Page 130 - Anne Bruce - Building A HIgh Morale Workplace (2002)

110 Building a High Morale Workplace

deter offenders. The objective was to save lives and avoid the
usual arrest-and-release scenario that only contributes to low
morale for everyone and lack of faith in the system.

The innovative police department came up with a program
that places the spotlight on public arrests for domestic violence.
To show they mean business, officers go to workplaces to make
arrests, rather than going to homes.

As one local physician found out, when it comes to domes-
tic violence, the Charleston police don’t fool around. After being
charged with beating his wife, the doctor was arrested in his
own waiting room in front of all his patients and staff. An effec-
tive and measurable deterrent to domestic violence? You bet.

An effective way to tell police and victims that they’re making a
difference? Absolutely. Soon after the program was implement-
ed, additional statistics gave police in Charleston just what they
were hoping for—fewer women were dying of physical abuse
following the powerful display of enforcement using the public

arrest program.
“This can be a very difficult profession when it comes to
keeping morale up,” says one law enforcement official who

Kids, Guns, and Morale
Charleston police gathered crucial statistics on kids and guns
in Charleston city schools and the numbers were on the rise.
The stats gave police just what they needed to come up with an effec-
tive program called Gun Stoppers.The objective of the program is to
take away the glory and prestige that kids get from carry guns.
Knowing that most kids bring weapons to school to show off, the
Charleston police set out to burst that popularity bubble.
The police give $100 the same day to any person who tells police
that someone in school has a gun and where that gun is—whether it’s
in a student’s locker, on the playground, in a desk, or a backpack.And
the reward applies to toy guns too.
Morale among school officials and officers greatly improved when
they received feedback that the program was working. Right after
implementing Gun Stoppers, there were no guns found in any of
Charleston’s city schools.