City of Las Cruces

I have been a police chief for almost three years. Those three years have reinforced a lesson that I started to learn in the Marine Corps and one that has been reinforced throughout my two decades of law enforcement service. Communication matters! It matters more than almost anything else. The best-laid plans, intentions, or programs will fall flat, or worse, backfire, if they are not communicated and messaged well. We can learn from these lessons and apply them to any organization.

Communication Failures and Impacts

Why does communication, or the lack thereof, cause us so many problems? Human beings are inherently social beings who have an incredible capacity to communicate with one another, whether verbally, nonverbally, or in writing. We spend most of our days communicating with others one way or another. With all that practice, you would think we would be better at it. The reality is, good communication takes effort. We must be intentional about how we interact and relay information to the people around us.

A lack of communication affects a law enforcement agency both internally and externally. The success of any initiative and the agency depends on sound communication to the members of the organization and the entire community.

Internal Communication

I learned relatively early in my career that spending time talking to people, especially the people you are charged to lead, pays dividends. That can get harder to do successfully the higher you go in an organization, but it almost becomes more important when you reach the top of the org chart. A significant percentage of the problems I deal with stem from my message being distorted along the path to the “troops,” or from rumors taking hold.

“Technology does not fix poor communication. It amplifies it.”

Doing things to ensure every level of the organization understands and relays information accurately is critical, but no matter what you do, you are still playing a game of “telephone.” Messages get filtered, shortened and sometimes unintentionally changed. One of the best ways to avoid issues in your section, team, or agency is to communicate your message personally. A leader cannot practically do this for everything, but it must happen for important topics or programs and it must happen often.

Doing this effectively in a police department means a few things.

• First, it means employing a leadership-by-walking-around strategy. Spend some time going around talking to people of all ranks. Some of the most informative and productive conversations occur when practicing this concept.

• Presenting your message to departmental groups is required if you want it to be received accurately. Go to roll calls, briefings, or team meetings and take the time to explain the message and the “why” behind it.

• It’s also important to be vulnerable and listen. You have to be willing to hear people’s concerns and questions and to answer them without negative emotion.

External Communication

Communication with the public and external stakeholders is just as important. The default will always be ignorance, but if we do not take the time to educate them, how can we be upset that citizens, the media, or elected officials got it wrong? Misinformation is harmful to any organization. Take the time to counter it with the truth.

Work on improving your external communication by:

• Getting out into the community and talking to people. These interactions can be formal community events, like “coffee with a cop” or town halls, or more organic conversations. The more ways you can engage and spread information, the better.

• Reaching out to community partners and stakeholders. It’s important to take the time to get to know the non-profits, government agencies, or other community groups that intersect with anything you do. Building these relationships, especially when you disagree, is vital to a long-term external communication strategy.

• Building relationships with elected officials is also a worthwhile investment. They don’t know what they don’t know. Bridging the gap between their perception and reality is critical for the overall success of both parties.

Technology

Nothing will ever replace face-to-face communication, but technology helps fill voids and can be a force multiplier both internally and externally. Email, for instance, is useful for quick communication with large groups or for reinforcing an in-person message. Social media can be incredibly powerful, especially for external communication. Use it to tell your story and to correct erroneous information. Online learning management systems can also be used to send or strengthen a message internally. In a crisis, a reverse 911 or public messaging system can deliver critical information immediately.

Technology is evolving rapidly. Look for opportunities to use it to enhance both internal and external communication, but remember that technology does not fix poor communication. It amplifies it.