1. INTRO As a PR practitioner for this Police Department, I would address the outrage regarding the revelations shown in this video in several ways. I consider this a very serious ordeal that needs to be handled very carefully. The Police force is supposed to be looking out for the people’s best interest, however many of the male officers have adapted to behaviors that are in their best interest only. Quiz 2 By: Matt Herrmann

2. SITUATION Nina Hobson, an experienced policewoman in Britain, spent four months filming undercover to expose the sexism that is present in the British police force. Her behind-the-scenes footage and access to officers has exposed the public to sexism, bullying, and an overall disturbing lack of respect for not only women officers, but the general public as well. The shocking footage unmasks everything from police departments allowing the display of soft porn, to officers neglecting their street duties in exchange for watching dvds. Without a doubt, Nina Hobson’s footage is a very serious ordeal that exposes the harsh realities of the British police force. It is a male dominated, irresponsible, and sexist vocation that risks the well-being of female officers and the care for members of the public. The four months of undercover footage documented by Nina poses a serious threat to Britain’s police force. As the PR practitioner for this police department, I must concentrate my efforts on “cleaning up” the inefficiencies and injustices displayed in the video, and regain the honesty and integrity that police officers must possess. The people of Britain are paying for their hard-earned money to these, so called, “peace-keepers.” However, as this footage shows, they are everything but that. I must show the people that we are devoted to the same principles that the police forces were once founded on.

3. OBJECTIVES This PR campaign calls for both motivational and informational objectives. Through this program, we hope to change the attitudes and influence the behavior of the public, media, and employees. Our first objective is to halt the trend of negative news coverage over of the British police force. The second objective is to better employee ethics and behavior. The final objective is to regain the trust and support from the public.

4. AUDIENCE This PR program is directed specifically towards members of the public, the media, and any officer that has been a victim of the harassment and disrespect present in the police force. Our main intent is to change the attitudes that disgruntled members of the public have towards British police officers. We will reach out in multiple languages in order to gain control of the flow of opinion. The large immigrant niche in our community is included as targeted members of our audience even though they may be misinformed or have no prior opinions in the first place.

5. STRATEGY The strategy of this PR program will describe the guidelines and methods of achievement for our objectives. Our strategies can be summarized as the following: (1) The first strategy is to convert our audience’s feelings of anger and distrust into feelings of contentedness and satisfaction. (2) The second strategy is to make officers feel an added responsibility for their actions and the well-being of civilians. (3) The final strategy will be to stimulate ongoing coverage that sheds positive light on the promise of safety and security by Britain’s police officers.

6. TACTICS The tactics of our PR program will use tools of communication that reach our target audiences. Each of strategies is supported by the following specific tactics. Our first strategy, which is to change the feelings of our audience into contentedness and satisfaction, will be achieved in a number of ways. In order to do this, however, it is imperative that I address two important issues: Source Credibility and Cognitive Dissonance. Source Credibility is the audience’s perception of the source. This could be positive or negative. In order for the audience to trust me and the message of our PR program, we will hire an outside consulting firm to review our information, make observations, and give us input and suggestions that will remove all sexism and irresponsible behavior in the British task force. This consulting firm will give us the knowledgeable, expert voice needed to achieve full source credibility. In regards to cognitive dissonance, I hope to remove it by introducing a flood of information about sexism in the office and corporate world. Our new zero-tolerance stance will help educate the public, as well proving to them we won’t accept any form of sexism in the work place. We will overcome people’s predispositions by not only eliminating sexism in our office, but also advocating the elimination of it everywhere. We also plan to rid of people’s predispositions that cops are dishonest and violent through a program we will call, “People First.” This program will require cops to volunteer in the community and give free speeches at schools, offices, and other places. Furthermore, they will be active in the community through sponsoring festivals and events in which the officers all officers are at hand to meet and greet civilians. This will change people’s perceptions of the officers being rude and disconcerted members of the community.

7. TACTICS CONTINUED In regards to the second strategy, the British police force will implement a new system of checks and balances that will affect an officer’s yearly review. This system will ensure that all incidents are reported and that all paper work is properly filled out. There will be no short cuts and every cop will be supervised every second they are on the clock. Supervision will include the use of cameras in the office and in the squad cars, as well as the use of unannounced, routine checks by government workers. All officers will also be required to sign a contract that states that any misconduct or violation will result in the immediate removal from the task force. The final strategy will be achieved by releasing a VNR on the local news and national news. This VNR will show the renovation process that has occurred in the British police force, including the hiring of a consulting firm and the addition of cameras in stations and cars. We will also publish the new officer code of conduct and contract in local and national papers. Furthermore, publications will be released with copies of the contract and code of conduct in non-English speaking newspapers that will accommodate the large, immigrant communities in Britain. This will help overcome the flow of opinion issue mentioned earlier

8. TACTICS CONTINUED Another issue of importance is the suggestions for action. This simply means that most people in the community may ignore this PR campaign because they feel that it will have little or no effect in regards to changing the behaviors of officers. I feel, though, that this PR campaign is very proactive and that it’s nearly impossible to choose to ignore the change in the officer’s behaviors. This PR campaign will not only help “clean up” the negativity surrounding Britain’s police force, but it will address major internal issues that need to be revamped. Issues such as reporting incidents properly and actually being in the right place while on the clock will be monitored. There are no loopholes in the system anymore, and people will have no option but to buy into Britain’s new police force.

9. TIMETABLE It is imperative that we immediately change the perceptions the general public has about police officers. If not, we are vulnerable to even more negative press and disrespect from the citizens. With that being said, we must implement our strategies now! The “People First” program will begin immediately with officers volunteering their time at various community events and schools. They will do everything from give motivational speeches to children, to organizing free fish and chip picnics at a local park. We feel this is the quickest way to offset the negative press swirling around the British police stations. We will also hire a consulting firm to start their research immediately, with the hopes of having a finalized checks and balances system in place by the first of the year. The officers will also be required to sign the “no-tolerance” contract immediately, so that we can publish it in the various newspapers and magazines in Britain. The final phase of our program, which is the VNR (Video News Release), will be shown at the end of the winter when the consulting firm has finished their research and everything is finalized. The initial VNR will be followed up by a second VNR at the start of the summer which shows the success of the program to this point. We feel it is critical to flood the press with positive stories that show our efforts to revamping the British police force.

10. BUDGET We estimate this PR campaign to cost about $600,000, including the consulting firm fee and out-of-pocket expenses. We estimate the office management consulting firm will cost an upwards of $400,000, and then an additional $200,000 for the “People First” campaign, the production cost of the 2 VNR’s, and the installment of cameras in each of the offices and squad cars. After the program is complete, we anticipate a small margin between the estimated expenses and actual expenses.

11. METHOD OF EVALUATION In order to measure our first objective, which is to stop the negative news coverage of the British police force, we must take into consideration all aspects of the media. We will monitor on-line news stories, television segments, newspaper and magazine articles from the start of the PR campaign until a month after the second VNR has been shown. We anticipate a decline in the negative news stories and an increase in the positive accounts of what the British police force is doing. The second objective, which was to better the ethics and behavior of the police officers, will be measured through the installment of video cameras in squad cars and in the office. We can also measure this through the new supervision system of checks and balances. For example, if there is a large number of officers that have been dismissed from the service, then we know the consulting firm and the PR program did not have a strong internal effect. If no officers have been dispelled, then we know that there has been a strong effect. Finally, we can measure if the public has regained their trust and support for officers through the number of “free” appearances officers make and the attendance of the police-sponsored events. We will also conduct a convenient survey at street corners and by the phone. The survey will be in multiple languages to overcome any possible language barrier. The questions on the survey will relate to the public’s opinion of the new, revamped police officers. We can also use the survey to determine if there have been any incidents in which an officer has violated the new code of conduct. This will give us a good perspective on how effective the PR program has been.