About This Course

Police-community relations is, by all accounts, the most critical issue facing law enforcement in America today. This training seminar presents law enforcement leaders with solutions, based on empirical research and actual practice, for improving citizen satisfaction, citizen confidence, and citizen support for law enforcement officers. It utilizes the findings from social scientific research to identify what factors influence citizen satisfaction with the police, then provides real-life case study examples to illustrate each of the solutions identified by the research. This training is suited for law enforcement leaders of any rank who engage in directing agency operations and assist in forming departmental policies.

Course Objectives

  • The current police-community relations climate


  • Why evidence-based practices matter


  • Predictors of Citizen Satisfaction with the Police
    • The 27 studies on citizen satisfaction with the police
    • The 5 big influences on citizen satisfaction
    • What doesn’t influence citizen satisfaction


  • Negative Contacts with the Police
    • Defining a negative contact
    • Defining a positive contact
    • Evidence-based strategies to improve police contacts
    • Training recommendations


  • Perceptions of Crime and Disorder
    • What works
    • What does not work
    • Community problem-solving
    • Proactive non-enforcement contacts
    • Other ways to reduce fear of crime


  • Perceptions of Police Resources in the Neighborhood
    • The influence of police presence
    • The influence of the police uniform
    • The influence of motorized patrol


  • Media Exposure
    • Current research on media and news trends
    • Utilizing social media to directly contact your constituents
    • Telling your side of the story
    • Case study of a controversial use of force incident


  • Immigrant Outreach and Education
    • Preconceived notions from one’s home country
    • Immigrant education models
    • Dayton, OH & St. Paul, MN case studies


  • Summary & Policy Recommendations
    • Improving citizen contacts
    • Increasing citizen engagement

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.