When an officer fails to address harassment, the problem is likely to:

• A. Resolve itself over time
• B. Be mitigated by employee resilience
• C. Be aggravated due to lack of action
• D. Be unaffected by management actions

Answer: (C)

Prompt, decisive action by leadership is essential to prevent harassment from taking hold in a unit. When harassment goes unaddressed, it signals that such behavior is tolerated, which can embolden the harasser and deter others from reporting incidents. The problem tends to persist and often escalates, harming victims, lowering morale, increasing turnover, and exposing the department to liability. While individual resilience helps people cope, it doesn’t remove the behavior or fix the culture. Time alone won’t resolve the issue if management remains passive, and active, principled management actions—policy enforcement, confidential reporting, timely investigations, and support for victims—are what reduce both the occurrence and impact of harassment.