 I'm Kevin Reed as I just said in my 27th year in the fire service the captain and the most senior black firefighter that we have We we launched a human rights case against the fire service a quote a few years back regarding system discrimination and racism We at the time we had an option of You know taking a pound of flesh or handling it restoratively and we opted for a restorative and that's where I met Jennifer Llewellyn She's still to this day is Amazed at how we have such a depth and understanding of whatever sort of approach is and She you know she loves us, but I for me it's For me, it's just it's just the way I operate. It's how I handle my family life It's how I deal with my station crew. It's how I deal with my division I'm now I'm acting visual commander as well in the fire service, which means I'm responsible for a whole platoon at times So that this is how I deal with it. So she asked me to speak today so When we back to the case so when when we when we decided to go restoratively for our department management and city We all came together and it was a long grueling process lots of circles lots of lots of emotions And lots of you know, I mean at the time the fire service didn't even know how to spell restorative Because it's the first time that they ever the wall. What's this? So I mean we had to do like checks at the door and make sure they leave all their clubs and their baths outside So they wouldn't have to beat anybody But but I'm happy to say that three years ago We had a successful completion of the of our case Which which was we were very happy and we out of the process we got chief Doug trustler Who's in the room today one of the best chiefs that I've ever served under? So coming back to me speaking today I asked Jennifer said well, what is it you want me to speak about? And so she gave me a couple questions that uh that that I should answer and I have a restorative I'm the head of this restorative committee that we have for the fire department that is responsible for implementing a restorative approach so there's four of us, so I shot these questions out to them and Collaborately we answered so here I go So I want to give you an overview of the potential and significance of a restorative approach for dealing with and addressing issues of Inclusion and building a healthy workplace climate drawn from our experience So for me the potential is that we get a chance to do things differently fire like most Uniform service has a habit of eating our young and killing our wounded We grind out rookies like grain into flour and people who make mistakes are eaten alive and labeled for life Not to mention if one person makes a mistake Sometimes we'll label the entire platoon or the entire job from one mistake This is because we have only one way of dealing with things and that's to assume the worst and punish or treat them accordingly As a result we lose good people who have lots of great ideas and lots of drive and turning them turning them into tired Toe the line types with no drive and no initiative who count the days to retirement But with a restorative approach We have a chance to mentor rather than beat up guide rather than beat down and Give people the tools they need to overcome their mistakes and flourish rather than be labeled and marked by them Errors and bad attitudes become opportunities for change to empower people rather than the measure by which they are beaten down It also gives people a chance to meet the things they desire in a close-knit group People want to feel like they belong they have some something to contribute that they have a voice That they can be heard Restorative approach meets these needs and can empower people to enter in and take a higher role in the workplace How is this connected to how discipline is dealt with? Well consequences at the heart of every action both good and bad a restorative approach isn't necessarily different Discipline does not have to be synonymous with punishment in a worst-case scenario if actions are extremely damaging or dangerous There may be few options to correct behavior and ensure safe working environments However, if that's joined with sharing experiences and considering the effect personal actions have on others the outcome even with discipline Has better potential and not being repeated So I'll give you some of the challenges and opportunities of working restoratively in a command and control environment The way we operate is the biggest liability to a successful restorative approach for such a method of leadership to be effective We need skills and effective listening team building conflict resolution and empowering those underneath us But we have a system that promotes officers fire officers based on enforcing rules and measures their ability to command a scene We've done a wonderful job at evaluating and promoting great fire ground officers people who identify an emergency When it's in a serious state, we know how to hit a hard hit it fast get the job done getting out make a mess All right And we clap hands when we're done because we did a good job, but then the fallouts left to someone else to clean up This is what we do with all of our emergencies now imagine our frustration because all of our interpersonal relationships in the workplace are Handled this way. It's not our fault. We've been trained to act this way We demand our orders to be followed with no input. We demanded immediately people are seen as resources and no and no other way This is the fire ground mentality and to be this way for an effective chain of it has to be this way for an effective chain of command and Fireground tactics, but station lights different and people need to be treated and talked to a bit differently I know officers who are brilliant on the fire ground and are terrible in the station because they They can't stop seeing people as resources So we we need buying buying is one of the challenges We don't understand what we're sort of means and that's right across the board in the fire department We have three levels. We have the union. We have management and we also have the city itself HR for example This the when you talk to the union about that they say, oh, we're gonna sit around and hold hands and hug each other That's that's not it right and then a management just sometimes they only can see well You can't take away or write the discipline Well, that's not what we're talking about and then HR also doesn't even believe in a restorative approach But I don't say they don't believe it. They believe that it's it's a tool in at the toolkit when restorative approach is a way of being We also have Homogene we have a long history of influenced by very similar shared experiences and backgrounds and it's difficult to break the mold When every mold we see is the same So People need to be listened to in the station to discover why they're doing something if we all understand each other and our motivations A lot of conflict will never arise Conflict becomes conversation rejection becomes respect and the workplace becomes better for it So ways to do this in a command and control environment. We need leadership not management This is a huge influence when people see someone set a good example They want to follow when good outcomes are reached future efforts become more worthwhile Someone has to take the opportunity to take the high road I've lost count of the times I've praised and thanked crews on a job well done at a fire only to have someone tell me that My praise is out of the ordinary Several people have told me that they have never been thanked for doing a job a great job before In fact, we liked it and if you do a good job all the time, we like to say They like to pick up something that we didn't do right as opposed to something that we you know I'm trying to say and it's made myself. Yeah Well, like they pick all the negatives of it, but yes, thank you pick up the negatives of it as to point out the positives I Also found that admitting when you're wrong and it does happen sometimes to officers It gains a level level of trust that can't be brought any other way a leader Who shows that they're human and vulnerable is a strength not a weakness as we've led to been led to believe Likewise pointing out that we could we could do we could do better Praise towards a better outcome works far better than a typical way we do it and dealing with issues That are small and manageable is far better than letting them grow into the monster that can't be tamed. Thank you