Response Plan Leading Through a Public Safety Crisis

Executive Summary

The Summer of 2020 witnessed growing civil unrest in many U.S. cities, including one midwestern city of interest with a population of about 600,000 people. This city is experiencing continuous unrest as a result of a police-involved shooting. There have been widespread protests and complaints about law enforcement policies and funding. To determine the optimal approach for defusing this type of situation peacefully, the purpose of this paper is to develop a timely and effective crisis leadership response plan that will focus on how crisis leadership and other leadership styles can be applied in resolving these types of public safety crises. The findings that emerge from this research underscore the uniqueness of every situation and the need for a corresponding unique law enforcement intervention, but there are some steps that can be followed to facilitate timely and effective communications with all stakeholders, including the residents of cities affected by this type of civil unrest. These steps include establishing a clear and concise communication strategy, ensuring that the police department is acting in a transparent and accountable manner, seeking to deescalate the situation through dialogue and negotiation, maintaining public order and safety by using appropriate force, if necessary and responding to the needs of the community, including those affected by the protests. Finally, the paper presents a summary of the research and key findings concerning the foregoing issues in the conclusion.

Response Plan: Leading Through a Public Safety Crisis

Introduction

Today, many Americans are concerning about the current state of the country for a wide array of reasons. While the mayhem that was caused by the still-simmering Covid-19 pandemic has subsided somewhat, other events and issues continue to cause social dissension, including most especially the civil unrest that has resulted from several high-profile incidents involving law enforcement authorities killing criminal suspects, most of them members of minority communities, for spurious or even illegal reasons. Although the nationwide and even global outrage that was generated by the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 in particular remains one of the most prominent of these incidents, the United States has a dismal track record in this area and many people have clearly reached their emotional boiling point over this issue. Add to this mix the multiple other existential threats that are facing the nation today, including global warming, potentially even more deadly pandemics and a nuclear war brewing in Ukraine, it is reasonable to suggest that more civil unrest in response will follow in the foreseeable future. To help better prepare for this eventuality, the purpose of this paper is to develop a timely and effective crisis leadership response plan that will focus on how crisis leadership can be applied in resolving these types of public safety crises.

Leadership Response Planning for Crises Situations Involving Civil Unrest

Description of the Crisis

The Summer of 2020 highlighted the growing civil unrest in many U.S. cities, and the tensions that resulted from these incidents continues to boil over in various jurisdictions across the country today, including this writer’s city of residence which for the purposes of this analysis will be referred to as “Midwestville.” This city is located in a typical midwestern conurbation of approximately 600,000 people which has experienced continuous unrest as a result of a police-involved shooting. Moreover, there have also been widespread protests and complaints about law enforcement policies and funding, a trend that underscore the need for effective crisis leadership and communications as discussed further below.

Research about the Crisis Situation

Although law enforcement is the specific public safety sector that forms the focus of this leadership plan, a discussion concerning the respective roles of other public and private sector stakeholders is also provided given their importance in preparing for and responding to a public safety crisis (Byrd, 2004). While the precise circumstances of the recent police-involved shooting in Midwestville differ from those experienced in Minneapolis in May 2020 when George Floyd was killed as a result of negligence or even malice by police officers, that crisis makes it clear that media coverage can exacerbate these types of situations to the point where otherwise-peaceful protestors exercising their First Amendment rights become uncontrollably violent (Greene, 2020). Fortunately, this type of undesirable outcome can be prevented, or at least mitigated, through the use of appropriate public safety leadership and these issues are discussed further below.

Analysis of the Crisis Situation from a Public Safety Leadership Perspective

Law enforcement leaders play a critical role in shaping public responses to crises situations. For instance, again citing the example of the May 2020 killing of George Floyd by a member of the Minneapolis Police Department which resulted in local then nationwide and ultimately global protests, Kiang and Tsai (2022) report that, “During periods of crisis, anchor institutions may exert leadership by issuing public statements to communicate shared institutional values, enhance morale, and signal direction in the face of crisis” (p. 116). This is not to say, of course, that merely issuing a series of “feel-good” press releases will defuse an already violent protests, but it is to say that the lines of communication to the general public and media outlets must remain open and the response by law enforcement authorities must be transparent and justifiable as discussed further below.

Law Enforcement’s Role in the Crisis

In general, the overarching role of law enforcement agencies during periods of crisis is to reestablish public order to protect the safety of the public, including those who are participating in the protest, first responders, the media and innocent citizens. In this regard, Pirius (2022) emphasizes that, “In times of protests, riots, and general civil unrest, the government is charged with preserving the peace” (para. 3). Although law enforcement agencies from other jurisdictions and governmental levels. Including the National Guard, may also be involved in responding to crisis situations (Kiang & Tsai, 2022), other public sector organizations may also be required to participate in order to mount an effective and timely response to violent situations as discussed further below.

Other Organizations that May Be Involved

Here again, depending on the unique circumstances that are involved, local law enforcement authorities may request the assistance of other law enforcement organizations from other nearby jurisdictions as well as the state and federal governments. It is important to note, though, that the use of the National Guard is only authorized under certain circumstances (Pirius, 2022). In addition, in their capacity as crisis leaders, law enforcement authorities also require appropriate support from relevant actors in both the public and private sectors, including other first responders such as firefighters and emergency medical services (Kiang & Tsai, 2022).

Assessment of the Crisis Leadership Challenges in the Public Safety Environment the Issue Presents, including Ethical Issues

Law enforcement authorities at all levels are charged with making decisions concerning what type of intervention is needed in response to crisis situations, including those involved civil unrest. For example, Magers (2007) emphasizes that, “Crisis situations create rapid and high stress responses from law enforcement agencies placing police leaders in the position of making critical decisions concerning tactical and negotiation efforts to affect the resolution of these incidents” (p. 5). These challenges are just part of the calculus, though, and simply “putting down the mob” is not an appropriate law enforcement response given the constitutional right of Americans to voice their dissent.

Every law enforcement scenario is different, but this does not necessarily mean that law enforcement authorities who are in leadership positions must adopt a completely different leadership style. Indeed, attempting to do so would adversely affect these individuals’ ability to respond in the timely and efficient fashion that emergency situations demand (Frattaroli et al., 2015). Nevertheless, it is clear that extreme circumstances require people who are specially trained to respond using whatever leadership style is situationally appropriate. In this regard, an interesting point made by Johnson (2017) is that, “I have seen valiant efforts to support and prepare crisis leaders. They have tried to convince them that crises require different leadership. And that’s the problem. They don’t. They simply need to demonstrate the same leadership … just under different circumstances” (p. 237).

As pointed out above, it is vitally important to note that all Americans are absolutely guaranteed a number of civil liberties, including the constitutional right to freedom of speech and peaceable assembly pursuant to the First Amendment, meaning that civil unrest per se is not only legal, it can be regarded as being a downright patriotic exercise. This also means that law enforcement authorities are on thin legal and ethical ice when they seek to defuse otherwise peaceful but potentially volatile civil unrest situations which may rapidly escalate without warning.

Fortunately, there are some proven steps that can be used to help prepare law enforcement authorities who are serving as crisis leaders which can improve their responses to civil unrest situations, including the following:

· Understand leadership. Not special leadership. Not different leadership. Just the well-worn yet complex tenets of organizational leadership in today’s world. They need to understand its key theories, basic tenets and the lexicon that is used to bring it to life.

· Provide the platforms that leaders need to practice leadership under the circumstances and crises bring. The crisis simulations – in all the forms they can take – must test the leader’s ability not to do something different but instead to do the same things they do every day, against the amplification of factors that only a crisis can bring and which present such seemingly insurmountable challenges to leadership (Johnson, 2017, pp. 237-238).

Both of the foregoing steps require some level of ongoing training, but this level will depend on the unique circumstances a given law enforcement setting as well as what types of crises situations are most frequently experienced. Notwithstanding these considerations, however, a growing body of evidence confirms that individuals in any crisis response situation can become more effective through experiential practice and relevant leadership training (Balwant, 2021). To this end, the leadership plan for handling media relations during a crisis situation described below provides a useful general framework for this purpose.

Leadership Plan for Handling Media Relations During a Crisis

Any leadership plan for handling media relations during a crisis must be sufficiently flexible to respond to changes in the situation, otherwise the potential for even greater violence is increased such as in the case of unnecessarily officious or overly forceful responses by law enforcement authorities. Some general best practices for this purpose, however, include those set forth at Appendix A. In addition, and as noted throughout, every situation is unique and will require a different approach; however, some general principles that can be followed include those described below:

1. Establish a clear and concise communication strategy. A clear and concise communication strategy is essential in order to ensure that the public is accurately informed about what is happening and why. It is also important in order to maintain trust between the police department and the community.

2. Ensure that the police department is acting in a transparent and accountable manner. The police department must act in a transparent and accountable manner in order to build trust with the community. This includes being open and honest about their actions, as well as taking steps to hold officers accountable for any misconduct.

3. Seek to deescalate the situation through dialogue and negotiation. Deescalating the situation through dialogue and negotiation can be an effective way to reduce tensions and restore order. It can also help to build trust between the police department and the community.

4. Maintain public order and safety by using appropriate force, if necessary. Maintaining public order and safety is a critical responsibility of the police department. If necessary, the police should use appropriate force to maintain order.

5. Respond to the needs of the community, including those affected by the protests. The police department should respond to the needs of the community, including those affected by the protests. This includes providing support and assistance, as well as engaging in open dialogue with the community.

Conclusion

Law enforcement agencies across the country are under increasing scrutiny as the nation’s demographic composition continues to change in significant ways with a corresponding increase in the diversity of the political and social issues which compel growing numbers of Americans to take their voices to the streets when they feel it necessary. The research showed that civil unrest is certainly not new nor is it necessarily illegal under certain circumstances, but regardless of the cause, protests can escalate to the point where public safety is threatened, making the need for effective crisis leadership an essential part of law enforcement in the United States today. Like acts of terrorism, though, it is impossible to prevent all instances of civil unrest from becoming violent, but it is possible to prepare law enforcement leaders for the exigencies they will likely encounter in their response to such events. Likewise, local law enforcement authorities may require the assistance of state and federal authorities in those instances where the civil unrest has become unmanageable at the local level, threatening to spiral even further out of control. Finally, because every violent civil unrest situation is unique, law enforcement authorities who are responsible for responding to civil disturbances and media communications can benefit from following the above-described action plan as well as the steps described at Appendix A.

References

Balwant, P. T. (2021). Crisis leadership: Teaching external corporate communications via an experiential learning exercise. Journal of Education for Business, 96(5), 335–342

Brown, J. (2020, December 29). Five Tips for Law Enforcement Crisis Communication Success. PowerDMS. Retrieved from https://www.powerdms.com/policy-learning-center/5-tips-for-law-enforcement-crisis-communication-success.

Byrd, M. (2004). Leadership and Ethics in Career Development. Community College Journal, 74(3), 27–29.

Greene, D. (2020). Welcome to Minneapolis (or, Then Came the Last Days of May). Film Criticism, 44(4), 29–32.

Johnson, Tim. (2017). Crisis Leadership: How to Lead in Times of Crises, Threat and Uncertainty. New York: Bloomsbury Business.

Kiang, M. V., & Tsai, A. C. (2022). Failure of leadership in U.S. academic medicine after George Floyd’s killing by police and amidst subsequent unrest. Annals of Epidemiology, 65, 116–119.

Magers, J. S. (2007). Crisis Negotiation Leadership: Making Ethical Decisions. Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations, 7(1), 5–25.

Pirius, R. (2022). Policing and civil unrest. Nolo. Retrieved from https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/policing-and-civil-unrest.html.

Appendix A

Best practices for law enforcement media relations during a crisis situation

Source: Adapted from Brown (2020)

Best practice

Description

Formalize key processes

The need for intelligent, decisive responses is one of the greatest challenges when it comes to crisis response. Officers facing a crisis must be prepared to quickly communicate the situation back to superiors in the office. They must also communicate with civilians in the immediate vicinity who are noticing the situation unfolding before them. The ability to quickly evaluate the situation and wisely communicate different details to various parties based on what they need to know is absolutely critical.

Communication should be baked into the policies and procedures for various situations and incorporated into officer training. When an incident occurs, officers should understand exactly who they need to contact, when they should reach out, and what information should be detailed in these communications.

Following the proper procedures can keep an incident from spiraling into a crisis, or at least keep from making the situation worse.

Be proactive

Good law enforcement crisis communication should be proactive, not reactive. Department leaders shouldn’t wait until a crisis hits to formulate a communication plan.

Quick, accurate communication is key to law enforcement crisis response. Department leaders can’t anticipate every possible scenario, but they should create general guidelines for potential crisis situations. They should keep up-to-date contact information for agency chiefs, public information officers, and important media contacts.

A good law enforcement crisis communication plan should help departments do the following:

Identify a crisis communication team

The makeup of this team will differ depending on the situation. But it may consist of department or agency heads, public information officers, public relations experts, legal counsel, and other key stakeholders.

This team should meet regularly to brainstorm potential crises and possible responses. They should develop holding statements that can be used in the immediate aftermath of a crisis. While these will have to be adapted to fit the exact scenarios, having them in place beforehand can help ensure a quick response.

In the event of a crisis, the communication team can quickly gather to decide what information to release and craft key messages and talking points.

Specify and train a spokesperson

The crisis communication plan should establish who is authorized to speak to the public and the media. There may be several potential spokespersons depending on the situation, but they all should be trained in how to speak to the media.

This is especially important in incidents that could damage the agency. If every staff member is presenting their view of an incident, things can very quickly descend into chaos. There may be misinformation or misunderstandings, which can damage the agency’s credibility.