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by CPOA on January 1, 2011 in Articles , Top Story

By Susan E. Manheimer

This article originally appeared in the California Peace Officer Winter 2011 issue.

The contemporary challenges facing our profession and the communities we serve are dramatic. We have and will continue to confront electoral, economic and legislative threats to our most fundamental means of effective policing. How we respond and adapt to these challenges will profoundly impact our profession and public safety within our communities for years to come.

This has been the challenging backdrop, over this past year, that I have been privileged to serve as the president of the California Police Chiefs Association. I have come to fully appreciate the value of alignment among the leadership of law enforcement professional associations. We have worked to sustain public safety objectives through various persistent and serious challenges.

There is no doubt in my mind that the strong coalition that our statewide law enforcement associations have developed has afforded us greater impact and influence on matters critical to public safety. I can safely say, on behalf of the membership and leadership of the California Police Chiefs Association, that we have greatly valued our partnership with the California Peace Officers’ Association, the State Sheriffs Association, the California Probation Chiefs, and the District Attorney’s Association.

These professional associations, known collectively as the “Other Big 5,” have been meeting regularly with the Governor and the Legislature on matters of budget, prison and pension reform, as well as countless other critical funding and legislative issues. I have been “at the table” at many of these meetings over the past few years and have seen time and again how the advocacy and influence of our coalition has helped change course on countless occasions. There is no doubt in my mind that our collective “voice” advocating for public safety in our communities, and sound public policy within the criminal justice system has had great success and great impact.

Clearly there are many more challenging and troubling issues on the horizon. The stunning acceleration of the economic crisis and the difficulty in finding meaningful solutions has led to complex problems. It has been especially helpful that our associations have become a stronger and more effective influence in Sacramento as we have enhanced this cohesive coalition. In the past several months, we have also forged a broader coalition with rank and file groups as well as the League of Cities and other allied partners as we struggle to mitigate the deep cuts in public safety and prison and parole budgets. Our influence and impact have been heard and have impacted policy and legislation throughout California this past year. So far this year, we have been on the front lines on the fight against marijuana legalization, successfully fought back wholesale prisoner releases, and so far have kept our COPS and Byrne/JAG funding intact. Clearly this year will be no better with the ballooning deficits and we will need to redouble our efforts and draw on our considerable and influential law enforcement coalition.

When we consider the manner in which we exert our influence professionally, it is clear that each of us has a role as individuals and also as members in our organizations and associations. It is tempting to confine our effort to an organization most closely tied to our primary duty responsibilities. This likely holds true whether as a police chief, sheriff, second in command, investigative or operational specialist in a particular discipline, or labor and employment leader. In part, this emanates from commonalities of associations functioning in areas such as legislative advocacy, participation in amicus public policy litigation, or hosting training symposiums. It is also a simple reality of the time constraints facing modern law enforcement leaders. CPOA, however, is at the intersection of all of our professional associations.

Through its broad base of membership, the California Peace Officers’ Association coalesces the perspectives common to all of us as law enforcement officers whether from municipalities, counties, or state agencies. For this reason, despite our respective constituencies, investing effort with the work of CPOA, and supporting their mission is a worthwhile means of furthering many of our central law enforcement leadership objectives. Our areas of shared viewpoint and priorities are many and benefit from a strong coalition base. While I have been honored to have held several leadership roles in the California Police Chiefs Association throughout my last ten years as a Chief, I have continued my membership and commitment to CPOA and have encouraged our Cal Chiefs members to join CPOA to take advantage of the many member benefits and support CPOA’s efforts on behalf of our profession.

The diversity of the membership of CPOA incorporates the views of leaders at all levels of law enforcement service and through a broad base of law enforcement. As an example, the CPOA/CPCA traffic safety committee incorporates the membership of the CHP, municipal agencies, and state and county agencies. No other association spans this breadth and depth of involvement within their committees and advocacy as CPOA.

Public policy level advocacy provides another very useful leadership development opportunity. In particular, for the executive manager, it offers a venue for interacting with and advancing successive generations of leaders presently at ranks not always accessible. At the same time, executive leadership can readily gain diversified insights about pending areas of contention or concern validating or amending prevailing perceptions and thoughts. In this same context, for developing leaders seeking greater influence or formal promotion, involvement offers an opportunity to gain experience and depth while making a useful contribution. The result ideally is an improved collective understanding among all of us as colleagues of the influences and forces shaping the demands we face.

Now, more than ever, we will need strong and skilled leadership to face the challenges and keep our organizations and communities strong and safe. We will need resilient and adaptive leaders at all levels of our organizations and associations to fully leverage our resources, smartly advocate for our needs, and provide strategic direction with reduced budgets to effectively deliver safety and security for our communities. CPOA’s mission of leadership development, training, and advocacy for its diverse law enforcement membership contributes greatly to meeting those goals and developing our future leaders and enhancing our profession.

Susan E. Manheimer, Chief of Police for the City of San Mateo, serves as the President of the California Police Chiefs Association. She can be reached at police@californiapeaceofficer.org g or (650) 522-7600.

Opinions expressed are those of the authors or persons quoted and are not necessarily those of the CPOA state board, appointees, staff and its membership. The publication of any advertisement by CPO or the California Peace Officers’ Association is neither an endorsement of the advertiser nor of the products or services advertised. Neither CPO nor CPOA are responsible for any claims made in an advertisement published in California Peace Officer. © California Peace Officers’ Association. All right reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the publisher. The California Peace Officers’ Association is committed to developing progressive leadership for the California law enforcement community. This is accomplished by organizational networking, professional development, technology advancement and public policy advocacy. The purpose of California Peace Officer is to inform and educate CPOA members; to promote professional development; to generate interest in association activities and to foster a cohesive and involved membership.

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