Each person who has served as president of the IACP has used their particular talents, gifts, and experiences to advance the safety of communities worldwide—each bringing their unique perspective to this role.

That is the beauty, and sometimes the challenge, of being human—we all have different experiences. This fact can, at times, lead to conflict if we get caught in the trap of believing our own perspective is the only correct one. But there is no one way to look at the world, nor would that be advantageous. Progress relies on divergent opinions and approaches.

Within the IACP, we have 173 countries represented, all with different laws, customs, histories, religions, and ways of living that are collectively contributing to how we advance public safety. Our diversity strengthens us as an organization and as a profession. In understanding this fact, I humbly bring my individual perspective to my term as IACP president.

Being intentional with our thoughts, words, and actions leads to stronger relationships, both personally and professionally.

I once heard that there are four things you cannot get back in life: a word after it’s said, an opportunity after it’s missed, time after it’s gone, and trust after it’s lost. What we think, say, and do matter tremendously, particularly when we are in trusted positions of authority such as law enforcement. Being intentional with our thoughts, words, and actions leads to stronger relationships, both personally and professionally.

A Word After It’s Said

Growing up and living most of my life in Utah, I spent a lot of time working with strong, hardworking people dedicated to their craft. These individuals displayed utmost resilience, which includes accepting responsibility for words and actions, as well as having the courage to accept and learn from their consequences. If you don’t own your mistakes, the consequences can be catastrophic. Our words—and our silence—have power for good or ill depending on how we use them. Once a word is uttered, it can take on a life of its own. While we can’t take back our words, we can take responsibility for any harm caused—even when unintentional—through our apologies and behavioral changes. Police officers are humans and will, at times, make mistakes. The measure of law enforcement individually and collectively is not dependent on our infallibility, but on our willingness and ability to own our mistakes, take actions to fix them, and answer to each other and the public for those mistakes.

An Opportunity After It’s Missed

Over the last decade in particular, law enforcement has faced increasing scrutiny regarding how we police. Our communities want law enforcement officers who are capable of sensitively intervening during a crisis; knowledgeable in identifying and pursuing sophisticated criminal operations; and tactically adept in responding to active shooters, domestic violence, and other dangerous situations. Throughout the world, communities are expecting more and more from law enforcement, and at the same time, we are seeing fewer and fewer individuals interested in entering the field.

Despite these challenges, we have an opportunity to make worldwide, lasting change as we continue to attract and retain the best of the best among our ranks. Now is our opportunity to build this profession and each of our individual organizations through building the future leaders of tomorrow. How many young officers do you have in your departments with the seeds of leadership within them? How many of them could become a lieutenant, captain, or chief if given opportunities to develop their leadership skills? If we devote our time and energy to mentoring these officers, many of them will rise to the level of responsibility we entrust to them.

My mentors challenged me, provided me the chance to seize opportunities, and gave me tools to fail safely until I could succeed. As chiefs, we must foster leaders in our own organizations to prepare those who will eventually take our place. We are all devoting our lives to law enforcement because we care deeply about protecting and enhancing our communities. To provide the ongoing service expected of us, we must become equally devoted to hiring, retaining, and fostering the next generation of police leaders.

Time After It’s Gone

Beyond mentoring individuals, guiding the next generation relies on developing department cultures of growth. This can happen in different ways, but one commonality is a constant focus on improvement. We cannot stop our personal and professional journeys of growth based on years of service. If we don’t continue to grow as leaders, those who follow may halt their progress as well. People must see what is possible; they need models to show them how they can evolve in positive ways. Building and communicating a department culture that officers can take pride in makes them more passionate about earnestly representing their agency—and the policing profession—every day, even when it is challenging.

When we as leaders establish a culture built on solid principles, including growth, we can use that culture as a starting point for mentoring individuals. If we miss an opportunity to mentor these officers out of the gate, we will not get that time back. If we are to be impactful leaders, we must be focused on identifying strengths in our officers and fostering their gifts.

Due to the breadth and depth of our experience, we leaders can see things that many young officers can’t. We can help them see what they need to learn and do to position themselves to be future lieutenants, captains, and chiefs. As you give officers more responsibilities, they will learn to make opportunities for themselves and eventually become vital members of your command staff, running entire operations and divisions and gaining the capacity to become chiefs one day. We all have staff with these skills and potential if we are willing to take the time to look, and our departments, communities, and profession will be better for it. The IACP is, after all, focused on “shaping the future of the policing profession.” That future isn’t us; it is the officers in our command.

Trust After It’s Lost

We also must focus on increasing trust in our communities every day, so the next generation of leaders understand the importance of maintaining mutual respect with community members. Policing will not continue to be a powerful source of good within our communities if we don’t have their trust and confidence in our abilities and our integrity. Trust isn’t based on perfection; trust within communities is based on accepting responsibility for our faults and addressing them to the best of our ability.

As leaders, we must also be willing to put ourselves on the line to do what is right. If our officers or communities see us compromising our values, we lose their trust. If we do it chronically, we may not be able to get that trust back. We must each continuously evaluate our operations, including trends in service to the community and, most importantly, what we are going to do to continue improving trust within our communities.

Our Shared Humanity

What we do right now will chart the course for the continued future of policing. I am honored to be your president during this time, but more than that, I am honored to continue working alongside this noble and dedicated group. Law enforcement officers work tirelessly to serve and protect, and the work we do would not be possible without the encouragement, compassion, and care of those who support us. As we move forward through another year of challenge, opportunity, and growth, we can rely on each other and those around us to help lift us up as we all work toward the common goal of elevating the policing profession.d