1 Introduction “­Until the lion learns how to write, ­ every story ­ will glorify the hunter.” —­African proverb When was the last time you experienced the euphoria of a person telling a good story? Storytelling can be a beneficial part of life and can serve mul- tiple functions. Through stories we share information, relate and preserve personal and communal history, encourage ­ people to take specific actions related to a common goal, entertain ourselves and ­others, and potentially influence the opinions of ­others. At its best, storytelling can help ­people become allies around a common cause or, at its worst, create enemies where ­ there had previously been none. While I was a cadet in the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Acad­emy, I learned that, at its core, policing is primarily about storytelling. One of my acad­emy instructors told us that when we fi­nally began to patrol the mean streets of St. Louis, we had to remember that we all possessed the “magic pen.” ­Because we ­were the officers and the ­people that we would encounter on the streets ­were criminals, what­ever we wrote in our police reports would be believed by the public, prosecuting attorneys, and judges. It was up to us to tell the stories of what happened in our encounters with criminals in such a way that criminals ultimately got what they deserved. ­ After graduating from the acad­emy, I quickly learned that the acad­emy instructor ­ wasn’t the only person who held that philosophy. It was embed- ded in how police work was conducted on a daily basis. During my time patrolling the streets and working in a plainclothes narcotics detail, I saw other officers tell stories that would make most creative writing majors envious. I witnessed officers tell stories that sent innocent, and not-­so-­ innocent, ­people to prison while si­mul­ta­neously turning the officer into a hero to be admired. Ultimately, I learned that if I wanted to survive as an officer and thrive within the system of policing, I would have to sharpen
Previous Page Next Page