In The Spring Of 2017 I Accompanied The Fulton Police Department

One form of a contingency approach to leadership is the Path Goal Theory, formed by Robert House. This theory states that it is the leader’s responsibility to define their organization’s goal, define the path to achieve that goal, and to remove obstacles which prevent the attainment of these goals, by increasing their subordinates’ motivation by clarifying the behaviors necessary for both personal and organizational goal attainment (Landrum & Daily, 2012).

Disciplinary procedures for police are a source of frustration for nearly everyone. Police officer both management and patrol are concerned over the months and sometimes years it can take to conduct an investigation and find a resolution. Great frustration exists between management and union as the department's disciplinary decisions are reversed and fail to be fair and constant (Stephens 2011).

An authoritative leader addresses the end but generally gives workers freedom to innovate, experiment and take risks. The authoritative style works best for organizations that are off track, it helps in creating a new course and fresh long-term vision. The affiliative style strives to keep employees happy to create harmony among. The style has a positive effect on communication. People who like one another a lot talk lot. They share ideas, inspirations leading to flexibility, innovation and risk taking. This style should only be employed when trying to build team harmony. The democratic style allows leaders to build consensus through participation. By spending time getting people’s ideas, a leader is able to build trust, respect and commitment. This style works best when a leader is uncertain about best direction however, it does not make sense if employees are not competent. Pacesetting is a leadership style that expects excellence and self-direction. The leader is obsessive about doing things better and faster, and expects the same of everyone around

Although the economic environment and social relationships have changed, police officers remain the centerpiece and foundation of civil law enforcement — but without community support and trust, they will never be capable of doing their job effectively. Public trust is the cornerstone of successful policing, the currency by which they are allowed to operate. One act of misconduct, perceived or otherwise, reflects wholly on the department and is one of the most substantial hurdles to overcome as an active stakeholder within the community, not an enemy of it. Strong leadership can steer the department through adverse periods of municipal distrust by fostering a culture from within that promotes openness, fairness, and high ethical standards. Creating buy-in from internal stakeholders establishes a strong foundation and promotes esprit de corps, upon which a very successful strategic communication and outreach campaign to external stakeholders (latent, expectant, and definitive) will thrive and ensure widespread support.

The issues that our police departments face in today’s society consist of corrupt police departments, publicity, operating expenses, and constant training to meet the guidelines set by court decisions.

As of January 24, 2017, of my spring semester at Saint Peters University, I began my internship with the Jersey City Police Department(JCPD). The JCPD is comprised of four districts: East, North, South, and west, throughout their precinct. Jersey City is a relatively large and diverse community, so in fact a range of departments are much needed throughout the city. From the time, I lived in Jersey City, the Jersey City police department has continuously ensured a progressive partnership with the community. The JCPD rely solely on four principles: Courtesy, Accountability, Respect and Excellence. Each of these principles are imbedded in ensuring a level fairness and equality throughout the community. Indeed, this level of partnership has driven

"For example, in police-civilian interactions, members of the public tend to see the uniform and the badge rather than the individual behind them. However, studies show that police officers who are willing to take the time to show kindness, understanding and consideration when interacting with others--especially those who may be distrustful--will likely foster a more positive atmosphere" (Barker et al., 2008). This type of respectfulness goes a long way when officers are doing community service. For example, when officers participate in programs like D.A.R.E, they must show kindnesses when effectively communicating with groups of student and parents. In addition, they can also hold more community meetings. In order to accomplish this, local police in a community would do well to hold regular meetings in to talk about prevalent crimes and how to prevent them. Police officers need to be honest and clear, as well as kind, usually when they communicate with victims, as well as when communicating with those who break the law. Police officers need to be part of the community, and communication helps them achieve this.

External factors, internal factors, and relationships all play a huge role in leadership. Society creates a stereotypical idea of what leadership should look like. Berger (2014) considered a conceptual framework that provides three major categories of major approaches to leadership, and how these approaches lead to a better clarification of leadership and its entities. These categories include: achievement, relationships, and values. The achievement category consists of 3 sub-categories (individual, behavioral, and contingent) that all focus on ways in which leaders are defined by their ability to achieve goals. They focus on a particular individual as a

Over the past few years, there has been a great divide in our society between that of law enforcement agencies and some local community’s members that have placed fault onto on the law enforcement community (Abegbile, 2017). We have seen from the local communities not just cries for change in our law enforcement community, but have also protested in cities across the United States. With demands for criminal justice reform being demanded by such of an outcry in our society, we must evaluate the issues that are at the forefront of these matters (Abegbile, 2017). Our law enforcement community has over the past few years had to assess its leadership, the use of force by law enforcement officers, and to improving public safety.

No matter ones view on the police it is safe to say they are not only extremely hated and stereotyped but they also have one of the most dangerous professions. It is my goal to be the defense for the police and to bring to light the dangers that they deal with on a daily basis while promising to protect and serve our communities, how threats police face influence the split second decisions they make in day to day situations, and how critiquing criminal justice management on police departments requirements may help set an even standard of what is expected of police officers across all county, city, and state police. I believe that this will help weed out a big majority of the corrupt officers that make the majority of them seem untrustworthy to the society

Civilian oversight of law enforcement is a vital element of the democratic society. Effective civilian oversight of police is crucial to guarantee that the police use its power of authority in a way that exhibits respect for the law and individual rights and freedoms. The committee’s responsibility is to maintain a balance between police independence and to complete investigations and maintain order without undue political influence, or influence from any other source while remaining accountable to the public. The belief that civilians do not understand what a police officer faces on a daily basis becomes the crux of most complaints made by

The contents and assignment in this course has helped me understand the various theories of leadership and how different leadership styles can have a negative or positive effect on followers and organizations. The leadership theories helped me understand the concept of leadership better because it educates me on the different leadership options that are available. Leadership and followership is not based on specific characteristics. Leaders must draw from things and approaches to find the right style. A follower’s attitude determines the way a leader leads. According to Johnson (2011) “Being a good follower means ensuring your boss is supported, but only if he is making optimum decisions”.

Leadership has been studied from a wide range of perspectives and thus it means different things to different people. Some people view leadership as the focus of group processes, some others view it from a personality or skills perspective, to some others leadership is an act or behavior, some school of thought describe leadership in terms of power relationship while some view leadership as a transformational process (Northouse, 2012). Looking at the various definitions of leadership, there are various terms that are important; including the fact that leadership is a process that involves influence and the attainment of a common goal, and usually occurs in the context of a group (Northouse, 2012). The path-goal theory is one of the

Research findings on Robert House’s Path Goal Theory are basically on the relationship between the leader’s style of leadership and the outcomes of the

Overall, the path-goal theory, path-goal theory of leader effectiveness, or path-goal model can be considered as a variant on Transactional Leadership Theory, where the leader clearly is directing activity and the only factor that varies is the manner in which this is done. There are some aspects of Contingency Theory, as well, where various means of application vary with the situation. The leader sees a path that needs to be tread, one leading to the accomplishment of a goal and she or he attempts to clear it and get the group members to tread on it. The leader may cajole command, reward or punish, get suggestions from the group, or sugar coat the tasks, if necessary, but it is clear that democracy is not the hallmark of this method. The Path-goal of Leadership Effectiveness was created to rectify prior research and anomalies resulting from empirical investigations of the effects of leader/task orientation and leader/person orientation/relationship on worker satisfaction and performance (House 1971).