Improving an agency is a team effort. Major initiatives that are geared toward bringing an agency closer to true professionalism are usually thought to start from the top and filter down through the chain of command. Even though this seems like the logical approach, it is not a rule that is carved in stone. Professionalism begins with a state of mind, and that state of mind is not something limited to those of command rank. Rather than trickling down from above, professionalism can just as easily rise from the bottom.

Seminars

As is true with most professions, law enforcement at all levels offers a variety of seminars and symposiums that are geared toward keeping officers up to date on new trends and ideas. At many of these get-togethers, agents are able to learn about the latest in technology, methods, and equipment that have been incorporated into the operations of other agencies.

Whether the subject matter presented is for rank-and-file professionals or command rank, seminars offer yet another chance for officers to learn about methods, customs, and protocols that sister agencies employ. Aside from the natural bonding of colleagues that occurs at these meetings, agents can get a good overview of life at other departments and take this knowledge back to their own agency. The exchange of ideas that occurs during coffee breaks is often more informative than the seminar itself.

Training Courses

From the beginning of a law enforcement career, agents are involved in ongoing training. From the initial training at the academy to instructional courses at retirement time, law enforcement officials continuously undergo training, but this training is rarely done alone. That means there are plenty of classmates in attendance from a wide variety of departments with whom to share information. Even officers that have spent little or no time with their department prior to academy training can offer some idea of the conditions of the agency.

As time goes on, and officials begin attending in-service training classes after the academy, a refinement in the way they compare agencies begins. Over time, agents become less interested in the glamorous aspects of a particular agency and more concerned with the compensation and benefit programs that are available. While initial applicants may be attracted to a particular department by the promise of being able to carry a specific sidearm, the experienced officers understand that basic working conditions, like pay and benefits, take on a greater relevance in the long run.

Social Events

Law enforcement officers are social creatures in their own way. For the most part, they tend to socialize amongst themselves, owing to the unusual nature of their profession. One of the things that often makes conversation difficult while socializing with non-law enforcement people is that civilians seem to want to talk about police work rather than about their own professions. Some also have a habit of venting about the negative encounters they have personally had with other law enforcement agents, which can make things a bit awkward for the officer, who then feels forced into defending another officer's actions without knowing all of the circumstances, and often without knowing the officer involved. It is for this reason that law enforcement personnel tend to gravitate toward socialization with other law enforcement agents.

There are many positive aspects to this exclusive kind of socialization, but just as many negative ones. Although agents are freed from the possibility of having to defend the honor of the law enforcement community, they fail to enjoy the stimulation of learning about the lives of those who are not among their ranks. Despite the limitations that in-house fraternization carries with it, there exists an understanding among those socializing that is absent when civilians are included. It is amidst this environment of understanding that practical information and insight about how to do the job is actually found, because agents tend to open up when in each other's company.

By using the characteristics that are commonplace among all law enforcement officers—curiosity, astute observation, and deductive reasoning—agents can learn a lot about their fellow officers. Using every opportunity to discover something new about another agency, officers can work to forge a better department of their own. It is a career-long endeavor that includes both acquiring data about other agencies or departments and making your own agency better. Improving an agency requires information, but the most important thing needed to make progressive and positive changes to any organization is the desire of the agency members to make it happen. Developing that desire early in a career and maintaining it over time makes an individual that much more valuable to the agency.