Justice Based Policing: Communication Skills for Officer Survival

This class is a communication skills class for officer survival. Historically, justice based policing principles have not been a strong enough focus in the total training of police officers. Rather than adding another layer of training and mandates to current practices, Justice-Based Policing can be easily and logically integrated into everything we do by following the four basic principles represented by the LEED model.

The acronym was developed by retired Sheriff Sue Rahr as a practical way for officers to understand and apply the concepts of justice based policing. The LEED model stands for - Listen and Explain with Equity and Dignity.

• Listen - Allow people to give their side of the story; give them a voice and let them vent.
• Explain - Explain what you're doing, what they can do and what's going to happen.
• Equity - Tell them why you are taking action.  The reason must be fair and free of bias, and show their input was taken into consideration.
• Dignity - Act with dignity and leave them with their dignity.

The goal of this course is for officers to understand the core concepts of police Legitimacy and Procedural Justice in order to build better relationships within the communities that they serve and as part of their professional work environment.

For more information contact Sgt. Tammy Kynett at Tammy.Kynett@kingcounty.gov or Covington PD Chief Andy McCurdy at andrew.mccurdy@kingcounty.gov.