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I once investigated a traffic accident where the driver of a florist’s van was delivering a huge anniversary bouquet to a young woman’s home. Speeding around the treelined curving driveway, he hit and seriously injured her. I saw the flowers. They were beautiful. She couldn’t appreciate them. The problem lay in a flawed delivery. And so it is, all too often, with the delivery of discipline.
Once the decision has been made to impose discipline, it’s time for some reflection and strategic planning. In the last two issues, we discussed that punishment is just one of several aspects of discipline, and your primary goals are correction and development.
At opposite poles, the easiest actions to administer are simple documented counseling — and terminations. The real supervisory challenge is in skillfully handling reprimands and suspensions given to essentially solid cops, and the allimportant “follow through.”
Unfortunately the truth is often your very best officers react the worst to being disciplined. The best-motivated cops tend to feel the sting of discipline the most and confuse “correction” with personal disapproval. They see receiving discipline as a stain on their record, rather than a normal and natural developmental event. Show me a cop who has never been corrected, and I’ll show you one who hasn’t taken charge, made tough decisions and then shouldered responsibility for the fallout like a professional. Keep in mind, if you’re ever going to permanently sour a good cop, it’ll be over disciplinary action, which they should take in stride, learn from and confidently move on. When they don’t, that’s your fault.
I’ve seen it a thousand times. The sergeant is uncomfortable with “honking” a good cop, mostly because that three-striper’s head is not screwed on right about the positive developmental aspect of discipline. He goes into the process distraught and pissed off, handles the entire affair fast, brusque and impersonal, and then wonders why his “good cop” shuffles away embittered. Then, both nervously avoid each other in the aftermath, an interpersonal chasm widens, and perceptions, rather than performance, rule their relationship. That sucks.
John Morrison served in combat as a Marine sergeant, and retired as a senior lieutenant from the San Diego Police Department, having served there as Director of Training, Commanding Officer of SWAT and division executive officer. He has taught, written and lectured widely on training, tactics and leadership. Contact him at StreetLevelOne@yahoo.com. |
