In nearly every community across the country, police agencies both big and small are facing a recruitment and retention crisis. As ever-increasing retirements and resignations are paired with shallow applicant pools, police leaders are struggling with how to handle their agency’s day-to-day policing responsibilities.
While much of this crisis’s focus has revolved around getting officers on beats and covering calls, it has also bred a new question: Who will lead the police officers of tomorrow?
Historically, law enforcement agencies produced leaders using the time-tested and incident-clad measure of experience. First-line supervisors, field training officers and commanders were selected from the ranks of officers who had “been there.” Their decision-making processes evolved through years of tried-and-true encounters doing the job. It was not unusual for a field training officer or first-line supervisor to have five to 10 years of experience under his or her belt before rising into these critical, formative leadership roles.
Concurrently, junior officers strictly abided by the militaristic culture, often relying heavily on the chain of command and escalating problems to their superiors rather than independently solving problems. Today, however, police agencies don’t have the luxury to cultivate leaders in this manner.
Junior officers are being thrust relatively early on into key leadership positions just to keep the operation moving. The side effect is that those individuals guiding the actions of today’s officers may lack their predecessor’s broad experience. More concerning is the fact this pattern is not likely to disappear anytime soon: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects approximately 68,500 police officer openings each year over the next decade.
The upshot is law enforcement as a vocation must take measured and deliberate steps now to prepare these newer officers for the roles that await them before they take the reins. To that end, consider introducing some of these capacity-building methods to your own agency and officers to stay ahead of the curve.
Develop formalized development pathways early on in an officer’s career
Humans, and particularly millennial officers, like to know what the future holds for them – both professionally and personally. By sketching out a roadmap toward a particular end goal (i.e., becoming a field training officer, promoting to a supervisory position) that includes agency-selected mentorship opportunities, training offerings, projects and more, officers don’t need to guess what it takes to progress. Better yet, share these plans with officers in field training programs to provide them with insight into their future.
Challenge officers to problem-solve and provide them the space to do so
The greatest tool on any leader’s toolbelt is the aptitude to work through a puzzling situation and conclude with a successful outcome. Rather than spoon-feeding junior officers an answer to their question, invite them to work through the situation, thereby offering them a more substantial basis of knowledge. Give officers the time, space and trust to independently work through these issues.
Better yet, review your training and teaching methods to ensure they encourage this kind of critical thinking. The Police Society for Problem Based Learning and the Police Training Officer (PTO) models offer great suggestions, resources and training in this realm.
Expose officers to “behind the curtain” happenings and bring them to the table
While being mindful of confidential matters, exposing officers earlier in their careers to the discussions, challenges and decisions made by supervisors and commanders alike provides a better understanding of the processes that go into leadership. This is an immediate way to transfer the institutional knowledge held by senior officers and leaders, while subliminally encouraging newer officers to integrate their observations into decisions and actions.
When the time comes for these same officers to be promoted into positions of leadership, it will not be the first time he or she is confronted with a challenging situation. Instead, they will have some measure of experience to lean on to craft their own response. This can start as easily as intentionally explaining to officers the “whys” behind leadership actions and decisions.
Task officers with increased responsibility when they earn it
Contemplate using a crawl-walk-run model that’s familiar to many police trainers. As officers demonstrate leadership and management potential, challenge them with special projects and responsibilities on which to cut their teeth. These challenges can include having the officer develop and then implement an agency response to a particular community-specific problem or working with the officer to draft new agency policies. The hard and soft skills gleaned from these experiences will pay dividends down the road.
Invest in formalized training
Beyond the in-house opportunities for growth, nothing can replace the value of quality formal training. Oftentimes formalized training, whether in-person or online, can provide the scaffolding that is built out by experiences at one’s home agency or through networking conversations with fellow law enforcement officers. For instance, the FBI-Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (FBI-LEEDA) and regional command colleges provide excellent training opportunities of benefit to any police officer. Don’t just send officers to these programs after they are promoted; rather, assign them to these trainings beforehand.
In the end, the critical fact is that capacity-building takes many forms and doesn’t just comprise formalized training. Instead, capacity-building involves challenging the problem-solving aptitudes of your officers, while incrementally and deliberately expanding the officer’s tool belt of experience. This is often and arguably best done within an officer’s own operating environment.
To confront the challenges of tomorrow, it’s incumbent upon law enforcement leaders to ensure our officers are best prepared for the roles they must fill. By recognizing the evolving needs of our profession, we will better serve our jurisdictions and in turn, better serve our officers. While the most immediate result of these steps is molding the leaders of tomorrow, regardless of whether the officer is promoted into one of the many leadership slots or is assigned to a trainer position, every agency can reap the benefits of a well-developed employee because every officer truly is a leader.
Resource
Police Executive Research Forum. 2021. Survey on Police Workforce Trends. Critical Issues in Policing Project. June 11. Accessed November 22, 2022.
NEXT: Could law enforcement be leader-LESS in the future?
About the author
Hank Prim is a supervisory special agent with a state law enforcement agency, where he oversees the state’s standards and training section and serves as the state peace officers standards and training director. In this role, he directs the state’s sole police academy, manages law enforcement officer certifications and training, and supervises officer misconduct investigations. Prior to this position, Hank was assigned as a regional major-crime investigator. Hank grew up in the Chicago suburbs and graduated magna cum laude from Hillsdale College.
