our culture is missing the impact of the job on our people. All of them, the officers, supervisors, corrections personnel, communications folks, records room group, families and community. We normalize what isn’t normal and thus we don’t see the impact of the things we take in. We lose more first responders to suicide than we do to line of duty, and it isn’t going down. But we also lose so many to termination and resignation because we blame them instead of accepting the reality of the toll of those things our eyes see, and the mind can’t forget. We need to change our approach to this arena. I will address this more soon but have run out of space for now.
Be safe!
