Guidelines for strengthening institutional identity through the selection of the police class name, police hero, and emblem for the graduating classes of the "General Alberto Enríquez Gallo" Higher Police School

Abstract

Introduction: Institutional identity, heraldry, and historical tribute are strategic pillars of police training, helping to consolidate the ethos, the sense of belonging, and the transmission of values within the National Police of Ecuador. At the "General Alberto Enríquez Gallo" Higher Police School, the class name, the police hero, and the emblem of each graduating class go beyond a ceremonial or graphic function and operate as pedagogical and organizational socialization tools. However, the records of classes 58 to 89 show that their selection has lacked a consistent methodology, with heterogeneous heraldic designs and no designated hero in several classes. Objective: To establish guidelines for the selection of the class name, police hero, and emblem of each graduating class to strengthen institutional identity, ethos, and the sense of belonging of future officers. Methodology: A mixed, non-experimental, descriptive, and proposal-oriented study. The documentary record of 32 classes was analyzed, 150 cadets answered an 11-item Likert-scale questionnaire, two police-doctrine instructor officers were interviewed, and the institutional regulatory framework was compared with the insignia and emblem regulations of the Federal District Military Police of Brazil. Results: No hero had been designated for 37.5% of the classes, and the emblems show graphic heterogeneity. Of the cadets, 82.0% reported having received instruction on the meaning of the symbols, and between 76.0% and 93.3% supported the criteria and benefits of having guidelines (overall M = 4.32; α = 0.82). Support varied by year of training (H = 17.44; p < 0.001). The interviewed officers agreed that the process is empirical and lacks a unified graphic line and disagreed on whether a technical committee should approve the proposals. A proposal of ten guidelines was structured based on historical legitimacy, exemplarity, symbolic relevance, visual simplicity, institutional participation, and formal registration. Conclusion: The proposed guidelines allow the name, hero, and emblem of each class to respond to police doctrine and become permanent vectors of memory, cohesion, and institutional belonging. General Area of Study: Social Sciences. Specific area of study: Public Safety and Police Sciences. Type of study: Original article.