2016 Resolution: Get the HELL Out of Your Silo
As we start the new year, all of us here at The White Hat Syndicate would like to urge you to resolve to do your best in 2016 to climb out of any “silo” in which you may find yourself trapped.
Many of our readers are homeland security professionals, working in one of the myriad homeland security disciplines: the military, public health, critical infrastructure, law enforcement, the fire service, transportation security, and so forth. Most of us are likely experts in our individual fields, having many years of experience at what we do, with daily challenges that test our abilities and cause us to refine and hone our expertise even more.
But the homeland security enterprise transcends my chosen discipline of local law enforcement. In order to be a better homeland security professional, I need to climb out of my silo, throw off the blinders, and develop a broader perspective. That broader perspective can come only from having discussions, debates, and a shared understanding from a close, cross-disciplinary network of professional contacts.
This world-broadening is similar by analogy to what one experiences as a cop moving from the patrol division to the detective bureau: you learn that the criminal justice system is far bigger and far more complex than running a radio car. You see how police are just one element (albeit an important one) in a much broader system; you develop solid contacts with the District Attorney’s Office, judges, probation and parole officers, social workers, mental health professionals, community leaders, and so forth. And all of those experiences make you a better cop, such that when you return to a patrol assignment or get promoted to a new command, you have a much better perspective of your role in the bigger picture.
As homeland security practitioners, it is up to each of us to do our part to have a shared understanding and to learn from our partners who work in other disciplines. Indeed, that can be as simple as a rookie cop on the beat pulling into a local firehouse and having dinner with the engine company, telling stories and learning. It can be more slightly more formal, with the establishment of weekly briefings between various City departments. Or it could even amount to cross-training personnel by sending them to classes in disciplines outside of their expertise to get them exposure to different fields, develop contacts, and begin to look at homeland security issues from new perspectives.
This responsibility to get out of your silo is an individual one; our recommendation is not to sit back and wait for your agency to pull you out of it. Climb out on your own. Go make those contacts. Go seek out that training. Go to that firehouse for dinner. It will make you a better professional, and it will, in turn, make your community even safer.
Here at The Syndicate, our six authors encapsulate this cross-disciplinary partnership. Our backgrounds are legal, fire, environmental health, federal transportation security, and law enforcement. For the past ten weeks, we’ve brought you three new articles every week that were designed to make you think about a problem from a different perspective, and perhaps to learn a little bit from someone who is an expert in a different field within the homeland security enterprise.
If you’d like to start climbing out your silo and don’t know how to take the first step, we would humbly ask you to start by taking a look through this summary list below of what we’ve published since October 26 (and note that many of the articles transcend just one category). Click on something that looks interesting to you and give it a read. And then click on something that you might not know anything about, and give that a read too. And leave us a comment or two while you’re there, and let us know what YOU think.
Happy New Year. We wish you and your families and loved ones all the best in 2016.
Please see below for 29 silo-freeing articles.
Foundational articles:
— The ABCs of Homeland Security: Explore the Seams
— When the Spin is Too Tame: The Dangerous Game of Politics and Homeland Security
Law Enforcement articles:
— Hidden Danger: The Impact of Stress on Cops
— Battling Patrol Complacency in a Post-9/11 Era
— Dirty Dancing: The Tactical Nae Nae and Police Accountability
— Police Recruiting: Time for a Paradigm Shift
— The Sex Police: A Day in the Life of a Vice Cop
— Ten F-ing Things Cops Should Remember
— #LESM: Two-Way Engagement on Social Media
— A Proactive Approach to Mental Wellness for Police Officers Is Desperately Needed
National Security, Ethics, and Accountability articles:
— A Friendly Discourse Over Margaritas at Happy Hour Will Not Placate ICIS
— Gun Violence: There’s No Smoking Gun or Silver Bullet
— Public Safety Drone Use: Policy & Legal Challenges
— Keep Your Drone to Yourself: Balancing Privacy with Surveillance Needs
— Aviation Security: The 34,000-Foot Perspective
— National Security Law: Your Ethics or Mine?
— The Media Threat to Security: Rights Without Accountability?
— Resolutions…But Not the Typical Kind for New Year’s
— The Power of Fashion: The Case for Couture in the Fight Against ISIS
Zach Perron is a lieutenant with the Palo Alto Police Department in California, where he manages public affairs and social media outreach. You can follow him on Twitter: @zpPAPD.
Zach is part of The White Hat Syndicate, a Medium account launched on October 26 that aims to publish thought-provoking articles about cutting-edge homeland security topics. The six authors come from a diverse array of professional and personal backgrounds: legal, fire, environmental health, federal transportation security, and law enforcement.
The Syndicate invites you to engage us in conversation, either here on Medium or via Twitter. We look forward to the discussion.
