Reference no: EM133106304

Police agencies are upside-down bureaucracies in that chiefs have limited influence over the day-to-day affairs of the street officers. To ensure the legitimacy of a police agency, one must understand and adapt to the values of the community they serve. In a multicultural area, a community's values may be different from that of a police officer. To effectively police an area, you must understand the community and find shared values and common ground. The most effective way to accomplish these goals is through open communication with the community.

If I were the Chief of Police, I would meet with the local community leaders and stakeholders and determine their immediate concerns. I would ask them for solutions to the problems. If the solutions are unethical or against the law, I would explain why legally or ethically, they will not solve the problem. The stakeholders would be more engaged and part of the solution process by doing this. I would encourage the stakeholders to attend scenario-based training (shoot-don't shoot) with body-worn cameras. I would have the participants go through the entire process, including writing a police report. After completing the scenario, I would break down the scenario with subject matter experts to show the participants how difficult split-second decisions can be. Afterward, I would encourage all stakeholders to go on ride-along to witness the officers' real problems while on patrol. Aside from involving the stakeholders, I would have my police officers attend community meetings to hear directly from the community they serve. The first police officers to participate in these meetings would be the field training officers, who are the first line of supervision and have the most significant impact on new recruits. Educating the community is just as crucial to having a well-trained police officer.