After listening to all parties on the “defunding” of police, there are truly some talking points worthy of further discussion. The future of police work as we know it today is once again at a crossroads. For those of us “long in the tooth,” we have weathered American law enforcement’s evolution into what it has transitioned into today. From these moves, there are many lessons needing to be revisited and possibly applied.
Where were we?
A quick history lesson will enlighten the younger readers here. In the 1960s and 1970s, we were steeped in the Professional model. Watch the old reruns of the original Adam-12 and Dragnet. This was the working model of the professionalization of law enforcement. From an historical viewpoint, where law enforcement was in the late 1940s and 1950s, this was welcomed and much needed. Formal training, professionalization and an overall improved image. Still, some things needed improvements—especially in community and minority relations. Some, at times, were no more than an occupying army; hence we needed to evolve further.
As America morphed into the 1980s, there were many social and economic ills which were falling through the cracks. With vast tons of money from Washington, D.C., we entered the Community Policing Era and change began. Yes, I will admit I was one who worked at a department that embraced it to where we became an incubator for anything that had COP attached to it. Whether you refer to it as Problem Solving Policing, Community Orientated Policing or whatever acronym—it was here to stay. There soon came a litany of principles from various authors and thinktanks. Most every department claimed they were accomplishing COP. But alas, only a few performed it as intended. Some gave it lip service; only to chase those grant dollars. Others allowed it to mutate into what they could manage politically and financially. Some still do, but most are lip service for they had strayed from its core principles.
Back then, when I was teaching COP on the road, I met resistance from some police union representatives over this new program. There were some right-to-work states’ departments that made the COP transition by executive order—so it is written, so it shall be done. Now, some union departments were another story. Before you think they were arguing about work/duties outside of the bargaining agreement, they raised many detailed questions of me. The number one question was training. Cops were expected to perform new services, new jobs or roles without training in areas outside of the traditional academy training. They also questioned sustainability—how long is the money train going to run? I reminded them that anything from Absurdistan (Washington, D.C.) with the word ‘program’ attached to it has a start date and end date. Look for the end date which will derail the money train and from there you do the math. Also, the Unions questioned the ability of the administration and its political entity to tolerate this new approach. That being the empowerment of the line officers to address problems. This came from the mantra of “those closest to the problem should know the solution.” Well, community policing (however you define it) still continues in words by many, few by true actions.
Then in the mid-90s the Comp-stat, or later Evidence-Based policing, era commenced. To be honest, all of my departments became deeply immersed in these and yes, these worked. I would be amiss if I neglected to mention Predictive-Policing as well. Comp-stat was a product of NYPD, and it worked. Of course, the climate of NYPD also created some myths and monsters. It ended some careers. The key to Comp-stat is making it palatable to the smaller and medium-sized departments. It was done and still exits for it is a viable methodology. Keeping your fingers on the pulse of criminal trends pays dividends.
Stop and Think
Amidst 2020s turmoil, there is a question that needs to be answered—Are we asking or tasking our police with too much? The point here is not defunding or redefining police departments but fully fund, sustain, support and train our officers for all of their expected tasks. I will repeat: all of their tasks; no more flying by the seat of their pants. I know some may disagree with me but stop and think—What duties has your department shouldered since the Traditional model (late ‘70s)? Now, review this list of new missions, tasks or programs then ask—Are the officers fully trained to fulfill their mission? Have you stopped to compare what the basic police academy trains recruits? Is your police academy fully preparing your staff? More often than not, they have had on-the-job experience and been winging-it for years. Within nearly every police department and sheriff’s office nationwide, there are community outreaches that are non-police, but ‘somebody has got to do it’ outreaches. There are many that silently believe that we have been asking far too much of our officers for far too long. Timing is everything, so now do we need to ‘reset’ our police back to factory settings or upgrade them with training and support?
Herein lies the rub: with pressure from the media and some citizens to defund or reduce funding of police budgets, every department needs to perform a self-inspection or audit of all programs. Ask yourself—What do we do well? Why are we doing this? How can we reassign it to another public service? Some will cling to pet-projects. Yes, there will be an 800-pound gorilla in the room that needs to be danced with. However, the time has come for introspection and somebody needs to ask the hard questions. We have all attended an introduction speech by a new chief or sheriff who is announcing and extolling their new programs. We sat in the crowd silently, rolled our eyes and just accepted it. To question this or even fight it was too difficult—this too shall pass. Granted, some of these pet programs are laying there on life-support—let them go. Every department has a cushy job, special event or project that everyone questions. Now is the time to redirect. Full introspection of all services, programs or outreaches needs to full scrutinized. Cut the fat and redirect money and energies to more important line items.
Now with the newfound energy, direction and hopefully redirected budget monies—train your officers to be the best they can on their real mission. The recent outcry from cop haters, politicians and the media has been that now is the time to create a better method of policing. Now is the time for all chiefs and commanders to paint the image of their future department. If you do not participate and help, others will paint you into the corner with their paint or visions. I do not foresee defunding or reduction going away any time soon. Especially, with tax dollars shrinking due to COVID-19 repercussions to the tax base. The total financial recovery for local governments will take many more months, if not years. Your serving size of the tax dollars will shrink; use it well now. But what you agree to today will set the stage for next decade. Everyone needs to perform due diligence, for your decisions today can have long-reaching consequences.
I have no idea what moniker the future of policing will be called. The name matters not but the substance and direction of it is everything. This will require new paradigms which should serve the future. The question for its sustainability will be the proper training, equipping and leadership to make it work properly.
William L. Harvey | Chief
William L. "Bill" Harvey is a U.S. Army Military Police Corps veteran. He has a BA in criminology from St. Leo University and is a graduate of the Southern Police Institute of the University of Louisville (103rd AOC). Harvey served for over 23 years with the Savannah (GA) Police Department in field operations, investigations and completed his career as the director of training. Served as the chief of police of the Lebanon City Police Dept (PA) for over seven years and then ten years as Chief of Police for the Ephrata Police Dept (PA). In retirement he continues to publish for professional periodicals and train.
