The way an agency can change their culture can be accomplished through a combination of approaches. At the forefront, it requires good hiring practices, policies, training, and supervision. Conducting thorough background checks, including reviewing prior employment records and not lowering hiring standards are very basic steps. Agency leadership needs to ensure the policies they are using are legal and in compliance of industry standards. They need to ensure their officers are trained on that policy, and then their supervisors need to ensure they’re enforcing that policy.
Having a clear and concise mission statement and incorporating it into the daily operations provides officers with the strategic direction of the agency. This can be used when faced with a situation that may not be covered by policy but provides officer the ability to reference whether their actions align with that mission. An agency also needs to have clear and concise core values that align with that mission statement and are incorporated into everyday operations, recognitions and awards. Agency leaders should focus on normalizing officer mental health and wellness. Developing strategic objectives, creating programs for these objectives, and then measuring participation will be key. Agencies should take officer input on these services and whether they find them beneficial or not and how they may need to be improved. Research completed by Benchmark Analytics reveals agencies that have these 3 things, a clear/concise mission statement, clear/concise core values, and normalizing officer wellness, have 20% lower turnover than their peers.
Agencies can also change culture by conducting fair, consistent, and thorough internal affairs investigations when officer complaints arise. This process can provide multiple benefits for the agency. First, it reinforces the importance of agency policy and the need to follow it. It can also lead to situations where policy or practices need to be adjusted based on that review, allowing the agency to improve as a whole. It also provides an example for other officers about the importance of following policy.
Second, in the event an officer is having personal issues, this could be discovered as part of the investigation and allow the agency to limit the potential for additional exposure to both the officer and agency. It may also reveal an officer who is committing misconduct and allow the agency to move forward with separation if applicable. It also provides the officer a chance to answer to questions that command may have and clear up any potential issues. This affords the officer with his due process rights.
Third, the internal affairs process ensures accountability and public trust; not only for the officers, but for the supervisors and agency. If the agency had a “pencil whipping” approach to IA investigations, they could lose public confidence, which in turn could lead to more difficult situations on the street for officers to handle. Having a strong internal affairs process ensures your officers a conducting themselves in a professional manner, which in turn leads to increased public trust. Often times we rely on the public’s help to solve crimes, if we don’t have their trust, how can we give victim’s and victim’s family the justice they deserve when they call for help.
These are just a few of the ways an agency can change their culture. Any one of these on their own may assist, but utilizing a combination of all the approaches listed will ensure an agency is operating in a professional and constitutional manner.
