The recent case involving Northants Chief Constable Nick Adderley further contributes to a reduction in public trust and confidence. In this piece I simply aim to refocus on community. By doing so we can help reduce future harms committed by those within policing.
The recent enquiry into former Northamptonshire Chief Constable Nick Adderley and his subsequent dismissal has in these last few days brought out a range of emotions from many serving and retired officers as well as from police staff who thought highly of a Chief Constable who very much wanted to be part of the team.
Adderley who was found to have lied and exaggerated his naval rank, length of service and achievements has been dismissed for gross misconduct. This senior police leader claimed he had reached the rank of lieutenant in the military and that he was a military negotiator in Haiti in the 1980s. As we now know all of which were found to have been false.
It’s clear that Adderley was well liked by many in policing. Comments from officers were many, including – “He was a good boss, I’m shocked”, “Can’t believe it, feel so let down”. There was also many who like me, had seen the other side of Adderley. Invisible in plain sight comes to mind. His ex-wife who felt obligated to report her former husband talked about his character failings.
A few years back I became aware of Adderley through my presence on X (formerly Twitter). He was clearly a leader who wanted to support his staff. That’s good, however the way he engaged with some women on the platform was concerning and, in a way, appeared to defend sexist attitudes. Maybe it’s the way he supported staff that led to the outpouring of comments from those feeling let down. It’s at this time I want all of us to consider something that hasn’t really been discussed by many who feel ‘let down’. Surely, it’s the public that we should be considering first here. This leader has clearly let staff down but it’s the public we need to be focused on. They have been badly let down.
Why do we join the profession of policing? It’s a simple question and probably one that everyone of us has been asked many times in our policing careers. Many of us will have been asked this at our recruitment interview. To be clear we don’t join policing to get rich. When I was asked this question at my selection interview I answered, “To help people”, I meant that. I saw my role as one of helping keep communities safe from violence, a role that helped protect life and a role that sought to help people in need.
Reflecting on my early years in policing I now feel I lost a bit of that loyalty to community, more showing my loyalty to colleagues. I saw this in the comments from officers who felt Adderley had let them down. He did, but first and foremost he let our communities down.
So why must we focus more on our loyalties to our communities? It’s quite simple, and by doing so it will help us address that ever present issue of trust and confidence in policing. Also we will become even more loyal to our colleagues.
As I mention above Adderley’s character was on display way before these current events. A sense of loyalty (blind) to colleagues often stops us from doing the right thing and pointing out the harm. In turn the colleague is harmed (loss of career), the profession is harmed through reduced trust and confidence and our communities are harmed. Adderley’s attempts at being one of the team has contributed to people feeling unable to speak up in these early stages. When we go against the team we risk being seen as disloyal.
As we know loyalty is a strength in policing. When a colleague needs help, what do we do? We go, we help. It’s also a weakness and in my opinion it’s a term that needs clarity in how its defined. In my work I include the following in my definition of loyalty which is the –
- Integrity and ability to do what’s right
- Moral courage to do what is needed, even when it appears scary.
- Have the communities and your colleague’s welfare at centre of what you do.
- Critical loyalty to tell colleague what they need to hear not what they want to hear.
When we look at the term loyalty in the way I discuss, we help motivate officers and staff to act when harm is noticed. That way we remain loyal to colleagues, but we also show loyalty to our communities. Remembers its them we joined to help.
Much research on the science of active bystandership suggests that a sense of responsibility is the biggest motivator that helps people see a need to act. I recently spoke with leading US psychologist Dr Ervin Staub and asked him to clarify what is likely to motivate action on the part of a police officer. He simply said a sense of responsibility. Ervin’s work provides the evidence base that I include in all of my work. What I write about here isn’t so much my view, it’s the science. Over 5 decades of social science research tells us how to help people move from a passive role to an active one.
In the eyes of many within the profession, Adderley has gone from hero to villain. His addition to the list of barred people who can join policing will be causing much sorrow to a man who rose through the ranks to become Chief Constable. When we both redefine loyalty and refocus our loyalties, we present opportunities to prevent these events. By doing so we help stay positive, we take responsibility, and importantly we work to find solutions. Surely this is a good thing for policing and a more productive next step.
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