Heartfelt Leadership

A Veteran Police Chief Reflects on Policing a Democracy, Leadership, and the Improvement of Policing in America.

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Top Posts Last Week 1. "Should Cops Be Physically Fit?" 2. "Making Choices: The Moral Aspects of Policing." 3. "How a Traffic Offense Can Be a Ticket to Prison."

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Lost and Found: A Young Officer's Notebook (1962)

Lost and Found: A Young Officer’s Notebook (1962)

The other day I ran across one of my notebooks from my early days in policing. I don’t know where any of the other notebooks are, but I found this one among my books.

For a bit of history, I have included my notes in today’s post.

In 1962, I had just recently joined the Minneapolis Police Department after spending two years in Edina, a wealthy suburb of Minneapolis. I joined the Edina Police…

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All Time Active Posts (to date)

All Time Active Posts (to date)

Top Posts on “Improving Police” (2011 – 2016) 1.     Why Police Matter 2.     Making Choices: The Moral Aspects of Policing 3.     Principles of Leadership 4.     How a Traffic Offense Can Be a Ticket to Prison 5.     Hazing and Bullying in the Police Academy 6.     The Seven Necessary Steps — Step 1: Not Just For Police! 7.     How Should Police Present Themselves? 8.     T…

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Efficiency review of UK police

Source: Efficiency review of UK police

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Peacekeeping

These two pictures hung in my offices in two police departments for 25 years. A major influence on my life in policing.

When I took the Madison job in 1972, I felt that I had a clear mandate from the police commission to be a peacemaker; to move the city away from a continuing conflict with the students at the nearby University of Wisconsin. The issue was whether or not “petitioning the…

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Should Cops Be Physically Fit?

Should Cops Be Physically Fit?

What is the role of health in policing?

Should our police be required to be fit not only mentally and morally, but also physically?

For many years, I carried the torch for police wellness — basic police fitness and health standards — beyond the entry level. I believed that all police should be able to demonstrate a basic level of body strength and aerobic fitness throughout their career.

As…

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Obama Hates Cops

A great piece from a retired officer who “gets it.”

Source: Obama Hates Cops

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Does the Supreme Court Protect Bad Police?

Does the Supreme Court Protect Bad Police?

  In recent years, the court has made it very difficult, and often impossible, to hold police officers and the governments that employ them accountable for civil rights violations. This undermines the ability to deter illegal police behavior and leaves victims without compensation. When the police kill or injure innocent people, the victims rarely have recourse.

A recent court ruling (May, 2014)…

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Re-Thinking Juvenile "Justice"

Re-Thinking Juvenile “Justice”

An MRI scan highlighting the frontal lobe. As people mature, reshaping of the brain slows, but in the frontal lobe new links are still forming at age 30.

You’re an Adult. Your Brain, Not So Much.

[NOTE: The following provocative article by Carl Zimmer of The New York Times presents some very interesting data for those of us who work to see that our criminal justice system meets our national…

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Most Popular Posts Last Week

Most Popular Posts Last Week

1.  The “Warrior” Attitude: A Continuing Problem 2.  How a Traffic Offense Can Be a Ticket to Prison 3.  Principles of Leadership 4.  Why Police Matter 5.  Making Choices: The Moral Aspects of Policing 6.  What About CompStat and Crime Reduction? 7.  Police Like a Girl!

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The Words Don't Come Easily

The Words Don’t Come Easily

“Sorry and forgive me are difficult words. They are not easy to say. To forgive, or ask for forgiveness, is to dig deep into our humanity. It is to risk opening ourselves up to another so that healing might begin for everyone.”

Jesus’ story of the father forgiving his prodigal son portrayed by Rembrandt (circa 1663).

The title from today’s post comes from lyric by Tracy Chapman, “Baby, Can I…

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A Cop's View From the Street

A Cop’s View From the Street

I ran across an interesting article in my favorite religious magazine, Christian Century. I say unusual because I don’t usually find an article about policing among my religious literature.

 In this month’s edition (March 9, 2017) Adam Plantinga, a San Francisco police sergeant and author of 400 Things Cops Know: Street-Smart Lessons from a Veteran Patrolman, writes about his view — “from the…

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Police Like a Girl!

Police Like a Girl!

“If you don’t have 20% or more women in your police department you are missing out on the opportunity of becoming a high quality organization and delivering the best you have to your officers, the city, and its residents.”

Jay Newton-Small wrote a very important book last year, Broad Influence: How Women Are Changing the Way America Works. I have recommended it to my university class on police…

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How's Your E.I?

How’s Your E.I?

  “If police leaders do not have a high degree of Emotional Intelligence it is very questionable if they can function today at the level their officers and community members expect. The good news is that they can improve.”

Psychologist Daniel Golman has written much about “Emotional Intelligence” or E.I.

Emotional Intelligence is different than our I.Q. because it is malleable and can be…

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A Letter to White Police Officers

A Letter to White Police Officers

Dear Officers,

This month, the Urban Institute released a survey on perceptions of police by persons who live in low-income, high-crime areas.

The results, though disturbing, should not be surprising.

However, when we experience low-trust in these neighborhoods it impacts our effectiveness and our ability to help keep these communities safe and the bad guys at out. It also directly affects our…

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Most Active Posts Last Week

Most Active Posts Last Week

  1. How a Traffic Offense Can Be a Ticket to Prison 2. Why Police Matter 3. Principles of Leadership 4. Making Choices: The Moral Aspects of Policing 5. Hazing and Bullying in the Police Academy 6. Should We Elect Our Police Leaders? 7. The Principles of Policing (1829)

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Should We Elect Police Chiefs?

I have been pondering something which I opposed for years — the election of police chiefs. I was against this because I had tenure in the city I served and wanted to keep politics out of my office.

I remember Sheriff Bill Ferris who was elected just before my appointment telling me that people opposed to his policies came after him once every four years while those opposed to what I was trying to…

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