I have been looking forward to writing about this topic for some time and as usual the opportunity to do so presented itself when the Ottawa Police Service recently released the results of the 2008 Public Survey on Policing Services.
The police scored pretty well on this report card as 68 per cent of those surveyed reported that the Ottawa Police Service was doing a good or very good job while almost none believe that its performance was poor or very poor. This public survey, which has been around since 1995 and is conducted every three to four years, is, in my mind, a fairly good tool to gauge where we stand as far as being a service provider to the community. That said, it is not the only way.
I was recently contacted by the staff sergeant in our professional standards section because he was wondering if I could engage the community to provide positive community feedback about officers’ conduct. In case you don’t know, the Ottawa Police Professional Standards Section (PSS) is mandated to investigate complaints about a police officer’s conduct. Most complaints usually come from private citizens. They can also come in the form of what is known as a “chief’s complaint” in which the chief’s office is inquiring about a matter. The PSS is mainly staffed with police officers, who investigate allegations of officer misconduct and their guiding mantra is “we believe that all people have the right to be treated in a courteous and professional manner.” So, where am I going with all this?
Well, I have long believed that positive reinforcement always works better than negative reinforcement and I have always wondered why we live in a world where negative reinforcement seems to be the rule and positive reinforcement the exception. This train of thought made me think of the discrepancy between the results of the survey and the fact that the police service is more likely to receive a complaint from the public which ends up in PSS, rather than a compliment about an officer’s conduct, which ends up in the chief’s office.
In order
to illustrate my point better, let me show you the inner workings of the complaint process at the Ottawa police. When the police service receives a complaint, PSS reviews each complaint on its merit and chooses an appropriate way to investigate the matter. Recently, the OPS contracted Carleton University’s Centre for Conflict Education and Research to provide independent mediation services to resolve complaints, a process known as the Voluntary Conflict Resolution Program.
BCRP brings the complainant and the officers together to discuss their mutual concerns. Corrective measures can be considered, but anyone familiar with the PSS section and BCRP will be surprised at the level of fairness in the process. In fact 80-85 per cent of complaints that go through the BCRP process are resolved successfully. I certainly endorse it as an important part of shedding light and transparency on officers’ roles and conduct. Again, there is always the optic that “cops should not investigate cops,” but in order for there to be true fairness, the person investigating the matter has to be in a position to fully understand the role of a police officer beyond the letter of the law. With such delicate matters, perspective is everything.
Okay, back on track. As you can imagine, there is a fair amount of trepidation felt by an officer when PSS comes calling because the first thing you think of is “what did I do wrong.” Not a good feeling. It is no wonder that most police officers would prefer not to hear from PSS at all during their careers. For the PSS officers tasked with investigating their peers, it is also not the most comfortable position to be in, especially if you have to sanction a fellow officer for misconduct. Everyone can have a bad day, especially police officers. This is why the PSS staff sergeant was looking for ways to capture and highlight the work of officers who do exceptional work in the community, as he is exploring ways to have the PSS section involved in the “compliments” part of the process, not just the “complaints” part.
So what happens when a community member recognizes that a police officer went over and above the call of duty and wants to express their appreciation? Well, if you are not chosen to be a participant in the Public Survey, then you can write an e-mail to the Ottawa Police Service at info@ottawapolice.ca and the chief’s office will receive your comments. You will get an acknowledgement which will then ensure that the officer and his/her supervisor are made aware of the compliment (we call them commendations) and a copy of the commendation is placed in the officer’s personnel file.
I will let you in on a little secret. Police officers love getting praise from the community! I have experienced this first hand myself and I have seen my colleagues’ faces light up when their efforts to make a positive contribution in the community is recognized via a letter of commendation. There is no amount of money that comes close to producing such a good feeling inside each one of us when we are validated for going above and beyond the call of duty. The reverse is also true because when you only hear from the community when you have a bad day, you are left feeling under appreciated and those negative feelings impact your ability to make positive connections with the community. Things only get worse when you get a call from PSS and they are focusing on your bad day and are not able to capture that you may have been very professional the other 364 days of the year.
So if positive reinforcement through letters/e-mails of commendations for “exceptional” officer conduct inspires officers to go beyond the call of duty, then is this not a simple and effective way for the community to empower their police service to truly make an positive impact on the community? As much as the survey captures the fact that most residents in Ottawa are satisfied with their police service, it does not reflect the reality, which is that the Ottawa police receives more formal complaints about officer conduct than they do formal compliments. So if the Public Survey and all the anecdotal evidence points towards officers doing good work in the community, why do we not hear about it proportionally via our compliments/complaints process?
Good question. I guess the answer lies in the community, but I know from personal experience that it is human nature to complain rather than to compliment and that is why positive reinforcement often takes a back seat to negative reinforcement. Which is unfortunate, because rarely does the latter solve anything other than to create bad feelings for everyone. So if we want to change our reality then we must fight the urge to wait until we have something to complain about, especially when we have not taken the time to compliment when the opportunity presented itself.
By praising officers who make a positive contribution to your community’s quality of life, you are sending a strong message to your police service that you are appreciative and the Service then has a better picture on how to best serve the community. Don’t take good policing for granted because I can assure you that if you take the time to compliment, we will continue to go above and beyond the call of duty in your backyard.
For more info on compliments or complaints go to:
www.ottawapolice.ca/en/serving_ottawa/compliment_complaint/index.cfm