Enforcing Character
by NITA BIRMINGHAM AND BO PETERSEN
Of The Post and Courier Staff
Dorchester County sheriff lauds benefits of required training program
Dorchester County Sheriff Ray Nash knew when he introduced character training to his department on his first day as sheriff that "we were probably looked upon as being oddball."
Seven years later and facing re-election, Nash says character education at his agency has improved morale, reduced citizen complaints, produced fewer internal affairs investigations and led to a drop in crime.
Statistics on seven major crimes tracked by the State Law Enforcement Division show the per capita crime rate in Dorchester County has dropped from a high of 30 per 1,000 residents in 1996, the year before Nash took office, to 21.7 per 1,000 residents in 2002, the latest year for which figures are available.
Nash said the department doesn't keep statistics on complaints and internal investigations, but he's convinced there are fewer of both.
Mandatory character training in law enforcement "is a little unconventional, but anything that is going to make a department more honest, more ethical (with) higher morale ... I think no one is going to complain, and everyone is going to be behind that," said Geoffrey Alpert, chairman of the Department of Criminology and
Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina. If Nash has a happy department, "he's going to be a very popular sheriff," Alpert said.
Dorchester County Sheriff's Office employees, civilians and deputies are required to attend character briefings, at which they receive educational booklets and talk about one of 49 character qualities. The qualities, such as deference, faith and obedience, are part of the "Character First!" program created by the Character Training Institute in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Nash tailored the "Character First!" training for law enforcement and founded the Police Dynamics Institute, which has an office in Summerville. Nash and the CTI teamed up in 2002 to videotape the sheriff presenting a "Police Dynamics" seminar in Oklahoma. Nash and the CTI are the only distributors of the videos.
The 10 videotapes are divided into two series that tout "character-based principles for effective law enforcement." Topics in the first series are the dynamics of coactivity (a word Nash says he created), character, authority, restoration, strongholds and relationships. The second series is the dynamics of discretion, compliance, jurisdiction and expectations.
In a brief introduction at the beginning of the first tape in the series, Nash, sitting on the edge of a table with an American flag as a backdrop, says why he founded the Police Dynamics Institute.
"When one of my own shot and killed his girlfriend and then took his own life, I began to wonder if something was missing. Were there principles being violated that led to the destruction of lives and the undermining of the public's trust and the ineffectiveness of traditional police practices?"
Nash describes "Police Dynamics" as a program with character-based principles designed to give law enforcement the "power to fight crime and protect our officers from the destructive influences of this lifestyle."
Nash tells stories, many humorous, about his own law enforcement experiences and even his family life as he talks about character. In one analogy, he says law enforcement is the one wheel that makes a car move forward. When the car gets stuck or the road gets rough, "we're just spinning our wheels," he says. It takes four-wheel drive, or all aspects of the community, to pull the car forward, he says.
Nash recites maxims and enumerates goals and strategies as he paces in front of an audience. He emphasizes his words with hand gestures and repeats phrases such as, "If all you do is lock people up for violating the law ... you will never solve the problem of crime."
The "Police Dynamics" program is a one-time presentation. The "Character First!" training is ongoing. Dorchester County sheriff's employees have character training 11 months of the year, taking December off. It takes years to go through the series of 49 "Character First!" qualities.
Nash arranged interviews about the "Character First!" program for The Post and Courier with two veteran and two newer deputies. He also encouraged a reporter who attended a character briefing to talk to employees about the program. None complained about Nash's emphasis on character or the mandatory briefings, even though it meant they gave up several hours on days off. Deputies Randy Botten and James O'Dell, who have worked for other law enforcement agencies, said the character training enhanced their own moral standards.
Botten considers it a bulwark against the decay of society.
He said some of his law enforcement buddies mistakenly thought Nash was holding monthly prayer meetings, but the character briefings only begin with a prayer if the chaplain leads the session.
Botten said he believes the briefings have been unfairly labeled as prayer meetings because Nash is a Christian.
"I think the people outside the agency, their biggest gripe is they have a Christian in office," Botten said.
O'Dell said he wouldn't care if prayer were a regular part of the briefings.
"Who cares if the sheriff wants to sing Kumbayah?" asked O'Dell.
Nash said deputies respond positively to the sessions.
"I don't think anybody here feels forced. If they did, I don't think they'd be here," Nash said.
Nash said he had a turnover rate of about 50 percent his first year in office. The agency since then has gone through a 14-month period with no turnover, which is unheard of in law enforcement, Nash said.
Nash broke his officers into four groups when describing their receptiveness to the program: people who "turn and go," people who go along but disdain it, people who buy into it, and people who find it confirms their beliefs.
Deputies who try to just go along may find themselves in trouble but not because they don't really buy into the program, according to Nash.
"Bad character or a bad attitude, sooner or later that person is going to expose himself in some way, and disciplinary action is going to have to be taken," Nash said.
Though no deputy has ever refused to participate, anyone who might object would be counseled. If that didn't persuade them, disciplinary action might be taken, including firing, Nash said.
Nash believes in his program. "It is catching on like wildfire."
Goose Creek Police Chief Harvey Becker, who introduced his officers to the character program in June 1997, said it helps build trust between police officers and the community.
"If someone witnesses a crime and they don't trust the police ... crime is going to flourish or go unchecked. If the citizens trust and have confidence in their police, then they're going to call all the time about anything and everything," Becker said.
That kind of a relationship can have an effect on crime, Alpert said. Nash points to the reduction in crime as an indication the emphasis on character works.
Several deputies acknowledged it's difficult to draw a direct correlation between the two but said the training impacts the way they interact with people on the street.
Deputy Trey Wade, a former St. George police officer, said the positive attitude encouraged by character training can improve the morale of the people in the community.
"Just because I have a good attitude doesn't mean it's going to stop that dude from selling dope," Wade said, "but he's not going to feel comfortable living here."
This article first appeared in the Charleston Post and Courier and is reprinted here with permission. It has been edited for length.