Course Description

Meeting with community groups on a regular basis is essential for law enforcement leaders striving to craft organizational priorities that are responsive to citizens’ safety concerns and maintaining the public trust. But, all too often, what is designed to be a means of information gathering, clear communication, and tangible action items quickly devolves into an “open mic night” dominated by a very small number of vocal individuals who may or may not live in the community or represent the community’s priorities as a whole.

In this two-hour webinar, Chief Harry P. Dolan (Ret.) will draw on 32 years of law enforcement experience and 25 years as a chief of police to identify and explain the proven strategies that law enforcement leaders should employ to conduct community meetings in a way that facilitates meaningful communication instead of shouting matches among the few and silence among the many in the community that they serve. 

Topics discussed will include:

  • Focusing on the Goals of Community Meetings: Maintaining the focus of both officers and members of the community on why we are here—to engage in collaboration between the community and the police in order to identify local challenges, agree on potential solutions, and implement practical action plans.
  • Setting the Tone at the Outset: Developing the skills to prepare, structure, and lead community meetings that foster productive dialogue and long-term cooperation.
  • Remembering that If Everything is a Priority, Nothing is a Priority: Soliciting a finite number of concerns—rather than an unending “laundry list” of issues—such that the department is able to formulate action plans that can be utilized to improve quality of life issues for community members.
  • Constructive Problem-Solving Approaches: Identifying what works in facilitating frank conversation and creating action items in community meetings. Assist in developing practical skills to allow law enforcement officers to lead community meetings that build stronger partnerships, improve public safety outcomes, and promote a sense of community ownership and shared responsibility.

Instructor

CEO, Dolan Consulting Group

| Chief Harry Dolan (Ret.)

Harry P. Dolan is a 32-year police veteran who served as a Chief of Police since 1987. As one of the nation's most experienced police chiefs, he brings 25 years of public safety executive experience to Dolan Consulting Group. He retired in October 2012 as Chief of Police of the Raleigh (N.C.) Police Department, an agency comprised of nearly 900 employees in America's 42nd largest city.

Chief Dolan began his law enforcement career in 1980 as a deputy sheriff in Asheville, North Carolina and served there until early 1982, when he joined the Raleigh Police Department, where he served as a patrol officer. In 1987, he was appointed Chief of Police for the N.C. Department of Human Resources Police Department, located in Black Mountain. He served as Chief of Police in Lumberton, N.C. from 1992 until 1998, when he became Chief of Police of the Grand Rapids, Michigan Police Department. He served in that capacity for nearly ten years before becoming Chief of the Raleigh Police Department in September 2007. As Chief, he raised the bar at every organization and left each in a better position to both achieve and sustain success.

Harry Dolan has lectured throughout the United States and has trained thousands of public safety professionals in the fields of Leadership & Management, Communications Skills, and Community Policing. Past participants have consistently described Chief Dolan's presentations as career changing, characterized by his sense of humor and unique ability to maintain participants' interest throughout his training sessions. Chief Dolan's demonstrated ability to connect with his clientele and deliver insightful instruction all with uncompromising principles will be of tremendous value in the private sector.

Chief Dolan's unbridled passion to achieve service-excellence is a driving force behind Dolan Consulting Group. He is a graduate of Western Carolina University and holds a Master's Degree in Organizational Leadership and Management from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Before You Start

    • Consent Questions

    • Download Course Materials
  • 2

    Webinar

    • Community Meetings that Work—Gaining Actionable Feedback from Your Community | Hour 1

    • Community Meetings that Work—Gaining Actionable Feedback from Your Community | Hour 2