Social Workers And Cops-We Can’t Be All Things To All People

Highlights

“We have a joke in policing, that cops hate two things: change and the way things are,” (social media response).

Any sense that cops should be the only ones responding to 911 calls creates unrealistic expectations.  Taking on everything ensures that cops will fail.

There is a lot of PTSD, drug and alcohol use, bad marriages, and suicides in law enforcement because we try to be all things to all people.

Many suggested that the use of social workers was another ploy of the liberal-luny left. Nope, it’s an initiative of the President.

Author

Leonard Adam Sipes, Jr.

Retired federal senior spokesperson. Thirty-five years of award-winning public relations for national and state criminal justice agencies. Interviewed multiple times by every national news outlet. Former Senior Specialist for Crime Prevention for the Department of Justice’s clearinghouse. Former Director of Information Services, National Crime Prevention Council. Former Adjunct Associate Professor of criminology and public affairs-University of Maryland, University College. Former advisor to presidential and gubernatorial campaigns. Former advisor to the “McGruff-Take a Bite Out of Crime” national media campaign. Certificate of Advanced Study-Johns Hopkins University. Former police officer. Aspiring drummer.

Preface

Part of a series of articles to understand society’s reactions to police shootings, use of force, and to seek solutions. I will “try” to see both sides of the issue knowing that neither will see my critiques favorably.

Article

I took a beating after publishing “Social Workers Need To Step Up And Replace Cops.”

I assume that readers thought I was trying to supplant cops with social workers. Nope, not even close. It was never my intention to suggest that cops should be replaced. My title was misleading. My fault.

With all the talk about defunding (which won’t happen for 99 percent of jurisdictions) maybe I hit a nerve? What I’m addressing requires more funding, not less.

There were literally thousands of comments via social media thus proving that I can never figure out which articles will create a stir. I thought that this was almost a nonstarter as to widespread interest. Silly me.

What most of you said, beyond me being a clueless liberal, (clueless maybe) is that it won’t work; 911 calls are simply too dangerous to send social workers. Some cops thought that my proposals had merit and a few from non-police sites expressed interest, but it was mostly a public hanging.

The response was mostly negative from both police and non-police groups. Most commentators stated that social workers would get themselves killed or injured by responding to low priority 911 calls. Officers have responded to what seemed to be mundane calls only to be involved in something far more serious. It’s happened to me. It’s happened to others. I get it.

But I also get that cops simply cannot be all things to all people.

We Can’t Be All Things

I’m really tired of the overwhelmingly negative public relations debacle cops are going through. Yea, we deserve some of it. But one of the reasons that law enforcement has been on the receiving end of massive negative publicity is that we try to be all things to all people. We try to do everything. We try to be everything. We try to be everywhere.

It’s not working. We can’t be all things. There is a point where we need to shed some lower-level duties.

There are a hell of a lot of inconsequential 911 calls that don’t need an officer and more than just a few end up being a swamp of complaints.

You took an hour to respond to a vandalized mailbox. You didn’t take fingerprints for a theft from a car. A mother wants you to talk to her mouthy, disrespectful kid. A couple gets into a public shouting match. You run these calls and get disgruntled complaints because you had more pressing concerns and couldn’t give them everything they wanted.

But the biggest offenders are the politicians and community leaders who want cops to take on all problems without regard for their seriousness. That’s how we got Freddie Gray in Baltimore. That’s how we got Eric Garner in New York. There are other examples.

Not being all things to all people is a message for those who use cops as pawns as they try to appease their constituencies.

And Back In The Day

Back in the day when I was a cop, quality arrests were emphasized. We let a lot of little stuff slide. We didn’t arrest for all criminal events based on the philosophy that we got successful prosecutions based on bringing in quality, not quantity arrests. That also made us available for crimes in progress and terrible automobile accidents or missing kids or serious domestic violence.

It also cut back on confrontations which kept complaints low and officers safe.

As a new cop, I was told to use lots of discretion; I needed to be available for the big stuff. Events today that create negative publicity would have resulted in drive-by warnings decades ago.

911 Calls Are Too Dangerous For Social Workers

But most you said that only cops can respond to 911 calls however minor they may seem because you never really know how dangerous and difficult they are until you get there.

Bull hockey.

Every day there are endless thousands of non-sworn parole and probation agents going into the homes and communities of criminals on parole and probation. The great majority are not armed and most don’t have radios. You are going to say that that doesn’t constitute a 911 emergency call so it’s different.

Nope, it’s not. Just in case you haven’t noticed, most on supervision who get regular or unannounced home visits have extensive criminal histories. Most endlessly violate the terms of their supervision. It’s never assumed to be a safe visit. Few parole and probation agents are ever harmed or threatened.

Social workers go into homes in high crime areas daily. They probably have more chaotic encounters than parole and probation agents.

Paramedics answer 911 calls during explosive situations and the vast majority are handled without police intervention. Yes, when I was a cop, I attended any call where there was violence. But ninety-five percent of medical calls did not involve police backup.

The point is that civilians go into tough situations daily. For a wide variety of circumstances, cops are not necessary.

To the assertion that social workers will be injured or worse via 911 calls, they have the option of backing away and calling for police backup. At least responding officers will know exactly what they are facing and possibly a clinical diagnosis from people trained to make those calls.

Do I have a firm definition of lower level 911 calls? No, I don’t. But it’s like the Supreme Court’s definition of pornography, I know it when I see it. If it’s a dispute where there is no indication of violence or significant criminality, social workers can take the call.

Can I guarantee that social workers won’t get hurt?  No, I can’t. But everyone takes that risk from parole and probation officers to social workers handling current duties to paramedics to police officers. Responding to issues in the community is a risk. It’s just a matter as to the best people to manage that risk.

How Many 911 Calls Are Violent?

All of us are aware that the vast majority of calls for police service don’t involve violent crimes.

“But police mostly spend their time on noncriminal matters, including patrol, paperwork, noise complaints, traffic infractions and people in distress. An observational study in Criminal Justice Review shows that patrol officers, who make up most of police forces, spend about one-third of their time on random patrol, one-fifth responding to non-crime calls and about 17% responding to crime-related calls — the vast majority of which are misdemeanors. About 13% of their workday is devoted to administrative tasks and 9% to personal activities (such as eating). The remaining 7% of the time, officers are dealing with the public, providing assistance or information, problem solving and attending community meetings.”

“A 2019 Vera Institute of Justice report found that fewer than 5% of arrests are related to serious violent crimes,” Star Tribune.

So why is it so important to send police officers to all calls?

We stopped transporting people in police ambulances many decades ago because it wasn’t a good use of our time. We stopped assisting broken down motorists for the same reason; they are now helped on interstates by state-sponsored “road rangers.” There are an endless array of things we used to do that now fall into the hands of civilians like those who take telephone reports or staff 911 centers or help as crossing guards or those who analyze crime data or act as public information officers or volunteer civilians who patrol in marked cars.

There are plenty of low priority events that civilians can handle.

We are all aware that policing is ungodly stressful. There is a lot of PTSD, drug and alcohol use, bad marriages, and suicides in law enforcement when we try to be all things to all people. We are not superheroes.

We can’t be all things to all people.

Trumps Wants Social Workers

Hundreds of comments were made regarding the original article that the use of social workers was another ploy of the liberal-luny left. Nope, it’s a ploy of the President.

Per the Trump administration: “The Attorney General shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services as appropriate, identify and develop opportunities to train law enforcement officers with respect to encounters with individuals suffering from impaired mental health, homelessness, and addiction; to increase the capacity of social workers working directly with law enforcement agencies; and to provide guidance regarding the development and implementation of co-responder programs, which involve social workers or other mental health professionals working alongside law enforcement officers so that they arrive and address situations together,” The White House.

And for whatever its worth, I still believe that social workers can take on a wide array of calls on their own without backup. Depending on the call, I believe that there are endless situations where cops aren’t necessary to a successful conclusion.

It’s Happening Now

There are police agencies throughout the country using a wide array of civilians to deal with low priority 911 calls. Some involve religious leaders, some use treatment providers. The Salvation Army and battered women shelters and an array of community organizations are willing to provide a response.

Beyond those, there are social workers and trained paraprofessionals right now responding to 911 calls, see the original article, Social Workers.

Conclusions

We are taking the public relations beating of a lifetime. Some of it is deserved, most of it isn’t. Cops are the good (not perfect) guys. For those making instant decisions under unbelievably stressful circumstances, the vast majority do well.

Per USDOJ research, out of 40 million yearly contacts, only two percent involve force or the threat of force. Public opinion polls show a remarkable amount of respect and approval regardless of race and political affiliation.

But any sense that cops should be the only ones responding to 911 calls places all officers in wildly unrealistic positions.  There are a ton of low priority calls that do not need a sworn officer.

Taking on everything ensures that officers will fail.

It’s time to step back and try new approaches to calls for service. If it blows up in our faces, we can go back to the way things were.

But for the sake and sanity of police officers everywhere, I hope that doesn’t happen. It’s time for those educated and trained to assist people in need to step up and do their jobs.

It’s time for cops to let them.

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