Police Executive Essay

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 forces or Law enforcers have been used for centuries all around the world but America took particular interest in the English’s policing system. America’s policing ideas and process began

Administrative planning and decision-making is necessary for efficient and effective operations management in any setting (Roberts, 2000). Police administrative planning becomes the first step in successful management of the department. Planning provides administrative officials with better information, an analysis of the problem at hand, clarity of goals, objectives, and procedures (Swanson, Territo, & Taylor, 2012). Planning results in more active distribution of resources, program development and performance, increased inter- and intradepartmental collaboration and organization. Planning provides the opportunity for greater public support and a clear sense of direction for the police department with increased commitment of personnel. There are many approaches to planning. However, the most commonly used approach is

With the implementation of a formal system of policies, procedures, rules and regulations, and discipline the behavior of the officers can be modified to emulate the values and objectives of the department. Assuring first that the command staff / Chief of Police and his subordinates are compliant and fully knowledgeable of all current rules, regulations, policies, and standards, the delegation of authority for specific actions would relieve the burden on chief. As a result, more attention can be placed on the officers and their activities in the field.

75). However, it should be noted that these new eras of policing did not immediately emerge due to specific actions or events (Henry, 2003); these policing eras came about with time “as law enforcement philosophies and practices of one period became anachronistic, as shortcomings became more and more apparent, as new ideas emerged, or as public dissatisfaction with police performance increased to critical proportions” (Henry, 2003, p. 75). The Reform/Professional Era had its most impact in American policing from the 1920s through the 1960s due to the formation of new policies, theories, leadership, and the overall professionalization of (Roberg et al., 2015). Professionalization, in this case, is defined as the “attempt to improve police behavior and performance by adopting a code of ethics and improving selection, training, and management of police departments” (Roberg et al., 2015, p. 41); in other words, it is the emphasis on implementing a single approach to an issue instead of handling an issue in a plethora of ways ” (Roberg et al.,

As a patrol officer in Memphis for nearly ten years I feel personally invested in questions concerning the management of patrol personnel. Having seen many good officers and a few bad officers over the years I know the difficult task administrators are required to handle on a daily basis. I come from a military background and prefer clear direct instruction/guidance from my management. By knowing what the standards are and the possible consequences for failing to meet them I feel comfortable in my day to day responsibilities. Not all officers are like me, some dislike what they perceive to be micromanagement. Yet I would contend that clear policy and procedure as well as a strong mission statement as the benchmark for officer success are not

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

Police executives have always had different issues within the police department. Most police executives try to find a quick fix in order to solve the issue of police misconduct. Police misconduct is defined as inappropriate action taken by police officers in relation with their official duties (Police Misconduct Law & Legal Definition, n.d.). In order to solve this issue, one must acknowledge their different challenges, overcome the “code of silence”, and find out the role of organizational culture.

While the Reform Era worked to professionalize police, as society became more complex, so did the role of the police officer. The Community Policing Era was developed as a result of the need to develop cooperation and positive relationships between the police and public. What developed out of this era was an essential element of community policing – public accountability. Police officers became accountable to their supervisors who in turn became accountable to the community. Accountability can be seen as an honest evaluation of achievement based on clearly defined objectives. Many of these objectives are defined by complex community and social problems; as such police officers require the capacity and flexibility to work on them in a variety of styles and employing a variety of strategies.

Numerous police agency’s and police officials work on a distinctive local, state, and federal level and role. It has its individual area, sectors, and function, and work according to local streets parts inside policing. In order for any local, state, and federal police division to work successfully it must hire chiefs, deputy’s, and sheriffs who retain leadership and who uses creative thinking skills to teach comprehensive, and aggressive instruction to make the police division a tougher department by holding all its workers tasks for doing his or her job according to its agency’s guidelines and procedures known as code of conduct. “Municipal police work for municipalities such as towns or cities, county police and deputy sheriffs work for counties, state police work for states, and federal police work for the federal government. Some have the same duties as one another or very similar duties, and some have different or additional duties. Their jurisdiction is sometimes the main difference. For example, a municipal police officer normally has primary

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,

The success of implementing a program like this requires that both parties be well informed and well educated on the changes that will take place. One of the first steps is to market the concept of community policing both internally (within the department), as well as externally(within the community).  Marketing community policing internally often involves collapsing the existing structures of authority that are in place as well as the specialization within the department.  The case study mentioned that although the senior administrators in the department played a critical role in the reform, it was also necessary that line level officers be active participants in the process.  After all, two important components of community policing are empowerment and ownership.  Officers were given ownership of certain areas that were

Whisenand, P. M., & McCain, J. K. (2014). Managing Police Organizations. In P. M.Whisenand, & J. K. McCain, Managing Police Organizations (p. 33). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

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.

The earlier development of the law enforcement was developed by a man named Sir Robert Peel also known as the “Father of Modern Policing” (Bennett & Hess, 2007). He was born February 5, 1788 in Chamber Hall near Bury in Lancashire (Bloy, n.d.). He was the one who greatly influenced and set forth the fundamental principles of the police force. He developed an organized force called the London Metropolitan Police in 1829 that protected the people who were victimized due to high unemployment, poverty, and crime. An organization is “an artificial structure created to coordinate either people or groups and resources to achieve a mission or goal” (Bennett & Hess, 2007). The police’s goal is to protect and serve their community. Although the term of a police officer is mixed up with a peace officer “all police officers are peace officers, but all peace officers are not police officers” (Walker & Katz, 2011). The principles that Sir Robert Peel set for the police include: