FORT
WORTH, Texas, May 10, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Because we no longer live in a world of localized
news coverage, few positions within a police department are as
vital to community relations success as the strategic
communications advisor known as the public information officer.
Unfortunately, many police department reputations have been ruined
by underestimating the importance of community engagement.
Chief of Police Christopher Cook,
author of The Art of Strategic Communication, A Police
Chief's Guide to Mastering Sound Bites, Storytelling and Community
Engagement (2024, Indie Books International), shares his expert
advice on the crucial role of a strategic communications advisor in
a police department.
"You can look across
the country and see the failures that
affected police chiefs' careers," says Cook. "The
importance of dealing with the media and
engaging with community stakeholders was often
miscalculated. A well-trained public information officer and
law enforcement leader can influence public outcomes
through proven strategies."
Cook is the Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety for
the City of White Settlement,
Texas, where he oversees the police and fire departments,
and the office of emergency management. With over 30 years of
experience in law enforcement and public safety, he is an expert in
media relations, homeland security, crime prevention, and critical
incident management. He is also pursuing a doctorate in Criminal
Justice from Tarleton State
University.
Cook joined White Settlement in
April 2022, after serving as a Deputy
Police Chief for the Arlington
Police Department, the seventh largest city in Texas and the 48th largest city in the U.S. He
was responsible for the technical services division, which included
the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.
According to Cook, the position of strategic advisor requires an
unusually broad but somewhat specific skill set. He notes that
creativity, social media savvy, and social soft skills are
important attributes to consider when looking for someone to take
on the role.
A startling statistic provided by the U.S. Literacy Project
Foundation is that the average reading level in America is
equivalent to the seventh or eighth grade. Therefore, the strategic
communications advisor must be able to write and edit accordingly
because readability can relate to message penetration and how the
audience consumes the messages.
Cook emphasizes that the best strategic communications advisors
and leaders can tap into a network of professionals and work
together for the greater good of the policing profession. A
right-fit person is someone who meshes well with not only the chief
of police but also the rest of the police force and key figures in
the media and political community.
Cook says the chief of police must ensure the individual works
well with their leadership style and
is aligned with their goal of presenting strategic
messaging in the following six ways:
Push The Best Possible Message. Having a central
person or office filter the flow of live events can prevent mixed
messaging from reaching the various media organizations. This
requires obtaining factually based information in a timely
manner.
Reach Various Audiences. The range of audiences is
much larger than might be suspected. In addition to the news media,
there is the pro-police crowd, everyday citizens, anti-law
enforcement, haters, trolls, police employees, neighboring law
enforcement agencies, elected officials, retirees, and families of
former employees, who will all have their own biases when hearing a
communication.
Use The Right Channels. Traditional media, such as new
channels and newspapers, have been expanded to include social
media, YouTube, and podcasts since the 1990s.
Make The Message Easily Understandable. Because a variety
of groups may hear the message at any one time, it's best to reduce
it to an easily understood soundbite that can be intertwined with
visual and audio storytelling.
Be Timely And Responsive. Best practices suggest
providing basic information as quickly and efficiently as possible
to answer questions the community would legitimately be interested
in. Learn everything about the scene, players involved, location
history, prior criminal history, contraband, weapons
and other pertinent information.
Ensure The Message Reflects Your Organizational Values,
Mission, and Vision. Always ensure transparency with
communications and the media.
"We must commit to learning, partnering with peers, attending
leadership conferences, and investing in tools and strategies that
work in order to train our strategic advisors rather than assuming
that effective communication will occur naturally," says Cook.
Cook stresses the ability to think strategically is the most
important characteristic to develop. When asked what to look for in
a candidate, He states, "Leaders and communicators must embrace a
way of receiving information, assessing it, formulating a plan,
executing the strategy and evaluating their effectiveness."
About Indie Book International
Indie Books International (Indie Books International.) is an
independent publishing alternative for expert authorities to help
them create impact.
Contact
Henry DeVries
377552@email4pr.com
619-540-3031
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SOURCE Christopher Cook