NCJ Number
205609
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 71 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2004 Pages: 25-27,29,30,33,34
Date Published
April 2004
Length
7 pages
Annotation
After discussing the importance of a police department's creating an image of itself it wishes the public to perceive, "branding," this article discusses key issues in the development of this desired image.
Abstract
A study entitled "The Public Image of the Police" (2001) determined that the perception of the police, the police department's "brand" identity, has a direct impact on the department's ability to prevent, control, and solve problems. It also affects the relationship officers have with citizens. "Branding," which is a police department's creation of a credible image of itself that it wishes the public to accept, requires clarity about the policing mission, vision, and values. In developing a departmental image, the police executive should develop a philosophy of service and then determine how it can best be implemented in policy and practice. This will then influence the criteria for selecting and training officers. Although the department's presentation of itself is captured in the badge, logo, and uniform, these symbols do not constitute the department's brand. Absent positive and consistent individual officer contacts with citizens that reflect the department's mission and values, citizens will form their images of police from the media based on its reporting of newsworthy incidents that involve police action, as well as images of police portrayed in television programs and movies. It is important that the agency regularly tell the community how good it is in a specific area that has received emphasis in departmental policy and programming. Success stories must be told often and consistently. Although police departments do not have advertising budgets comparable to corporations that are selling products, the police perform activities and respond to events that interest the media. Every event that draws the media should become an occasion for the department to display its "brand" and communicate its successes. The most powerful "branding" tool, however, consists of the multitude of contacts police have with citizens each day. The frequency, quality, character, and consistency of these contacts will finally determine how citizens perceive and respond to the police.