The Dispatch | Vol. 4, No. 4, October 2022

The Indelible Link Between Workplace Equity and Wellness

Norman E. Taylor
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being

Earlier this month the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) successfully executed its first ever Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Conference. This coming March, another national conference will occur in Ottawa titled the Canadian Policing Wellness Check. The EDI event experienced several delays and postponements due to the conditions of the past three years, and full credit goes to the EDI Committee members for staying the course. Their hard work and commitment was well reflected in a lively and compassionate two-day event that spanned critical topics, and one which may well have managed to normalize fulsome EDI conversations in policing more than ever before. The genesis of the upcoming wellness-focused event derived from the pandemic to be sure, but also from the intensifying pressures on police employees resulting from diminishing levels of trust, both internal and external.

As it happens, the close alignment of these two events could not have been better timed.

In my role as Design Lead and Moderator for the upcoming conference, I was on hand at EDI to trace this alignment, and to ensure that themes emerging from one event might help to inform our focus for the other. In fact, as it turned out, there were many times during the two days that I had to remind myself which conference I was currently attending, so evident were the words “wellness” and “unwellness” in virtually all of the presentations and panel discussions.

Early in the proceedings, and perhaps with little surprise, the negative and stressful effects of both real and perceived exclusionary behaviours and systemic barriers were clearly exposed, initially with an emphasis on such effects as experienced by so-called equity-seeking groups, within a prevailing culture that is still dominantly straight, white and male in its origins.

However, as discussions continued, and as more and more openness and candor were achieved among the delegates and speakers alike, the less-often discussed counterpoint to these still too-common experiences kind of crept into the room. I am speaking of the stressful and disorienting effects being experienced by many among that more normative and formative white male culture itself. In one presentation, research was shown in the form of survey results, and one statistic almost initially drifted past us all. According to this survey, approximately 30% of respondents indicated that in their own perceptions, the rising focus on diversity and equity programs in policing is detrimental to their promotional opportunities. This, when combined with other results discussed, was evidently linked to the increase of personal stressors and career dissonance, and it may be contributing more than we know to a corresponding decrease in the general morale among police employees.

In my own view, the significance of this cannot be overstated. Throughout much of the arc of workplace EDI conversations since the 1980’s, there has been a presumption that as social diversity has advanced in Canada, it has brought with it the apparent winners and losers, the advantaged and the disadvantaged, those who hold the ground and those that seek to gain the ground. Tensions that are escalating in broader society and recent political discourse unfortunately continue to reflect this flawed precept, undermining the wellness of our communities. Similarly, in any workplace culture that fails to fully understand what diversity really means, there can be no winners, and everyone’s wellness is at stake.

This underscores the legitimacy and urgency felt by those whose efforts must continue toward more equitable treatment, opportunity and respect, efforts we must all support, protect and amplify. It also means we may need to undertake similar efforts to address any misunderstanding and dissonance that such change might be manifesting among those whose career expectations might have been shaped by different times and traditions, whether fairly so or otherwise.

Policing does not have the luxury of ignoring or delaying social change within its own ranks, nor in its relationships with and its reflections of the communities it is duty bound to serve. As such, we cannot and should not in any way deter the full embrace and deployment of diverse experience, perspective and talent.

If any of our employees are hurting from this reality, we must find ways to stop the hurt. I plan to explore this further in my upcoming year-end editorial in the Journal. I would also welcome thoughts and emerging works on this from other contributors in the weeks and months ahead.

Impact of Special Issues with the JCSWB

Special issues are an important part of the Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being and bring together a group of experts to address a trending topic. It is an excellent way to explore a particular theme, review previously unaddressed issues, and even propose or develop brand new approaches to a topic. A special issue can also inspire new ideas for research.

Special issues are led by Guest Editors, who are operating at the forefront of their field, helping to advance the knowledge of community safety and well-being. Guest Editors have a wide network of potential authors and reviewers and can attract top articles for special issues.

Why publish a special issue with us?

First and foremost, there is unparalleled visibility. Not only do special issues benefit from inclusion in important databases like, Google Scholar, Crossref, and EBSCOhost, but exposure is also increased by targeted promotion throughout the publication lifecycle, including pre- and post-publication through the Journal’s social media channels, The Dispatch, and banner advertisements on the Journal’s website.

Secondly, special issues have impact. Our most recent special issue, Envisaging Healthy and Safe Communities: Worldwide Lessons in Police and Public Health Partnerships, has been viewed 20% more often than regular issues.

Furthermore, the Journal of CSWB has a wide readership with the journal site being visited by users from 168 countries.

There is no better way to increase your visibility, and the visibility of your work, than to publish a special issue with the Journal of CSWB. Not only will you be able to reach a much larger audience, but you will also be collaborating with other experts in the field and starting important conversations that can advance knowledge in CSWB.

Be sure to check out our special issue focused on ‘wellness’ within the policing sector coming February, 2023.

Do you have an idea for a special issue? Contact our publishing team for more information.

In Canada and elsewhere, significant shifts are taking place in how community safety and well-being-related services are organized and delivered. Underpinning this is a growing understanding that many of the complex social issues the police and other human service providers respond to require integrated, multi-disciplinary responses to achieve positive, sustainable outcomes. The limitations of more traditional siloed approaches continue to be exposed.

The Journal has played a significant role in this movement. Launched in 2016 as CSKA’s flagship communications vehicle, the Journal set out to provide an open source channel to generate new evidence and knowledge to engage and inform professional practitioners, leaders and policy makers across the CSWB spectrum.

How timely that turned out to be! The many challenges presented our societies over the past 3 years alone serve to underscore the importance a continuous flow of new knowledge to feed and inspire new innovations and system changes as pioneers collaborate to shape the future of community safety and well-being service delivery.

Since its inception, the Journal has turned out over 200 quality articles and papers, contributed by over 300 authors. Its articles have been downloaded over 335,000 times, with readership spanning the globe.

Just as it takes a village to raise a child, so too does it take a combined effort to launch and grow a journal of this nature. There are many to whom we owe a debt of gratitude.

So, on behalf of all of us at CSKA, thanks to each of you for your contributions in the Journal’s continued success. We look forward to the coming 7 years and beyond.

Cal Corley, MBA
CEO, Community Safety Knowledge Alliance

Have you had the chance to read our September 2022 issue? To view the Table of Contents and articles from this issue, please visit:
https://www.journalcswb.ca/index.php/cswb/issue/view/28

Highlights from this issue include:

Reducing mental health stigma with supportive leadership and the right message
[Editorial]
Paul Rinkoff

Enhancing resilience: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of The Awe Project
[Original Research]
Jeff Thompson

A meta-analysis of the impact of community policing on crime reduction
[Original Research]
Niyazi Ekici, Huseyin Akdogan, Robert Kelly, Sebahattin Gultekin

The agony of proposing system-wide change
[Social Innovation Narrative]
Cherri Greeno, Kim Nicholson, Roshan Pinto, Michael Williams

Check out our Top 3 most read articles for the Journal of CSWB based on the number of full text views and downloads recorded on our website from July 1 – September 30, 2022. Click here to view other articles from our archives.

Policing of sex work in South Africa: The positive policing partnership approach
(2,031 Views)
Donna Maree Evans, Marlise L. Richter, Munyaradazi I. Katumba
Vol 4, No 4 (2019)

COVID-19 and the impact on police services
(1,807 Views)
Shahin Mehdizadeh, Katy Kamkar
Vol 5, No. 2 (2020)

Mental health and well-being of police in a health pandemic: Critical issues for police leaders in a post-COVID-19 environment
(727 Views)
Jacqueline M. Drew, Sherri Martin
Vol. 5 No. 2 (2020)

The Journal is proud to have partnerships with key organizations within Canada and globally, which are designed to increase awareness for our respective activities. As such, we are pleased to share and highlight relevant information from our partners to our Journal community.

New CPKN Program: The Canadian Credible Leadership Cohort

In response to a critical need for leadership training, CPKN has collaborated with subject matter experts to create the Canadian Credible Leadership Cohort. This cohort-based virtual program pairs independent study with facilitated workshops to provide a unique learning experience. Based on input from more than 50 pilot participants, this 6-month program is designed to be:

• Customizable: Facilitate in-house or use CPKN’s national model
• Flexible: Review anytime and anywhere
• Credible: Informed by public safety and emotional intelligence research
• Inclusive: Available to all sworn and civilian members
• Accountable: Includes assignments, knowledge checks, and key milestones
• Interactive: Group engagement to discuss skills learned and practiced
• Cost-effective: One-time fee; no hidden costs
• Networked: Connect with members throughout the leadership journey

Use the cohort program as a stand-alone offering or as part of a larger suite of leadership tools. The first cohort will launch soon! Reach out to randy.cameron@cpkn.ca for more information.

The first week of November is Ontario’s Crime Prevention Week. A growing area of concern when it comes to criminal activities is organized crime. The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police’s Out of the Shadows is a resource document for police personnel, policy-makers, and the general public and includes the facts on:

This powerful resource is available here.

In case you missed it, the Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being has been accepted for inclusion in EBSCOhost. Soon, JCSWB’s content will be more visible and accessible to libraries and researchers worldwide!

EBSCO is the world’s largest intermediary between libraries and publishers, helping to drive awareness of Journal content. Their EBSCOhost databases provide global reach, with tens of thousands of library customers and millions of users throughout the world. The databases receive millions of searches per day through a user-friendly, comprehensive platform for every researcher.

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2022 Resilience Symposium

The 2022 Resilience Symposium: In Awe of Space will take place December 14-15, 2022. The symposium will have space experts from NASA and other organizations from across the world sharing about the great work they are doing and how both resilience and awe supports their work and personal lives. The Journal of CSWB's Editor-in-Chief, Norman E. Taylor will be one of the expert panelists!

Register at www.resiliencesymposium.org. This is a virtual event and registration is FREE.

Follow updates on twitter: @ResilienceSymp.

If you are interested in having your meeting featured in our newsletter, please contact JCSWBCommunity@sgpublishing.ca.