The death of George Floyd reignited the conversation around police reform in the United States—a conversation that has manifested time and again over the last decade.
But something about this incident was different. The heat of the conversation didn’t temper. Months of marches unfolded across the United States and around the world, and cries for change erupted and took hold of many communities, large and small. Those conversations particularly permeated online spaces, enabled by the constant flow of the conversation that is social media.
In all of that, police strategic communicators, especially public information officers (PIOs), watched the ebb and flow of the calls to action and took a front seat role in the conversations that were manifesting in real time on their social media channels.
The stronghold that social media appears to have on communication, particularly over the last year as a global pandemic gripped the globe, is real. The reality is that conversations around police reform are happening at an incredible rate on social media, first and foremost.
It is imperative now, more than ever, that law enforcement agencies have a consistent, proactive presence in conversations (both online and, when possible, in person) to listen and create a place not just for education, but for an exchange of experiences and ideas. The conversations both on a national and local scale around police reform—the questions, the concerns, and even the misinformation around the profession—will not go away.
How can an agency meet the challenge of communicating and not just survive, but thrive, in a post-George Floyd era?
While everyone plays a role in that endeavor, it can and does often fall on the PIO to be a primary source to help bridge that gap between a community and its cops—to be the conduit between conversations that allows for all voices to be heard.
The Efficacy of Online Engagement and Police Reform
An agency’s silence as conversations around police reform continue to unfold can be one of the most catastrophic blows to a department’s reputation. Silence is an answer, especially during a time of crisis. In truth, not responding simply gives others the license to fill in the blanks for an agency. When agencies fail to show up in conversations, the public may interpret that as an indication that law enforcement agencies don’t care, prefer the status quo, or have no desire to hear from their communities.
More often than not, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Now, as audiences continue to ponder critical questions surrounding the future of the policing profession, staying out of those meaningful conversations is much like saying, “No comment.” It completely negates an agency’s opportunity to truly engage, and even more so, takes it out of the space to enlighten others on what many still lack in their understanding of the policing profession—things such as training; trauma; and, above all, the calling to serve.1
When an agency has the power to deploy a PIO to help address the conversations consistently online and spread education from an agency, an agency’s reach on social media is massive. This is particularly crucial in moments of heightened emotions, which are at the forefront of many exchanges around police reform. Every engagement opportunity presents a learning moment and a chance to exceed expectations and refute the national narrative.
Additionally, developing the emotional intelligence needed to engage and de-escalate discussions around police reform can pay huge dividends for an agency, including renewed trust among residents, better bridges between a department and community stakeholders, and more.
In Crisis Ready, Melissa Agnes, a crisis management expert and a member of the IACP’s Professional Standards, Ethics, and Image Committee, notes the following:
Navigating emotion can easily become one of the most challenging aspects of managing issues and crises. Why? Because emotion clouds judgment and cannot be overcome with pure logic…. The goal in these instances is to reach the hearts of your stakeholders by first validating their emotions and relating to what’s important to them—before you can expect them to believe your facts, promises and logic.2
Agnes’ point speaks not just to the power of communication, but to the power of putting the right person at the front of those communication efforts. PIOs have to understand the pulse and nuances of both in-person and online communities, they have to know where and when to focus the department’s efforts on discussions, and they must be able to translate online conversations into real-world discourse.
What does that mean?
Online, it means agencies give authority to a PIO to serve as a trusted voice for a department with the ability to reply to comments and engage fully on social media channels without requiring levels of bureaucracy to approve a response. The return on this investment is that real-time conversations can and do get shifted from negative into neutral or even positive territory.
Is the risk of putting the power of response in the hands of someone other than a chief worth it? Absolutely. Social media provides an opportunity to speak to a wider audience about the character and values of a department and how they blend with a community and how an agency incorporates a community-first mindset into every aspect of its work. Empowering the PIO to engage in this conversation amplifies the agency’s values and enables the agency to reach into a community potentially swelling into a perfect storm of emotion; headline culture; and, in some cases, a deficiency in connectivity to those who protect and serve them every day.
Put simply, it is crisis customer service. The need and value of this crisis communication model has never been more apparent.
The Fort Collins Police Services in Colorado understands such a commitment, with Kate Kimble at the helm of efforts to responses online. Kimble was able to help assist Chief Jeff Swoboda in ensuring that messages released from their agency acknowledged the trickle-down effect the national police reform narrative was having on the Fort Collins community, and she was acutely aware of how intentional their messages needed to be around listening to, learning with, and growing alongside their residents to build out the future of what it would mean to protect and serve in Fort Collins.
“Digital discussion is a fast-moving river that stops for nobody,” Kimble noted. “If we want to help shape the flow and direction, we have to show up in real-time with real answers.”3
Kimble added that a PIO with a foundational understanding of operations, policy, and leadership’s approach to high-level issues is the most effective tool to manage public information flow. This breadth of knowledge allows for quick responses to basic questions, helps the PIO identify the right subject matter expert to address more complex inquiries, and allows for more efficient use of resources in a crisis.
“It is vital that agencies recognize their responsibility to participate in difficult and controversial conversations.”
This mentality, and the subsequent endeavor to begin that crucial connection in a digital space, was highlighted by the work of PIOs across the United States in the wake of calls for police reform.
Lieutenant Christopher Cook of the Arlington Police Department in Texas pulled the curtain back as conversations ramped up in his community in early June 2020 around what the policing profession was planning to do to address calls for reform, change, and more.
Cook, who oversees the department’s media relations and strategic communications efforts, captured one moment that could have been missed had a PIO not been present.
At a community event, then-interim Chief Jaime Ayala hugged an 11-year-old Arlington resident who had become emotional listening to conversations around police and their impacts on communities. Chief Ayala walked over and hugged the boy, the moment captured by Cook’s camera, highlighting healing that so many so desperately needed at the time. And it was something PIOs work every day to highlight—to showcase the reality of policing against the blips of national headlines that often dictate only one side of a narrative. That effort will continually be a struggle for the policing profession going forward, but a knowledgeable and well-resourced PIO is a valuable asset in these situations and can help limit strain on operational and leadership resources.
Equity of Information for Internal Audiences
As the conversation around police reform continues among external audiences, PIOs also play a pivotal role in creating a shared foundation of knowledge and conversation with internal audiences.
Particularly with teams that encounter the public on a daily basis, it is crucial that employees have an awareness of the department’s communication strategy; its approach to conversations online and in person; and, most importantly, what that means for the agency. A PIO plays a critical role in discussing both the strategy and the results of these efforts with teams.
The equity of information for internal audiences not only helps them in conversations with community members, but it also gives them access to what is unfolding in digital and physical spaces, so they are not blindsided or surprised by all that is being discussed.
As mentioned by communications expert David Grossman in a December 2020 article, “It creates a sense of community and trust with employees, creating a line of sight for them and engaging them to make the business successful.”4
To that end, in Mountain View, California, meetings regularly occur with patrol teams so officers are aware of what has been done so far and what next steps will be taken. Themes around what is being discussed online are shared, and officers are given the opportunity to ask questions, make communication suggestions, and discuss what else they may be hearing from community members around police reform that has not yet been addressed by the department.
This in turn is brought back to leadership for follow-up discussions, and strategies are adjusted as needed. The PIO is the primary coordinator for all of this. This approach not only removes much of the divide between what is happening externally and what is felt internally, it gives officers ownership and a comfort level to speak openly about how communication and conversations can be championed, making them active participants. The more the PIO is given the chance to empower a diverse internal audience, the richer the external message could potentially be.
Bridging the Gap
The endurance test of exchanges online is the first major step when it comes to meaningful moments of listening and learning with a community. However, when it comes to calls and questions for police reform, the true magic of what a PIO can help achieve for an agency happens when community members and agencies actually meet in person.
The veil of a computer screen often empowers those who may lack the ability or even the courage to meet with those they wish to see improved or enhanced, or in some cases, abolished completely. But, for those looking for true partnership, programs that enable both residents and police representatives to sit down and converse are what begin to build up and heal divided communities.
PIOs can not only help promote these opportunities, they can also subsequently play an active role in the conversation to continue to help agency leadership understand what is being discussed in their respective communities, what can be addressed, and potential best steps to begin that dialogue.
In Albany, New York, Sergeant Steve Smith is doing just that. Time to Talk–Community and Cops Collaborating (abbreviated as T3 C3) is a program the Albany Police Department launched in 2020 after Albany resident April Purcell-Bacon approached them about doing something to create a space where residents and police could all talk, listen, and learn from each other.
Purcell-Bacon noted that the program is one of collaboration between police and the community, where meaningful moments can be made simply by listening not to respond, but to hear.
She noted that many know where pain points are within the history of law enforcement and the ways in which departments have the chance to improve the manner in which they serve, but she also noted that oftentimes, communities have never had a real chance to simply speak and learn with the police.
“We box them in, some think [police] can’t understand,” Purcell-Bacon said. “Some think ‘Officer’s aren’t open to conversations,’ but really it’s because perhaps they haven’t been allowed to…. Simply, we’re just lacking conversation.”5
As a part of the building out of T3 C3, Purcell-Bacon noted that it was Smith who helped get the “heart” of the program to partake. “I needed the heart, the officers,” Purcell-Bacon noted. “Steve was part of the heart of getting the department involved and bought in.”
Smith also helped build out the brand for the program to ensure it was in line with the vision and mission of the Albany Police Department, including the logo for the program. He also set up the press conference to announce the opportunity within the Albany community, and he has helped to amplify the program as they geared up for the first meeting in January 2021. That effort—particularly including building out a Facebook page—has been used to help stay engaged with residents interested in the program.
Smith, who also serves as the department’s PIO, acknowledged that while conversations around police reform are sometimes difficult, they consistently lead to learning, understanding, and positive change.
“It’s imperative that police agencies work collaboratively with their communities to build bridges and make meaningful change,” Smith said.6
In his role as the PIO, Smith became the perfect conduit to help launch, advertise, and magnify the benefits of the program—he can tell the story and show how this program is working for Albany. Like many PIOs, Smith can and does incredibly serve as a bridge between communities and departments when it comes to the conversations that are sparking at a local and national level. He, like so many others, fills the gap to begin to bring to light pivotal points of conversation where understanding, and even unity, can be built.
Forward to the Future
As police reform remains a hot-button topic in 2021, conversations around that issue will undoubtedly remain the norm.
But agencies can begin to meet the moment and even overcome the headlines and the narrative that has seeped into so many cities and challenged the selfless foundation of the policing profession.
It is vital that agencies recognize their responsibility to participate in difficult and controversial conversations. It is equally important to have a plan and a person or team in place to help strategize and elevate a department’s opportunity for engagement. A PIO dedicated to that endeavor can create consistency, collaborative conversations, and a genuine effort to impart understanding, education, and an ear to the collective concerns. That individual can also create an environment that gives agencies a true opportunity to take time to step back and holistically build the best path forward for themselves and their communities.
Strategy around how agencies engage with audiences will rely heavily on the trust and transparency efforts that have been built over time with consistent, persistent conversations with communities. While they have always made an impact, PIOs will be powerfully effective when it comes to discussions around police reform, one tweet, one post, one email, and one interaction at a time. d
Notes:
1Joel F. Shults, “Recent Survey Shows Public Lack of Awareness Regarding Law Enforcement,” Police1, July 12, 2020.
2Crisis Ready Institute, “Responding to Emotional Escalation.”
3Kate Kimble (Fort Collins Police Services, Colorado), telephone interview, December 28, 2020.
4David Grossman, “5 Benefits of Having a Strong Internal Communications Strategy,” The Grossman Group, December 8, 2020.
5April Purcell-Bacon (resident, Albany, New York), telephone interview, January 2, 2021.
6Steven Smith (Albany Police Department, New York), telephone interview, January 1, 2021.
Please cite as
Katie Nelson, “Bridging the Gap: How PIOs Are Impacting Conversations around Police Reform,” Police Chief Online, March 17, 2021.
