ISLAND—Inclusion, Safety, Laughs, Accountability, Nourishment, and Direction—is a way to train and treat all public safety employees (and the community they serve) as a group of people who are influencing each other without much outside influence.
With the challenges facing our country, highly motivated law enforcement officers and respected law enforcement agencies are needed now more than ever in our communities. Motivated officers with strong ethics are the most important elements in the long-term success of a law enforcement agency.
A person with a bad attitude can be disruptive to the workplace, it's not something you want in your unit but before you face the issue head on, make sure you've documented their bad tendencies.
The role of a law enforcement supervisor is to lead, motivate, and help accomplish the agency's mission. Nowhere in that role does it state you have to be everyone's friend.
You often hear the word "leadership" used, but it has become so cliché that the real meaning has been all but lost. Many have pushed away the management side of the house and have ignored the fact that being an effective manager is a big part of a leader's job.
The success or failure of any law enforcement agency revolves around the quality of its paperwork. As a supervisor you must set high standards early on to ensure success. Everything you approve will have your name on it, and thus your subordinates' reports become yours.
Supervisors must be specific when they communicate, or expect to pay the price for not doing so. Specificity is important for three main reasons: to ensure the success of the task, to eliminate any questionable officer issues, and in case disciplinary actions become required.
Over-supervising quashes initiative, creates morale problems (no one likes to be micro-managed), and creates respect issues.
Capt. Rhonda Lawson, president of the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives (NAWLEE), became the first female field captain in the Texas Highway Patrol's history. In her experience, many officers resent competition with minorities for desired positions.
If the men and women of patrol have to be exposed to a cross-section of varied subjects, then law enforcement administrators are expected to have doctorates in each of those and be able to answer for and explain the seemingly inexplicable actions of each of their subordinates.
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