Preserving police history: benefits for the present and the future.

In a memorable scene from the film Amistad, former president John Quincy Adams (played by Sir Anthony Hopkins) eloquently lectures the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court on the importance of a sense of history and familiarity with American ancestors. To understand ourselves as a nation, he argues, we must remember that "who we are, is who we were." This same message applies to American law enforcement agencies as they prepare for the 21st century.

While broad histories concerning the evolution of law enforcement in the United States exist, voids remain in the historical records of hundreds of individual departments - from small rural village police or county sheriff's offices to large metropolitan or state police forces. Furthermore, it is not uncommon today for young law enforcement officers to shrug when asked about their departments' origins, past leaders and heroes, proudest traditions, or greatest accomplishments. At the same time, students, journalists, and interested citizens who inquire about their local police agency's history often are disappointed by the lack of useful references. Such evidence of apathy or ignorance about their own histories seems especially ironic for semimilitary organizations that claim to promote professionalism, esprit de corps, and community service.

As the late speaker of the house Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neil was known to say, "All politics is local." The same holds true for history - at least the history that proves meaningful for the average person. People feel a stronger connection with a past that includes familiar names, places, and events. Certainly, local law enforcement institutions have influenced profoundly the history of every city, county, and state in the nation. Therefore, it seems worthwhile to preserve and communicate the history of every agency.

Many law enforcement leaders already have discovered how a small investment in preserving their department's past can yield significant benefits. An appreciation for a police agency's unique history and traditions can help promote a sense of cohesion and common purpose within the agency, provide its leaders with useful lessons and perspectives for future direction, and foster positive public relations.

WHY HISTORY MATTERS

History Promotes Unity

Across the country, law enforcement administrators struggle to implement clear and meaningful vision statements to fulfill their public safety mandates and guide their departments into the future. Yet, as the 20th century slips into history, American law enforcement agencies sometimes seem more disabled by internal fragmentation and discord, as well as interagency turf battles, than empowered by any unifying vision.

Spurred by rapid and continuing developments in technology, in addition to changes in organizational structure, legislation, labor relations, and public demands, many police agencies have become highly bureaucratic, specialized, and diverse. Competition for scarce resources, ambiguous or multiple missions, and parochial interests divide sworn officers from civilian support staff, uniformed officers from detectives, labor from management, road patrol from corrections officers, and headquarters staff from field officers. Veteran officers have trouble relating to rookies, and the expanding pool of retired police personnel often feels forgotten or unappreciated by those still in active service. With equal employment opportunity in law enforcement largely a phenomenon of only the last three decades, officers who served as pioneers for their race or sex in the police profession often feel ignored by outdated police traditions and historical literature.

Further, in this technological age, police work has become more depersonalized. Patrol officers complain about "chasing the radio," while citizens fault the police for being unresponsive and unfamiliar. The recent trend toward community policing represents at least a partial effort to reclaim some of the traditional, close relationship between the beat officer and the community.(1)

In light of these concerns, law enforcement leaders face serious challenges when trying to achieve unity, harmony, and a common vision within their departments and with their communities. Vision statements suggest looking ahead, but clear vision requires perspective.

The 19th century English theologian John Henry Cardinal Newman believed that "essential unity" comes from a common history and common memories.(2) An organization can make progress only when it protects the vital elements of its past and maintains continuity with the vision of its founders. By constantly reaffirming its past successes, an organization furthers its current aspirations.

In short, history and traditions represent "intangibles" that stimulate a police organization's spirit and unity.(3) Educating officers about their department's heritage can promote a positive organizational culture and help officers identify with their department's mission.

History Teaches Lessons

History also provides many lessons for law enforcement leaders who wish to avoid falling prey to the old adage that those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. While such current issues as community policing, gang violence, drug abuse, computer crime, road rage, and domestic terrorism certainly remain serious concerns, history demonstrates that many of today's problems have been faced, in some form and to some degree, before.(4)

Yet, a combination of factors that seems inherent in most police agencies hampers the ability to learn from history. First, police agencies face a rapid turnover of personnel. Many officers can retire relatively young - often after only 20 or 25 years of service, and in our mobile society, young officers may jump from one department to another several times in the pursuit of better pay or career opportunities. At the top, a revolving door of leadership occurs as chiefs and sheriffs are ousted or move on to more lucrative positions. Thus, a wealth of tested experience that can help solve current problems continually drains away.

Many of the World War II and Korean War veterans who led police departments through the turbulent 1960s and early 1970s have retired. Even the wave of returning Vietnam veterans who worked the streets as young officers in those years have begun to draw pensions. What they learned about handling major civil disorders may have been incorporated into departmental policies and procedures, but who will provide historical context when it comes time to implement those policies during future crises? Without a comprehensive, user-friendly historical archive or resource, old mistakes may be repeated.

Second, police agencies are notoriously reluctant to admit failures or blunders. Before police agencies can learn from the past, they must recognize and acknowledge that mistakes, embarrassments, and growing pains prove inevitable in any organization. No one likes criticism or adverse publicity, but no police department honestly can claim to have a perfect record. The way a department handles its own history points to its organizational maturity. Historical "puff pieces" filled with propaganda and denial lack credibility; they do the department, and the public, a great disservice.

History Fosters Positive Public Relations

The public want and deserve an honest, balanced, accurate accounting of how their police have served them over the years. They have invested considerable financial and moral support in their law enforcement agencies. In return, every department bears a responsibility to legitimate that investment. Tremendous public support and respect accrue when that responsibility is accepted, while a failure to set the record straight invites trouble.

Every major department has critics eager to advance their own personal or political agendas by publishing exposes. Whatever the merit of their views in specific cases, are they the proper custodians of police history? Whether in its official history or new employee orientations, a department can admit frankly to past mistakes without diminishing its broader history of professional progress and noble public service - a story that otherwise would remain untold.

While the potential value of preserving a police agency's history and traditions may seem clear, it may prove no easy task. Many challenges and obstacles present themselves.

CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES

To begin with, history is a very broad subject, with many different levels or categories of interest. Some people want to be titillated by bizarre or unsolved criminal cases from bygone years. Others prefer to collect old patrol cars, uniforms, badges, or patches. Looking up old photographs or personnel files of ancestors who served with the police department provides fascination for many, while scholarly researchers may want to read administrative histories or learn how police tactics and procedures have evolved. Therefore, achieving broad appeal with sufficient scope and balance in a historical record or display remains difficult.

Second, much history has already been lost. Due to a lack of climate-controlled storage space or funding, damage from flood or fire, normal deterioration, routine purging, or lack of interest or foresight, vast amounts of old records and artifacts no longer exist. The transition to a paperless office may leave fewer historical records for future generations. Paper documents can survive for hundreds of years, but even the best computer disks, CD-ROMS, and magnetic tapes deteriorate in one to three decades.(5)

In human terms, as well, the passing years have taken their toll. Many American police agencies have reached the century mark. Their original members have long since passed away, and the memories of the few surviving veterans who experienced policing in the early decades of this century have dimmed with age. If their stories were not preserved through written memoirs or recorded personal interviews, the organizational culture has been deprived of the rich nutrients of folklore and anecdote.

Perhaps the most unfortunate reality remains that usually only the largest law enforcement agencies can afford the time, staff, budget, or space to implement a historical archive or museum. The majority of police agencies in the United States are relatively small and often under funded. In these days when resources are limited and agencies must justify every expenditure to a governing body, historical preservation efforts may be necessarily pushed low on the scale of priorities.

Yet, despite these very real challenges and obstacles, every law enforcement agency can begin now to save the past. To do so, the department's executive leadership must make a commitment to preserving history, while developing an organized plan.

SAMPLE APPROACHES

Examples of police agencies' saving and sharing their histories exist across the country. Recognizing that artifacts and old photographs put a human face on history and help people connect with the past, the Ingham County Sheriff's Department in southern Michigan designed an impressive historical display in its front lobby. Visitors and department members can view photographs of nearly all of the former sheriffs dating back to the 1840s, and a display case shows off old photos, uniform items, and other memorabilia. The Maryland State Police headquarters compound includes a full-fledged departmental museum with regular hours and group tours. Using modern technology to communicate their histories to a broader audience, dozens of police agencies have established Internet Web sites or home pages, which include historical narratives and images.

Important anniversaries often provide the impetus for historical preservation efforts. The Onondaga County, New York, Sheriff's Department marked its bicentennial in 1994 with a historical publication and special public events. The International Association of Chiefs of Police launched a program to begin preserving its history on the occasion of its centennial anniversary in 1993. To observe the 100th Anniversary of the Lansing, Michigan, Police Department in 1993, the wife of a retired deputy chief published an illustrated history book and made a number of public slide-show presentations, complete with artifact displays.

Although a relatively large agency (2,200 sworn officers and 750 civilian employees), the Michigan Department of State Police cannot afford a full-time historian or archives unit in the existing political and economic climate. Yet, the department's leadership has long recognized that history and traditions represent vital elements for socializing and orienting all departmental members into the organizational culture. How to expand that process beyond the standard instruction on departmental history and organization given to each new recruit class presented a challenge.

The department's 75th anniversary in 1992 provided the motivation for a renewed official commitment to reviving the department's rich historical heritage. The director appointed a committee of both sworn and civilian members to publish an updated yearbook and organize a number of special events. Celebrations that year included an open house and family picnic for all active and retired department members, press conferences, displays of artifacts, and public tours of state police facilities. Crowds of parade-goers thrilled to see troopers wearing vintage uniforms and riding on horseback or in restored patrol vehicles, including a 1937 Ford Model A, a 1940 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and a 1975 Plymouth Fury.

Committee members also compiled oral histories by videotaping interviews with the department's oldest retired officers. Using this material along with old photographs and film clips, the committee produced a historical documentary video, published several historical booklets and articles, and made presentations to local service clubs and historical societies. A local entertainer composed and sang "Blue Diamonds" for a modern public relations video of the same name in honor of the department's anniversary.

The campaign generated enthusiasm and pride within the department and fostered positive public relations. None of these efforts could have succeeded without the commitment and active support of the department's top leadership.

RECOMMENDATIONS

In recent years, an increasing number of law enforcement leaders have acted to save and share their departments' histories. Others lack guidelines for how to proceed or wish to expand their historical preservation programs. The following suggestions may spark new ideas to match the department's needs, goals, and resources. Departments interested in preserving history could -

* Appoint a committee or qualified individual to pursue a historical preservation campaign. If using on-duty personnel presents a problem, retired officers or family members may have the time, talent, and enthusiasm for such a project.

* Survey existing records, documents, photographs, films, and artifacts to determine what remains and what has yet to be recovered or saved. Historical preservation or research grants may be available from the government or from private foundations. Retirees and their families may donate scrapbooks and memorabilia, and local newspaper clipping files may also yield valuable material.

* Collect oral histories through video- or audiotaped interviews with retired officers and other key figures. The American Association of State and Local History publishes guides for collecting oral history, and college media departments may help with the technical aspects.

* Publish a comprehensive, illustrated, official department history book, covering a broad range of topics and including first-person anecdotes and memoirs, as well as a bibliography of official archives and other sources for further research. Local journalists, graduate students, history professors, or historical society members may agree to assist with the research and writing involved.

* Publish annual reports and also periodically publish department yearbooks with photos of all personnel. Executive meeting minutes, departmental policies and organizational charts, and other official reports or memoranda also may have significant historical value.

* Produce a historical documentary videotape or slide program, which can be broadcast on local access television channels or shown at public presentations.

* Establish and keep updated a departmental Web site or home page on the Internet, including a concise historical segment.

* Publish a retiree newsletter, arrange annual retiree banquets or golf outings, and invite retirees to special events and ceremonies or even informal coffee meetings.

* Establish a departmental museum, if possible, or assemble a permanent or rotating display of historical photographs, artifacts, and other memorabilia in public areas of the police facility. Local public historical museums also may agree to display temporary exhibits on local police history.

* Celebrate special anniversaries and events with open houses, departmental picnics, press conferences, and special displays. Restored vintage patrol cars (antique car buffs may donate them) and officers in vintage uniforms (using reproductions to preserve originals) prove sure hits at parades and fairs.

* Observe Police Week with dignified ceremonies to honor the department's fallen officers; maintain a permanent memorial in the department's lobby, including photographs of fallen officers and narratives of their sacrifices.

* Formally educate and orient all new employees regarding the department's history, traditions, and organizational culture.

CONCLUSION

Preserving the proud historical heritage of a law enforcement agency represents an effective means for uniting and motivating today's highly specialized and diverse work forces. History establishes benchmarks and a context for setting goals and developing vision statements, provides useful lessons for police executives, and helps link the police agency with the community it serves.

Every agency is limited by the staffing and resources it can devote to historical preservation, but many helpful resources and creative methods remain available. The efforts law enforcement agencies make today to restore and perpetuate their histories and traditions can inspire current employees, while endowing a lasting legacy for future generations.

Endnotes

1 J. Patterson, "Community Policing: Learning the Lessons of History," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, November 1995, 8.

2 See J.H. Newman, An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1920).

3 William Westfall, "The Leader As Visionary," unpublished paper presented to the Michigan State Police Command Officers Conference, October 1997.

4 Supra note 1, 5.

5 L. Tangley, "Whoops, There Goes Another CD-ROM," U.S. News & World Report, February 16, 1998, 67-68.