Hiring, training keys to good policing
The tragic death of George Floyd resulted in understandable concern about law enforcement abuses of power. Regrettably, some with other motives used it as an occasion to engage in destructive and counter-productive acts.
These destructive acts should not take away from the importance of addressing improper conduct by law enforcement officers. Every profession contains some bad actors. It is especially troublesome when there are bad actors among those who have been given the privilege of a gun and a badge.
The vast majority of our law enforcement officers are dedicated public servants and in the profession for the right reasons. When I encounter an officer in a grocery store or restaurant, I try to always thank them for what they do. For those who cross the line, though, they must be held accountable.
I served as district attorney in Shelby County for over 14 years. As D.A., I had the unfortunate but necessary responsibility of prosecuting officers who had been charged with criminal conduct. During that time, a few blocks away in the federal building, the U.S. Attorney’s office was also actively involved in prosecuting officers for wrong-doing.
During my six years as Tennessee’s commissioner of safety and homeland security for the state of Tennessee, we involved the internal affairs bureau, the human resources division, and the legal counsel’s office in reviewing cases of possible state trooper misconduct. On numerous occasions, I approved disciplinary actions, including termination. And there were occasions when we referred cases to district attorneys across the state for possible prosecution.
Going forward, how do we minimize the number of bad actors among law enforcement? I’m convinced that the two most important factors are (1) hiring the right people and (2) providing the right kind of training on a consistent basis.
In Tennessee, our Highway Patrol has a past history of being a politically tainted agency. When Governor-elect Bill Haslam asked me to serve as commissioner of safety and homeland security, I asked for his assurance that there would be no political interference in the hiring and promotion of state troopers and a commitment to meritbased decision-making. He gave me that assurance and kept his promise. At no time during my tenure as commissioner did Gov. Haslam seek to interfere in the hiring and promotion process.
We set up a recruitment system based on merit which sought to identify those individuals who were motivated by public service, not the power that comes with a gun and badge.
An initial step was to set minimum guidelines for new recruits – at least two years of college, military service with honorable discharge, or service as a law enforcement officer with a clean record. That step alone dramatically improved the recruitment process.
Most years, we received between 1,500 and 2,000 applications. It came down to choosing about 50 recruits per year to enter the training academy. In addition to the psychological exam, we placed major emphasis on an intensive interview process designed to identify those applicants truly motivated by the right reasons and with the right values. (Social media posts often revealed a lot about applicants.)
No process is perfect, but I believe the process we designed resulted in high-caliber recruits.
We also retooled our new recruit training and annual in-service training for all state troopers to place more emphasis on areas such as de-escalation techniques, use of force, searches and seizures, and detention of individuals based on reasonable suspicion. Every law enforcement agency needs to consistently and repeatedly emphasize such areas of training. In diverse communities, cultural awareness training is also especially important. (Actions and words can mean different things in different cultures.)
As in any profession, we will always have some law enforcement officers who cross the line and engage in improper conduct, sometimes even criminal conduct. With proper hiring practices and proper and consistent training, we can significantly minimize those types of incidents and strengthen the relationship between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve.
Bill Gibbons served as district attorney for Shelby County from 1996-2011 and commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security from 2011-2016. Currently, he serves as president of the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission and executive director of the Public Safety Institute at the University of Memphis.