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It takes two to speak the truth - one to speak and the other to hear." Henry David Thoreau Suppose you work for an agency where the chief administrator puts a very high premium on telling the truth, even in minor matters. An agency in which it is very clear to all employees that any allegation against an employee will be fairly but thoroughly investigated, and the key component of that investigation is that the officer tell the truth, however embarrassing, or whatever the consequences. An agency where even minor complaints are investigated to the point of some resolution in order to protect the integrity of' the department, but to also protect the officer, to minimize the instances of, "well, he said he didn't do it, but ...". That punishment is corrective in nature, and the minimum amount of punishment is applied to each offense. It sounds like the ideal for any agency, right? Right, but if an agency is to be successful in establishing this environment a new look at truth telling will be necessary. I belong to an organization that has established the standard for handling allegations described above. Officers know that an minor indiscretions, that if allegation, however serious will proven would result in minor be investigated and that absocorrective action, sometimes lute honesty is required by the just counseling by a supervisor. concerned officer. The requirement of the Chief of Police is Later, while supervising the that before he makes a determidepartment's training unit I had nation of corrective action, he the opportunity to provide must know the truth. If the truth ethics training to exonerates newly promoted the officer, sergeants. As part so much A new look at truth of this training I the better, telling is necessary. would have the but the sergeants fill out a truth is the survey on their foundation perceptions of ethics within the for the department's system of department. internal review. Whether it be in response to a complaint by a The number one response to the citizen, another department question asking for their opinemployee, or a mandatory ion of the number one ethics investigation based on a use of problem within the department force or vehicle pursuit, the was always, lying during an truth is paramount. internal investigation. I then began to think more deeply During three years of duty in about this problem and why it the Office of Professional occurs so frequently, particuStandards, the unit charged with larly regarding minor conducting and overseeing indiscretions, and what, if internal investigations, I was anything, could be done about it frequently disappointed in how many officers lied in internal Through my own reflections investigations. I'm not referring and from talking to other to serious allegations, allegasupervisors and officers I have tions concerning actions which come up with the typical sceobviously, if proven, would end nario. A supervisor is made the officer's employment. aware of an allegation against an officer. Sergeant X confronts One might expect that an Officer Y and informs him that officer would be tempted to lie Citizen Z has complained that in a last ditch effort to save he, Officer Y, during a recent their career. The lying that was traffic stop, told Citizen Z that so upsetting was in reference to he was an a--hole. Of course allegations that concerned

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Officer Y immediately remembers Citizen Z and that Citizen Z did in fact exhibit characteristics of the all too common --hole. He also knows that he did in fact step out of his professional stature with Citizen Z and did call him an ---hole. However, as the questions is being asked in a busy office area where the Watch Commander and a Police Specialist are also present, Officer Y replies, no way sarge, I never said that. Sergeant X then tells Officer Y to immediately write out a statement to that effect. are caught in the cookie jar. How the parent handles that situation determines how much truth they get and what the child therefore learns about truthtelling. We have the recent example at the highest level of our government that it matters not what you have done, it only matters if it can be proven. lying in an internal investigation, a charge more serious than the original alligation. I believe this scenario is played out all too often. Even if the officer is able to slide by, so to speak, and get away with it he really hasn't gotten away. He now knows, and carries as part of his self image, that he will lie when times get tough. This will affect all his future dealings with supervisors, peers, and subordinates. I remember as a young patrol officer how I one day lost track of time and was late coming in to work the evening shift. I knew I had no excuse so in my mind I created the fiction that I had had a flat tire. I even rubbed my hands on a tire so that I could show my sergeant the physical evidence of my reason for being late. He believed me and off I went to patrol my gone. Fortunately, after about an hour, any conscience won out and called for a meeting with my sergeant and confessed that I had lied. He was understanding, appreciated that I had told the truth, and nothing more was said. I hate to think of what would have happened had I not told the truth, maybe a lie would have been even easier the next time my personal

Getting back to Officer Y, he knows he has lied and now he is faced with setting that lie in concrete, the written statement. Most officers will rationalize the incident in whatever way works for them and will put the Officer Y is then confronted lie on the statement. Then, as with a dilemma. He knows that the internal folder makes its he has already lied because that, way up the chain of command as human beings, is our fist officer Y now has lied to his instinct, particularly in the Watch Commander, Division environment in which Officer Y Commander, Bureau Major, and was asked the question. This eventually the initial instinct Chief of to lie when The initial instinct to lie Police. confronted is when confronted, is as old as old as the as the Garden of Eden. When other Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve violated the rules their first initial instinct was to hide from the truth. Of course Adam subsequently blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent, which is the all too familiar tactic, once a misdeed is exposed, blame someone else. This basic instinct is exemplified when as children our hands evidence raises suspicions about Officer Y's truthfulness he will be questioned by an internal investigator and confronted with the fact that his statement is being questioned. However, rarely will an officer come off of his original statement at this point, having committed himself to it verbally, and in writing to his chain of command. The officer then faces suspicion of

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interests would have been so served. The question then is what can be done about this common event? Some will say nothing can be done. After all, it is the officers responsibly to tell the truth and if he doesnt then its on him. Well, this is true, we each are responsible for our own actions and in the final analysis we have no one to blame for a lie but ourselves. However, can the agency do anything to minimize the number of officers who take this route, particularly over minor complaints? I recently had a conversation with a newly promoted sergeant about this issue. He related that as a young patrol officer he was confronted in a department hallway about a minor indiscretion and he immediately denied it. He then was asked to write "the statement," and as he agonized over the statement he wanted to tell the truth but didn't. He subsequently was suspended for the lie, when the original accusation wouldn't have resulted in any time off. He recognizes that he is responsible for the lie but now believes that if his sergeant had just spent some time with him, in private, he probably would have told the truth. things, no doubt the reader can think of more. Some keys would be: Trust - communicating to the officer both in voice, words, and body language that none of us are above making mistakes. That the supervisor is not out to "hang" the officer or to make more of the incident than it is. Clarity - it should be clear to the officer that while there is no desire on the part of the supervisor to make more out of the incident than it is, the issue must be resolved. In other words, it is not going to go away based on a quick denial. Atmosphere - The supervisor should, as much as is in their power, strive to create an atmosphere that leads itself to openness and honesty. Considerations should include privacy, lack of distractions and interruptions, and time In other words an environment that the supervisor would be comfortable with if in the same situation. Obstacles - The supervisor should minimize any obstacles to the officers being candid. Opening phrases such as "you really didn't do this did you?" or "did you really..." should be avoided.

As a criminal investigator I learned that the vast majority of criminal suspects want to tell the truth. The key to gaining a confession then is to put the It seems then that the key to suspect in a position where it is establishing the truth early on in palatable to tell internal the truth, or at investigations least enough to falls heavily implicate on the serEarly intervention in the himself. Howgeant, or process is the key. ever, I believe firstline little thought is supervisor. If given in the the accused early stages of an internal officer trusts the sergeant, and if investigation on the handling of the sergeant does what he/she the officer. I am certainly not can to create an environment lumping a police conducive to truth-telling; then officer accused of say, discourmore truth-telling will be the tesy to a citizen with a criminal result. What then makes an suspect, but the basic desire that environment conducive to truththey both have to talk is there, if telling? I can think of a few they are handled properly.

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Again, any department administrator that seeks to maintain an organization where truth forms the foundation for decisionmaking, specifically in internal investigations, must recognize that truth doesnt automatically occur. Truth-telling must be nurtured. While the suggestions mentioned are in no way inclusive, hopefully they will provide stimulation to that first-line supervisor in tailoring an approach to an officer under these circumstances. It is my belief that the more attention paid to early intervention in this process, before a lie becomes set in stone, the less the issue of truth-telling will become later on, particularly regarding minor issues. In this way the integrity of the individual officer and the department will be enhanced and preserved. Josh Phillips, Lieutenant Fayetteville, N.C. Police Department