Capacity and Leadership Part I

Conversations on Public Safety: The Den

Building on previous episodes that tackled crime, race, and capacity, today, the panel dives deeper into the capacity of leadership within public safety agencies. They explore innovative law enforcement approaches and challenge us to think differently about who and what public safety includes and does.

Throughout their conversation, they emphasize the need for leaders to embrace vulnerability and innovation. They share their insights on breaking away from traditional divisions and creating specialized units staffed by civilians. Plus, the panel debates the role of patrol divisions in law enforcement. They outline the potential benefits and concerns of redirecting certain responsibilities, such as traffic enforcement, to trained, non-sworn personnel. Also, they touch on the capability of banks and insurance companies to investigate financial crimes, and question the level of police involvement in such cases.

Topics Covered:

• The importance of critical thinking skills and taking calculated risks in leadership development
• Creating a unit of civilians for crime scene search and analysis
• Misconceptions surrounding the allocation of 70%-80% of police staff to the patrol division
• The use of non-sworn personnel for traffic enforcement
• Police involvement in traffic accident investigations
• Questioning the need for police involvement in the investigations of financial crimes

Learn More:

• IDEA Analytics Website for a list of police activities we evaluated for civilian v. sworn responsibility
• IDEA Analytics LinkedIn
• LEMAS Data