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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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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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Sir Robert Peel's 9 Principles of Policing

Sir Robert Peel’s 9 Principles of Policing – Principle #7

I am continuing my series of articles about Sir Robert Peel's 9 Principles of Policing.  Today, my focus is on Principle #7. Principle #7 To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and that the public are the police, the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.  Even in 1829, a relationship with the public was essential for law enforcement officers to be successful.  I’m not sure this concept was as understood back in the day as it is today.  In general, law enforcement was a thankless job that relied upon brute force to be effective.  Don’t get me wrong.  I am sure many police officers valued having a positive relationship with the community, but few likely understood how important that concept was at the time. The sentiment expressed in this principle is probably one of the most famous of all of the principles espoused by Sir Robert Peel.  The police are the public and that the public are the police.Sir…

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