Mentoring Our New Warriors

Mr. Rossow is a 28-year police veteran, who retired as the Captain of Support Services with the Port Huron (MI) Police Department in 2006. He is a CALEA Team Leader and is currently a full-time police trainer, providing instruction on ethics, mentoring, and leadership. He can be reached at (810) 320-9517 or nrossow@comcast.net.

Law enforcement officers, by virtue of the profession they have chosen, are members of a very noble and elite warrior class. They voluntarily devote their lives to the protection of others, while frequently enduring a negative public image as portrayed by the media. They put their armor on everyday with the understanding that they may be killed or seriously injured while protecting the members of their community; people they most likely have never met. There is nothing nobler a person can choose to do with his or her life. In this tradition, the men and women entering law enforcement can be looked at as our “new warriors.”

Today’s new warrior recruit is entering law enforcement at a very challenging time, when public support and appreciation is at its highest in decades. Some of this support stems from the acknowledgement of the heroic acts of public safety officers during the September 11th attacks. However, the public also has a higher expectation to be protected in a time when they believe violence and crime is on the rise. Scandals in the public and private sector remind us of the importance of the law and how much we need honorable and dedicated law enforcement professionals. The country is struggling to balance security and liberty, while the public is concerned that if law enforcement officers are not held to a higher standard of honor and integrity, the rule enforcer could become the rule breaker.^{^[1]}

The challenge of today’s law enforcement leader is to ensure that the new recruit maintains a belief system where words like honor, fairness, integrity, nobility, leadership, and character are not just words, but a way of life. It is the responsibility of the experienced officer, the trusted counselor and teacher, not only to teach the core tasks of a law enforcement officer, but to provide the moral and ethical framework for the new officer’s entire career. The new recruit comes to the profession with a belief system that, at the least, professes that right should triumph over wrong and good should triumph over evil. That basic belief system must be nurtured by the experienced officer when mentoring the new recruit.

Young people who choose to enter law enforcement must understand that they have a responsibility to live up to the challenge of becoming a member of an elite warrior class, who has lived by a critical set of virtues for over 2,500 years. A warrior has self-discipline, wisdom, courage, faith, honor, virtue, mercy, compassion, purity of heart, and freedom of spirit. New warrior recruits must understand that accepting a position as a law enforcement officer means they are willing to live up to the public’s high expectations and warrior virtues.

Mentoring takes place within the agency whenever experienced members help those less experienced, but the mentoring of new recruits is most critical. The law enforcement belief system that stresses honor and integrity must be introduced in the beginning and reinforced throughout the officer’s career. To understand today’s recruits and why mentoring becomes increasingly important, consider the following survey conducted by the Josephson Institute of Ethics of Los Angeles, California. The survey, conducted in 2000, collected data from young people concerning integrity and honesty^{^[2]}:

· 40 percent of high school males and 30 percent of females admit to stealing from a store within the past year.

· 70 percent of high school students and 37 percent of college students admit they cheated on an exam at least once in the past 12 months.

· 48 percent of male high school students and 32 percent of high school females say they would lie if they thought it was necessary to get or keep a job.

· 43 percent of high school males believe if is sometimes okay to hit or threaten a person who makes them angry and 75 percent of all high school boys and 60 percent of girls hit someone in the past year because they were angry.

· 31 percent say they have stolen from their parents and 23 percent say they have stolen from a friend.

These statistics are staggering and scary. It reinforces the importance of a careful recruit selection process and comprehensive background investigation. While the new recruit hopefully is not one of the above young people, they know these people and know unethical acts are occurring at an alarming rate.

The new generation of officers is different than those of the past. Despite the fact these differences often drive the Boomers crazy, different doesn’t always mean bad. Whether members of Generation X or Generation Y, sometimes called the Millennium Babies, they bring positive traits to the workplace. They tend to like change; they understand technology; they are independent; they are loyal to their team; and they want to work in an atmosphere where there is opportunity and growth. They need constant feedback, are financially savvy, and are good at balancing work and personal time. Mentoring will help this next generation of new recruits learn the positive ethics and culture of their law enforcement agency.

To better understand mentoring, three different definitions are examined. Dr. Paul Whitesell, Superintendent of the Indiana State Police, defines mentoring as:

The art of taking someone under your wing for the purpose of teaching them to do what you do, but leaving them with their own individual strengths and talents that might be far different than your own.^{^[3]}

The proactive development of each soldier through observation, assessing, coaching, teaching, developmental counseling, and evaluating that results in people being treated with fairness and equal opportunity.

Finally, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) publication, Best Practices for Institutionalizing Mentoring into Police Departments by Chief Harvey Sprafka and Lieutenant April H. Kranda, defines it as:

…a mutually beneficial relationship in which a knowledgeable and skilled veteran officer (mentor) provides insight, guidance, and developmental opportunities to a lesser skilled and experienced colleague (protégé).^{^[4]}

All three of the definitions deal with one simple concept: the mentor and the new officer enter into a relationship where the newest and less experienced officer can learn techniques, strategies, secrets and beliefs from the experienced, seasoned officer. The goals of mentoring are promoting professionalism, inspiring personal motivation, and enhancing effectiveness of law enforcement service.^{^[5]} Mentoring allows each officer to develop to the best of their abilities and to reach their potential. This is extremely important because you never know which of the new officers will be the most significant contributors and leaders in the future.

According to Best Practices for Institutionalizing Mentoring into Police Departments, the mentoring relationship benefits both the mentor and the protégé. The benefits for the mentor are:

· Mentors stay current on their knowledge of department policies, procedures, and contemporary policing practices, in order to counsel their protégés in such matters. This allows them to enhance their own career.

· Mentors pave the way for others, thereby leaving their legacy in the department.

· Mentors are viewed as valuable in the organization and are respected by colleagues.

· Mentors obtain varying perspectives from their protégés, which generates creativity.

· An increased likelihood for success. Mentors help protégés gain competency and avoid failures.

· Encourages and provides opportunities for new experiences and professional growth.

· Enhances the protégé’s feeling of worth to the mentor and the organization.

While informal mentoring may have taken place in the past, it did not ensure that all of the new officers would receive the same benefit of counsel of an experienced, exemplary officer. A formal mentoring program identifies goals, creates structure and procedures, and defines the mentor and protégé roles and responsibilities within the program, ensuring all new officers receive the same benefits.^{^[8]}

The experienced officer who becomes a mentor must have some specific qualities and traits. First and foremost, he or she must be willing to take on the responsibilities of mentoring and also be able to set an example for the protégé to follow. They must ask themselves, “Does my model life deserve a following?” The mentor must understand the huge responsibility they have in helping form the ethical and moral framework for the new officer’s entire career. They must be well established in the profession, must be committed to the role of mentoring, and must have the interpersonal skills necessary to relate to an individual that may be from another generation. The mentor must be humble and tolerant because they must let loose of their ego, be non-judgmental, and be patient enough to allow improvement by the new officer. They must be a life-long learner. As Paul Whitesell puts it:

“Mentoring means giving some of your life’s energy to someone else. Now that is asking an awful lot of a human being...The problem in law enforcement is that police tend not to be tolerant - they like to be right. They don’t like it when people disagree with their view. That’s all right in some things, but not in mentoring. So get over it!”^{^[9]}

The new mentor can learn much from the U.S. Army and the Whitesell mentoring models. Both have aspects that can be used together or separately, based on the topic or task. The Army model lends itself to mentoring beliefs and character, while the Whitesell model tends to be more tasks oriented.

According to the Army model of mentoring, the program begins with the mentor setting the right example. Albert Schweitzer put it very simply, “Example IS Leadership.” You mentor people everyday in a positive or negative way, depending on how you live your life. The mentor shows the new officer mature examples of values, attributes, and skills in action. Being the example encourages them to develop their own character and skills accordingly. The functions or stages of the Army model are:

1. Teaching - The mentor passes on knowledge and skills by teaching them to the new officer. This is a primary task for any leader or mentor. The new officer must be taught the skills necessary to do their job by someone who is accomplished in the task. The mentor must concentrate on including ethical and moral concepts into everything they teach.

2. Observing - The mentor then watches the new officer as they perform their job. The developmental level of the new officer will dictate how closely the mentor will watch. At later stages in the development of the officer, the mentor may not actually be present when the new officer performs the skill or task.

3. Assessing - The mentor then assesses the new officer’s performance. It is important that the mentor be objective in the assessment. The mentor must not expect or demand the new officer do the skill/task exactly the same way that the mentor did it. This is the point when the mentor must set aside their ego and allow the new officer to do the skill in an acceptable manner, even if it differs from their own.

4. Coaching - After the mentor assesses the performance based on their observations, the mentor coaches the new officer to help sustain strengths and overcome weaknesses. The mentor supports the new officer and also helps plan for additional training. The new officer expects the mentor to tell them what they want them to do. It is important that if the mentor must criticize the new officer, the mentor only talks about a specific instance and not in generalities.

5. Developmental Counseling - Developmental counseling is used to prepare the new officer to be a leader of tomorrow. The communication is new officer centered and is used to produce a plan outlining actions necessary for them to achieve individual and organizational goals. The new officer must be an active listener and provide feed back and ideas.

Dr. Paul Whitesell is a Vietnam War veteran and was the police psychologist for the Ft. Wayne (IN) Police Department prior to being appointed to Superintendent of the Indiana State Police. People who are familiar with the steps in a Field Training and Evaluation Program will see similarities with Dr. Whitesell’s model. Consequently, his model fits well with inexperienced officers during their training and probationary period. The stages of the Whitesell model are:

1. Modeling - During this stage, the new officer is just there while the mentor shows them how to do things from start to finish. The new officer stays out of the process. The mentor must lead by example, because how the mentor acts during a situation will influence how the new officer will react in a similar situation. The new officer is expected to watch and learn.

2. Mentoring - The new officer is allowed to start to do the task with the mentor. The mentor begins to go beyond the “how” of the modeling stage and starts to interject the “why” of how things are done. This gives them more of a cosmopolitan view and allows them to start to see the big picture. They must be given more than just facts; they must learn how the mentor feels about the situation or problem.

3. Monitoring - During the monitoring stage, the mentor and the new officer change places. The new officer begins to perform the task with the mentor observing and assisting, only if needed. The mentor must key on the positives and make a learning experience out of the new officer’s mistakes. Once the protégé has the process down, the mentor will have the new officer explain the “how” and the “why” of the skill or task. The protégé’s describing of the process helps them understand and remember.

4. Motivate - The mentor steps out of the task and lets the new officer go. The mentor will still check on the new officer’s performance to ensure they continue to do the process or task. The mentor allows the new officer’s style to come through and allows them to make some changes to fit his/her style.

Whitesell says that there is a mentoring triune. He tells the mentor, “Give them your vision, teach and train them in the basics, and then...let them go.”^{^[10]} Letting them go becomes the hardest part.

The mentor must ensure the new officer understands that there is a public trust attached to a law enforcement officer. The public expects the officer to be competent in their duties, to do their job for the community and not for personal gain, and to do their job fairly. The new officer must be introduced to certain factors that contribute to criticism and the community’s sometimes negative view of the police. Dr. Larry Jetmore points these factors out in his book, The Path of the Warrior.^{^[11]}

· Police service is one of the only “business” in which a large part of the clientele does not appreciate or want the service.

· Police officers are usually easily recognizable and this makes their actions or inactions more noticeable than those of people of other professions.

· Enforcement of the law often creates resentment of the police, especially if officers’ actions are perceived to be selective, arbitrary, or aimed at a particular group of people.

· Police officers are exposed to temptations, situations, and human behaviors not found in other forms of work.

· Police officers often work without supervision, are vested with extraordinary powers to control the conduct and behavior of the people they serve, and frequently make decisions about the delivery of police services at their own discretion.

· Police officers are involved in emotionally charged and dangerous situations, such as arrests, detainment, and the use of force, which may compromise the reason and judgment of both officers and citizens.

The mentor must make the new officer aware of the law enforcement subculture and how it impacts its members and the profession. Law enforcement officers share many of the same values and beliefs of their fellow community members; however, because they are a subculture with some specific values, the new officer must be helped to understand the differences between the community’s culture as a whole and their new subculture. These characteristics set the law enforcement officer apart from other members of the community.

Over the years, I have identified several topics on which the mentor should counsel the new officer. One of the most important topics is the threat of being swallowed up by the law enforcement profession; becoming over invested in the job. Dr. Kevin Gilmartin addresses this problem in his book Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement. He talks about the emotional costs of doing law enforcement work and the effects of “hypervigilance” on the officers. Dr. Gilmartin’s premise of emotional survival centers around the officer taking control of the part of their life that they can really control; their personal life.¹²

The management of fear is another critical aspect of the world of law enforcement. This topic may not have been routinely addressed in the past, but is vital because the new officer must know that they will be frightened at times when they do this job, and that fear is normal. Who better to inform the new officer about performing while frightened than an experienced mentor who admits being frightened during life-threatening situations? It is not that law enforcement officers are fearless; it is that they do incredibly noble and courageous acts when they are afraid and they are the only ones who know they are frightened.

The mentor should emphasize the importance of maintaining a physically fit body. Being physically fit not only helps a law enforcement officer survive in a dangerous world, but also helps them physiologically deal with the effects of the chemicals that are dumped inside their body during times of stress. I am not talking about being able to run a marathon. I am talking about being fit enough to jump out of a car, run through a few backyards, go over a couple of fences and be able to tackle a suspect to the ground and hold them down until help arrives. When someone becomes a law enforcement officer, they give up their right to be unfit.

Shift work can be stressful and tough physiologically for the young officer. Sleep becomes an important part of the wellness of the officer. The mentor must discuss the requirement that the protégé get enough sleep to be able to perform effectively. This is critical because young officers believe they can function while having a sleep deficit. But in actuality, someone who goes without sleep for more than twenty hours is functioning like they have a blood alcohol content of .10%.

Finally, the mentor should help the new officer create a personal mission statement. To do this the new officer must look at their own roles and goals in both their personal life and professional life. A good way to set these goals is to have the new officer complete an exercise where he or she thinks about what they would like a group of people to say at their funeral. The group includes a family member, a friend, a co-worker, and a member of the community. After serious consideration about the legacy they want to leave when they are gone, it becomes easier to set life goals and objectives that will focus the young officer on not just their professional life, but on their personal life as well.

There are two important documents to be addressed during the mentoring of new recruits. One is the Mentor’s Code (adapted from the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Leader’s Code):

I renew my status as a mentor by what I do each day. I know my strengths and weaknesses and constantly strive to improve. I live by a moral code, by which, my actions set an example for others to emulate. I know my job and I carry out the spirit, as well as the letter of the orders I receive.

I take the initiative, seek responsibility and face every situation with boldness and confidence. I evaluate every situation and make my own decision on the best course of action. No matter what the requirements, I stay with the job until the job is done. No matter what the results, I take full responsibility for my actions.

I mentor, train my officers, and lead them with tact, enthusiasm, firmness, and justice. I command their confidence and loyalty. They know I would not assign them to any duty or task that I would not perform myself. I see they understand their assignments and orders and I follow through to ensure their duties are discharged. I keep my officers informed and I make their welfare one of my primary concerns.

These things I do selflessly in fulfillment of my obligation as a mentor and for the achievement of the Department’s goals.

The second is the IACP’s Oath of Honor. The new recruit should take the oath because it stresses honor, character, integrity, courage, and accountability, all cornerstones of the law enforcement belief system:

I ______________ promise on my honor, I will not betray my badge, my integrity, my character, or the public trust. I will always strive to have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions. I will uphold the office, the Constitution of the United States, and the laws and ordinances of the community I serve.

In addition to developing a formal mentoring program, there are additional actions and tactics agencies can implement to prepare their new recruits and produce the desired ethical behavior in their officers. Agencies should:

· Ensure quality backgrounds are conducted on applicants. The best predictor of future behavior is past performance.

· Have a quality Field Training and Evaluation Program for new officers. The new officer should be trained by the most honorable, respected, and professional officers a department has available. Selection of the Field Training Officer is a critical part of the socialization of the new officer.

· Ensure constant, fair accountability for all members of the agency. This must start at the top of the organization. Agencies that are successful in recruiting, hiring and retaining good, honest officers are led by a chief executive who is an example of professionalism and integrity.

· Conduct regular, effective ethics training. Officers should be required to participate in simulation training where the officer is placed in circumstances that require he/she make a decision involving an ethical dilemmas.

· Insist on nothing less than positive leadership role models. Departments must strive to promote officers who have a history of strong moral and ethical performance within the agency. This is critical at the first-line supervision level.

· Prevent officers from feeling victimized. In the Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement, Dr. Kevin Gilmartin believes that some officers are over invested in the job and the central reason for value deterioration is the development of “Victim Thinking.” Officers begin to feel they are underpaid, under appreciated, over criticized, and over supervised. Victim Thinking can lead to resentment, cynicism, or entitlement. Officers who begin to feel like they have been victimized by their police department are more apt to become involved in unethical acts or criminal acts.

· Implement an effective employee intervention program. Employee performance should be tracked to allow supervisors and the department to intervene when an officer’s behavior starts to demonstrate possible underlying personal problems that are affecting the officer’s ability to perform their duty.

For 2,500 years, warriors have put on their armor, hung a weapon at their side, and carried a shield into battle. We in law enforcement continue that ritual today and it connects us to the noble, courageous warriors of the past — a group we must not betray. Today’s new officers will face danger and ethical dilemmas throughout their careers, but we can help prepare them for those challenges by mentoring them about the topics that are important to their physical, legal, and emotional survival. Mentoring is not something we should do; it is something we must do to improve our profession. The responsibility to properly prepare our new warriors lies with the old warriors.

“Those of us who maintain a dangerous lifestyle will experience fear and anxiety. But to do so, allows us to join a fraternity of those, who since the beginning of time have endured: the same arousal, the same questions, the same uncomfortable viscera, and the same self-examination. They endured. We endure. It is the cost of the privilege of such company.”¹³

¹Michael Josephson, “Character Counts, Now More than Ever,” The Police Chief September 2002: 36.

⁴Harvey Sprafka and April H. Kranda, “Best Practices for Institutionalizing Mentoring into Police Departments,” IACP Publication (3DND SPR Pamphlet), 2003.

¹¹Larry F. Jetmore, PhD, The Path of the Warrior, Loose Leaf Law Publications, Inc., Flushing, NY (1997).

¹²Kevin M. Gilmartin, PhD, Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement, E-S Press, Tucson, AZ (2002).

^{^[1]}Michael Josephson, “Character Counts, Now More than Ever,” The Police Chief 69 (September2002):36.

^{^[2]}Supra.

^{^[3]}Paul Whitesell, PhD, “Mentoring,” Tuebor 5 (Spring 1999):1.

^{^[4]}Harvey Sprafka and April H. Kranda, “Best Practices for Institutionalizing Mentoring into Police Departments,” IACP Publication (3DND SPR Pamphlet), 2003.

^{^[5]}Supra.

^{^[6]}Supra.

^{^[7]}Supra.

^{^[8]}Supra.

^{^[9]}Whitesell.

^{^[10]}Whitesell.

^{^[11]}Larry F. Jetmore, PhD, The Path of the Warrior, Loose Leaf Law Publications, Inc., Flushing (1997): 1.

¹² Kevin M. Gilmartin, PhD, Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement, E-S Press, Tucson, AZ (2002).

¹³ Whitesell.