Developing Future Police Managers?

Are the people placed in these roles fit as being a leader? Are they capable of leading in a large quality in the future? There has been research on the varied of different leadership styles with in law enforcement agencies. Other views on the research focus on leadership and how it effects organizational commitment. There is a need to push out research and create different models in order to redesign of law enforcement agencies. According to Patrick J. Hughes “Increasing Organizational Leadership Through the Police Promotional Process”, he explains the current process used in promoting ranks and the available leadership education for law enforcement agents. There are clear connections between leadership styles and how to proper assess a true

The field of police work is constantly being forced to develop and improve its protocols, procedures, and practices in an effort to keep pace with the ever-changing society in which it operates and criminal behavior it seeks to eradicate. While the history of policing has been marked by substantial changes throughout time, the work of modern-day police officers and officials demonstrate some of the most substantial adaptations to its surrounding environment that the field has ever seen. In order to understand where the future of policing is heading, it is important to first understand these current trends that are affecting the current landscape of the profession. By

Police, courts and corrections are part of criminal justice organizations. Each of these organizations face challenges every day and the leaders of these agencies must deal with these challenges (Duelin, 2010). The types of criminal justice leaders range from police chiefs and sheriffs to prison superintendents, and heads of government, state, or local task forces. Some of the challenges they confront are budget and staffing shortfalls, political perspectives on the roles of law enforcement personnel in society, and the changing nature of crime and the difficulties associated with keeping up with these trends (Bryant, 2010).

“Rank does not confer privilege or give power. It imposes responsibility.” (Peter Drucker) An effective manager can be the difference between a successful law enforcement organization or its failure. There are several theories on effective management in law enforcement and the business world alike. Some of those theories can cross over and be helpful for a law enforcement manager. A manager can have the knowledge of all theory relative to law enforcement management, but without understanding several key concepts, the manager will in turn not be effective. An effective law enforcement manager is responsible for far more than just managing employees, unlike the business world. Effective law enforcement managers’ decisions likely impact the safety of the citizens within the jurisdiction, and that is the greatest responsibility. There are several components that will allow a law enforcement manager to be effective. Out of those components there are three primaries that are of upmost concern. Those three components are effective communication, organizational skills, and empowerment.

Police Agencies in modern society are a part of the American fabric to serve and protect the American public. The United States currently have more than 15,000 police agencies, (Walker & Katz, 2011). Police Departments across the United States face similar critical issues policing. All police officers face dangers in the job of policing the dangers can emanate from internal and external origins. Police officers have continued to evolve to serve communities by finding better less than lethal alternatives to weapons used. In addition, police departments have continued to keep up with

Desire, persistence, and hard work are the key elements to a successful career. A guest speaker at our Criminal Justice Theory in Practice 300 class broke a stereotype on how a Chief of a desired division within the police department should look like or behaves. A Chief of Patrol, Terence Monahan, shared stories from his life since he applied for the law enforcement profession.

In this week reading, I learned about all the different future society changes in policing. There is numerous influence of changes like aging population, cultural diversity, shifting economics, immigration and migration. There has been a huge increase life span since the twentieth century. People who were 65 older only made up 4 percent of the population, now they make up 14 percent of the population. When the economy goes bad it affects the demand of police officers and crime. As people become more diverse and older they start to migrate to find a better life in other states.

With all of the temptation, attempts to fit into a subculture, and desire to please superiors, mentoring younger officers becomes extremely important. Mentoring can either allow corruption to spread, or it can be also be nipped in the bud. With these issues at hand, it is important that law enforcement agencies invest in upstanding supervisors and leaders in their departments because according to statistics, leaders have a significant impact in preventing corruption and therefore play a significant role in the agencies in which they serve. Therefore, it becomes imperative that effective leaders – who share the same goals – be in place to set the standard for subordinates to see and emulate (Martin 2011). However; while leaders certainly play a critical role in forming the future leaders and overall atmosphere of the organization, they alone cannot ensure that high levels

Chermak, S., Carter, J., Carter, D., McGarrell, E. F., & Drew, J. (2013). In the last decade, the number of qualified applicants for police officer positions has substantially declined across the United States (Wilson & Heinonen, 2012). Per the National Institute of Justice, law enforcement departments, in particular smaller agencies, are finding it increasingly difficult to attract qualified applicants (Wilson, 2012). As the diversity and breadth of the communities that agencies serve expand, agencies might face difficulties in recruiting officers for positions that are increasingly complex, require new competencies, or require interaction with communities whose needs they do not always know or understand (White & Escobar, 2008). A contributing reason for this recruitment phenomenon is that law enforcement organizations are competing against each other and with similar industries for the same candidates (Wilson & Grammich,

Over the last several years, most police departments have been facing numerous financial challenges. The main reason is law enforcement agencies are expected to do more with less and the stagnant economy. The combination of these factors has been placing pressure on many departments to begin imposing budget cuts. Evidence of this can be seen with a survey that was conducted by the University of North Carolina. They found that 67% of police departments made some kind of budget cuts for 2011. The most severe reductions were occurring in large police departments such as Los Angeles, Atlanta and Detroit. (Delfem, 2011, pp. 199 - 205) This is illustrating one of the most pressing issues affecting a wide variety of police departments across the country. To fully understand what is happening requires: examining the situation, how they are able to interact with other agencies (i.e. state / federal) and recommending the way this relationship can be improved. Together, these elements will offer specific insights about how police departments can effectively address this problem.

What factors affect the longevity and commitment of motivated and hardworking law enforcement officers to an agency? Organizations nationwide from various small municipalities to local counties as well as large state-operated administrations have all encountered ongoing concerns in recruiting new and experienced officers and then retaining those individuals for the long haul. How do agencies maximize retention and continuously provide the highest level of service to the community when the turnover rate in law enforcement has become an epidemic over the last several decades? Extensive research, surveys and studies have been conducted and show results contributing to high turnover rates that can be linked all the way back to the initial recruiting

When discussing leadership within the law enforcement profession is it vital to take the human factors into consideration. There are multiple human factors that the law enforcement leaders must take note of, such as, family issues, financial issues, stress, health, and morale. These human factors that play an important role for law enforcement in general can impact morale, officer safety and the public perception. When addressing the human factors, “Law enforcement leaders should challenge themselves and their employees to increase safety margins by focusing on human factors. By doing so, they will improve proactive communication at their level of influence and develop an organizational culture that values safety and wellness” (Bone, D., Normore,

It is widely recognized that law enforcement is a stressful and dangerous job (Dantzker, 2011). Policing in the 21st century presents concerns not experienced or imagined by police personnel from earlier centuries. Cybercrime, cyberterrorism, mass shootings, and human trafficking are organizational responsibilities unique to police officers of this century (Feemster, 2010). Therefore, just as crime has evolved, so must the individuals dedicated to fighting it. The duties of police officers today far surpass that of their earlier counterparts. The mental stressors that police officers face every day has also evolved. Police work does not only require physical strength and agility, but is also demands mental and emotional stability. This

The style of police leadership has gradually changed over the last several years. The traditional belief that the solitary leader who possessed the wisdom, integrity, and courage to manage a police department, or a shift of officers has been replaced with the concept of teamwork (Wuestewald, 2013). The idea of using a team to manage an organization is nothing new in the private sector, however, replacing the old idea of a solitary leader has taken time and is slow to take hold in some organizations.

Police Reform should be one of the many issues handled in the first one-hundred days of our new President’s term. The unrest and corruption are actions that do not belong in our police force. The criminal justice system needs revised. Since 1791 Americans have lost 20,789 officers killed in the line of duty (Law Enforcement Facts 1). To modernize this statistic, from 2004-2013 an average of 151 officers have died in the line of duty (Deaths,