In policing, where decisions, actions, and behaviours directly impact public trust, safety, and community relations, culture is foundational. A strong organisational culture aligned with values such as integrity, fairness, and accountability helps police departments operate effectively and ethically. However, culture can be complex to measure, particularly in environments where “work as imagined,” the official protocols and procedures, often differs from “work as done,” the reality on the ground. To bridge this gap and create a resilient, adaptive culture, it’s crucial for all ranks to take ownership of cultural development and measurement, building it on high-performing team elements: team cohesion, information sharing, leadership, vision and goal sharing, and psychological safety.
To ensure ongoing cultural alignment and operational safety, policing must also embrace a mindset of chronic unease. This mindset, essential in high-hazard industries, emphasises remaining alert to risks and potential failures, even when things seem to be going well. In a high-stakes environment like policing, chronic unease ensures that teams are constantly vigilant, proactive, and ready to address emerging threats or systemic weaknesses before they escalate. In a hierarchical workforce, this vigilance requires strong operational discipline to ensure that every level adheres to established values and protocols while actively scanning for risks.
Team Cohesion: Building Unity and Accountability Across Ranks
Team cohesion is the foundation of a strong policing culture. A cohesive team isn’t only about internal unity; it’s also about alignment with organisational values that reflect the department’s commitment to serving the public with integrity. Measuring cohesion involves assessing whether officers feel connected to each other and to the larger mission, especially when daily work differs from ideal protocols (“work as imagined” vs. “work as done”). Team-building exercises, cross-functional assignments, and regular feedback sessions can gauge the level of trust and commitment within teams, supporting a culture where cohesion aligns with the organisation’s values and mission.
Information Sharing: Creating Transparency and Learning
Effective information sharing in policing ensures that insights from field experiences (work as done) flow back to decision-makers, helping bridge the gap with intended procedures (work as imagined). A culture of open communication enables officers to exchange critical information, enhancing both safety and operational effectiveness. Information sharing is especially valuable in a mindset of chronic unease, where teams are encouraged to communicate any perceived risks, no matter how small, ensuring potential issues are surfaced and addressed early. Tracking patterns in communication, such as the quality and regularity of briefings, debriefs, and issue reporting, provides insight into transparency levels and identifies areas where communication may need strengthening.
Visible, Felt Leadership: Demonstrating and Reinforcing Organisational Values
Visible, felt leadership is pivotal in embedding and measuring cultural attributes. Leaders at all levels from executive command to front-line supervisors play a crucial role in modelling organisational values through their actions, demonstrating how these values apply in real situations. Leadership that visibly reinforces these values bridges the divide between “work as imagined” and “work as done” by showing that culture is a lived experience, not just a directive. Embracing chronic unease at the leadership level promotes a proactive approach, where leaders continually evaluate potential risks and drive teams to maintain high standards even when there is no immediate threat. Measuring the impact of leadership on culture involves evaluating how well leaders embody the organisation’s values, support the development of psychological safety, and engage actively with officers to create an environment of mutual trust and respect.
Vision and Goal Sharing: Aligning Purpose Across Levels
A shared vision and clear goals provide direction, ensuring that all ranks within a police force understand and commit to a unified mission. This shared purpose helps align daily practices with the organisation’s long-term objectives, reducing the gap between work as imagined and work as done. A culture of chronic unease reinforces this alignment by keeping the organisation’s mission in focus and reminding teams that vigilance and continual improvement are essential to achieving long-term goals. Measuring vision and goal alignment means assessing whether officers at all levels can connect their roles to the larger purpose and how well each team member understands and resonates with the organisational vision.
Psychological Safety: Enabling Honest Dialogue and Cultural Ownership
Psychological safety allows officers to raise issues, question procedures, and share feedback without fear of retribution critical for creating an environment where culture thrives and adapts to reality. When officers feel psychologically safe, they are more likely to voice concerns, admit mistakes, and offer innovative ideas, contributing to a culture of openness and mutual accountability. Chronic unease enhances psychological safety by encouraging open discussions about risks and failures, fostering a climate where learning from mistakes is valued. Measuring psychological safety involves examining if officers feel comfortable speaking up and whether the department genuinely values their input. Regular feedback surveys, listening sessions, and monitoring debriefs can reveal whether officers perceive the culture as supportive and adaptive.
Ownership of Culture Across All Levels and Ranks
In policing, culture cannot be delegated to a single rank or role. Ownership of culture must extend from executive leadership through middle management to every officer on the front lines. This ownership means that all levels have a responsibility to uphold and contribute to the organisational values in their daily actions, bridging work as imagined with work as done. When culture is a collective responsibility, it becomes more resilient and adaptable, continuously refined through insights from every rank and role.
High-performance thinking, combined with a mindset of chronic unease, strengthens ownership by reinforcing that vigilance, transparency, and continual improvement are everyone’s responsibility. Leaders who support and coach officers in these high-performance principles help create a culture where each team member feels accountable not only for their own actions but for the collective success and safety of the department.
Embedding and Measuring Culture through High-Performing Team Elements and Organisational Values
To ensure a culture that truly reflects its values, a police organisation must embed these high-performing team elements into its core operations:
Data-Driven Assessments: Surveys, interviews, and feedback sessions help assess cohesion, communication, and psychological safety across ranks. This data allows leaders to identify gaps between work as imagined and work as done, informing improvements in protocols and practices.
Leadership Accountability and Coaching: Leaders at all levels must embody organisational values visibly and tangibly. Through high-performance coaching, leaders can refine their ability to support a resilient culture that fosters both psychological safety and operational excellence.
Feedback Loops and Regular Reviews: By creating structured feedback channels, organisations ensure that insights from the workforce feed back into leadership decisions, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. When officers see their feedback lead to tangible actions, trust in leadership and alignment with the organisational mission grow.
Integrating Cultural Metrics in Performance Reviews: Including cultural metrics such as teamwork, openness, and commitment to community service in performance reviews reinforces desired behaviours and strengthens the alignment between organisational values and daily work.
Building a Resilient, High-Performing Culture
Measuring and embedding culture in policing requires a strategic approach grounded in high-performing team elements, strong organisational values, visible leadership, and a mindset of chronic unease. When executive leaders, middle managers, supervisors, and officers all take ownership of culture, it evolves into a resilient and accountable foundation that aligns the organisation’s mission with daily practices. Through ongoing assessment, high-performance coaching, and a commitment to bridging the gap between work as imagined and work as done, police departments can cultivate a culture that embodies these values, strengthens public confidence, and promotes proactive risk management. This approach not only builds stronger teams but also enhances public trust, creating a lasting positive impact on the communities they serve.
