The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 23, Number 7 | Page 5

The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | September 2017
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
MITCHELL C. SKLAR
NJSACOP CONTINUES TO REACH OUT FOR GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE IN
POLICE LEADERSHIP
2017 Senior Leaders Course conducted in cooperation with the UK
College of Policing and Greater Manchester Police
The NJSACOP has a well-earned reputation for offering our members and other stakeholders
cutting-edge professional development opportunities and fresh perspectives on
contemporary issues. One of our Association’s key strategies in delivering such opportunities is looking beyond
the traditional topics, presenters, venues and methods of law enforcement professional development
and education. While of course we have an enormous wealth of talent, knowledge, and experience right here
in our own backyard, we naturally do not have a monopoly on these assets. Accordingly, we continually seek
out the best that can be found from across our borders – whether those borders are local, state, national -
or even international.
Professional and personal growth benefits from looking beyond the routine,
the comfortable, the local; in short, from being open to new experiences,
information, and perspectives. The 20 police professionals that attended the
NJSACOP Senior Leadership Seminar at Greater Manchester Police
did just that, and much more. The program, conducted in conjunction with
UK College of Policing, was held July 08 – 16, 2017 at the GMP training
center in Sedgley Park, Greater Manchester, England. In putting together
the agenda for the program, we were able to take advantage of the close
links we’ve forged over the past several years with the College of
Policing, as well as other police executives and academics in the United
Kingdom.
The result was an agenda that included a rich mix of
practitioners and police educators, as well as the opportunity to make
several site visits of great interest to our group of law enforcement
professionals.
The limited registration for this seminar served to maximize the interactive nature of the learning experience. The
agenda was broken down into multiple units, with a special emphasis on Decision Making and Command and
Control of Critical Incidents. This focus was not chosen at random; on the one hand, New Jersey’s law
enforcement leaders have been confronted with these challenges in ways not readily imaginable just a few
short years ago, while Britain’s public safety professionals have been dealing with these issues for decades. They
have drawn many lessons from these experiences, and are more than eager to share these lessons. The
specific information provided on plans, tactics, strategies, mistakes and successes were interesting and useful.
Even more important was the chance for our attendees to look at these topics from another perspective and to
challenge their own thoughts and assumptions.
The agenda included additional units focusing on Enhanced
Customer Service in a law enforcement context, firearms training,
and a community-based approach to dealing with guns and drugs.
Additionally, the seminar-like nature of the program allowed for
lively interchanges between the participants and the presenters –
both during and after the classroom sessions. The seminar started
off with a context-setting overview, delivered by our host
facilitator, retired Detective Chief Inspector Dave Annets. DCI
Annets laid the groundwork for the delegates in terms of orienting
them to policing in the United Kingdom, but also outlined the
Bronze/Silver/Gold command and control structure and decision-
making model utilized by British police.
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