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Cracks in the Foundation: An In-Depth Look at Oakland’s Failed Police Chief Recruitment

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay In the heart of California, the city of Oakland faced a critical juncture in its history as it embarked on yet another quest to find a new police chief. Because of past searches, a lot of skepticism existed in the community. However, some individuals hoped to usher in a new era of effective law enforcement leadership. However, what unfolded has been far from the envisioned transformation. Almost a year later, no end is in sight in the search for the next Oakland police chief. Mayor Thao fired Chief LeRonne Armstrong in February 2023 after an investigation revealed some alleged misconduct. Chief Armstrong disputes these findings. [1] Mayor Thao also didn’t like Chief Armstrong’s comments after he was placed on administrative leave. In fact, Chief Armstrong went as far as describing his firing as a “wrongful and retaliatory” termination. [ii] In September 2023, after an investigation into Armstrong’s termination, the hearing officer for Armstrong’s appeal found that most of the allegations against him lacked any evidence or basis in fact. Additionally, the hearing officer determined that Chief Armstrong may have a legal action based on the termination violating his First Amendment rights. [iii] The Oakland…

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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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