Since the COVID-19 health crisis has swept the world, some elected officials have become famous because of their effective crisis communications response. People from all over the country and even different countries tune in to hear from Mayors and Governors that are not their own.
These are three traits these leaders share:
They are continuously sharing critical available data with the public.
They are using simple, straightforward language to deliver that data.
They are delivering their messaging in a setting that conveys trust, power, and leadership.
How can police chiefs take a page out of their playbook? The Hetty Group, interviewed me for my top 3 tips, including communicating regularly and often; going virtual and why the optics matter. Read the article here.
Many people believe our nation’s law enforcement profession is going through a PR crisis. We agree… and so do our colleagues at The Hetty Group’s Coptics Program.
Using conferences, webinars and workshops, Coptics helps police departments integrate digital marketing, online reputation management practices, positive PR and advanced social media engagement into their proactive communications and community relations strategies so they can be more effective in connecting with a digital media savvy public.
The Coptics team (including our founder and CEO, Shannon Wilkinson), just wrote an article for Police One, the leading information resource for law enforcement online, about this issue.
“Law enforcement must rise to meet the new challenges brought forth by the optics of policing in the digital age. By increasing their own digital media engagement, they will have a voice in contributing to the national narrative,” we said.
Social media has transformed America’s confidence in law enforcement and the reputations of law enforcement professionals. We asked Matt Horace, a security and crisis management expert, how police agencies around the country can adapt to this new reality. Matt Horace is a 27-year veteran of local, state and federal law enforcement.
He is frequently featured in live broadcast news segments related to homeland security and law enforcement matters on CNN, Headline News, MSNBC, FOX and local affiliates. In his upcoming Hachette book, White, Black and Blue: A Cop Reveals What Happens Behind the Blue Line, he chronicles his career as a black law enforcement officer, the current state of policing in the digital age and his trademarked term, “Coptics.”
You are a recognized expert and have also been on the front lines of law enforcement. Do you think the current media coverage about policing in the U.S. provides the public with a balanced view of that culture and its role in our communities?
Not all — it is actually the opposite. However, perception is reality. According to The Wall Street Journal, citizen confidence in the police is at its lowest point in 20 years among Americans of all ages, education levels, incomes and races. Law enforcement in the United States faces a public relations crisis. The crisis grows with each incident of police action that is caught on video and becomes viral. Even in situations where use of force actions are justified, the public’s perceptions become exacerbated by the existence of video. Unfortunately, that’s true even before incidents have been investigated. In this sense law enforcement is losing the battle of time, because incidents can become viral before police leaders are aware of an incident. The challenge we face is that the “optics” are driving the narrative and the narrative is being driven by visceral, emotionally charged video. This is creating the condition that I call “Coptics, The Optics of Policing in the Digital Age.”
The public doesn’t have a more balanced view because law enforcement organizations have not kept up with the pace of social media and its impact on public perception. Viral video clips of the use of force by police officers permeate our senses and raise many questions. We understand that there are countless stories of police officers doing great things. But “Coptics” is the condition. It presents serious impediments to law enforcement’s ability for building trust within their communities. The actions and behavior of a small percentage of law enforcement officers dominate public perception. But they do not represent the values and behavior of law enforcers on the whole. Further exacerbating the challenge, the negative images are dominating the airwaves. If and when the paradigm shifts, public perception may follow.
What solutions can police executives adopt to address the emerging challenges with policing in the digital age?
Police executives need to commit to police reform. That includes adjusting to policing in the digital age. The convergence of technology, the use of video cameras, police action and community unrest and access have created a public relations crisis for law enforcement in America. Until law enforcement rises to meet the challenges presented by the optics of policing in the digital age, we run the risk of continuing the devolving public relations spiral. This condition has a negative impact on communities and police agencies.
One solution involves executing community policing strategies that engage the community with police and the police with community. Leadership messaging needs to convey that police are the guardians of the community and not warriors against the community. While that process is ongoing, departments should begin to adopt proactive and consistent messaging campaigns utilizing social media and reputation management strategies. The time to incorporate these proactive strategies is before a crisis, not after. In many cases, police departments and chiefs have a fractured relationship with segments of the community before an incident. The incident just exacerbates the condition.
Police departments have historically been more reactive than proactive in their communications. But the public wants to hear from law enforcement, especially during crisis situations. What is your advice to police agencies new to facing such issues?
Every week I am called on to provide commentary on national news programs regarding police use of force. In each case, the incident is uniquely different and the response is equally different. The evolution of CCTV cameras, cell phone cameras, police dashcams and police body cameras has changed our culture forever. Currently, these innovations outpace law enforcement’s ability to maintain a strategy and governance to keep up with them. Culturally, police departments have been oriented to be reactive. From this perspective, police executives need to drive an innovative response utilizing farsighted public information and crisis communication strategies. They need to begin telling their stories and communicating thoughtfully during uneventful times.
That will ensure that they are able to communicate effectively with their community during a crisis. Managing crises means managing reality. Managing perception involves creating and managing a strong online presence, understanding and managing the relationship between public perception and reality, and choosing the best spokesperson to deliver your message. Police agencies need to develop modern preparation strategies: building a crisis communication plan, ensuring that the team is multi-disciplinary, and enlisting the support of professionals. They need a campaign of authentic, positive messages and images that engage public interest and boost public confidence.
Matt Horace is a former Senior Executive Service (SES) rank executive in the United States Department of Justice. He is an advisory board member for the New York-based Federal Enforcement Homeland Security Foundation (FEHSF), past President of the 100 Black Men of New Jersey and an Adjunct Professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is an expert presenter at The Hetty Group’s Coptics Program, which helps police departments become more effective in connecting and communicating with a digital media savvy public.This is the thirteenth in a series of interviews with experts whose work relates to online reputation management.
Law enforcement agencies have traditionally been behind the curve with using digital, social media and reputation management tools in their day-to-day operations. To help police departments become more effective in engaging with a digital media savvy public, three other experts and I have become active presenters in The Hetty Group’s Coptics Program. With the Coptics workshops and consulting program, Florence Chung, Bill Carmody, Matt Horace and I aim to help law enforcement professionals expand their use of the platforms that are helping shape public perception.
The Wall Street Journal has published an article about our new initiative. “Business Offers Blueprint to Improve Law Enforcement Optics,” by Ben DiPietro, is reprinted in full here.
“A group of reputation-management experts has banded together to create a program to help law enforcement agencies better manage their social media engagement and improve their perceptions with people and within communities. The so-called “Coptics” program developed by the Hetty Group draws from best practices employed by large companies that already have seen the value in being active members of social media to tell their stories and address issues that if not handled properly could blow up into big controversies, said Florence Chung, founder of the Hetty Group.
“We believe that if you aren’t telling your story, the world will,” said Ms. Chung. “And the world often doesn’t know the facts.” Shannon Wilkinson, chief executive of reputation-management firm Reputation Communications, said that although many people in law enforcement have stayed away from social media out of fear or because they prefer to stay out of the spotlight, doing so only cedes the conversation to their critics and others who aren’t representing their viewpoints. For law enforcement agencies or companies wanting to get more active in social media, Ms. Wilkinson said they need to ask themselves two questions: “How do we want to be perceived and by what audience? And how are we currently perceived and by whom?”
Bill Carmody, a digital marketing expert and chief executive of the firm Trepoint, said by teaching law enforcement how to be part of the digital conversation, and giving them tools to properly engage their audiences, will allow for departments to get involved in discussions before they go viral. Through better engagement, when incidents do occur, law enforcement will be in a better position to respond in real time because “that’s where the conversation is happening,” he said. “Your brand is being shaped by social media if you’re not shaping it yourself.”
Matt Horace, a former law enforcement official who now serves as a law enforcement analyst on CNN, said whether it’s a law enforcement agency or a big corporation, an organization needs to know how to manage a crisis and the communications surrounding it. And a key part of that is engaging on social media, knowing what’s being said and interacting in a way that is authentic and not in a way that seems disingenuous or that will erode trust. “This can’t be a stunt,” he said.”
If you work in law enforcement and would like to schedule a workshop or consulting session, please visit The Hetty Group. We also welcome support from corporations and philanthropies that would like to underwrite a workshop series in their community.
Left to right: Shannon Wilkinson, Matt Horace, Bill Carmody and Florence Chung lead an August 18, 2016 Coptics workshop at the National Asian Peace Officers Association Conference in New York City. Photo by Leven Bastian/Jolie Photography.
Visual content has tremendous power to shape public perception. It is an essential aspect of crisis and reputation management. All it takes is one perceived controversial incident captured on video to ignite a viral response that can make a public company’s stock valuation plummet…and send a CEO out the door.
Optics are an increasingly serious issue for law enforcement professionals, whose actions are monitored, shared and amplified on digital media. One result is the risk of partial truth storytelling and reputation issues for law enforcement as a collective group. That impacts the social contract between police and the communities they serve.
Expert Solutions from the Private Sector
The Hetty Group has launched the Coptics Program to help police departments integrate digital marketing, reputation management and social media engagement into their proactive communications and community relations programs. Workshop participants learn how to be more effective in connecting and communicating with a digital media savvy public. They also benefit from the consulting, communications and social media training offered by the program.
Developed by Four Experts
Coptics was developed by four experts: Florence Chung, CEO, Hetty Group, a purpose-driven consultancy advancing community impact; Matthew Horace, a commentator on CNN, MSNBC, CBS, and FOX and 28-year veteran of local, state and federal law enforcement; Bill Carmody, contributor to Inc. Magazine and CEO of Trepoint, creator of digital campaigns and strategies for Fortune 500 companies; and I, CEO of reputation management firm Reputation Communications and frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal’s “Crisis of the Week” column.
Our program is the only one like it. We are dedicated to advancing the brands, reputations and digital presence of police agencies everywhere. If you work in law enforcement or are a supporter of law enforcement and would like to learn more, please contact The Hetty Group.
