Michael Goold: Rancho Cordova, California (RET.) Chief Of Police

Dr. Michael Goold spent twenty-three years with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, where he retired as a Captain, then moved over to become the Chief of Police at the Rancho Cordova Police Department.  

Dr. Goold understands the stress associated with a career in law enforcement.  So much so, in fact, his PhD thesis centered on the concept on “Compassion Fatigue.”  A drive down Main St. in America’s communities is different for police officers.  They see it different.  The average community member sees houses, stores, restaurants, and people.  A police officer sees crime scenes, victimization, and despair.  This is not a healthy or sustainable outlook.  It is one of the reasons Michael took career turn after retiring.  He wanted to learn more and understand the toll this is taking so he can be proactive in helping our officers and communities.

What happens in communities where police departments are understaffed and overworked?  What is the effect on public safety when cops are tired, worn out, and not afforded sufficient time off to adequately recover?  There is a large social experiment underway that is testing this question.  Time will tell.

We had an interesting conversation about the root causes of policing issues.  History tends to repeat itself, and cycles of police mistrust in communities is not a new problem.  How police departments manage the staffing and trust issues today will have impacts, positive or negative, on the next generation of police departments.  

One way to be proactive is to ensure we are using modern science and methods to ensure we are hiring and training our officers in the best way possible.  The concept of Emotional Intelligence is not necessarily new, but there are new methods emerging to ensure we training higher levels of compassion and empathy for others, and oneself, as we move forward.

Policing is the business of people.  Jump in on this conversation to learn more about Dr. Michael Goold’s approach to helping officers and communities understand the challenges and how we can all improve by looking inward and understand ourselves before we try to help others.

You can watch this podcast on our YouTube channel by clicking here.