Chicago (AP) – Three dozen Police Captains Captains in Chicago Conference Hall to play the game: they have to start a sentence with the last word their partner used.
Many exchange is unconscious, full of craftsmanship using heavy words and laughter. However, the improvisation game eventually makes sense.
“What we are trying to do is make you listen to the end of the sentence,” says Kelly Leonard, who wrapped an improvisational exercise. “If my hand was a sentence when most people stop listening to? Always elbow! But then you miss everything that happens after … and sometimes it is critical information.”
Police captains who flew from all over the country’s departments. “I’m really doing it,” some cry.
Officials of the Police leadership at the University of Chicago Crime Laboratory brought members of the second city, Chicago higher improvisation theater, to teach police leaders with a variety of skills found in improvisation exercises, such as thinking on their feet, booking a solution and listening completely.
The Academy, a seminar, has been taught for more than five months, explores some serious topics to make decisions on data, or how to help officials process trauma.
Improvement of social skills
“We call it yoga for social skills,” said Leonard, Vice President of the Creative Strategy, Innovation and Business Development of the Second City.
Skills may not be applied to all police situations in this area, but being a better listener or learning to take a break before answering can make better leaders, says Tree Branch, a strategic partner for the Second City Works client.
Improv and creating a second city is based on social work. Both of them traced their beginnings Viola Spolin, who created some exercises, still used for improvisation until it was in 1920. A relocation employee to help immigrants for children and local Chicago children. Spolin was also the mother of Paul Sils, a second city of the city.
The creators of the Police Academy believe that these skills can also help achieve their goals to increase community engagement, improve officers’ morals and eventually reduce violent crimes.
“We are trying to do the case that you can do all three things,” said Kim Smith, Crime Lab, a program director.
The Academy is focused on working with heads of departments related to a high level of community weapons violence, and pays for the fact that they would fly to Chicago one week a month to attend five months of training.
Investigators of the Crime Laboratory found that the captains of the district and the surroundings had the greatest potential impact on their colleagues, despite the fact that few managers are often learned. Investigators, even if the community, officers and everything else remain, can have high morals, community relationships or crime, but if the captain changes, that profit can strike, even if the community, officials and everything else.
Professors, investigators and police leaders teach courses on topics such as the creation of transparent police cultures, data use and collection, stress management and community partnership. So far, about 130 police leaders from about 70 departments, including tribal police departments and even police inspector from Toronto, have participated.
Communication is the most important
Captain Louis Higginson, together with the Philadelphia Police Department, said the Academy had been conducting much wider training for the police workouts that he received before he was promoted to the captain a little over a year ago.
“It was a big deal for me to think about the things we allowed to happen because they were against us,” he said. “And the ways we can change the culture of our area by changing the thinking about why we do things.”
He said he and his wife and daughters did some improvised exercises when he returned home, which opened communication as he did not expect.
“I think it opened their eyes like me,” Higginson said.
The Albukerka Police Department commander Ray del Greco said he is still thinking about how he communicates a few weeks after the improvisation class.
“When people talk to you and come to force you to help solve their problems so we can displace your ego and less worry about your agenda and listen, it’s a leadership understanding,” said Del Greco. “For me, it was the most valuable class we had.”
The student becomes a teacher
The leaders of the Academy emphasized that learning does not end with graduation. They are creating communication channels to keep their classmates from continuing to support each other, encouraging the captains to train training with their departments, and the participants must implement the Capstone project, which lasts on the last day of the class and resolved the real problem in their area or section.
Many projects implement programs to deal with specific crimes, such as engaging the community in programs to prevent car theft or try drones as the first answers. One previous graduate has established a partnership with community groups to increase the pride of community and reduce weapon violence by reducing the quality of life, such as garbage, overgrown parties and graffiti.
Stephen Donohue, captain of the San Jose Police Department and a recent academy graduate, developing an early intervention system, focusing on the wellness of officers. A typical system can mark citizens’ complaints or drive accidents, but the Donohue program accumulates the contribution of supervisors and peers to the flag when an official acquires too much injury in a short period of time, such as multiple murders or shooting investigations.
“It is a veno diagram between training, wellness and internal affairs,” he said. “And we can help them, we can reduce the use and suspicion of complaints and suspicions, offer better training and improve the services assigned to the department.”
Coaches hope that in a few years, more captains and officers will say “yes and” during improvised classes. They protect tabs by conducting a randomized control survey of how well the general training works. And with this evidence, he hopes that funders, police departments or other universities will help to expand their training to more departments.
“We want it to be strictly proven scientific evidence,” said the Academy Executive Director Meredith Stricke. “We try to create a curriculum to eventually become better leaders and better police. Participants definitely talk about improvisation class as one of their favorites. We hope that it will work together.”