Do you remember your first pursuit? Most police officers do. They can turn out really good or they can turn out really bad. As law enforcement leaders, we can use character-based praise to help minimize the potential disasters associated with high-speed police pursuits.

In this short clip from the Police Dynamics Video Training Series, I use the story of a Rookie’s Pursuit to illustrate just how important it is to praise the character that produced the achievement rather than the achievement itself. 

In this illustration, the Rookie exercised the character quality of self-control:

rejecting wrong desires and doing what is right.

His self-control is what kept his own emotions in-check and maintained his composure so he could make good decisions under pressure.

The Character Training Institute defines Determination as:

purposing to accomplish right goals at the right time, regardless of the opposition.

Watch this heart-warming video of a young girl whose determination allowed her to overcome an incredible obstacle in order to reach her goals in life. 

Click here to download the full list of the 49 character qualities and their definitions.

The essence of integrity is “being who you represent yourself to be.” In the conclusion of the presentation on Character-based Law Enforcement from the 2005 International Association of Character Cities Conference, I use the lesson of the Centurion from Capernaum (Matthew chapter 8) to illustrate the power of being a man (or woman) of integrity who is not only in authority, but is under authority. Many of you have heard it before, but the lesson is so central to understanding the message of Police Dynamics that it bears repeating again.

Police officers are the centurions of today. Those who enforce the law must also obey the law. Those who are in authority must also be under authority.

Here is a video clip from a presentation entitled Character-based Law Enforcement that I presented at the 2005 International Association of Character Cities Conference. In it, I trace part of the Path of Destruction that Renegade Police Officers often find themselves on. Starting with the power of the tongue and the impact of our words, we explore other predictable patterns of behavior such as immorality, divorce, domestic violence, and death by suicide as it relates to the profession of law enforcement..

The structure of the ancient pyramids in Giza provided a great backdrop to talk about the importance of building structure in our own lives.

Envision your life as a 4-faced pyramid with each face (triangle) representing an important aspect of your overall strength and structure. One triangle represents Integrity – character, competence, and communication. Another represents the Exercise Triangle – strength, flexibility, and aerobic conditioning. Another, the Nutrition Triangle – balanced diet, hydration, and anti-oxidants. The fourth, the Stress Management Triangle – sleep, rest, and recreation.

Balancing all four aspects of your life and building structure in these areas brings strength, integrity, and wellness.

I cover the wellness aspects in far more detail at the Dynamic of Wellness website. Go there for more information. And remember, you don’t have to be fit to be well…

The Twin Towers of Integrity is a model I use to illustrate the relationship between character and competence. Both are important for our success and together they form the twin towers that support our integrity, which in turns builds trust, which fuels our relationships. These trust-based relationships with the community can then be used in a  coactive manner to establish peace. This is the essence of the coactive model of policing which has led to so much success for the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies throughout the world that have adopted the principles of Police Dynamics.

In this video, we visit the ancient pyramids of Giza in Egypt to drive this point home…

Photo courtesy of www.traveladventures.org

We are back to some more traditional Police Dynamics training videos from my trip to the Middle East.

Here I use the Temple of Zeus in the ancient city of Jerash in Amman, Jordan to explain the Twin Towers of Integrity and how it is possible to build a life on competence alone. But then what happens when the character test shows up? We know police officers like this. They know the law, they know procedure, they know policy. But you can’t trust them…

George Washington said, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master…” This quote underscores the danger of a government extending beyond its constitutional boundaries.

In this short video, we not only explore the principles relating to the protections afforded by the Constitution and our responsibility to keep the federal government within the confines of its limitations, but we answer a very important question to our understanding of constitutional authority: “Is it possible for one citizen to violate the constitutional rights of another?” The answer may surprise you…

To expand on Washington’s metaphor, if you view the government as fire, then the Constitution can be viewed as the fireplace, the structure that keeps the fire in it’s proper place.

Note of Appreciation: This is the last video in our Foundations of American Government series. Thanks for bearing with me on this lengthy study. Next week, I will resume some of our more traditional police and character-related posts…

How did America get in the mess it’s in? Why is there abortion on demand in every state? Why can’t the Ten Commandments be displayed at the Alabama State Supreme Court? Why can’t the City Council of Gray Court, SC begin with prayer? Why can’t a nativity scene be placed on the Town Square? Why can’t kids pray in public school? Why has the federal government intruded into so many areas that were intended to be under the sole jurisdictions of the states?

Regardless of how you feel about these issues, this fact is clear: the Bill of Rights originally only applied to the federal government which functioned with very limited and clearly defined authority.  There are two pivotal dates in American history that changed all this: the end of the War Between the States in 1865 and the Everson v. Board of Education ruling by the Supreme Court in 1947.