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December 2022 | Volume 15 | Issue 12


Headline after headline shows law enforcement agencies across our nation immersed in crises. Many police leaders have clear actionable strategies when the crisis is a crime or safety issue, but what about the crisis of trust? Earning and maintaining a community’s trust is one of the biggest challenges facing our profession today. Law enforcement agencies must be equipped to handle this type of crisis.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has faced its share of crises over the years. Investigating everything from high-profile officer-involved shootings to incidents stemming from viral videos, we have seen a wide array of issues. There was a time when staying behind the scenes was acceptable. But in today’s world, every syllable of every word is scrutinized. It is imperative to have a strong communications team that is prepared not only to respond to questions from the public but also to remain consistently proactive. Leaders must place a high value in having a trained law enforcement communicator/public information officer (PIO) sitting at the table alongside the agency’s command staff.

An investment in a law enforcement communicator/public information officer is a mandatory investment in your agency. It is one of the best investments one will make for an agency. This person should be passionate about telling an agency’s stories, ingrained in the staff’s operations, and willing to learn as much as they can about the work. A PIO should engage with followers to show them the agency’s purpose and convey how the work that the organization does ties back to the mission. Timing in response to critical incidents in crisis is paramount. The agency should stay ahead of critical conversations and remain connected to current events and what matters to each community.

The role of PIO is not handed down as a punishment and should not be blindly assigned. A communications team is responsible for accurately updating the public on every concerning matter. An agency that is transparent in communications breeds a more trusting community, a community that is more willing to work with law enforcement to keep its members safe. They are more open to talk to investigators with minimal fear.

Day in and day out, law enforcement officers are running toward danger. Officers are required to have ongoing training to effectively serve the public and maintain safety. A communicator must have a high level of training to keep up with the changing times, to adapt to the dynamics of the communications online and offline.

It has been a rough couple of years for the law enforcement community and the communities they serve. Even with all these obstacles, the law enforcement profession remains the most noble profession and it is essential that agencies show up and join these important conversations.

Here are the top 15 best practices that will allow agencies to overcome the challenges that come with a major crisis:

  1. Have a clearly designated PIO on duty and ready to handle crisis. Often when crisis hits, the public searches for authoritative information. Many of the more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the nation still do not have a communications person on their staff.
  2. Ensure that a communications staffer is part of an agency’s command staff. There is no time to sift through layers of red tape when crisis strikes. The law enforcement communicator needs direct access to the agency head.
  3. Have a PIO who is well trained and receives ongoing training. As technology advances and law enforcement/community relations evolve, it is important for the communicator to adapt to these changes. There are many organizations and companies that offer valuable training. Seek these opportunities and dive in.
  4. Your PIO should be part of a strong communications network. As with training opportunities, there are numerous options for law enforcement communicators to join a network. Find one or more to join and lean on that network for support and education.
  5. If you are investigating a case that involves a viral video, it is a must to communicate often. Silence sends a clear message. Electing not to communicate with your audience during crisis implies that the agency has something to hide and needs time to cover up wrongdoing. Constant messages should be delivered even if there aren’t major updates to share.
  6. Use social media to get the message out. This seems obvious, but there are still so many agencies that are nowhere to be found on several critical platforms. Join the social media universe and become a part of the online conversation.
  7. Establish a rapport, a relationship with your followers/constituents. This takes time. Too often, agencies are sending messages out to their community because they think it’s what they want to hear. The reality is that the message an agency delivers and what the community wants to hear may be two different things. Learn to listen to your followers, answer their legitimate questions, and build healthy relationships online. The work that your boots on the ground officers are doing should mimic what you share online.
  8. Continue to socially listen. As depressing as “doomscrolling” can be, monitoring the chatter online will allow agencies to be prepared as narratives evolve.
  9. Watch all news conferences tangential in nature to the crisis. Just as it is important to socially listen, monitoring news reports gives an even broader picture of what the narrative is so that corrections can be made as appropriate.
  10. Develop a core think tank to hash out each issue and keep its members informed along the way. This will be important to bounce ideas and thought processes off the think tank members and give the agency the best possible chance for ensuring that their messages land well with readers and listeners.
  11. Have the right individual serve as the spokesperson for an event. It may not always be the agency head, but if it is someone not familiar with an investigation, be certain that the spokesperson is familiar with the FACTS.
  12. Document the strategic communication efforts/timeline along the way. This will pay off later when it’s time to perform an assessment.
  13. Have basic communications tools available for creating simple messages and streaming news updates.
  14. Make sure that each agency has a robust internal communications plan. Often, it is easy to be so focused on the external message that the internal stakeholders are an afterthought.
  15. When the dust settles and you can take a break, take that break. Self-care and mental well-being are underrated. It is important to disconnect. For some, it is a brisk walk, meditation, reading, or rest. Whatever it is, this step is one of the most critical lessons learned. Later, the team will be able to hit reset, regroup, and be prepared to meet the next challenge.

Nelly Miles
Director of Public & Governmental Affairs
Georgia Bureau of Investigation

Natalie Ammons
Deputy Director of Public & Governmental Affairs
Georgia Bureau of Investigation

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The Community Policing Dispatch is the e-newsletter of the COPS Office.

The Community Policing Dispatch is the e-newsletter of the COPS Office.

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