Under Pressure

A diamond forms from coal under pressure.  This has been used to justify tough situations we go through, with hopes of being better and brighter on the other side of it.  This all depends on your definition of pressure.  We relate our pressure to our surroundings, our current environment, be it home or work. 

I’ve recently had the privilege to attend a training where I spoke to several other first responders and asked them what was their definition of pressure in their chosen profession.  The top three answers and in order of how they rated them were:

1.       Agency administration*

2.       Inadequate / toxic supervisors*

3.       Lack of manpower/training

*administration was defined as officers in positions of decision making “who haven’t worked the front lines in over a decade.”  

*inadequate/toxic supervisors were defined as “lack of balls to do what’s right” and “bully pencil pushers.” 

It’s frustrating and sadly unsurprising to see other agencies of varying sizes, demographics, and geographical areas dealing with the same issues.  My concern is that even though it’s a small-scale poll of first responders, we all thought the same thing…that the top pressures we face in this job are internal to the agency. 

Mind you, the officers in the class were 5-30 years in law enforcement.  I had to take a step back and ask myself this question.  What did I see as pressures in my current position versus a decade ago when I first started? I wasn’t worried about supervision or administration a decade ago.  I wanted to make a name for myself, catch the bad guys, and make it to the calls in time to save people. My response for why I got into law enforcement was because I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself.  It wasn’t about protecting and serving as much as it was about having the similar comradery with like-minded people as I did in the military. 

If we’re all dealing with the same issues then maybe it’s time we change how we’re doing things.

Number one issue on the list was agency administrators defined as those who are removed from the front lines making decisions based on 20 years ago.  If you’re an administrator and think this doesn’t apply to you then it definitely does.  A lot of things all of you did “back in the day” are no longer allowed.  Comparing your experiences to those of the newer generation of law enforcement is ineffective.  They don’t care what you did 20+ years ago. They care how they’re going to make it 20+ years in this profession now. 

A combined suggestion was to have administration step into the current role of an officer on the front lines taking calls for service, dealing with the underbelly of society, getting reports in on time, making sure you’re evidence is squared away, and hoping everything gets approved so you’re not stuck getting yelled at by your supervisor for messing something up because you’re exhausted at the 10^th hour of a 12 hour / 3 day shift trying to do everything in an ever changing system that requires more paperwork than a paperless system should.  When you’ve had a reminder of what the newer generation is dealing with now then maybe the political/administrative decisions are easier to make that will benefit the future of the agency.  Team building/inclusivity/training came up for some other suggestions, however they fall into the other pressures we face. 

Second on the list is inadequate/toxic supervisors.  If you’re a supervisor recognize that someone in your charge likely thinks you are toxic or inadequate.   We all know some.  There are supervisors who are self-aware and take steps to improve themselves, then there’s supervisors who are oblivious and the administrators need to step in and take action.  A bad supervisor is the quickest way to kill morale and lose good employees.  If you are moved to a squad as a supervisor and everyone starts to flee, maybe it’s time to self-reflect and ask some questions.  

A first impression that made leaders stand apart from supervisors in my experience was after leaders stated their expectations of me, they asked what my expectations were of them.  That environment of effective communication, mentorship, and learning was created from the start (Leadership vs. Supervision is another topic I’ll be sharing my unsolicited opinion on later).  One of my most effective leaders stated that when his employees did the job right it was their fault, and when they did it wrong it was his fault.  This showed ownership and self-awareness that he needed to improve and empower his people to do the job correctly. 

The third pressure, lack of manpower and training, is a multi-layered issue that has too many variables to tackle in one sitting.  For starters, lack of manpower will always be an issue when law enforcement is demonized by the public perception.  Whether it’s the media, the criminals, the family members of criminals, the politicians, and the all encompassed mission of the devil, we are just not the fan favorite.  It’s hard to recruit experience into a profession that guarantees you’ll be a target.  So instead we recruit the able-bodied.  This is usually the 20-year-old college student whom we complain has no life experience.  Whose fault is that?  We hired them.  We need to recognize that they’ve been alive 20 years and therefore have 20 years of life experience.  Just because they haven’t been off to war, had kids, or start off cynical and disappointed like most of you are in your 30’s and 40’s doesn’t mean they don’t bring something important to the table.  Either mentor and guide them to gain experience or stop hiring them. 

Training and manpower go hand in hand, without manpower to cover the duties and responsibilities of the agency, then how do we make time to train? It’s not lack of training that we are facing, it’s lack of people and time to do it. 

The daily horrors of this job are enough to kill us; adding the top pressures mentioned above is why so many of our first responders don’t seek help when it all collides.  We’re sworn to protect and serve, just not ourselves.