Why would I want to be a supervisor?

I believe one of the best reasons for becoming a supervisor is that you will be a manager in your agency and be a vital player in the development of your subordinates and the department; this should be a prime motivational factor for you. Naturally, there is the monetary incentive that comes with every promotion, which is very important when planning for your future.

As a supervisor, you demonstrate your leadership abilities.  How great is that?  Remember when you used to sit around with your fellow officers and tell them how you could handle a situation so much better than your current supervisor?  This is nothing new; we all did it. This kind of banter is a good thing to participate in as long as you maintain proper respect and continue to follow the orders of your supervisor. This exchange of ideas actually helps to develop your own leadership abilities because you will start to think like a supervisor, which is very important. In fact, if you think about it, it is similar to voting in an election.  There is a saying that “if you didn’t vote in the election, don’t complain about who’s in office.”  It’s the same about becoming a supervisor.  If you feel you would be a good Supervisor and could assist in improving your department and the service that is provided to your citizens, then being promoted is your “vote” or opportunity to provide input on changes you feel are necessary. Or if your department is running smoothly, then you can maintain the status quo.

As a supervisor you will be able to develop information on the best ways to improve procedures and policies that are for the good of the department.  You see, as a supervisor your voice can be heard and you can influence not only your superiors, but also your troops.

Becoming a supervisor is a great thing, something you’ve worked for during your entire career.  It is more than just giving orders or assigning officers to a beat every day. 

• You are in charge of every situation that occurs out in the field.
• You will review all of the actions of your officers and determine what training may be useful in their development.
• You can create scenarios or situations for training purposes.
• You will face new challenges such as becoming a mentor, a confidant, a cheerleader, a disciplinarian, and you will be able to help other personnel develop their breadth of knowledge in their chosen profession. With your assistance, some day they can advance in their career.
• You will become a role model to many.  Some officers may not tell you to your face, but you can be sure that if you have been doing your job correctly, you will make an impact.  Others will tell you how much you have meant to their career and how they have patterned their own career after yours.
• You will be proud that you, as a supervisor, were able to make such a difference. This is one of the highest tributes that anyone can bestow on you. Believe me; your world will change because of it!

As a police chief, I considered all of my supervisors as management, and it didn’t matter if they were first-line supervisor sergeants or captains.  Now I want you to understand I am not speaking for every police chief because we all have our own way of handling various supervisory positions, but here is my thinking on the situation.  Let’s say you are a sergeant, working a graveyard shift. There’s no lieutenant on duty and the police chief is home sleeping, knowing that his City is being protected by the finest supervisor he has on his shift that night--you.  It doesn’t matter that you are the only supervisor on duty that night-- you are the best one he has out there.  Think about it.  Who is in charge?  YOU.  If a major situation develops, who will handle it?  YOU.  If there are notifications to be made, who is going to make the decision to make those notifications?  YOU.  So, to my way of thinking, it stands to reason that you are the supervisor in charge, that is the chief of police, and that means you are management not just for this one night but throughout your supervisory career.  (Remember, we are talking about leadership positions not M.O.U. (Memorandum of Understanding issues or personnel job descriptions). That is what makes the position of supervisor so great because you are the main person in charge, and you can develop others who in turn will help develop the future of your department.

Now is the time to make that all important decision because, after all, it is your future we are talking about.

Ask the Chief: How do you stay positive in this profession?

Q. “How do you stay positive in this profession?”

A.We graduate from the academy and enter the realm of Law Enforcement. All of a sudden we face an enormous amount of negativity. For instance: we hear all of the complaining from our peers on just about every subject possible: we read and hear negative media reports often times from reporters that have very few facts correct in their stories: we feel extremely depressed when we don’ t make the promotion we have anticipated: and we often deal with hostile citizens who really don’ t want us around. So why do we still stay in this profession and remain positive? Because we love it and not everyone can do it. We are a special breed! Think about it. How many candidates started in your academy class and how many graduated and how many of those that did graduate are still in the profession today?

Every career you enter will not be perfect but that doesn’ t mean that it is not a great career for you. You must look past the negatives and find the positives and that is exactly what we must do in Law Enforcement.

If you think about it our job is mostly dealing with the negatives in peoples’ lives. The burglaries, robberies, homicides, suicides, etc all have a negative impact on the victims lives as well as ours. And if you don’ t look on the positive side of these calls you will also fall into a very negative depression.

Now looking on the positive side is sometimes easier said than done. Remember this job has no conscience and will chew you up and spit you out and not think twice about it! So now we must work on becoming positive in our thoughts and actions. Anyone can sit around and complain and we all know that misery loves company but it takes a special individual to stand up and become a positive influence.

Now don’ t get me wrong, I am not saying that I was never a negative influence on certain things hell, I have been in Law Enforcement 37 years but I learned that when I changed to a positive outlook, situations on the job looked a lot better.

I always state “ stay positive,” both in your professional and you personal life. Don’ t look at just the fact that a burglary is negative incident, turn it into a positive interaction with the victim. Demonstrate that you are there to assist them and hopefully apprehend the suspect and if at all possible return some if not all of the missing property. This is not necessarily a “ pipe dream,” you are there to make them feel safer in your community, that is your job. Feel good that they called you for help. Out of all the people in your community, you are there to assist. What a great feeling, not everyone can say that.

If you don’ t make the promotion you wanted, it is ok to be upset but don’ t let it linger, “ get over it” and move on making sure that the next time you take a promotional exam you “ ace it.” This is when you turn a negative experience and make it work for you by being the best candidate on the list and make it difficult for the Chief not to select you.

Sure I know that there are times that everything turns south and it is almost impossible to stay positive, but that is when you have to dig deeper inside yourself and find that positive influence and work with it when you are with your peers and the citizens of your community. Don’ t let others dictate your feelings. You be the positive role model and have the “ can do” attitude. I guarantee that you will feel different about yourself and your profession. And soon others might just change their attitude and improve the work environment. It is worth a shot, what do you have to lose.

Stay Positive!

If any of you have any other ideas or suggestions, I would like to hear from you. Also if there are any topics you wish to discuss, let me know by using our "Ask the Chief" form at the top of the page.

Choose a job you love and you will never work another day in your life

Choose a job you love and you will never work another day in your life. I have always believed that if you look forward to challenges, enjoy the unknown, have the ability to think "outside the box" and you're not afraid of taking responsibility for your actions them you will have a great time being a supervisor. During the promotional process, I know what administrators are looking for in their personnel and I will share this inside information with you so you will have an edge over your competition.

Ask the Chief: Reserve or Full Time Officer

Q. “Should I look for a position as a reserve officer and obtain my college degree or take a position that has been offered as a full time officer?”

A.The basic question is what do you want to do? Do you want to finish college now or several years down the road? In the 70’s and 80’s some people did become reserves prior to becoming regular sworn officers but usually there were certain circumstances surrounding these decisions. 

 For example, when I started in the 60's if you wanted to be a career police officer you strived for full time status. Usually, only volunteers were reserves. In the 80's, when I became a Police Chief, we were paying reserves (no benefits) and utilizing them for more demanding functions.  The qualifications to become a reserve changed as did the requirements for the reserve academy.  With this in mind we looked at reserves differently and if we had a full compliment of sworn police officers we would ask the candidate if he/she would be willing to work as a reserve officer until an opening occurred. 

 This was for two reasons: 

1. We could review the reserve officer and determine if they met our standards and would fit into our department as well as avoiding the time and expense of academy training. This benefitted the department as well as giving the candidate on the job training to learn if the department was a "fit" for them.
2. The reserve officer would help the manpower of the department and not cost as much as a full time sworn officer. I am not trying to sound cold but you have to remember this is a business with tight budgets and the officer is a resource. Often times we have individuals who don't want to be full time police officers but just want to give back to the community and they are full time reserves.  

Now, back to your question... I firmly believe that if you have an opportunity to be a full time police officer, then take the position. You really don't know when the next opening will occur and you may be on the outside looking in, especially in these unsteady times. I believe that you have to continue your education but you can complete it during your career. You probably won't attend classes during your first year on the job because you will be attempting to pass probation and your attention should be directed towards that goal. After you pass probation, then you may begin to complete your education. It may only be one or two classes a semester but you will be on the road to obtaining your degree. 

If you currently have a department doing your background then they have an interest in you now and they are spending time and money on you and they need a commitment. In this economy we can't always plan ahead the way we would like. When looking for a job or career in law enforcement you have to accept the position, if that is truly what you want to do, because there are several other candidates waiting to take your place. Remember many agencies have a freeze on hiring because of budget constraints.

Stay positive.

If any of you have any other ideas or suggestions, I would like to hear from you. Also if there are any topics you wish to discuss, let me know by using our "Ask the Chief" form at the top of the page.

You Don’t Have a Right to Wear a Badge: Respect Your Badge

Several times during my 37 years in law enforcement I observed that a few officers always felt they had a RIGHT to wear their badges. Over the years they had forgotten how precious that badge is and that they were privileged to be a part of the law enforcement tradition. As a police chief I had my “WSMs” just like every other department and these were my “whining, sniveling, malcontents.” I called them my five percenters. You know who I am talking about. If you gave them a raise today, they would complain that they did not receive it yesterday. These are the officers who lack integrity, values, ethics and believe that gratuities are justified because they work in such a dangerous environment they are entitled to them. Give me a break.

Now everything I am stating are my opinions and observations and I am not asking anyone to agree or disagree with them. I also realize I am preaching to the choir and I believe if we can do something to assist other officers from tarnishing the badge then it is all the better for our profession.

To me wearing the badge is a great privilege and I would do everything in my power not to see the badge tarnished. Remember a chain is only as strong as its weakest link and so are we as law enforcement officers, only as good as our weakest officer. When an officer goes bad, we all suffer for it. It doesn’t matter which department they represent. They carry a badge and that is all the public sees.

Officers who wear a badge are a special few. If you don’t think so, remember your academy class. How many candidates started with you and how many actually finished. Of those how many are actively involved in law enforcement today or honorably retired. We are a special breed.

Early in my career a large California police department had a scandal where several officers were arrested for committing burglaries while on duty. When asked how this could happen, one of the young involved officers related that after awhile the uniform began to fit like an old pair of jeans and the badge wasn’t as shinny. He also felt that police work didn’t feel the same anymore and he wanted to fit in and be one of the boys and that is why he started to do the burglaries. He knew it was wrong but he wanted his fellow officers to like him. You can draw your own conclusions as to why he was involved. My personal observation is that he was just weak and shouldn’t have been wearing the badge to begin with.

We are very hard on our fellow officers and we demand that they uphold the laws they have sworn to enforce and adhere to the rules and regulations of the department andwe do a very good job. Less than one percent misfit that uniform. That is a better average than the clergy, but we have to constantly strive to improve.

As you can tell I am passionate about our badge and in 1983 I read an article written by George H. Savord, former Chief of Police of Cypress, California entitled “This is Your Badge.” I review it often and read it in my classes, no matter what the rank of the participants. Some times I feel, we get so busy in our professional and personal lives that I think it necessary to take a step back from time to time and remember what we are about. With that in mind, I would like to share Chief Savord’s article with you.

This is your Badge

It is lifeless, made of metal. A die has stamped it from rough stock, shaped it in traditional design and inscribed the word “Police.” It has been plated and polished, sold for profit.

Now It Is Yours

It is a symbol of Americanism. It is law, order, justice and freedom. It is the Bill of Rights, The Constitution, E Pluribus Unum, the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Badge Lives

It is a courageous defender--brave, noble wise and strong. It laughs and cries--knows fear and tragedy. It represents fairness, honesty dependability. Possession of it transforms you from citizen to sentinel--guardian of the safety and welfare of others.

Display It With Dignity

Wear it with pride. Stand tall behind it. Defend its principles. Emulate the qualities it represents. Treasure it, polish it, keep it gleaming--the reflection of the badge is one of hope peace and security.

Respect your badge and others will too.