leaders read

Successful Leaders Read

I have always been a reader. From an early age, I loved to read. In fact, I took a class in high school where all I had to do the entire quarter was read books. I was in heaven! As I began my career in law enforcement, my reading continued. However, I expanded the types of books I was reading to include books that would help me grow as a leader. After Bobby Moody became Chief of Police for the Marietta Police Department in 1996, we began reading leadership articles and books for our staff meetings and had to report on what we read at our staff meetings. We read book after book after book and grew as leaders. We absorbed what we read so much that eight former leaders who served under Chief Bobby Moody became police chiefs. Leaders from today and the past value the importance of reading. Here are a few quotes about reading. “I cannot live without books.” Thomas Jefferson “Reading is still the main way that I both learn new things and test my understanding.” Bill Gates “My best friend is a person who will give me a book I have not read.” Abraham Lincoln…

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can there be two police chiefs at one department

Can Two Police Chiefs Run One Department?

I know what you are thinking. What in the world is he talking about? I’m not crazy.  A City government decided to split the responsibilities of the Police Chief between two people and give them two different titles. The Decision The Mayor and Chief Administrator of the City of Albuquerque recently announced after an exhaustive search, that they appointed Harold Medina to serve as the Police Chief.  Chief Medina currently serves as the Interim Chief.  However, their announcement didn’t stop there. They also appointed another candidate, Sylvester Stanley, to a newly created Superintendent of Police Reform position. Click here to read an article about these appointments. Some people were disappointed that an internal candidate, Medina, was selected. But, at the same time, other people were cautiously optimistic that the new position can create more accountability within the Albuquerque Police Department. Duties & Responsibilities If you have two Police Chiefs, how do you divide up their duties? Here is what Albuquerque did. Chief Medina will be responsible for fighting crime, the recruitment of officers, and building morale.  On the other hand, Superintendent Stanley will be responsible for the Police Academy, Internal Affairs, and will work with the Department of Justice on…

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Sir Robert Peel’s 9 Principles of Policing – Principle #9

I am continuing my series of articles about Sir Robert Peel's 9 Principles of Policing.  Today, my focus is on Principle #9. Principle #9 To recognise always that the test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, and not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them. How do you measure how well a police department is performing?  According to Sir Robert Peel, it is by the absence of crime and disorder.   Yet this response seems overly simplistic and doesn’t take into account the many factors that influence crime. Factors That Influence Crime According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there are various factors that influence the crime rate for any particular area.  Some of these factors include population density and the degree of urbanization, age and gender of the population, the transience of the people, poverty level, job availability, median income, modes of transportation, education level of people, family conditions, and climate. [i] Of course, this is not an exhaustive list.  Instead, it is evidence that reducing crime is a more complicated proposition than first evident. In my career, I can recall instances when crime rose despite the department's best efforts.  In other…

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