|
August 1, 2026 SMIP reaches a milestone with its 100th session
PERF Members, Last week, we wrapped up our 2026 Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP) program, which included our 100th SMIP session. Sessions 100 and 101 graduated a little more than a week ago, with sessions 98 and 99 having run from late May until mid-June.
SMIP session 98.
SMIP session 99. SMIP session 100.
SMIP session 101. It’s taken us 46 years to get to 100 sessions; PERF began hosting SMIP in 1980. Throughout the 1980s, SMIP featured one session of roughly 15–25 attendees per summer. It’s grown a lot since then. In 1995, we expanded to two sessions, each with 45–50 participants. We’ve also changed locations a few times: Those earlier sessions were held at Osgood Hill, an estate in North Andover, Massachusetts; Merrimack College, also in North Andover; and Suffolk University in Boston. We’ve held the program at Boston University for the last 25 years and have gradually expanded over that time. Now, we host approximately 420 attendees across four sessions every summer. Including this year’s participants, almost 8,000 law enforcement executives have attended SMIP.
This summer SMIP marked its 100th session. Session sizes this summer ranged from 101 attendees to 108 attendees. They came in from agencies from around the United States and Canada—including four from the state of Hawai’i, a first for SMIP. Like many SMIP classes, this year’s program included agencies of all types and sizes—police departments, sheriffs’ offices, and state agencies; school and campus police; and airport and transit police. This diverse group of executives included chiefs, command staff members, and senior professional staff, each of whom brought unique perspectives and contributed to lively discussions every day. Over the course of the three-week program, attendees learned from faculty from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University’s Business School and Kennedy School of Government, Johns Hopkins University, Dartmouth College, and the University of Texas at Austin. Some classes addressed leadership topics such as organizational change, managing teams, communication, and ethics. Attendees also learned about artificial intelligence (AI), media relations, police budgeting, and negotiation strategies.
Session 100 attendees participate in group exercises on negotiations. Each year we make minor changes to the program’s curriculum. This year we tweaked our AI class to be more discussion-based, rather than a lecture. This topic will continue to be at the forefront of policing, and we are already hearing that attendees want more on AI. I also had the opportunity to teach a new class this summer titled Eight Lessons About Policing and Life. This class was an opportunity for me to share what I’ve seen and learned about leadership from many of you. A number of chiefs traveled to Boston to participate in the class. I structured it as a town hall–style discussion, so both the chiefs and SMIP attendees shared their perspectives during the three-and-a-half-hour class. We discussed several of the lessons I’ve learned, including concepts from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great. His concept of a “Level 5 leader” resonated with me so much that PERF co-wrote “Good to Great” Policing with Jim Collins. “Good to Great” Policing is available on our website and is given to every SMIP attendee as a pre-class reading assignment. Another highlight for me was participating in session 100’s day at Outward Bound. I usually fly back to Washington, D.C., after each session’s orientation, but I stayed for another day because I wanted to experience Outward Bound for the first time. I’d heard about Outward Bound from the PERF staff who’ve attended and read about everyone’s experiences from the day’s evaluations, but I wanted to actually see what the hype is about. I’d asked my staff to research and incorporate Outward Bound into SMIP in 2024, but I hadn’t participated in the program since the 1990s. I first learned of it when I was working on a project with cops in the NYPD’s 75th Precinct. “The 75” is in East New York, and when I spent some time in that precinct it was one of the most challenging parts of the city—often coming out as a leader in violent crime. The precinct commander was looking for a way to engage with the community. I’d heard of Outward Bound and suggested we take community members and officers to an Outward Bound site in upstate New York. I didn’t know how it would work out. Outward Bound had the two groups work together to complete problem-solving exercises, one of which included teaming up to build a raft and paddling it to the middle of a lake. It pulled everyone out of their comfort zones and forced them to work together. For the first time, everyone saw themselves not as community members or cops but as people who needed one another to complete a risky task. For weeks after the event, the cops and community members talked about their shared experience. It taught me a valuable lesson about getting out of your comfort zone. While the stakes aren’t as high at SMIP, Outward Bound has become an important and popular part of our program.
The Boston skyline as seen from Cathleen Stone Island. In early July, session 100 and I boarded a bus to Boston Harbor and then a boat to Cathleen Stone Island. Once there, I saw session 100 attendees put on climbing gear to climb rock walls and a very challenging high-wire ladder obstacle. Everyone who climbed the high-wire ladder was assisted by belayers and had to work with three other climbers to reach the top. Remarkably, everyone who climbed made it to the top of the obstacle. Even more impressive was the team of four blindfolded climbers who worked together to make it to the top.
Outward Bound attendees participate in blindfolded climbing exercises. Later in the day, I shadowed a group of attendees through exercises facilitated by Outward Bound Professional’s Senior Director of Adult Programs Ellen Harris. Each exercise required attendees to work together to solve problems in a constructive way and was followed by an exercise debrief. The debriefs were some of the most important parts of the day. The conversations were an opportunity for honest discussion, healthy disagreement, learning, and reflection. Importantly, the debriefs also connected the exercises to lessons learned in the SMIP classroom. SMIP attendees participate in an indoor climbing exercise. As luck would have it, the Outward Bound day I observed was only the second time it rained on an SMIP session on the island! It poured the entire day, but one attendee reminded me that overcoming challenges is what working cops face every day. Cops do whatever is asked of them, rain or shine. And the fact that we got soaked made our group that much more cohesive. I watched students in class and then compared them to what I saw at Outward Bound. Students who may have seemed reserved in class demonstrated leadership on the island in helping other students climb up on the bars and overcome other obstacles. It reminded me of Jim Collins’s Level 5 leaders, who face the “brutal facts” and lead with a sense of humility. For the fourth year in a row, we were able to offer scholarships to a few SMIP students. Funding from MacKenzie Scott made these scholarships possible for three deserving attendees:
I want to recognize PERF’s Deputy Director of Executive Development, Matt Harman. Matt has an eye for talent, and his leadership and insights have been the key to developing a faculty that distinguishes itself every year. Each year faculty are carefully evaluated, and Matt isn’t afraid to make changes. Matt is responsible for every aspect of SMIP, and his hard work and attention to detail are outstanding.
Matt Harman. I also want to recognize Dan Alioto, PERF’s Deputy Director of ICAT, who sets aside his hard work on ICAT for the summer and becomes Matt’s wingman. He is a major problem solver and often jumps right in when one of our 400-plus attendees experiences a problem or emergency at home. He brings hard work and a good humor to everything he does.
Dan Alioto and Matt Harman. Planning for SMIP happens all year, and I also want to thank the many other staff members who contribute to SMIP’s success! We are already receiving a lot of interest in the 2027 SMIP program. We will post more information about next summer’s program, such as dates and tuition, in early September on the SMIP webpage. As usual, we will open registration on Thursday, October 1, for the four sessions we are planning for the 2027 program. Have a great summer weekend! Chuck |
