Police Leadership

The criminal justice system is one of the most important components in the public service system. Since it is a system that citizens encounter daily it would be most beneficial for those who are employed to behave as ethical leaders. Leadership skills and ethical behavior are both parts of the duties of any officer serving the law. Often employees are placed in quick decision situations that can have fatal outcomes if not handled properly. By ensuring that all officers of the law have a set of functioning ethical leadership skills can not only develop a well-rounded individual, but also builds the relationship between the community they serve to protect. The police and other officers of the law have great discretion and power over an individual which makes having responsible, ethically behaving persons on the front lines even more important. With the right training and education, ethical officers can set the bar and improve the quality of life of the community they serve as well as other officers.

Integrity and honor, servanthood, mentorship, professionalism, positive attitude, reinforcement and accountability, and proactive communication is what Jack E. Enter P.h. D states is the seven laws of leadership in his book, “Challenging the Law Enforcement Organization; Proactive Leadership Strategies.” Enter indicates the purpose of this book is to develop leaders whom are abnormal and different from most. This book identifies poor and successful leadership traits based on Enter’s education, his personal experiences in law enforcement, teaching, and from his personal life.

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

Toxic leadership, likely found in all agencies at some point, and the general awareness of toxic leaders with whom individual officers have worked, makes this a real problem for law enforcement agencies. Knowing the root and cause of this type of leadership helps develop understanding on the part of those that can effect a change in leadership within an agency. Comprehending the methods by which such environments develop and their negative impact on the agency as a whole - via individual officers’ experiences, opens the doors on hidden collusion that destroy morale.

The seriousness of this organization, and the publics perceptions, requires leaders to understand they are responsible for all of their own actions and the actions of their subordinates. Leadership failures have higher consequences in law enforcement than if a leader makes a mistake working in a retail outlet. No criminal justice leader should ignore the input given to them by their officers because they understand what is happening on the streets they police on a daily basis. Vollmer’s “Friday crab club” needs to find a place in every law enforcement organization to ensure that the leadership style is being utilized

Leadership is a necessary component of any organization to include a criminal justice organization. In recent years, research has clearly indicated that leadership must be present in criminal justice organizations for a multitude of reasons. Leaders provide motivation and inspire their followers to progress while advancing toward a shared vision. This paper will discuss several different aspects of leadership and expand on the importance of having strong leaders in place. This paper will explain that there are different styles and theories of leadership which are utilized today. Basic principles of leadership as well as

Two of the most widely accepted theories of leadership within the law enforcement community are transformational and transactional leadership which are defined as follows:

In the performance of their internal and external roles, police executives make numerous decisions and handle all kinds of problems. Executives vary on a number of matters, including how they allocate their time and the relative importance they attach to internal and external responsibilities. Police executive behavior can take many forms (Cordner, 2016.)

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

Police leadership uses standardization and procedure as a way to create consistency and predict¬ability in law enforcement operations (Batts, Smoot, & Scrivner, 2012). The San Diego Police Department, like nearly all law enforcement agencies uses leadership models mimicking the United States military. Paramilitary organizations use highly structured framing to conduct business operations. The structural frame creates compartmentalized specialization, and predictable, uniform task performance desired by police executives. The tightly designed rank-and-file structure delineates locus power and control based on position (Bolman & Deal, 1991). Power rests at the top. Contained with this structure is top-down control of personnel,

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,

“Lack of leadership competency is often the most critical obstacle to successful police projects” (Yang, 2012, p. 535).

All organizations, especially law enforcement agencies, require leadership. Maintaining a dependable leadership structure is key to the success of any organization. The philosophy of the modern style of police leadership involves a leader who is strong, competitive and unreceptive to change. Police leadership is based from an autocratic style which is founded on integrity and courage, embracing teamwork, involvement and shared leadership (Cordner & Scarborough, 2010). This style of leadership works well in an emergency situation in which rapid decision making and strict control is needed. The negative aspect to this style of leadership is the inability of the organization to function with the absence of leadership.

On many instances there are a number of known leaders in the history of UK policing who have provide a motivational pedestal for the employees and the impacts of the same travelled a long way and kept the police department proud for times to come. The role of leadership is related to the motivation level of the organization.

Such decision can be a strain on a leader, such actions can cause a leader to question themselves. Issues within the law enforcement field will continue to be a cause for concern due to the daily interaction with the public that officers have each and every day. Major issues that escalate with the help of the media will certainly challenge a leaders skills. A leader will never please everyone involved in a dilemma. The manner that he/she handles the situation is what really distinguishes a good leader from a great leader.