Teaching Community Police Officers to Coach Colleagues

• In Event: Academy and In-Service Training for Law Enforcement

Abstract

In the Netherlands the police force is in transition from regional forces to one national force. One of the elements of this plan is at least one community police officer for every 5000 inhabitants. In some regions new functions are created for experts, who coach a small group (4-6) community police officers. In the Southern region of the Netherlands a pilot was conducted to train these experts on their new function. Their work is complex and requires flexibility to apply to the different problems and tasks that they encounter. They have to build up a good relationship with the mayor and with organizations on education, psychiatry, health care, youth care et cetera. They have to tune in on colleagues and superiors. And last but not least they have to coach their own crew of community police officers. Before the pilot started these experts were intensely observed in their work by means of action research. Researchers accompanied the police officers in their daily activities and reflected with them on what they experienced in their actions. It was proved that they tend to fall back on giving advices and instructions instead of coaching and empowering their crew.

Author

• Marie-José Geenen, Avans University of Applied Sciences