��������The Blue Continuum: �Better Policing through �Early Intervention
MOAACC Current Affairs Forum
4/21/22
Robert W. McNeilly
continuum
Since 2020, the level of turmoil in society increased as evidenced by:
The unintended impact has been:
Many of the problems in policing today are due to just a few issues.
Correcting those would lead to better departments.
Police, like military, represent the cross section of our society including the dedicated and the lackluster.�
Continuum: Types of Police
These officers are committed to their work because they want to make a difference in their community. They will do a good job even if there is poor leadership.
Continuum: Types of Police �
2. Light blue
They are capable of doing good work and will work well under dedicated leadership. They will seldom be disciplined unless they make an unintentional mistake, are still learning the job, or lack good supervision for guidance.
Continuum: Types of Police
3. Blue
Officers in this group appreciate having a job but can take the work or leave it.
Continuum: Types of Police
4. Medium blue
This group consists of those who accept a job in law enforcement because the pay and benefits are better than anything they had before or may find anywhere else. They are inclined to do little work and may complain about having to do any work at all but will work to avoid trouble in the workplace.
Continuum: Types of Police
5. Dark blue
Those officers who really do not want to do police work or possibly any work at all fall into this category. Many do only what they have to do to avoid being fired. Most police officials know it is difficult to terminate an officer in a civil-service, politically connected environment.
Continuum: Types of Police
6. Midnight blue
This subset of the dark-blue group involves a sinister 1-2 percent of officers. They should never have been hired as police officers since they took the job in an effort to be either above the law or to use their positions to further criminal enterprise.
Basic Police Skills
An effective chief should demonstrate excellence with three different skills.
Technical Skills
Technical skills for police include emergency response driving, handcuffing, and use of firearms.
People Skills
People skills are being able to listen, communicate well with others, and work well with others.
Conceptual Skills
Conceptual skills enable a person to develop creative solutions to complex problems.
Chief
Supervisor
Officer
People
Skills
Conceptual
Skills
Technical
Skills
Continuum: Types of Police
Work horses
vs.
Show horses
The building blocks of a good department
Police interaction with their community
March 3, 1991
- Rodney King incident in Los Angeles
Crime bill in 1994
- Law Enforcement Misconduct Statute 42 U.S.C. §14141.
The Department of Justice was authorized to investigate and sue departments engaged in a “pattern or practice” of depriving people of their constitutional rights.
The March 27, 1996, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s headline “Rights suit targeting city police” reported that the lead attorney in the suit, Timothy P. O’Brien, described the Pittsburgh Police as having “…engaged in misconduct for so long, without fear of any meaningful discipline, that those officers who choose to violate citizen’s rights know that they can do so with impunity.”
The departments that don’t keep up with changes - they will be forced to change through:
Police practices vs. best practices
Police practices have evolved over time, due to studies, to determine the best method to perform any task.
Consent Decree
Good police management can ensure a department keeps up with “best practices” in policing
Consent decrees can mandate change when a department has failed to keep up with “best practices” in policing
Consent Decree
Consent Decrees mandate changes in:
Lawsuit or Consent Decree
Consent decree is a written document between the United States Department of Justice and state or local government to make change.
The consent decree is overseen by a federal judge.
Best practice for managing police
Includes an electronic system to track officer performance measures and is referred to as an:
Early Warning System
Early intervention system
Early Intervention system�Officer Information
Early Intervention system�Officer Information
Early Intervention system�Officer Information
Early Intervention system�Officer Information
So, what happens with all the information?
The computer system completes calculations of each officer and of the officer’s peer group which is comprised of the officers working that shift at that duty location.
So, what happens with those calculations?
An electronic alert is sent to the officer’s supervisor when it detects the officer exceeds or far exceeds what is normally expected.
Thresholds. . .
3/26/2022
Standard Deviation
3/26/2022
Thresholds. . .
3/26/2022
How can police supervisors know which officers need help?
Let’s look at how alerts can forewarn…
Indra Cidambi, M.D. writing for Psychology Today (3/30/2018)
She wrote that between 7 percent to 19 percent of officers have symptoms of PTSD as opposed to 3.5 percent of the population.
A Pew Research Center survey of officers published on March 9, 2017
Nearly one in five officers (21 percent) were frequently angry and frustrated on the job. It also found those officers more likely to support more physical or aggressive policing.
Possible signs of Anger Issues
Indra Cidambi, M.D. �writing for Psychology Today (3/30/2018)
One out of four police officers on the street has an alcohol or drug abuse issue.
Central Susquehanna Valley (PA) Daily Item: �Program focuses on officers' mental health�Jan 15, 2022��
The National Alliance on Mental Health reported that one in four police officers had suicidal thoughts in 2019 and more officers die by suicide than on the job.
Possible signs of substance abuse
Does having alerts mean an officer is doing something wrong?
No, alerts can identify the best performing officers.
Identifying the best performers permits supervisors and managers to put the right person in the right position to police more effectively.
Identifying the best performing officers
The EIS can identify the department’s best performers to improve the department
The Blue Continuum
In the long run, departments that do not correct their own deficiencies will find others who will come in to make the changes for them. And those working in the department generally will not like how the changes are made or the outcome of the changes.
The Blue Continuum
“Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on.”
― Robert F. Kennedy
How best practices in policing impact:
Results of achieving best practices
Results of achieving best practices
Results of achieving best practices
Results of achieving best practices
Results of achieving best practices
Results of achieving best practices
Results of achieving best practices
Results of achieving best practices
Results of achieving best practices
Results of achieving best practices
Results of achieving best practices
Results of achieving best practices
Results of achieving best practices
Summary to improve policing
The Blue Continuum
The multitude of a department’s failures eventually leads to lost careers, costly lawsuits, and outside intervention through lawsuits, memorandums of understanding, and consent decrees to correct inadequacies.
The public will eventually pay for this.
The Blue Continuum
Police can do a demanding and dangerous job with dignity while demonstrating respect.
Thank you.
Robert W. McNeilly Jr.