Why This Officer Believes EQ Is The Path Forward For Law Enforcement

Forbes

a day ago

'It's not the people on the streets that'll burn you out, it's the people back at headquarters.' That's what Dr. Tim Sharple's father told him when he first considered a career in policing. Decades later, after rising through the ranks, Sharples found out the hard way that his dad was right.
In law enforcement today (as with many industries), burnout represents a serious threat. Departments struggle to recruit and retain talent, public trust remains fragile, and internal cultures often lag behind the needs of modern officers. As psychologist Daniel Goleman writes in the Harvard Business Review, emotional intelligence (EQ) is one of the key predictors of high performance in complex, high-stress jobs. And yet, despite law enforcement's emotional demands, EQ is still viewed by many as optional, soft, or irrelevant.
Sharples is a second-generation law enforcement officer and a retired lieutenant with over 30 years of experience. He recently earned his PhD in industrial-organizational psychology, devoting his thesis to the connection between emotional intelligence and law enforcement. In one of the first studies to examine the link between EQ and procedural justice in policing, he found that several key emotional intelligence competencies strongly predicted how fairly officers treated people in the field. And the implications go far beyond traffic stops.
At a time in the United States when Pew Research reports that just 35% of U.S. adults express a great deal of confidence in police officers to act in the public's best interest, leaders must look inward. Emotional intelligence isn't soft. It's strategic. And it may be the key to rebuilding policing from the inside-out.
From Squad Car to Psych Lab: Studying Emotional Intelligence in Law Enforcement
Sharples didn't take the typical path to a PhD. His law enforcement career spanned over 32 years. But unlike most officers, he didn't stick with a single agency. He worked across several different agencies and learned a lot by observing which cultural patterns crossed over from agency to agency.
Sharple's father was also in law enforcement, a 'post-Vietnam era' officer skeptical of reforms like the Miranda decision. Tim recalled his father and uncles saying, 'It's so hard to do our job right now with Miranda. It's going to ruin policing.' But by the time Tim went through the academy himself, the narrative had flipped. 'You can't do your job effectively without Miranda,' he said. 'Change is going to happen. The profession has to evolve. All professions evolve.' That same generational shift in perspective, he believes, is now happening with emotional intelligence.
Why Emotional Intelligence Is Critical in Law Enforcement Today
Ask Sharples why emotional intelligence matters in law enforcement today, and his answer is both practical and urgent: 'We need law enforcement for the stability of our society. And emotional intelligence is the way not only to repair from the inside-out, but from the outside-in.'
He's seen firsthand what happens when officers feel unsupported, disengaged, and emotionally exhausted. 'Most of the stress that officers experience comes from within the agency. It wasn't the stuff on the streets that was killing them. It was the burnout and office culture,' he explained. 'It was all of the stuff back at headquarters. Which, in my opinion, is the easy fix.'
Tim ties the urgency of EQ to broader workplace trends, referencing the 'quiet quitting' and 'great resignation' eras. 'We were trying to keep our current staff engaged,' he said, 'but I was also part of the great resignation.' Officers, like workers in any profession, began to question whether staying was worth it. 'Emotional intelligence,' Tim argued, 'is a way to get them reengaged.'
The need is only growing. 'Statistically speaking, there's not going to be enough people of age that can become police officers,' he warned. And of those who can, even fewer are applying. 'We're losing people already to just sheer numbers. And now that's a smaller subset of those who actually want to be a police officer.'
The stakes are high. In his words: 'Change is going to be difficult. But emotional intelligence is the way.'
Culture Change, Not a One-Off Training
Tim is quick to point out that emotional intelligence can't be a 'check-the-box' workshop. 'I've never been a fan of those one-and-done leadership classes,' he said. 'You feel good in the moment, and then as soon as you leave, all that knowledge is leaking out your back.'
To drive lasting change, emotional intelligence must be embedded into the organizational culture. 'Whether it's an informal leader or whether you're the formal chief,' Tim said, 'you've got to model it.'
After retiring, Tim began consulting with police departments looking to build that kind of culture. Some were eager. One department, which ran its own academy, saw emotional intelligence as essential to their future. 'What keeps you up at night?' Tim asked their leadership. The answer hit hard: 'We're realizing right now for the first time that we're going to leave our policing agency in worse shape than we found it.'
That sense of legacy motivated them to act, but not all departments felt the same. 'In some departments, I'd go in and say, 'Tell me about your recruitment.' 'Oh, it sucks.' 'How's your retention?' 'Bad.' Then I'd say, 'Let's change the culture.' And they'd go, 'Our culture is fine.'' Still, Tim remains hopeful. 'EQ presents a lot of hope for law enforcement, because it isn't exclusively about screening bad cops out; it's also about teaching the ones we have. Change can start now.'
Training the Next Generation: From the Academy to the Community
For emotional intelligence to transform policing, Sharples says it has to start early—and it has to include everyone. One department proved what's possible when EQ is baked into the foundation. 'Louisiana State Police,' Sharples said. 'They implemented EQ training across the board—recruits, instructors, leadership. Everyone received the training. And they went from a high failure rate in training to zero in one class.'
That kind of impact is why Sharples believes EQ should become a core component of police academies and continued education, not an optional seminar. 'Think of your average recruit as a six-figure asset,' he said. 'Especially at the state level. Training is two to three times longer. If you're losing 25 to 50% of those recruits, you're setting money on fire.'
But when it's implemented across the board—from command staff to cadets—Sharples says it becomes more than a program. It becomes a way of being.
Why Sharples Is Not Done With Emotional Intelligence And Law Enforcement
Sharples retired with decades of service, earned a PhD, and contributed original research that no one else had touched. But he didn't retire to rest, he retired to rebuild. 'I'm dedicating the remainder of my life to improving the law enforcement workplace,' he said. 'Because the one thing that was consistent—from the 1960s in my dad's era to now—is the toxic stuff that happens back at headquarters. That persists like a cockroach.'
For Sharples, emotional intelligence is more than a framework. It's a compass for change. 'EQ isn't just for your work life,' he said. 'It changes your whole life.' In his training sessions, officers would come back midweek and tell him, 'Normally, this situation at home would have gone up in flames—but I used what you taught, and it became a growth moment for both of us.'
Toward the end of the interview, Sharples recalled something his former chief once asked of him as they discussed emotional intelligence: Don't give me a dissertation. Give me a one-pager, his chief said.
So Sharples did: 'We hire for IQ,' Sharples told him. 'We fire for EQ.'
That got the message across.
Kevin Kruse is the Founder + CEO of LEADx, an emotional intelligence training company. Kevin is also a New York Times bestselling author. His latest book is Emotional Intelligence: 52 Strategies to Build Strong Relationships, Increase Resilience, and Achieve Your Goals.