It’s 3 a.m., and all the local bars are shutting down for the night. The weather is slightly warmer than usual for a Saturday night, so bar patrons are lingering in the immediate area. Your shift is already operating with limited staffing due to sick-outs and vacations. You’re the only supervisor on the road.
Suddenly, a “shots fired” call comes in near the local bars. Then a second call and a third: A person has been shot. As the only road supervisor, you respond immediately.
In that split second, you must decide the next course of action. You begin thinking about rendering aid to the victim, locating the suspect, finding the weapon, preserving the crime scene, controlling the crowd, making notifications and, most importantly, keeping your officers and the community safe.
Working the “graveyard” shift is different. There are fewer supervisors, fewer resources and hardly any administrators. Most nights, the shift is managed by a lieutenant or sergeant. The workload is different, and just about anything can happen. Local bars are closing, which means intoxicated patrons are lingering outside and slowly making their way home. Add a vehicle to the equation, and you have a 4,000-pound weapon.
Despite these different operating conditions, most agencies treat it as just another shift. The reality is that it’s not.
The reality of a midnight tour
Violent incidents occur with less warning and escalate quickly. Weapons are more likely to be involved. Robberies, burglaries, stolen vehicles and bar-related disturbances become more apparent overnight. With fewer personnel available, situations can spiral out of control quickly if they are not managed early.
Specialized units, such as a traffic division, may not be available. What happens if there is a five-vehicle crash with injuries? Your likely backup is your adjoining post car or road supervisor. What if there is a large fight outside a bar? Does your organization have enough personnel working to establish a command presence? With the exception of larger police organizations, most investigative personnel do not work past 2 or 3 a.m. Some agencies do not even have detectives working on weekends.
Decisions fall on the officers and sergeants patrolling the streets. There is little room for delay, less room for error and a responsibility that outweighs most professions.
Early in my career, while working the midnight shift, I quickly realized it was very different from days or evenings. The calls were different and unpredictable. The community was different. You either adjusted quickly or fell behind.
The impact of fatigue and exhaustion
The midnight shift also brings a physiological challenge because officers are working against their natural sleep cycle. Failure to address these challenges can have disastrous effects on an officer’s judgment, reaction time, report writing and recollection of case law and statutes germane to the profession.
Over time, these challenges can affect an officer’s personal life, directly impacting family, friends and loved ones. On the midnight shift, these effects matter. Initially, the observations should come from shift supervisors, who are out there working alongside their officers. It is their responsibility to determine whether one of their subordinates is having difficulty working the midnight shift. Administrators need to be aware of these issues and take a proactive stance in acknowledging their employees’ concerns. Knowing when to intervene is vital to the health and safety of your organization.
Fatigue directly affects a person’s decision-making. Imagine being a patrol officer who has been responding to calls for service for the entire shift. As the shift nears its completion, the officer may miss subtle behavioral cues during a motor vehicle stop or field interview. These missed cues can have disastrous consequences.
Avoiding the leadership vacuum
Visible leadership on the midnight shift does not always include a member of the command staff, such as a captain or above. Chiefs, deputy chiefs and inspectors are typically off duty while their midnight shift is out there keeping the community safe. This leaves first-line supervisors to sink or swim. Many rise to the challenge because they genuinely care about their team, often using the time to train their subordinates in case law, departmental rules and regulations, patrol tactics and interdiction.
While some leaders excel, others default to passive supervision. The supervisors are physically present, but they seem distracted. Guidance and mentoring are lacking, and officers’ behavior may change. Normative conformity suggests that an officer aligns their behavior with that of their colleagues. It may not be the officer’s intent to follow their leader, but over time, the theory suggests they will.
Passive leadership cannot be the norm on a midnight shift. Supervisors who lead reactively will not observe behaviors on the street or be aware of performance issues. The opportunity to address these concerns in real time will never present itself. By the time an issue is identified, it may be too late to take action. Minor issues or complaints that the shift command could have handled often end up in internal affairs because supervisors failed to address them early. By that time, the opportunity to mentor and correct has passed. Blame often falls on the supervisor’s shoulders, leading to disciplinary action for failure to supervise.
What does great leadership look like after dark?
Supervisors on the midnight shift are visible. Patrol officers know they are there for guidance when needed, but not for micromanagement. A supervisor’s presence alone alters behavior for both the officer and the public. Supervisors engage in real-time scenarios. They show up to certain scenes, ask questions, provide feedback and debrief after an incident. A good leader is aware of problem areas, knows the current BOLOs and communicates what the administration expects. The team is prepared and equipped with the latest information to perform its job safely and successfully.
Great leaders can identify specific calls that can be used for future training. Not every mishap should result in disciplinary action. Instead, a good leader can make the team better by identifying concerns, correcting mistakes and providing feedback, which in turn will build confidence. Tools such as body-worn cameras can be used to identify trends, address issues early and prevent small problems from escalating.
Many supervisors fail to monitor their team’s fatigue. Communication between first-line supervisors and their subordinates is vital to overcoming this problem. The supervisor who is always hiding in the office, out sick, away at training or constantly off becomes an absent leader. Leaders who are involved and present often succeed in our profession.
Ignorance is bliss. Leaders who fail to confront problem officers often find themselves in the middle of lawsuits and internal strife. Ignoring clear patterns may cause your peers to question your leadership skills. In turn, this will cause your team to have less confidence in your ability to manage the shift. Passive supervision creates passive policing.
Midnight morale
Those who work the midnight shift often feel overlooked and underappreciated. They have less interaction with command staff and administrators. They are out there on their own, making decisions, sometimes with no assistance. Over time, this can lead to disengagement.
Great organizations acknowledge the shift’s good work, offer training when appropriate and show empathy when issues arise. Small gestures go a long way for those working the graveyard shift. Supervisors who show up to a lineup with a poor attitude will often experience the same demeanor in return.
Celebrating birthdays and major life events at work is a great way to build morale. A simple, kind act can speak volumes about how a great leader manages a shift. Offer advice, training updates and proactive policing strategies during roll call, drawing on scholarly articles or videos. Solicit feedback and suggestions from your subordinates. You may be surprised by what you hear. Never assume that you are the smartest person in the room simply because of your rank.
Final thoughts
The midnight tour is not like any other shift. Policing can be at its most unpredictable and dangerous during the overnight hours. A great leader can mold, mentor and motivate officers to become well-rounded professionals. The midnight tour exposes leadership weaknesses faster than any other shift. Effective supervisors will often reflect on their leadership and always seek ways to improve.
Good midnight tour supervisors do more than manage calls for service and complete paperwork. They identify problems early, improve morale and set the tone for how the street operates when nobody else is around. On the midnight shift, leadership is not optional.
