I am a career police officer with more than 30 years’ service with Victoria Police. In my current role as a Senior Sergeant Regional Training Officer, I have the privilege of coaching and mentoring others. Through this work, and my own experiences in policing, I have gained an intimate understanding of the significant harm that can be caused by toxic workplace cultures and poor leadership.
That understanding, coupled with my belief that change is possible, became a turning point for me. The words attributed to Hillel the Elder – ‘If not me, then who? If not now, then when?’ – became a personal mantra to act. I became curious about what Australian policing could learn from other disciplines and industries about building healthier workplace cultures and developing better leaders. I have come to accept that you don’t know what you don’t know, and that looking beyond policing may provide new ways of thinking about problems we have struggled to solve.
I often think about Bruce Springsteen’s question of whether we want to be ‘ghosts’ or ‘ancestors’ to those who come after us. I believe policing culture can be viewed through the same lens. Will we act as ‘ghosts’, passing unresolved behaviours and patterns on to the next generation, or become ‘ancestors’ who leave behind a better future?
Through a Churchill Fellowship, I want to explore international best practice in workplace culture, psychological safety and leadership, and identify approaches that could strengthen policing in Australia. I want to learn from organisations that have successfully created cultures where people feel valued, safe, connected and able to contribute, and where leaders are selected and developed for their attributes, behaviours, emotional intelligence, empathy and care.
Ultimately, I want to help create police organisations where every employee, regardless of rank or role, can come to work feeling psychologically safe, valued and connected to a shared purpose.
I want to plant culture trees whose shade I may never sit in – but that future generations of police officers can.
Project
To learn from culture thought leaders and identify best practice for policing culture in Australia
Jamie Emond
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