Public Safety

The UMaine DPS Principles of Policing
by Noel C. March

1. IN REVERENCE FOR THE LAW. No extra-legal methods will be tolerated. The ends do not justify the means. You cannot effectively enforce the law unless you obey the law.
    
2. IN THE MINIMUM USE OF FORCE. The police should use force only when absolutely necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order and then, if possible, only after persuasion, advice and warning have failed. In all cases only that force reasonably necessary will be used. Any force used after obvious resistance has been overcome will be classified as excessive force and will result in disciplinary action. Any tolerance of excessive force only results in isolation of the Department from the citizens.
    
3. IN OPEN POLICE/PRESS RELATIONS. The First Amendment is nearly absolute as far as I'm concerned. A well-informed citizenry is to our advantage. Public knowledge about what we do should not be feared but encouraged. We are people in a tough, demanding, conflict riddled, stressful, but honorable profession. The more the public understands and are told about us the more they will understand and support us.
    
4. IN CRIME PREVENTION AND COMMUNITY POLICING AS KEYS TO SUCCESS. The ultimate objective of a police agency should be to prevent crime and to obtain maximum voluntary compliance with the law. The only way to be effective in that effort is to have the public working with you in complying voluntarily, reporting violations when they become aware of them, protecting themselves and their property from crime by undertaking problem solving strategies. In this agency the numbers of arrest will not be an indication of how well you or the Department is doing.
    
5. IN SELECTING AND PROMOTING THE BEST. Good judgment (the ability to exercise discretion with integrity) is a quality you can't always train into people. For this reason I believe that the selection of new officers and the promotion of the best we have are the two most important personnel functions I will ever perform. If we do this properly, even if we fall short in other areas, we will have a great organization.
    
6. IN FAIRNESS IN ALL OUR DEALINGS WITH THE CITIZENS. A reputation of fairness can be earned by generally taking action on clear-cut and substantial violations only. To charge a person for doing 36 in a 35 zone is harassment and only serves to create disrespect for the law and for those who enforce it. We should not approach our job thinking about how we can arrest somebody, but rather by asking if it is worthy of prosecution.
    
7. IN PROBLEM SOLVING. Organizations are like people. They all have some problems. The measure of an organization is the same as the measure of a person…how well he or she handles the problems. They cannot be handled if we are unwilling to admit they exist and face up to them. I will expect supervisors in this Department to identify problems, tell me what the alternatives are, what each alternative will cost in time, manpower, or other resources, tell me what you recommend, and tell me why. This is called "completed staff work". I will not accept less. You will not be allowed to push problems up the chain of command.
    
8. IN EVOLUTIONARY, NOT REVOLUTIONARY, CHANGE. Our goal will be to make change with minimum disruption. This can be done by moving slowly and deliberately, with employee input, and keeping those affected by the change informed.
    
9. IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY BELONGING TO THE PUBLIC. All public agencies should be operated for the convenience of the public and not the employees of the agency. Just as hospitals exist to provide care for patients and not jobs for doctors…so also do police agencies exist to protect and serve the public and not merely to provide you and me with a job.
    
10. IN PEOPLE BEING THE KEY TO AGENCY EFFECTIVENESS. Our collective character, characteristics, attributes and talents and the relationship we establish with each other will determine this Department’s effectiveness. I want a good working relationship with you and will do my best toward that goal. I will expect you to do the same.
     
11. IN MAKING THE RIGHT DECISIONS. All decisions should be made on the basis of what is right and not who is involved. I want you to know that if you arrest a senator or a judge I will support you if it was a lawful arrest even if it means my job. I make that pledge to you.
     
12. IN “REPRESENTATIVE” POLICING. A department that reflects the community it serves in race, ethnicity, education, etc. has the best chance of providing fair and responsive policing.