Developing Law Enforcement and Public Safety Knowledge and Skills

for the 21st Century

By
Kimberley Arnold

LEPSL 599 Integrative Capstone Module 3

University of San Diego
Professor Nuno Tavares
October 23, 2019
 Learning does not cease when we graduate from the police or coroner academy. Skills

introduced during training require additional development, with anticipation of leading to

expertise. Developing law enforcement and public safety knowledge and skills for the 21st

century requires a manager to continuously collaborate within their department and with public,

promote transparency, and expand their ability to evaluate their mistakes and learn from them.

We can learn from another’s success while learning from our failures.

These three papers were chosen because they reveal a process of education and self

reflection that is required of today’s leader. Officers and supervisors should be compelled to

improve their interpersonal skills throughout their careers. In my first paper, Don’t Poke the

Bear: Positive Communication is Best, I analyze a press conference given by Milwaukee Police

Department Chief Edward Flynn. I discuss the positive aspects and where there was room for

improvement. In my second paper, Serving the Community, I highlight a case where through

tragedy a partnership emerged between the Department of Medical Examiner and the Jewish

community. In my third paper, Hugs, Not Drugs, I call attention to the need of the United States

to end criminalizing drug addiction with data confirmed from years of research.

In my first paper, Don’t Poke the Bear: Positive Communication is Best, I evaluate a

press conference Chief Flynn’s gave addressing the ACLU’s critique of his department. I noted

that although articulate and passionate in his position, he came across as aggressive. This

occurred because Chief Flynn lacked advanced communication skills required of today’s leaders.

He should have shad someone review his speech prior to going in front of the media and then

spoken with a softer tone. We need to be tactful and inclusive, even when we disagree, this will

contribute to us reaching middle ground. We all want what is best for our communities.
 In Serving the Community, I shared how a case I was assigned of a near 5-month-old

baby lead to the addition of a CT (computed tomography) scanner for our department. The

parents of the child were of the Jewish faith and did not want an autopsy performed on their son.

There was conflict because the Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner has a statutory

obligation to investigate the death of juveniles. Instead of turning the parents away and not

seeing their point of view, we demonstrated our ability to be skilled diplomats by partnering with

several entities to have a CT scanner purchased for our department. A collaboration between the

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the Agudath Israel (the national network of

ultra-Orthodox Jewish communal organizations) of California, and us, ensured that each entity’s

needs were met.

In my third paper, Hugs, Not Drugs, I revealed that sound research has proven

criminalizing drugs use and attempting to arrest our way out of the drug epidemic has been

ineffectual. I took an unfamiliar position and suggested that we decriminalize drug use and

addiction. The research revealed several reasons why people use drugs. In law enforcement we

are required to deal with issues of human suffering and should not turn our back on it.

We need to be well-informed of what is occurring in our communities. The ability to have

insight and collaborate despite disagreeing, being abrupt of the social difficulties of those we

serve, and master advanced communication skills are paramount for today’s law enforcement

administrator.