I'm going to be straight with you this week.
LinkedIn keeps telling me that leadership content doesn't land with my followers. The data says stick to technique — commentary driving, hazard perception, instructor development. And honestly, the data isn't wrong. Those posts perform well.
But this newsletter isn't LinkedIn. This is EVOC Insider — and if I'm going to use it for anything, it's to say the things that don't fit into an algorithm.
So here we go.
The Thing Nobody Wants to Address
After Issue 014, the replies started coming in. I wasn't expecting the volume, and I certainly wasn't expecting the weight of what people shared.
One subscriber called it the best issue yet. When I asked why, his answer was simple: “I think it’s the elephant in the room – culture.” In other words, nobody wants to really address it.
He's right. And that's my interpretation too — culture is critical, and it is influenced and road mapped from the top down.
Two more emails followed, and they brought that point home in ways I didn't anticipate.
The first came from an instructor at an agency with a strong, consistent EVO refresher program. By their own account, one of the few doing it right in their region. And yet — a command-level officer engaged in an out-of-policy pursuit, and when it was over, there was no discussion, no accountability, and no consequences.
"I have to navigate being in complete agreement that the commander's actions were wrong, but having zero power to enact change other than making sure our guys know what's expected."
That's not a training problem. That's a culture problem. And it lands squarely in the laps of the people at the top.
"Forget What They Taught You at the Academy"
The second email brought it back even further — all the way to day one.
"Forget what they said and taught at the Academy. I'm going to show you how it's done."
Most of us have either heard those words or know someone who has. That single sentence from an FTO can undo months of careful instruction. And once it takes root, it spreads. Not because officers are bad people, but because culture is contagious.
As that same subscriber wrote: "FTOs should be reinforcing what was taught at the Academy. Supervisors should be reviewing officer behaviours to ensure that policy and training are followed. Management needs to know if policy and training are being complied with. If not — why not?"
And then he asked the question I haven't been able to shake since:
"Based on conversations at IADLEST, knowledge of policy non-compliance is known. So, what was done?"
I'll let that sit for a moment.
A Story I Can't Let Go Of
In 2010, a law enforcement officer was killed in a line-of-duty collision. The administrative review that followed identified three things that, in hindsight, shouldn't have surprised anyone:
The officer had a reputation for driving everywhere fast. People knew. Nobody said anything.
He wasn't wearing a seatbelt. People knew. Nobody said anything.
He often drove well beyond what the call required. People knew. Nobody said anything.
Three recommendations came out of that review: better training for supervisors, more robust training for field training officers, and a speed management program.
All reasonable. All necessary. All reactive.
What I want to say to everyone reading this is simple: let's not wait for a tragedy to ask for change. That's not leadership — that's aftermath management.
Leading Up
There's a concept taught in the IACP's Leadership in Police Organizations (LPO) program called leading up. The idea is straightforward: you don't need rank to influence change. You need a clear case, the right timing, and the willingness to bring the conversation to the people above you.
One of my subscribers said it better than I could: "A lot of these issues can be resolved simply by having supervisors and managers having meaningful conversations with their staff. And I don't mean heavy-handed. The issue with an officer misunderstanding their sergeant's direction could easily be corrected over a cup of coffee. But a conversation must occur."
That's it. That's the whole thing. A conversation must occur.
For EVO instructors and training coordinators, leading up might look like this:
Documenting near-misses and pattern behaviours before they become collision reports
Presenting data — not complaints — to supervisors who don't know what they don't know
Proposing a supervisor-specific driver training day and making the case for why it fills a gap that general EVO training doesn't
Having the cup of coffee
I've written about some of this more directly in a piece for PoliceOne. (link below)
What Supervisor Training Actually Does
After that 2010 tragedy, we built a supervisor-specific course within our Police Vehicle Operations program. It's become one of the best courses we offer.
Here's why it works: road sergeants bring their own experiences into the room. They're not sitting there as students — they're sitting there as practitioners. What the course does is deepen their understanding of the training their officers are receiving, the organizational directives they're operating under, and the decision points that exist before a pursuit becomes a pursuit.
We use it to empower supervisors to be proactive — to set expectations before their officers arrive at the call, not after the collision report is filed.
This Is Bigger Than EVO
I want to say something directly to every EVO instructor reading this.
You are not just a driving instructor. You are a leader within your organization whether you have been given that title or not. The moment you stepped into that role — the moment you accepted responsibility for putting officers behind the wheel and sending them out onto the road — you accepted a leadership obligation that goes beyond the cone course and the classroom.
That means speaking up when culture is working against safety. It means documenting what you see. It means proposing the supervisor course, making the case for the refresher program, and yes — having the uncomfortable conversation with the person above you when policy and practice have drifted apart.
It won't always land. I know that. Some of you are navigating organizations where the gap between what is trained and what is tolerated is wide enough to drive a cruiser through. That's a hard place to stand.
But as one subscriber reminded me this week — the issue goes well beyond EVO. And so does our responsibility.
The elephant in the room doesn't move itself.
Does your organization have a course dedicated to supervisors for driver training and pursuit management?
Hit reply and tell me. I read every one.
— Hugh
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Hugh Anderson EVOC Trainer | Author of Emergency Vehicle Operation Instruction: 5 Steps to Enhancing Your EVOC Training Grab the book on Amazon