For the past six years, it feels like the policing profession has slowly been crawling its way out of the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, and the defunding the police movement. As police chiefs know, policing is only one national or global story away from the erosion of the progress the profession has made in the space of public trust and image.

Every police leader has been there. They get home from work feeling like everything is going well when suddenly, a news feed of a tragic story involving a police officer in a community 1,200 miles away comes up on their television or phone screen. The media coverage toward the involved police department is negative and the story is gaining widespread attention.

The first thought of every police chief: “Is this going to affect our image within our community—even though the incident occurred on the other side of the country?”

If the chief and other agency leaders have done the work to build a strong foundation that supports public trust and a strong image, chances are, their agency will not be negatively impacted by this story.

How can leaders accomplish this?

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