The Wire: The greatest safety show ever made

While rewatching The Wire recently, it donned on me that it was a masterclass on common safety failings mixed with some excellent safety initiatives. (Note the videos attached contains explicit language and racial terms)

KPIs & chasing the numbers https://lnkd.in/dzC398Zb

One of the main failings and frustrations of the Baltimore Police Dept was the constant chasing of the numbers. Monthly reports were required to show murder & crime rates going down. This turned into a numbers game with the focus solely on keeping dept heads & leaders happy. This was to the detriment of the overall system in improving proactive performance. It sounds familiar...

Competency https://lnkd.in/djCwJYKH

“You don’t teach maths. You teach the test”. In Safety we are guilty of ‘You don’t teach safety. You cover your ass’. What are we achieving with our current inductions, mandatory courses like manual handling?

Walk the beat https://lnkd.in/d3Sk5GWT

Time and time again, The Wire references the value of police getting out on the ground, engaging, active listening and showing empathy. All critical skills we know is essential in safety.

There are several examples throughout the show including :

• Ethics and values (Mans gotta have a code’)
• Changing a process to reduce risk, which ultimately had unintentional consequences (HAmsterdam)
• How external context drives behaviours and learning teams. (Money and political interference)

Ultimately The Wire ends where it starts, where nothing is learned, and the same mistakes are repeated. This is something to consider for the safety profession with constant debates on Safety 1, 2 & 3.

Next week The Sopranos…