When considering the design, development and deployment of police technology there are several factors to consider — funds being a big one. There is no doubt police workload has increased fivefold since the 1960’s with resources not keeping pace and funding falling to the wayside.  

Technology funding has become a large problem many departments face. Thirty-five years ago, the only “technology” needed was a police radio and the location of the nearest pay phone. Today, police radios scan thirty-plus channels and officers typically have in-car video cameras, traffic monitoring radar units, access to automatic license plate recognition (ALPR), in-car laptops or tablets with Internet access, body-worn cameras, department-issued cellphones and, of course, personal cellphones. 

Police are being tasked with increasingly complicated challenges as the state of technology evolves, but today’s most effective agencies aren’t exactly lacking in technical fortitude.

Take the following questionnaire to gain insight into the challenges many police departments are facing today:

1. Are you uncertain on how to implement a new technology solution to your department?
   
2. Do you lack the resources to train your department on newly rolled out IT equipment?
3. Do you long for a solutions integrator who truly understands the challenges within your workforce?
4. Are you tired of waiting weeks for a replacement device when something breaks?
5. Do you lack the space to stock and store equipment?
6. Does your department struggle to support the latest and greatest technology?
7. Do you always know where your product is?
8. Is your agency’s online capacity its greatest struggle?
9. Does your IT department leave field staff ‘out in the cold’?
10. Are you tired of managing multiple vendors?
11. Do you struggle to keep track of your department’s technology assets?
12. Does your department have an issue with a device and not know where to turn?
13. Are you uncertain of what our warranty covers?
14. Are you exhausted of constantly needing replacement batteries for your devices?
15. As you bring in more advanced technology into your department, are your officers struggling to keep up?
16. Do you need help with installation and training for your department or agency?

Did you answer yes to many of the common challenges police departments are facing today? If so, you’re not alone. 

Group Mobile, an IPSA Supporter, understands the challenges departments face when selecting, evaluating and implementing the right mobile technology deployment for law enforcement. Our pledge to the public sector — coupled with our years of experience on how to define and design, install, train, and maintain the most reliable, best-in-class, long-term technological solutions — make us an industry leader among public safety agencies nationwide. 

Our specialized professional services directed towards the public sector include:

The experts at Group Mobile work with police departments nationwide and will assist you in determining the best equipment for your application and budget. 

If your agency is strapped for funding, we can help with that too. Group Mobile iCare sets us apart from any other reseller in the rugged computing market. For law enforcement agencies struggling to keep pace with today’s technology because of no capital, we developed a revolutionary solution called TaaS or Technology as a Subscription. 

We will work with you to create a bundled solution that fits inside your budget requirements — in turn, your department will be in line with the most effective agencies today with the most up to date technology with hassle free management, now that is peace of mind. Contact one of our public safety technology experts today.

Related article

Rugged Laptop or Rugged Tablet — How to Decide on the Right Mobile Computer for Law Enforcement

By Alexis Craig

Working in police dispatch in a major metro area, it often feels like everyone wants a piece of you and the ones you keep for yourself are running at a premium. It’s only eight to ten hours, but sometimes it can feel like days.

My favorite days, the really good days, were the busy ones. The days where we were going from the moment we sat down until the moment we handed it off to the next shift. The pace makes the day go by fast, plus my partners and I could entertain each other with snarky between-radio transmission commentary. We were never short on commentary.

Back to back robbery, homicide and car chases could make for a day where you feared blinking lest some other catastrophe burst forth, but it made the time pass quickly as you worked to get ahead of the criminal and support the officers at the same time. It’s like chess with real people instead of pieces.

The good days pass pretty quickly, some with great stories, most quickly fading into the aggregate of memory entitled ‘working at Communications’.  The really bad days, though, tend to leave scars that you carry even after you’ve left the profession.

A large number of bad days (that aren’t officer-involved incidents) involve translation, because I can’t imagine being that terrified and not able to speak the language of the people trying to help. It’s heartbreaking to ponder.

Story of a 7-year-old Spanish boy

I had a little boy call in one night on the midnight shift, while I was still in Dispatch before I moved over to Control. He was seven years old, hiding in a closet to get away from what sounded like Armageddon just beyond the door. It was his dad beating the brakes off his mom. He told me all about it (in Spanish), how his dad had been drinking all day, how scared he was, how much he hated his dad when he drank and how worried he was about his mom. We were on the phone for what felt like hours, but was about five minutes, and I have never been so glad to hear officers kick in a door. I often wonder what happened to that kid and his mom.

French speaking woman from Somalia

A woman Somalia called 911 terrified because she was in her house with her kids, her husband at work driving a taxi and someone was breaking into her house. She’d just come to this country, and now she’s in a situation where language is a barrier to help. We made it work, and the suspect got away, but I was upset for her, because what if someone who spoke French hadn’t been working, what would she have done then? (this is before the implementation of the language line)

Some of the worst days

The worst days involve your friends and family.

The worst days involve hugging loved ones, wives and mommas, apologizing for loss and feeling responsible for it in your own way. You’re more than likely not, but that’s not how it feels.

The worst days involve sitting with your friends at the hospital, waiting on news of whether it’ll be a long road to recovery or a short one to the funeral home. Sitting there waiting is not something I did well before this job, and I haven’t gotten any better about it since.

This job changes you. Your identity, your sense of self. You become part of something. It changes your expectations, your patience with small talk and it recalibrates your b*ll sh*t meter all the way into negative numbers. After a while, the department/agency becomes a large dysfunctional family that would make a decent prime-time sitcom with coworkers on your side of the radio and the officers on the other. It’s a good job and sometimes a hard job – it’s the best one I’ve ever had.

Related articles

National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week 2017

The thin gold line: What it’s like being a 911 call taker or dispatcher in today's climate

What is the story behind the #IAM911 movement?

Author bio

Alexis Craig began as a 911 dispatcher at the Marion County (Indiana) Sheriff’s Communications Center in November 2002 and became a Control Operator in 2003. She’s worked at the East District radio channel for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (and IPD before it) from 2003 until she joined the Cumberland Police Department as a civilian admin in 2014. Currently, she’s the office manager of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 86 in Indianapolis.

April 9 - 15 is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week and we want to see & hear how your agency is celebrating! 

Request for photos

If you are celebrating NPSTW, formally or informally, send us your photos. Be sure to include the following: 

1. Send photos to info@joinipsa.org
2. Identify Agency Name, City, State in photo 
3. Twitter handle if you or your agency has one (optional)

Share a story about a recent, memorable call

1. Use Microsoft Word
2. Include first name, last name, agency name, city, state
3. Provide a working title
4. No word limit (long or short stories)
5. Send story to info@joinipsa.org 

Training opportunity on April 11

The IPSA will be hosting a Webinar on Tuesday, April 11 @ 12pm Arizona time on the Integration of Tactical Dispatch: Critical Support for Incident Commander and we encourage you to register for it soon as space is filling up! 

Questions? Contact us info@joinipsa.org 

By Dr. Jim DeLung

Generational research has an abundant footprint on classic and contemporary literature. A generation is defined as a group of people who have similar life experiences concurrently developed due to historical events (Mannheim, 1936; Massey, 2006). These similar life experiences affect an individual’s worldview both personally and professionally. Individual anomalies may exist within a generation, but this research focused on generational commonalities. Members of a generational cohort are generally bound together by historical world events that create a context for life, and this context appears to be carried and replicated through life.

Derived from private sector research

The private sector has more generational literature than the public sector, and policing has nearly none.  This research combined generational literature of private industries with many civilian public sectors to include military and correctional references similar to policing.  Generational divides appear to exist in all American workplaces, yet policing is different because of its culture (Cappitelli, 2014).

The four generations

The four major generations currently in the American public safety workforce include:

1. Traditionalists, born prior to 1946.
2. Baby Boomers, born 1946-1964
3. Generation X, born 1965-1979
4. Generation Y or Millennials, born after 1980. 

Often the literature has slightly differing demarcations for the generational cohorts, but the above dates are generally accepted (Cogin, 2012; Kaifi, Nafei, Khanfar, & Kaifi, 2012; and Lester, Standifer, Schultz, & Windsor, 2012). 

Generational diversity in the workplace is not a new subject, but it has become a highly-investigated topic in contemporary peer-reviewed and popular media literature (Lancaster & Stillman, 2010). 

Beliefs and values

Each generation possesses and exhibits unique beliefs and values in the workplace developed from their shared life experiences (Lester et al., 2012) through the history of the time. These unique beliefs and values may positively or negatively affect the workplace through lack of understanding or communication.  It is clear that the literature on generational differences is growing, but it is unclear if generational differences and characteristics are identifiable and generalizable across a single or multiple work industries.

Expectations and motivators

Literature suggests distinctive expectations and motivators exist amongst each of the diverse generations: (a) Traditionalists, (b) Baby Boomers, (c) Generation X, and (d) Millennials. Organizational decision-makers would benefit by identifying genuine generational differences through research data rather than relying on popular media literature. A legitimate research study might assist in identifying generational characteristics that organizational leaders could utilize for hiring, satisfaction and retention.

Each generation exhibits unique strengths and weaknesses in the American public safety workforce.

What influences these generations?

Members of each generation are subjected and influenced by cultural, societal and family events that occurred during their formative years. The formative years are generally accepted across the literature as pre-teen through teenage years of life (Massey, 2006). 

As individuals develop through their formative years, various historical events impact each generation differently and are displayed open or latently for a lifetime. These historical events are what usually bind an individual to a particular generational cohort.

Generational anomalies, cuspers

Again, anomalies may exist due to life events that differ from the general generational population. For example, generational cuspers may not fall in line with the norms and characteristics of a single generation. Individuals born somewhere near the widely-debated birth-year demarcations or within a few years of the generational split are known as cuspers. 

Cuspers sometimes have the ability to move between two different generational cohorts due to the historical events that bind cuspers during their formative years. But, these individuals usually identify with the generation that most closely fits their underlying values and lifestyle characteristics (Hammill, 2005) identified throughout their lifetime.

Traditionalists, born prior to 1946

Members of the Traditionalist Generation are usually defined by the Great Depression. These individuals grew up in an era of great economic hardships and self-sacrifice. Their core values are usually a life sacrificed to an employer and conformity to the general society. Traditionalists are described as patient, loyal and they put work before play (Clare, 2009).

Cates (2010) stated traditionalists represent over 59 million of the present-day employees in the workplace. They want to continue to make a difference in their organizations through challenging and stimulating work. Professional growth and learning for Traditionalists comes through hands on experiences, and they appear to have difficulty with the fast paced changes in technology.  Literature reveals that Traditionalists actually have a positive view of technology, but they may require more training (Cates, 2010) due to their unfamiliarity with the new and often changing technologies.

Traditionalists work well with Millennials

Emelo (2011) suggested members of the Traditionalist generational cohort appear to work well with patient Millennial mentors. Millennials appear to focus on their relationships with thus older generation as they explore technologies such as social networking with them. Matching Millennials with Traditionalists in law enforcement may have an immediate positive organizational impact.

Characteristics of Traditionalists

Traditionalist public safety employees often exude extreme loyalty, self-discipline and organizational knowledge (Cekada, 2012) to their superiors. Many in this generational cohort have retired from the workplace, but continue to value a working lifestyle through volunteer of part-time employment.  The apparent diversity of blending Traditionalists with Millennial employees in the workplace could cause collaboration and conflict which required further research through this study.

Baby Boomers, born 1946-1964

In contrast to the Traditionalist Generation, individuals from the Baby Boomer Generation generally grew up with drastically changing economic and political events (Dittman, 2005, as cited in Cates, 2010). 

For example, the formative years for a Baby Boomer likely experienced the Vietnam War, Martin Luther King, Jr. and John F. Kennedy assassinations, as well as Watergate, increased feminism, and Woodstock (Howe & Strauss, 2007). 

Baby Boomer work ethic

Baby Boomer family units also moved from urban to suburban areas into homes, and for the first time families owned multiple cars. Raised by strong work-ethic parents, the almost 80 million Baby Boomers entered the workforce at a furious pace like never before in American history. To get ahead in the workforce, this competitive, hard-working generation started to work more than the standard 40 hours per week. Current literature exists with varying opinions about the positive or negative impacts of the increased work hours (Cekada, 2012) introduced and maintained by members of the Baby Boomer generational cohort.

Today, over 76 million Baby Boomers still occupy the American workplace, and they are often found in positions of higher authority in organizations due to workplace experience and seniority. They often define work ethic as long hours and face-time. This Baby Boomer approach to vocation and their definition of work ethic are displayed in both management and followership styles (Cates, 2010). 

Therefore, Baby Boomers are less likely to push against their superiors while spending long hours at work and away from their families.

Baby Boomers and organizational culture

Baby Boomers have created an organizational cultural value in the number of hours a person spends working as well as the amount of money paid for working (Cates, 2010). This face-time, butt-in-seat, at the workplace, organizational institutionalization is respected and desired by Baby Boomers, but not Millennials. 

Baby Boomers often contrast with Millennials

Many Baby Boomer organizational leaders complain about Millennials who do not fit the company mold, yet they themselves created them as their own children (Scheef & Thielfoldt, 2004 as cited in Cekada, 2012). This workplace leadership incongruence can often conflict with the workplace behavior and acceptance of the younger Millennial Generation employees (Simons, 2010).

Generation X, born 1965-1979

The work-driven, many-hours working environment implemented by Traditionalists and Baby Boomers developed the unique members of Generation X through a pseudo-rebellion against the long work hours away from the family. As a result, Gen X members became independent and adaptable employees who saw their parents’ loyalty to employers rewarded with layoffs and considerable cutbacks (Cekada, 2012). 

The increase of divorce and moms going to work evolved into latchkey kids who helped raise their siblings autonomously. These negative formative years experiences translated into the current informal, self-reliant Generation X employees and bosses (Hammill, 2005 as cited in Cates, 2010).

Gen Xers work environment

The constant need for independence in the workplace, and the dislike of micromanagement comes as a result of their lonely albeit autonomous upbringing. Gen Xers prefer to receive and give feedback immediately in an informal manner. Work must be fun, loosely structured and combined with many opportunities for personal and professional growth (Cates, 2010).

Career options are usually viewed as open to Generation Xers who watched their parents’ reduction in force and layoff in the 1980s. They may prepare for their opportunistic departure from an employer due to an economic downturn as a defense to their parents’ negative experiences during the Generation X formative years (Cekada, 2012). 

A Generation Xer will often have an eye on a few new job opportunities or even an entirely new industry ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Gen Xers, opportunism and Millennials

Members of Generation X take their employment status seriously, but they are continuously building their personal resumes in preparation for lateral or external opportunities (Simons, 2010).  This behavior may be a result of trying to obtain employment that allows the Generation Xer to maximize time spent with their families. 

Twenge (2010) stated in cross sectional data from the Families and Work Institute, 52% of Generation X was family centric as compared to the 40% of Baby Boomers. This may suggest some of the current conflict between work, life, and family balance Generation X experiences in the workplace with their Baby Boomers supervisors.

These Generation X workplace satisfiers may also be in conflict with the Millennials, and is further discussed in this research study.

Millennials (Generation Y), born after 1980

The literature commonly identifies the latest generation in the workplace to be the most diverse. More specifically, Millennials are identified by their unique dress, body piercings, tattoos and constant electronic connectivity (Cogin, 2012) rather than just race and gender. 

As a generation who was constantly showered with attention and praise, Millennials are often described from confident to arrogant (Cekada, 2012). Alsop (2008) referred to the Millennial Generation as self-absorbed trophy kids who aspire to be financially successful, with strong global/environmental and socially-responsible consciousness.

Conflict that seems to work

Millennials are uniquely different because their own goals and desires seem to conflict while interestingly working well together. For instance, Alsop (2008) also described how contemporary popular and research literature often depict Millennials as narcissistic and egocentric, furthermore they are described as the most philanthropic generation in history as reported by the Pew Research Center (Taylor & Keeter, 2010). Maybe these contrasting behaviors and beliefs are why Twenge (2006) described today’s youngest Americans as confident, assertive, entitled and more miserable than ever before.

Millennials in the workplace

Incongruent behavior internal to the Millennial Generation is also described by Alsop (2008) because Millennials desire strong supervision and direction in the workplace, but demand the flexibility to complete tasks on their own terms. 

Lancaster and Stillman (2010) further described the Millennial Generation as the most difficult generation to work with as reported by the Baby Boomers and Generation Xers interviewed, but further qualitative research is required to identify the root cause of this legitimate or perceived revelation.

According to a Pew Research Center report (Taylor & Keeter, 2010), the Millennials identify their generational uniqueness through technology, music/pop culture, liberalism/tolerance, intelligence and clothing. 

Values listed by the other three generations in the workplace included items such as honesty, work ethic and respect/morals. 

Without this deeper investigation and research directly from Millennials, it could be too easy to conclude their uniqueness would greatly contrast with the other generations in the workplace (Bristow, 2009; Crumpacker & Crumpacker, 2007).

Related Articles

What you need to know about the recruitment, satisfaction and retention of Millennial-aged police officers

Workplace satisfaction for millennial-aged public safety employees

About the Author 

Author: "Hellofa motivator!" - Dr. Jim DeLung is currently serving with pride as the CEO of DeLung International at DeLung.com, a professional leadership and organizational development firm. As a successful private entrepreneur and public-sector leader, Dr. DeLung utilizes his education and experience for effective leadership and inspiration to organizations through interactive, adult-oriented training programs. More information available at www.DeLung.com

Incidents of identity theft and online fraud are on the rise this time of year as millions of Americans file their taxes online. In the 2016 tax season, the IRS saw an approximate 400 percent surge in phishing and malware incidents. Sophisticated cybercriminals are actively looking to steal your identity to fraudulently claim your tax refund, making it critical to stay extra vigilant in the coming weeks.

Unfortunately, it is easier than you might think for criminals to be successful in claiming tax returns fraudulently - in most cases all they need is your name, social security number, and date of birth. During tax season, and year-round, consumers should be very cautious about sharing personal information online. Consumers should not trust any text messages, emails, or phone calls from anyone claiming to represent the IRS and asking to share personal information. The IRS does not use electronic communications, such as email, text messages and social media channels, to initiate contact with taxpayers to request personal or financial information.

The Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign encourages you take the following measures to protect yourself against online tax fraud:

1. Don't give out your personal information, unless it is to an established, trusted entity.
2. Look out for phony messages or websites claiming to be from the IRS or tax preparation services. These websites can look quite legitimate so do your due diligence in spotting a fake.
3. Beware of promises offering "free money" from inflated refunds.
4. Back up your data and store your electronic tax files securely.
5. Only share personal information over a secured network.

The IRS offers tips for filing taxes online; visit www.IRS.gov/Filing and the IRS Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft at www.irs.gov/uac/taxpayer-guide-to-identity-theft to learn more. To report suspicious online or email phishing scams, please email phishing@irs.gov. To report phishing scams by phone, call 1-800-366-4484. If you have been a victim of identity theft in general, report such incidents to the Federal Trade Commission at www.IdentityTheft.gov.

For more tips on staying safe online, please visit the Department's Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign at www.dhs.gov/stopthinkconnect.

Originally published on https://www.dhs.gov/stopthinkconnect-campaign-blog

By Greg Albrecht, Co-Founder and CTO of Orion Labs

The realm of wearables and the Internet of Things (IoT) is exciting territory for the public safety sector. It can enable real-time monitoring of an officer’s vitals, administer medication to a patient in controlled doses or enable efficient communication across vast distances.

As an EMT and a disaster communications specialist, I know what it’s like to communicate effectively in crisis situations. Many of my colleagues still rely heavily on walkie talkies, a somewhat durable solution, but they haven’t drastically evolved over the years. They have their strengths, but it’s important to keep their limitations in mind.

Limitations

Range is a severe restraint, especially in a widespread disaster situation. Though many devices work effectively over a few miles, there are several limitations to keep in mind. For example, dust and other particulates, tall buildings, dense vegetation or hilly terrain can severely effect range. In order to enable these systems, agencies have to purchase expensive equipment and radio licenses. Even after these expenses, civilians or cyber attackers may tap into the communications which could prove a danger for them – or for you.

Time to evolve

New and larger disasters are becoming increasingly possible as climate change and an unstable political atmosphere infiltrates countries around the world. It’s time for agencies to begin phasing out walkie talkies in favor of other technologies. Fortunately, this is possible for first responders today through Orion Labs.

In 2013, Orion Labs, announced its new approach to real-time communications for enterprise and government organizations. The founders both serve as fire department and emergency medical volunteers so they understand the need to protect public safety teams while enabling their success in the field.

Orion Labs believes that ground-breaking technology in real-time voice communication will revolutionize the public safety sector. That was part of the promise of traditional walkie talkies and other communications devices, but their time is over. Instead of a large walkie talkie with a shoulder-mounted speaker and dangling cords, Orion Labs envisions simple badges like the Onyx that reduces bulky equipment with a heads-up, eyes-free experience.

New solution for first responders

Orion Labs recently released the Enterprise Voice Platform, enabling secure, real-time communication with teams through Onyx.

Imagine that your team needs a flexible way to communicate within the local hospital while a colleague is working across state lines in the field. Or that dispatch needs to reach officers while protected with FIPS 140-2 compliant, end-to-end encryption. It’s these boots-on-the-ground experiences that really drive the innovation behind the push-to-talk technology.

And, that innovation continues as the team at Orion Labs continues to develop communication tools for all public safety officials.

To learn more about Orion Labs and Onyx, visit www.OrionLabs.io.  

Author Bio: 

Greg Albrecht co-founded Orion Labs in 2013 and serves as the company’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO). He is a startup veteran with an extensive background in technology infrastructure and software development.

Prior to Orion Labs, Albrecht led the development of Splunk’s first cloud offering. In addition to Albrecht’s technology expertise, he is an active EMT.

By Tom Joyce, NYPD Retired Lieutenant Commander of Detectives, Vigilant Solutions VP of Business Development

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.” Most of us are familiar with this quote from Aristotle and have found it to ring true in our personal lives. But let’s consider the life of a typical police officer at a busy agency, a day in the life, if you will. 

Ask any officer about a “typical day” and they will tell you that often the only thing typical in their day is suiting up and the daily pre-shift briefing. After that, it’s anybody’s guess as to what happens next. So, when you contemplate the idea that excellence in anything comes from repetition, it’s often hard to apply that to what can often be a chaotic and random day on the job. I get it, I’ve been there. At the same time, I have seen the unfortunate and sometimes tragic results of that lack of repetition when it comes to training on tools that can, and do help police save lives.

Consider the case of a man that murdered someone in his home. Police have a license plate number for the suspect’s car but fail to enter that plate number onto a license plate recognition (LPR) system hotlist. Three days later, the man is suspected of killing again. During the subsequent investigation, they find that the suspect’s license plate had been scanned on day two, after the first murder. Had that plate been on a hotlist, the suspect would have been apprehended before killing again.

Lives and Money Lost

Or what about the case of a shooting in the northeast, where several people were shot and one was killed. Detectives focused their investigation on tracking the suspect’s cell phone whereabouts to a location in the northeast. They never considered the suspect’s vehicle, and did not enter the license plate in a hotlist. The suspect’s plates were scanned in a southern state, hundreds of miles away, while the investigation continued to focus on the cell phone location in the northeast. As it turns out, the suspect had abandoned the cell phone, and was indeed in the south, and was later apprehended.

These two cases demonstrate that had the license plates been put on a hotlist immediately, the suspects would have been apprehended sooner, and in one case, two people could still be alive. This raises the flag that there is a training issue. Agencies require mandatory refreshers on policy and procedures and firearm use, but technology training often falls behind. As new recruits come on board or officers change roles, technology features and capabilities of important systems can be lost if agencies fail to train and retrain. What’s the worst that could happen? Lives could be lost. But even if lives are not on the line, which they often are, think of the time and money that could have been saved by locating and apprehending suspects sooner. Think of the agency’s investment in technology, and how it is important to wring every benefit out of that investment.

Just a Minor Crime – Not Worth Using All Systems

In my conversations with officers, I often hear them claim that it’s not worth their time to enter license plates for minor crimes or it’s not worth leveraging other available technology. Let’s consider this scenario. A bicycle was stolen and a witness sees the perpetrator and gets a license plate number. They look up the plate number and find the perpetrator’s address, and go to the location and make the arrest and pick up the bicycle. Good policing or did they just get lucky? What if they looked up the plate and went to that address and the perpetrator was not found there? How do they know if that is the best location to start the search? They don’t. This time they got lucky, but more importantly, they are forming an investigative habit, a habit that may save them down the line.

I talk a lot about best practices in policing and here is one that stuck with me: Treat every case as if it’s the most serious case. Run all of the systems, perform every check, put that license plate on a hotlist, track the cell phone – do it all. Analyze more. Because here’s the deal, when you do that you are fine tuning your investigative skills every single time. You are retraining yourself every single time. A wise and older detective once told me, “I work hard on every case, because they are all practice for the big one.”

Play the Way You Practice

Have you ever coached a little league team? If you have, you know that you can tell those kids a million times that if you have a runner on second, you throw to home and come game time, the kids won’t remember it. But if you practice the action of throwing home with a runner on second, and you get them to repeat that behavior, in a game situation it will become automatic, and they will indeed throw to home. They will play the way they practice.

Agencies need to train and retrain on every system. They need to have the “muscle memory” to repeat behaviors and actions that will help solve cases faster and save lives. To serve and protect, they need to adopt the best practice of training and retraining on all systems, and never forget that, “We are what we repeatedly do.” 

Author Bio: Tom is a retired member of the NYPD in the rank of Lieutenant Commander of Detectives. He commanded the NYPD Cold Case Squad upon his retirement and additionally held many other roles within the detective and organized crime bureaus. Prior to working with Vigilant Solutions, Tom was the Director of Law Enforcement Market Planning for LexisNexis Government Services. Tom often lectures on various subject matters relating to Homicide Investigations and has published numerous articles on criminal investigations. Tom is currently a member of the International Homicide Investigators Association’s Advisory Board. 

By Amy Morgan, MSC

Even the best team leaders have moments of wondering if their team is really ready for the next critical incident. In the line of duty, whether it be public-safety like law enforcement or emergency response, or an industry with potential for dangerous accidents like construction or oil and gas, there will be the inevitable critical incident on the job. These can result in physical injury or even fatality, but also in a more difficult to detect, and often long-lasting, other type of injury. 

Post-Action Strategic Debriefing addresses a critical incident immediately after, using a process devised from several different proven techniques - the military's after-action review, critical incident stress debriefing and counseling & therapy intervention techniques. This process focuses on preventing trauma effects from the incident as well as creating positive momentum for the team to be stronger, more united and more mentally healthy following the incident. 

Physical, mental preparedness

More importantly, though, is being prepared for an incident. We all know and understand how important good physical health can be when facing a physical difficulty. Someone who is exhausted and weak, possibly ill, will not be able to fight off an attacker like another who is strong, well, and in good, conditioned, physical health.

Mental health and emotional health are equally important, and it is widely believed that the three are closely related and affect each other. Someone who is mentally unhealthy, such as having a stress disorder or addiction, will also most likely have related physical illness (ulcers, liver illness, etc.) as well as emotional illness.

The best way to get your team, and the individuals on it, best prepared for any type of oncoming attack is to get them healthy. Physical health and strength are important.

Mental readiness

Mental health follows the same guidelines, but deals with mental capacity and the brain's ability to function well. If someone is able to think fairly clearly, cope with regular life situations, including stressors and challenges, be flexible with his thinking, and solve basic problems by thinking of viable solutions, then he or she is probably considered to be in a good state of mental health. Based on these guidelines, we can also understand the meaning of emotional health.

If someone is able to function well emotionally, this means they are in good control of their emotions and also the behavior that frequently accompanies our emotions. If a life challenge arises, an emotionally healthy person will manage his emotions through the challenge, and then will have some resilience and bounce back to his normal emotional level pretty quickly after the challenge is resolved.

Building mental strength

We know how to strengthen our bodies physically. How do we strengthen mental and emotional health? It's important to try to achieve a balance by lowering stress and increasing positive activities. Participating in positive activities like exercise, fun, hobbies, doing good deeds for others, taking the time to enjoy family and friends, and positive thinking overall. Positive activities like these can release endorphins (chemicals) into your system, aiding your ability to feel less pain and to have controlled emotions.

Endorphins are chemicals that originate in different parts of the body like the brain and nervous system, the spinal cord, and the pituitary gland. They work as neurotransmitters, connecting to the opioid receptors in the brain that are mostly responsible for blocking pain and controlling emotion. These endorphins are naturally created by the body and work just like a narcotic such as heroin or morphine. The endorphins in the body are able to block pain, but also create feelings of pleasure. 

It is believed that our neurotransmitters can be “trained” to connect better, helping us to be stronger emotionally, just like bodies can be trained physically to function better. The theory is that if an individual is depressed, emotionally imbalanced or negative, the neurotransmitters are not connecting properly. Imagine a spark between two items that just isn’t connecting – the spark misses the second item and never connects the two. This is how neuro transmitters work, sort of – when one is thinking positively and functioning in good mental and emotional health, the neurotransmitters are connecting. 

Importance of optimism

The training of these connections then is by purposely making the neurotransmitters connect, training them to then do this on their own. The more positive thoughts one focuses on, whether reading them, repeating them, or just continuously focusing on positives all day long, the more often the neurotransmitters are connecting. The more they connect, the more they learn to naturally connect.

The more endorphins released, and the better the neurotransmitters are connecting, the more mentally and emotionally healthy the individual.

Side of effects of pessimism

Not having good, strong emotional and mental health can affect an individual by making them more prone to illness, more susceptible to emotional outburst of anger, fear or irritability. It can also lead to substance abuse, hopelessness and a disintegration of relationships, jobs, and the ability to function normally in society.

By strengthening the emotional and mental health, one becomes more resilient and better able to cope with stressors that arise. This makes for less unpredictability, better focus, and on the job, fewer accidents.

If your team is strong physically, mentally, and emotionally, they will better react and respond to any incident.  

Author

Ms. Morgan is an instructional designer, trainer and strategist via Academy Hour, a training provider offering courses to law enforcement, first response teams and business groups. She is pursuing a Doctorate of Education degree with a specialization in curriculum and teaching, has earned a Master's degree in Counseling, and holds a Bachelor's of Science in Behavioral Sciences. She previously served as the Training Officer for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and as an Instructional Systems Designer and Trainer for the Federal Aviation Administration. Additionally, she currently serves as the corporate training developer for DC-based Changeis, Inc., a federal contract services provider.

Ms. Morgan writes/publishes therapy resource workbooks & training materials, and serves as a subject matter expert and presenter of leadership & mental health training sessions for the International Public Safety Association. Ms. Morgan also serves as a curriculum developer and instructor of mental health courses for the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training in Oklahoma. She is a certified trainer for Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), and is trained as a QPR (Question Persuade Refer) trainer as well as a Crisis Prevention Institute Non-Violent Physical Crisis Intervention trainer. Additionally, she is Oklahoma Supreme Court certified as a civil mediator, and she has achieved Mensa membership status.

By Amy Morgan MSC

Seeking mental health resources after a critical incident should be viewed the same as an individual going to the doctor or hospital after being physically injured. Remind your team that the more they are willing to use resources, the stronger they will end up being as an individual as well as a valued team member.

Here are five post-action steps individuals on your team should take to avoid trauma after-effects.

1.    Begin discussions. Gather together and discuss the trauma of the event that just occurred. My workbook has a script for leaders to use to explain what trauma is, how it occurs and what effects it can have. This process brings the group together and helps them to know that any reactions they are having to the incident are normal and acceptable.

2.    Expectations versus reality. Discuss what was supposed to happen, what actually happened and compare the two. Then you must discuss what was going right and should be repeated in the future. Finally, you must discuss what could be improved upon.

3.    Positive reframing. This is a process of story-telling where individuals tell their story of what happened, but learn to take out blame, anger, resentment by removing or editing small portions of the story, keeping all the facts intact, so that it is neutralized, and fact-based. This prevents resentment and lasting negative effects down the line.

4.    Getting back to center. This part of the process helps the group come back together as a team and creates a blank slate, a fresh start for going forward.

5.    Follow-up plan. The Post-Action Strategic Debriefing process is a first-aid type plan immediately following a critical incident. But long-term follow-up and care resources are discussed which need to be used by team members, to help prevent PTSD and other residual effects which will weaken the mental, physical, and emotional health. By using follow-up resources, the individuals circle back around to the preparedness stage by getting themselves strong in all 3 areas once again.

Mental and emotional wellness and strength are just as important as physical health and strength, and can be trained and prepared for in the same way.

Author

Ms. Amy Morgan is an instructional designer, trainer and strategist via Academy Hour, a training provider offering courses to law enforcement, first response teams and business groups. She is pursuing a Doctorate of Education degree with a specialization in curriculum and teaching, has earned a Master's degree in Counseling, and holds a Bachelor's of Science in Behavioral Sciences. She previously served as the Training Officer for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and as an Instructional Systems Designer and Trainer for the Federal Aviation Administration. Additionally, she currently serves as the corporate training developer for DC-based Changeis, Inc., a federal contract services provider.

Ms. Morgan writes/publishes therapy resource workbooks & training materials, and serves as a subject matter expert and presenter of leadership & mental health training sessions for the International Public Safety Association. Ms. Morgan also serves as a curriculum developer and instructor of mental health courses for the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training in Oklahoma. Ms. Morgan is a certified trainer for Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), and is trained as a QPR (Question Persuade Refer) trainer as well as a Crisis Prevention Institute Non-Violent Physical Crisis Intervention trainer. Additionally, she is Oklahoma Supreme Court certified as a civil mediator, and she has achieved Mensa membership status.

By Dr. Jim DeLung

Millennial-aged police officers are quickly gaining a large percentage of police employment positions (Szoltysik, 2014). They expect high workplace satisfaction (Herbison & Boseman, 2009) and this generation of sworn police officers are the future of policing. Police organizations could benefit by identifying factors for Millennial-aged police officers for maximum workplace satisfaction.

Millennials classified

Contemporary generational literature identified employees born since 1980 as the Millennial Generation or Generation Y (Barford & Hester, 2011; Crumpacker & Crumpacker, 2007; Howe & Struass in Balda & Mora, 2011). Research in the private sector has shown the impact of generational differences from a workplace satisfaction viewpoint, which directly correlated to business practices reflecting organizational success and failure (De Muese & Mlodzik, 2010; Greengard, 2011; Hira, 2007).

Current public-sector research discovered leaders have a responsibility to Millennial employees to provide satisfactory workplace environments, as current practices are not retaining the best talent (Kane, 2011). This generation, those born since 1980, is willing and able to fulfill the duties of public service (Della Volpe, 2010); however policy makers need to identify increasingly beneficial workplace environments for greater employee effectiveness.

The rigid, policy-laden, pseudo militaristic, culture of policing must adjust to the newest generation (White & Escobar, 2008) and improve the current low satisfaction often found in Millennial-aged employees (Eldridge, 2012; Wasilewski, 2011).

Policing culture and Millennials

Research has been conducted on the perceptions of workplace satisfaction for Millennial-aged employees, but policing offers a vastly different work culture to study. Workplace satisfaction contains internal and external factors for individuals. According to Frederic Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory for employee satisfaction, internal factors such as personal growth and happiness are known as motivators and external factors such as policies and pay are hygiene factors (Guha, 2010). Proper identification of how factors satisfy employees is important for leaders to provide motivating work environments.

Lublin (2010) suggested the real problem may not be the generation, but the possibility current management does not manage or lead Millennials for prominence. Current police culture appears to be old practices disguised as best practices and it is postulated a more satisfying workplace environment could be found for Millennial-aged officers.

Johnson (2011) reported that employers should examine their current work climate and identify methods of satisfaction that allow Millennials to perform best. Workplace environments such as permission to think and work outside the traditional constraints of the current organizational culture are most effective (Behrens, 2009).

Therefore, here are four questions all agencies need to answer (and how to answer):

1. What specific factors draw Millennial to work as police officers?

2. What specific workplace factors increase job satisfaction for Millennial-aged police officers?

3. What specific workplace factors decrease workplace satisfaction for Millennial-aged police officers?

4. What specific workplace factors promote workplace retention for Millennial-aged police officers?

Author: "Hellofa motivator!" - Dr. Jim DeLung is currently serving with pride as the CEO of DeLung International at DeLung.com, a professional leadership and organizational development firm. As a successful private entrepreneur and public-sector leader, Dr. DeLung utilizes his education and experience for effective leadership and inspiration to organizations through interactive, adult-oriented training programs. More information available at www.DeLung.com 

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