Gordon Graham

Risky Ramblings: Risk Management for Public Safety

Gordon Graham has been actively involved in law enforcement since 1973. He spent nearly 10 years as a very active motorcycle officer while also attending Cal State Long Beach to achieve his teaching credential, USC to do his graduate work in Safety and Systems Management with an emphasis on Risk Management, and Western State University to obtain his law degree. In 1982 he was promoted to sergeant and also admitted to the California State Bar and immediately opened his law offices in Los Angeles.

While serving as a field sergeant, he started to combine his legal education and experience along with his graduate education in Risk Management to develop processes designed to improve the quality of law enforcement. His early work included developing the “Five Pillars of Success” – which today serves as the foundation of Lexipol. Additionally, he was instrumental in developing the Drug Recognition Expert program and the “daily training bulletin” (DTB) concept. In 1995 he promoted to captain and retired from active duty in 2006.

He regularly serves as an educator and trainer to public safety professionals from around the world. He was the first recipient of the California Governor’s Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement training in 1995, and in 2005 received the “Presidential Award for Excellence” from the International Association of Fire Chiefs for his lifelong work in improving firefighter safety and performance. He is constantly in pursuit of “the next best way” to do things. And most importantly, he has assisted his beautiful wife in raising two great children who have given them great happiness.

Full list of Gordon Graham results

It is only because 'not all the holes in the Swiss Cheese lined up' that I am not dead
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Please understand the problems caused by a lack of sleep and don’t do what I did
First Responder Wellness Week: Gordon Graham explains the vision
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First responders can change the story when it comes to wellness – and it all starts with you!
How to have a healthy lifestyle as a law enforcement officer
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Friends, at the end of the day, your health is largely in your hands. Take some extra time to take care of you
Outreach is more than just a word
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If the first time you meet your community is after a tragedy, it’s too late. Your job is to know your community before you need to know them
Motorist safety: Location of traffic stops
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Use your discretion and consider the situation from the driver’s perspective when you can and when appropriate
Don’t argue with defense attorneys
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The defense attorney isn’t always interested in WHAT you say. Rather they’re more interested in HOW you say it!
5 steps that will improve law enforcement retention
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Departments must be creative, and leaders must be innovative
Insist upon rookie excellence
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Agency leadership needs to trust the judgment of training personnel and deal with small problems before they become big ones
One of the most important officer safety tactics I learned in the police academy
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Fifty years ago I was taught that the right-side approach on a traffic stop is the safest – and that message is just as relevant for recruits today
Reading recommendations on risk management: A roundup of top texts
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Keep this list of top risk management books on hand when planning your next leadership book club
First responder physical health risks: How to detect problems lying in wait
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Take charge of your physical health and wellness so you can identify potential issues and address them before they cause trouble
Reading recommendations on risk management: 4 books to add to your November reading list
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This month's selection focuses on the "why" behind tragedies and the lessons public safety can take from other professions
What do you want your legacy in policing to be?
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Your legacy doesn’t evolve through want or desire – it evolves from what you do
Reading recommendations on risk management: 4 books to add to your October reading list
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This month's selection focuses on why organizations must adapt in order to thrive, which may never have been more critical for law enforcement
Reading recommendations on risk management: 3 books to add to your September reading list
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This month's selection deals with how humans behave in the face of great risk, and what we can do to improve our chances of survival
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