Miembrojtedhunt

My library reflects my thinking – from the wisdom of Francis Hesselbein and Marshall Goldsmith to Marty Linsky and Barbara Tuchman and onto the meaning of life by Viktor E. Frankl.

After 32 years as a patrol officer for the City of Los Angeles, I retired to a career as a consultant specializing in the transformation (NOT reformation*) of police organizations at the agency, practitioner (labor) and support levels.

* Reformation is finite while Transformation is evolutionary. To reform simply means to “form again.” It is the relatively uncomplex act of making a new and different form. Regardless of effort, the “new form” is often remarkably similar to the “old form,” i.e., the form which was just RE-formed. Additionally, reforming frequently leads to making the same series of errors that drove the demand for reformation in the first place. The problem is that “reformers” don’t go to the root (support structure) of the problems. RE-forming can also lead to unintended consequences which may be more damaging than the original problem.

To transform means to continually move, in this case, across the social spectrum – continually adapting, adjusting and maintaining flexibility to new and varied situations. Consistently transforming organizations releases pressure as it builds so pressure does not concentrate and build up too much physical force. Because energy is constantly released, excessive pressure cannot build up resulting in an uncontrolled explosive discharge of energy.

I firmly believe that most of the problems between the police and our vitally important communities (the specific and special communities which together create the fabric of our greater community) are due to poor leadership. Poor leadership is inseparably linked to poor communications. ( See: Ted Hunt, “Speaking out on why we need to learn to communicate,” IANCICI’s Supportive Stance, vol. II, no.4, July/August 2003, Journal of International Association of Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Certified Instructors, Crisis Prevention Institute, Inc., Brookfield, WI.)

My library reflects that thinking – from the wisdom of Francis Hesselbein and Marshall Goldsmith to Marty Linsky and Barbara Tuchman and onto the meaning of life by Viktor E. Frankl.

Throughout my career, I have sought to improve both education and training for police officers. My history includes having taught 10 years full time at the Los Angeles Police Academy; served an additional nine years as a commissioner on the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training; and inaugurated an annual College Fair for police personnel throughout Southern California.

I was secretary and president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, LAPD’s police association/union; president of the California Coalition of Law Enforcement Associations; on the executive Board of the National Association of Police Organizations; served as a commissioner on the Speaker’s Commission on Police Conduct (California Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson) and as Chair of the California Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board, an appellant tribunal.

My doctorate and master degrees are in Public Administration from the University of La Verne, a small university in the Los Angeles area of California and my bachelor degree is in History from Brigham Young University. My wife and I have eight children and are members of our local Episcopal parish.