{"id":34506,"date":"2017-05-01T00:02:38","date_gmt":"2017-05-01T04:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/?p=34506"},"modified":"2024-10-02T13:54:30","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T17:54:30","slug":"360-degrees-self-survival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/360-degrees-self-survival\/","title":{"rendered":"360 Degrees of Self-Survival"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been a bad couple of years for law enforcement. Conflicts over officer actions, including officer-involved shootings, have strained relations between U.S. police and the communities they serve, giving rise to responses such as the Black Lives Matter movement. According to a 2016 survey by Gen Forward, two-thirds of young black people and 4 in 10 Hispanics say they or someone they know has experienced violence or harassment at the hands of the police.<sup>1<\/sup>\u00a0Officers have been baited, stalked, and ambushed, and the number of officers killed in the line of duty is rising precipitously.<sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0Law enforcement has been under a\u00a0microscope\u00a0before\u2014the field experienced similar scrutiny and criticisms in the 1960s.<\/p>\n<p>In both instances, law enforcement re-emphasized the way officers are trained (e.g., greater and more formal training on officer safety, sensitivity and cultural diversity, and the First Amendment) and endured FBI investigations of departments, presidential pronouncements, lawsuits, and trials. The current period of high scrutiny has also led to mandates for body cameras in some jurisdictions and new community outreach initiatives. Many of these initiatives are good, some not so much, and others are just counterproductive.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, one major area that needs urgent attention is often missing from the conversation: day-to-day officer psychological well-being. Typically, the practice is to wait until an officer-involved shooting or some other crisis occurs and then offer psychological counseling during the aftermath. However, this reactive approach is not enough. What\u2019s needed now, today, is an ongoing approach to spiritual and psychological balance and wellness that empowers individual officers to deal with the dangers; community criticisms; and resulting anger, cynicism, resentment, and even self-doubts caused by the current toxic environment.<\/p>\n<p>Law enforcement leaders need to emphasize the following aspects of well-being to their officers, in conjunction with the critically important emphases on officer safety, cultural diversity and sensitivity, courtroom testimony, and the legal code.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #0e4a93;\">11 Elements of Officer Well-Being<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>1. Remember that law enforcement is about service.\u00a0<\/strong>While officers must possess extreme self-confidence in their training and ability to perform a difficult job, they must also remind themselves that unbridled ego and overconfidence can be destructive. Those characteristics prevent people from displaying the empathy so critical for effective communication. Ego can become corrosive when it causes officers to forget that the service (as in \u201cprotect and serve\u201d) they provide entails subordination by definition. Law enforcement exists to serve the public. If that role is ruined by self-gratification, individuals will become cynical over time, and this cynicism gets in the way of their ability to listen and their willingness to serve.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Approval and esteem come from within.\u00a0<\/strong>It\u2019s always gratifying to be recognized for one\u2019s accomplishments, but requiring or expecting accolades from others is not sustainable or healthy. Of course, individuals seek promotions as a route to the greater responsibilities that enable them to do more to serve the public. However, officers\u2019 self-esteem comes from their internal knowledge that they have done their best in trying situations and that their motives are governed by an altruistic desire to make their communities safer and to help others.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. From adversity comes strength.\u00a0<\/strong>By nature, people seek to avoid conflict and destructive situations. Unfortunately, danger and stress are as much parts of law enforcement as the uniforms and equipment. Officers must recognize that stressful situations and even the occasional physical lumps they experience can be sources of strength. They teach lessons about what not to do in the future and how to be safer and more effective. Converting the negatives into strengths makes individuals stronger and more effective officers who can serve as inspirations to their colleagues.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Learn how to deal with failure.\u00a0<\/strong>Trainer and former K9 SWAT officer Yelena Pawela asks, \u201cAre you training to lose? If not, why not?\u201d<sup>3<\/sup>In the academy and at most trainings, officers are trained to overcome defeat and to always win. This is good. However, are they also being trained on what to do when they fail, to understand why they failed, how to minimize the consequences of that failure, and to profit from their failures? If not, they do not have all the tools they need to succeed from a long-term, career perspective. Officers who cannot countenance failure are brittle and inflexible and, in time, will break under the pressure of failure because they will become prey to cynicism, self-doubt, and self-protection.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Communicate.\u00a0<\/strong>The abilities to provide consistent and meaningful information, both verbal and non-verbal, and to receive this information from those with whom one interacts, are essential to sound decision-making. In interview and interrogation training, officers are taught to observe people\u2019s behaviors, and officers on the street are told to watch a person\u2019s hands and eyes because their words can belie their subsequent actions. However, officers must also be trained to recognize when their own non-verbal cues are contradicting their words and undermining their intent. Effective communication, whether through Verbal Judo training or other means, is the most powerful tool an officer possesses. Unfortunately, after hundreds and even thousands of calls, officers often settle into patterns of behavior that might not serve them well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6. Draw strength from others.\u00a0<\/strong>Officers are expected to be independent and self-assured\u2014they need to be. However, these same traits can discourage officers from seeking help when they need it. Command staff has a responsibility to reduce the perceived stigma of asking for assistance from a police psychologist or chaplain and to create an environment in which officers can reach out to colleagues and leaders when dealing with problems stemming from their difficult jobs. This requires command staff to be attentive to the often subtle signs of an officer struggling with self-doubt, anger, cynicism, or other difficult emotions. Leaders need to create avenues of interaction that encourage officers to draw strength from their colleagues, their families, and the community.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7. Maintain a sense of humor.\u00a0<\/strong>Every officer has probably said \u201cyou can\u2019t make this stuff up.\u201d Law enforcement personnel see scores of silly and bizarre things every day. Recognizing the humor in these situations\u2014and even the ridiculous\u2014can help keep a smile on officers\u2019 faces and bring balance to the difficult and even gruesome tasks they must sometimes perform. Similarly, officers need to be able to see the humor in their own actions; for example, ending roll call with a few humorous anecdotes can lighten the load as well as be instructive.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8. Appreciate the little things.\u00a0<\/strong>If officers go through their official lives as automatons, they fail to recognize and appreciate the little things, such as a kid in a car seat waving at them, someone thanking them for their service, or a 30-second friendly conversation at a coffee shop. It\u2019s these little things that remind officers that they are the \u201cgood guys,\u201d and, despite the criticisms of some, they are liked and respected in the community. This sense of appreciation can keep officers balanced and give them the strength to go to the next call.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9. Treat every act as an offering.\u00a0<\/strong>Teach officers to consider everything they do as an offering to the community they serve. A traffic citation is better viewed as something that will keep the streets safer than a statistic, and removing a substance abuser from the street is best viewed as protecting motorists and an opportunity to get someone needed help rather than an arrest. Treating their actions as offerings reinforces the sense of service, reduces cynicism, and builds officer self-esteem.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10. Listen and maintain perspective.\u00a0<\/strong>An officer may work hundreds, even thousands, of traffic accidents, domestic assaults, and traffic violations during a career. For many officers, these are routine, and it\u2019s common to tend to follow scripts borne from experience. Officers need to remember that while these activities are routine for them, they are not routine for the people with whom the officers interact. A traffic citation is often a big deal to the speeder, and it\u2019s important to maintain a sense of compassion while doing the job. Further, the officer doesn\u2019t know all the stresses of a speeder or an at-fault driver in a crash. Compassion and empathy may keep officers safe, and the offender will often appreciate the officer\u2019s professionalism, even if he or she received a citation. More importantly, officers should remember that how they act today will shape the interactions of that driver with the next officer he or she meets, so their actions today may affect another officer\u2019s safety tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p><strong>11. Maintain balance.\u00a0<\/strong>Over the years, most officers\u2019 friends become less diverse. Officers will party with other cops, go to cops\u2019 weddings, and associate with their \u201cown kind,\u201d largely because those are the people with whom they spend their time and who understand the life of an officer. However, officers will benefit if they make an effort to maintain their hobbies, friendships, and other associations outside law enforcement. This will give officers a better perspective on their community, which will make them more attuned to serving it. This advice is even more critical for officers\u2019 families. The high divorce rates for police officers attest to the fact that the job is stressful. Shutting out loved ones, even if due to a well-intentioned desire to spare them from brutality, undermines healthy relationships and, in time, reduces an officer\u2019s own ability to confront his or her difficult job responsibilities. Family is a source of strength, and those support systems need to be maintained as much as one\u2019s duty equipment. Both will make an individual a safer and more effective officer.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #0e4a93;\">A Final Thought<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The responsibilities and experiences of a law enforcement officer are remarkably diverse and demanding. The initial uncertainties and potential dangers of each interaction require split-second decisions that can result in extreme gratification, injury, and even death (including that of the officer)\u2014or anything in between. What is certain, however, is that whatever an officer does will be reviewed and, if necessary, criticized by superiors, colleagues, friends and families, and the community at large.<\/p>\n<p>Dealing successfully with such uncertainties and scrutiny requires the wisdom of Solomon, the courage of David, the patience of Job, and greater vision than Jonas. As George C. Scott mused in\u00a0Patton, upon the death of his aide, \u201cWhere do we find such men [and women]?\u201d<sup>4<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Such heroes are not \u201cfound\u201d; they are made. Naturally, the officer recruitment process looks for people who have certain prerequisites, such as the ability to communicate, judgment, courage, and a strong sense of ethics. But this high-quality clay must still be molded, and this molding is the object of initial training, officer development, and continuing leadership training. At the same time, leaders must ensure the clay does not become too brittle lest it fracture. It is the obligation of leaders to create balanced officers, strong in both policing skills and psychological and spiritual grounding, who can meet the rigors of law enforcement. This task of leadership includes more than just exhortation in roll call training; it also includes creating an environment in which individual officers feel empowered to develop the full range of awareness and capabilities described above\u2014an internal armor, so to speak\u2014to succeed. Lacking internal armor is just as dangerous as lacking the other tools of an officer\u2019s trade and is likely to result in officer burn-out, cynicism, poor judgment, and other behaviors that jeopardize the individual officer, departments, and the confidence of the communities they serve. <span style=\"color: #0e4a93;\">♦<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><sup>1<\/sup>The article describes a racial divide. \u201cAbout 6 in 10 young adults consider the killings of black people by the police and violence against the police as extremely or very serious problems, according to the poll. But young black people and Hispanics see killings by police as more serious problems and young whites see violence against the police as more serious.\u201d See \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.columbiatribune.com\/story\/news\/local\/2021\/01\/24\/structural-problems-affecting-policing-minority-neighborhoods\/6597875002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Minorities Face Endemic Harassment From Police<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0<em>Columbia Daily Tribune<\/em>, August 4, 2016.<\/p>\n<p><sup>2<\/sup>Christopher Ingraham, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/wonk\/wp\/2016\/11\/21\/ambush-killings-of-police-officers-has-hit-a-10-year-high\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ambush Killings of Police Officers Has Hit a 10-Year High<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0<em>Washington Post<\/em>, November 21, 2016.<\/p>\n<p><sup>3<\/sup>Paul Pawela, \u201cAre You Training to Lose? If Not, Why Not?\u201d\u00a0<em>The Chief of Police<\/em>\u00a031, no. 1 (Spring 2016): 24\u201325.<\/p>\n<p><sup>4<\/sup><em>Patton<\/em>, directed by Franklin J. Schaffner (1970; 20th Century Fox), Film.<\/p>\n<p>Please cite as:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">John Weinstein, \u201c360 Degrees of Self-Survival,\u201d <em>The Police Chief<\/em> 84 (May 2017): 26\u201329.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s been a bad couple of years for law enforcement. Conflicts over officer actions, including officer-involved shootings, have strained relations between U.S. police and the communities they serve, giving rise to responses such as the Black Lives Matter movement. According to a 2016 survey by Gen Forward, two-thirds of young black people and 4 in 10 Hispanics say they or someone they know has experienced violence or harassment at the hands of the police.\u00a0Officers have been baited, stalked, and ambushed, and the number of officers killed in the line of duty is rising precipitously.\u00a0Law enforcement has been under a\u00a0microscope\u00a0before\u2014the field experienced similar scrutiny and criticisms in the 1960s.<\/p>\n<p>In both instances, law enforcement re-emphasized the way officers are trained (e.g., greater and more formal training on officer safety, sensitivity and cultural diversity, and the First Amendment) and endured FBI investigations of departments, presidential pronouncements, lawsuits, and trials. The current period of high scrutiny has also led to mandates for body cameras in some jurisdictions and new community outreach initiatives. Many of these initiatives are good, some not so much, and others are just counterproductive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":34514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[141],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-officer-safety-wellness"],"acf":{"post_author":"<strong>John Weinstein, Lieutenant, Northern Virginia Community College Police Department<\/strong>","main_category":"Officer Safety & Wellness","legacy_article_id":"","legacy_issue_id":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.4 (Yoast SEO v24.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>360 Degrees of Self-Survival - Police Chief Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/360-degrees-self-survival\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"360 Degrees of Self-Survival\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s been a bad couple of years for law enforcement. Conflicts over officer actions, including officer-involved shootings, have strained relations between U.S. police and the communities they serve, giving rise to responses such as the Black Lives Matter movement. According to a 2016 survey by Gen Forward, two-thirds of young black people and 4 in 10 Hispanics say they or someone they know has experienced violence or harassment at the hands of the police.\u00a0Officers have been baited, stalked, and ambushed, and the number of officers killed in the line of duty is rising precipitously.\u00a0Law enforcement has been under a\u00a0microscope\u00a0before\u2014the field experienced similar scrutiny and criticisms in the 1960s. In both instances, law enforcement re-emphasized the way officers are trained (e.g., greater and more formal training on officer safety, sensitivity and cultural diversity, and the First Amendment) and endured FBI investigations of departments, presidential pronouncements, lawsuits, and trials. The current period of high scrutiny has also led to mandates for body cameras in some jurisdictions and new community outreach initiatives. Many of these initiatives are good, some not so much, and others are just counterproductive.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/360-degrees-self-survival\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Police Chief Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheIACP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-05-01T04:02:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-02T17:54:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/AdobeStock_138681399-1024x673.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"673\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Margaret White\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@TheIACP\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@TheIACP\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Margaret White\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/360-degrees-self-survival\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/360-degrees-self-survival\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Margaret White\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/#\/schema\/person\/51da39bf2b152cf9aff96cdeed62d5a4\"},\"headline\":\"360 Degrees of Self-Survival\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-01T04:02:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-02T17:54:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/360-degrees-self-survival\/\"},\"wordCount\":2033,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/360-degrees-self-survival\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/AdobeStock_138681399.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Officer Safety & Wellness\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/360-degrees-self-survival\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/360-degrees-self-survival\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/360-degrees-self-survival\/\",\"name\":\"360 Degrees of Self-Survival - 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