The Speaker
Elliot Boyce began his distinguished 33-year career with the New York State Police in 1987. During his tenure, he was appointed to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation as an Investigator, where he was assigned to the Community Narcotics Enforcement Team, working multiple level narcotics cases throughout much of the Central, Southern and Western New York areas, and was cross-designated as a U.S. Customs Officer by the U.S. Department of Treasury.
In 1999, he completed the New York State Police Basic Hate/Bias Criminal Investigations School to become a Bias Crimes Investigator. He has also served as a New York State Police Recruiter to maintain and increase diversity within the ranks of the New York State Police, and has completed Crisis Negotiations School to join the elite group of New York State Police Crisis Negotiators. He was deputized as a Drug Enforcement Agent Task Force Officer to assist with major narcotics investigations.
He has served as an Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Justice at the State University College of New York at Oswego, and was accepted into the distinguished New York State Police Employee Assistance Program and subsequently promoted to Senior Investigator / Director.
Director Boyce earned his Bachelor of Science in Public Justice from the State University of New York at Oswego, a Master’s in Criminal Justice from the School of Criminal Justice at the State University of New York at Albany and a Master’s in Public Administration at Marist College. In 2021, Elliot obtained a Diversity & Inclusion Certification from Cornell University.
The Workshop
“Warriors vs. Guardians”: Recruiting Officers Who Are Suited to the Mission of Policing In Communities Of Color : Thursday, October 10, 2024 01:30P
The concept of police officers as warriors, whether we like it or not, has run through our profession for more than a century. And the institutionalized “wars” on crime, drugs, gangs, and terrorism have greatly contributed to the warrior mentality. Yet, when you ask police officers why they chose to become an officer, most of them say they wanted to help people and help their community. This is consistent with the guardian mindset.
The discussion about reengineering use of force and changing from a warrior to guardian mentality has to be part of a larger discussion about reexamining the role of police in a democratic society, even to the point of how we structure police agencies, beginning with how and who we hire. This module will examine key factors used to determine if a law enforcement candidate is hired by a given agency or department, unquantifiable factors like a perceived attitude, non-traditional interpersonal skills, experimental drug use or undesirable family members, which serve as a catalyst for disqualifying a viable non-traditional or underrepresented candidate, and the practice of “weeding out” viable non-traditional or unrepresented law enforcement candidates using subjective smoke screens to cover the candidates true potential.
This discussion also addresses methods and best practices that can be useful in changing the culture of policing to reflect the guardian mentality that will lead to improved public safety, more effective crime fighting, and the foundation of trust necessary to form a true partnership between the police and the people we serve.