Biggest Challenges Faced by a Police Officer at UCLA Police Department
A significant challenge for this community engagement officer is changing "the culture of policing" to foster trust, shifting from a "force that comes in with all this power" to a more approachable presence. The officer's experience of being treated differently in uniform versus plainclothes highlighted the need for this cultural shift and fueled their commitment to changing perceptions from within the system.
Community Engagement, Policing Culture, Building Trust, Overcoming Challenges, Changing Perceptions
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
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Traits
London McBride
Police Officer
UCLA Police Department
Utah State University 99'
Southern New Hampshire University; MS-Organizational Leadership
Anthropology, Sociology
Government & Public Sector
Legal
Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Greek Life Member, Student Athlete
Video Highlights
1. Changing the culture of policing to be more community-oriented is a significant challenge. Many people have preconceived notions about police officers, which can make building trust difficult.
2. Overcoming negative public perceptions of law enforcement is crucial for community engagement officers. The officer's personal experience highlights how uniforms and authority can create barriers to positive interaction.
3. Building trust and rapport with the community takes time and effort. The officer's approach demonstrates the importance of demonstrating genuine care and concern for the community's well-being to build relationships and change negative perceptions
Transcript
What are some of the biggest challenges of being a community engagement officer?
The biggest challenges have to do with the culture of policing and being able to change that. The goal is to make it more of a community peace officer, as opposed to a force that comes in with all this power and just tells people what to do.
Being a member of the community goes over much better because people can trust you. Culture is one of the difficulties because so many people are stuck in their ways, believing, "This is how we do policing. This is what policing is supposed to look like." Having that mindset doesn't get anybody anywhere, and we're still kind of clawing our way out of this ditch we built for ourselves.
It's difficult to get people to understand that "we're not like that." People's first impression of me, especially if I'm in uniform, is "the police." They don't know me, they haven't talked to me, but they've already assumed I'm a certain type of way. This is because of what the profession has stood for over so many years.
To change people's perspective on who we are and what we do, it has to happen within the system to change the culture of the system. One of my saddest moments was when I was in detectives, in plain clothes, and I would just talk to people. Nobody knew I was a police officer, and they’d talk to me freely.
Then I went back to patrol with my uniform on and started talking to folks just like I used to. I'd say, "Hey, how are you doing?" And I'd get these looks, like, "Why are you talking to me?" That was the day it really hit home. It sucks to be looked at like that.
I realized this needs to change, and I want to change people's perspective. I was so excited to get this position because it gives me the opportunity to change the culture from within. Not everyone is going to like you, but what do you do to get people to understand that you're for them and not against them?