On Wednesday, May 8, 2024, launch day for the print and e-book officially kicked off.
Book launch day is finally here! I am excited to share that the culmination of three and a half years that started when I was with Arlington Police Department has arrived. For my law enforcement colleagues, I hope that the organization and design of these topic areas can assist our profession, thereby helping others avoid mistakes that I made along the way in managing public information, media relations, and critical incidents.
I owe a great deal of gratitude to many people who encouraged me to sign onto this project and see it through the end. First and foremost, the Department of Justice COPS Office, under the leadership of Director Phil Keith, provided this opportunity following invited testimony that I provided on July 8, 2020 to the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice on community trust and respect for law enforcement panel (link to this testimony is under publications in my LinkedIn profile). This amazing opportunity to speak to the country as the profession was reeling from several high profile, controversial use of deadly force incidents was the catalyst which started conversations on a need for a niche product that could potentially help leaders and communicators.
As we started on the draft manuscript with a publisher in California, other opportunities arrived, including collaborating on several high profile journal articles and publications released by the Department of Justice, RAND Corporation, Major Cities Chiefs Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Police Executive Research Forum. The contributions by some of the best leaders, media professionals, and government communicators across the profession led to some great resources. The re-write of the AMBER Alert Best Practices for PIOs was another great project that was occurring simultaneously as the manuscript preparation of this book was.
As a Deputy Police Chief in Arlington, I was also invited to provide testimony to the IACP Professional Standards, Ethics, and Image Committee on the state of policing related to the value that public information officers and strategic communication advisors provide to their communities and departments. This opportunity further solidified the needs of this book in addition to narrowing the topic areas down to several key concepts.
The Art of Strategic Communication is a guidebook on how to message your community through the media, while also building trust, enhancing employee satisfaction, and increasing transparency, While there is no “one size fits all” approach, there are several tools to assist leaders in approaching their comms with strategy and purpose. I would be honored if you take a moment to pick a copy up. The Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas has arranged for every police chief in Texas to receive a free digital copy during TPCLS training!
https://lnkd.in/gXdtFM_D (Author profile)
https://a.co/d/0X4rBB3 (Direct link to Amazon)
