The Dynamic of Interposition is about the duty that each officer has to intervene whenever a fellow officer becomes abusive or loses control of themselves, even if the officer is of a higher rank.

SPECIAL NOTICE:
I am in the process of totally revamping the Police Dynamics website to include brand new content as well as a number of online courses. So stay tuned!

One of the callers on the radio show was a father who was struggling with how to reward his kids. He promised his son and his daughter that he would give them each $50 if they made the honor roll. His son made it but his daughter missed it by just a few points. He knew she tried hard and he wanted to reward her for her efforts without lowering his standards. The Character Connection was what he needed. Instead of rewarding his kids for their achievement, he needed to recognize them for their good character.

THE CHARACTER MAXIM:
If you recognize achievement to the exclusion of character,
you inadvertently encourage bad character.

While I was in Colorado to present the Inductive Interview Course for the Ft. Morgan Sheriff’s Office and surrounding agencies, I stopped off at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs to produce the video.

While on “Python Patrol” in the ‘Glades, I took a few minutes to record this latest Police Dynamics training videos. In this segment from the Dynamic of Strongholds, I use the metaphor of roaches invading a house to illustrate how ineffective traditional law enforcement can be in fighting crime in troubled neighborhoods. Just like roaches rely on a disorderly and dirty environment in which to breed, criminals rely on Fear, Apathy, Tolerance for Crime, and Mistrust of the Police. These environmental elements are best attacked through a coactive trust-based relationships with the community.

The participants asked these very insightful questions:

1. How do we hire for character and how could we modify existing hiring practices to accomplish this?

2. How can you regain trust when you have made a bad decision despite years of making good ones?

3. How do we justify leniency for a previously “model officer” in light of all public attention on our work?

4. How do we begin this conversation with the leadership team to clearly set the standards?

Click here to read my responses.

The qualities in my list are:

• Hatred of Evil
• Love of Justice
• Respect for the Law
• Commitment to Character
• Genuine Humility

THE CHARACTER MAXIM
Focusing on achievement to the exclusion of character inadvertently encourages bad character

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]]> http://policedynamics.com/the-power-of-the-character-connection/feed/ 0 http://policedynamics.com/conflict-resolution/ http://policedynamics.com/conflict-resolution/#respond Thu, 25 Aug 2016 14:39:55 +0000 http://policedynamics.com/?p=3702 Continue Reading »]]> As law enforcement and public safety officials, we are often called upon to mediate conflicts.

These conflicts can be internal between officers, or external between members of the public, or a combination of the two where an officer has a conflict with a citizen. By applying the character quality of forgiveness to a conflict resolution strategy, many conflicts can be resolved effectively. When I was first exposed to this technique, I was skeptical, and even thought it was a bit hokey. But after using it several times, and NEVER having it fail, I became convinced of its power as a conflict mediation technique.