Most police departments have the right intentions — detailed policies, emergency plans and training calendars meant to cover every scenario. But readiness on paper doesn’t always hold up when stress, fatigue or split-second decisions take over.
That’s where the cracks show. A thin shift means one less officer when seconds count. A missed wellness check becomes a safety risk. A policy no one’s discussed in six months turns from guidance into guesswork.
Real readiness lives in people, not paperwork. Agencies that build habits through repetition and accountability — not just documentation — are the ones that perform when it matters most.
On the ground
Police1’s What cops want in 2025" survey shows that most officers believe operational risk is rising. Nearly 70% point to a younger, less experienced workforce, and 9 in 10 say limited scenario-based training makes the job more dangerous. That lack of repetition — not the absence of policy — is what officers say puts them most at risk.
In response, agencies are finding ways to turn readiness into muscle memory. Some run short, high-impact drills during roll call. Others pair new officers with experienced mentors or adjust schedules to reduce fatigue. More are connecting readiness to wellness, recognizing that clear thinking depends on recovery as much as repetition.
The takeaway: Readiness isn’t built in annual training cycles — it’s reinforced in daily culture. Departments that treat it as a habit, not a checkbox, are seeing stronger performance and fewer mistakes when it counts.
Leadership and data insights
The numbers tell the story. According to the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), large agencies — those with 250 or more sworn officers — remain just over 5% below their January 2020 staffing levels, despite modest hiring gains. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) reports a similar challenge: on average, agencies have filled only about 91% of their authorized positions, leaving nearly one in 10 officer roles vacant.
That shortage isn’t just about numbers — it’s about leadership. With fewer experienced officers to guide the next generation, gaps in mentorship, supervision and accountability start to widen. Leaders spend more time managing coverage and less time developing people, and that’s where readiness takes the biggest hit.
Agencies that invest early in leadership development — through structured mentoring, realistic scenario training and programs like IACP’s Leadership in Police Organizations — are seeing stronger communication and decision-making under pressure. Readiness starts with people — and leadership is where it takes root.
Action items
To strengthen operational readiness and turn plans into performance, police leaders should take the following steps:
- Test it daily: A five-minute scenario at roll call can keeps skills sharp and can expose communication gaps before they become failures in the field.
- Pair experience with energy: Match new officers with veterans to accelerate judgment and confidence. Cross-generational pairing turns experience into mentorship.
- Protect capacity: Track fatigue, burnout and recovery the same way you track overtime or use of force incidents. Readiness fades when your people are running on empty.
- Audit for execution: Don’t assume the plan works — test it. Short tabletop or live drills involving patrol, dispatch and command make sure everyone knows their role when things go sideways.
- Build leaders early: Train first-line supervisors before they get the stripes. Giving sergeants the tools to lead under stress closes the gap between what’s expected and what happens in the field.
Mission Ready: Every responder, every time
Every agency faces the same challenge: keeping people prepared when the pressure never lets up. From staffing shortfalls and rising risks to evolving technology and public expectations, readiness now depends on more than plans — it depends on people.
Join public safety leaders on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. ET for Lexipol Connect 2025, a virtual conference delivering the insights, tools and strategies to achieve Total Readiness across people, operations and leadership.
Don’t miss the opening keynote, “Readiness Is a Mindset, Not a Moment,” featuring Chief (Ret.) Kristen Ziman of the Aurora (Illinois) Police Department, as she shares how leading through crisis reshaped her approach to leadership, culture and preparedness. Register now for Connect 2025 — and move your agency from reactive to ready.
