Date
2016

ARCP Forty-Fifth Edition Preface: Cathy L. Lanier

by Chief of Police Cathy L. Lanier

The State of Policing: A Police Chief’s Perspective

From new tactics aimed at stopping tech-savvy criminals to innovative technology that helps drive officer deployment, policing as a profession and police forces across the country are constantly evolving. Over the past two years in particular, we as a law enforcement community have experienced transformational changes. The deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Footnote #1 content: See, e.g., Julie Bosman & Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Grief and Protests Follow Shooting of a Teenager, N.Y. TIMES (Aug. 10, 2014), http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/11/us/police-say-mike-brown-waskilled-after-struggle-for-gun.html. Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York; Footnote #2 content: See, e.g., Staten Island Man Dies After Police Try to Arrest Him, N.Y. TIMES (July 17, 2014), http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/18/nyregion/staten-island-man-dies-after-police-try-to-arrest-him.html. and others in cities across the country have had a profound impact on the policing profession and led police forces, law enforcement partners, and communities to assess our collective relationships.

Police departments are taking proactive approaches to evaluate what it means to be a police officer today and visiting (and re-visiting) communities’ expectations. Forces are assessing and reforming policies, trainings, and even agency mission statements to focus on their role in their communities. Footnote #3 content: See, e.g., Associated Press, After Ferguson, Eric Garner Chokehold Death, Police Look to Reduce the Use of Deadly Force, AL.COM (Dec. 16, 2014, 10:34 AM), http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2014/12/after_ferguson_eric_garner_cho.html [https://perma.cc/6U84-DCPZ]. At the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), we constantly assess our policies and operations to ensure that they align with our communities’ needs.

In this Preface, I discuss the evolution of policing mindsets from that of an “enforcer” to a “guardian.”

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