Detective Sergeant Mark Bolender attended the new FBI-LEEDA course "5 Star Chief Executive Institute." The course was split over 2 weeks, the first week "Blue Week" and the second "Gold Week." His class was only the 2nd to ever graduate "Gold Week," as the program was a brand-new offering from FBI-LEEDA. His classmates (12 in total) were Sergeants from Marple Township and Gettysburg, the Chester County Deputy County Administrator, a Major from Chester County Prison, the Chief and Lieutenant from Limerick Township, Captains from Trenton, a Lieutenant from the Maryland State Police and the Lieutenant from District Heights in Maryland.

The format was open discussion and class participation designed to focus on the chief, and senior command, perspective in an agency and was developed by FBI-LEEDA as the next step after completing their Trilogy. As with all FBI-LEEDA courses, the instructors are not only very knowledgeable and engaging, but they also moderated the class discussion to bring out the vast amount of work/ life experience and expertise we all had to share.

The topics covered included:

Blue Week
New Chief, Now What?
Organizational Structure, Protocol, Order, and Discipline Trends
Internal and External Engagement
Managing Across Generational Team Members
Public Official Engagement
Public Private Partnerships
Crisis Communications
Effective Communication Strategies
Leadership Integrity

Gold Week
Understanding Police Liability
Policy and Compliance Management
Liability Management
Line of Duty: Injuries and Deaths
Public Safety Wellness
Budget Administration
International Public Safety Impact
AI and Intelligence Led Policing
Introduction to Public Safety and Technology

We are proud to recognize the continued leadership skills Det Sgt Bolender remains committed to!