November, 2024 In the summer of 2018, we published an article entitled The Public’s Confidence in the Police Might Be Better Than You Think that revealed two things. First, while there is always year-to-year fluctuation in public support for the police as news events sway public opinion, the overall rate of support for the police […]

  During training sessions for law enforcement agencies across the country, it is not difficult to spot the officers in attendance who have just worked the night shift. They rub their eyes, they yawn, and they stand in the back of the room to help keep themselves awake. They often tell the instructor flat out, […]

As we observe Father’s Day, I want to reflect on the importance of quality parenting, with a focus on our law enforcement fathers. I started my police career in 1984 in Indianapolis, and had the honor of working alongside five generations of officers: the greatest generation, baby boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. As founder […]

For many law enforcement agencies, summer represents an increase in call volumes, violent crime, public events, and other factors that place significant strains on sworn officers in the face of increasing public demands. This may be an ideal time to discuss the risks associated with officer burnout that result from too many hours worked without […]

Over the last few years, we at Dolan Consulting Group have published an article early in the year focused on the topic of negligent hiring liability in law enforcement. We do this because the issue of negligent hiring is so fundamental to every other aspect of law enforcement operations in the near future and in […]

On September 28, after a much-publicized move away from a long-held unwritten dress code on the U.S. Senate floor, a bipartisan reaction resulted in the unanimous passage of a formal dress code.  Over the course of the preceding days, some Senators had signaled support for allowing casual attire on the Senate floor, prompted, in large […]

  The shortage of qualified applicants for sworn law enforcement positions has become a crucial problem, and shows no signs of improving in the coming years.[i]  Due to declining birth rates since the early 1970s, the percentage of the U.S. population that is entering the workforce continues to decline.[ii]  Obesity in America is on the […]

The officer morale issues plaguing law enforcement agencies across the country in recent years have been well-documented.  Rank-and-file officers, and those tasked with leading them, often experience a profound sense of futility in the face of the addiction, mental health issues, homelessness and criminality that cops face every day.  The challenges that they face in […]

Over a year ago, we at Dolan Consulting Group published an article entitled Negligent Hiring Liability for Law Enforcement in 2022.  Unfortunately, 14 months later, the cause for concern in this area has only grown.  More and more conversations we have with law enforcement leaders involve concerns about lowering standards in order to hire “warm […]

De-policing (the practice of field personnel pulling back from proactive policing activities) has been on the rise across the nation since the fall of 2014, primarily in response to negative media attention and political protests targeting the police.  In the wake of anti-police sentiments and protests, some law enforcement officers and agencies made the intentional […]

The recruiting and retention of qualified law enforcement officers continues to be a struggle for most law enforcement agencies. In many agencies, it has reached a crisis level. Many blame the current hiring and retention struggles primarily on the decline in public support for the police, fueled by biased media coverage and exploited by politicians and activist groups. Obviously, these conditions have not helped police recruiting and retention, but other root causes of the problems run much deeper and are, in many ways, more troubling in the long-term.

Law enforcement agency leaders across the country are recognizing that “business as usual” is not a viable option moving forward.  Adapting to a shrinking pool of qualified applicants and increased personnel turnover, navigating changing community expectations and re-evaluating how officers are hired, trained and led are all challenges that must be faced head on.  But […]

Why are we conducting performance evaluations and how are they making our agencies better? Ask this question to groups of sergeants, command staff, chiefs and sheriffs across the country and you will get shrugs, smirks, and eye rolls. It is the fundamental question that often gets lost in the day-to-day realities of personnel management in […]

Many law enforcement agencies today are struggling to recruit enough quality applicants to fill the officer vacancies they currently have or will have soon. As a result, law enforcement agencies need evidence-based information about how to increase the effectiveness of their recruiting efforts to attract more qualified applicants. Unfortunately, many agency leaders have been forced […]