LAPD Chief William Bratton - Coursework Example

Running Head: Leadership and Management Leadership and Management: LAPD Chief William Bratton YOUR This paper is concerned with identifying the differences between leadership and management, as well as providing an analysis of the Los Angeles Police Department under William Bratton that shows the principles in action. The paper identifies that leadership provides vision for the future and goals that need to be achieved while management provides the structure and means to accomplish those goals. The analysis of the LAPD and William Bratton demonstrates that Chief Bratton’s work in New York prepared him to bring the concept of “quality of life” policing to Los Angeles, which he did with dramatic results. Leadership and Management: LAPD Chief William Bratton In law enforcement, as in other organizations, there is a difference between leadership and management, and the presence of both can have a significantly positive impact on an organization. The purpose of this paper is to first identify the key differences between the concepts of leadership and management, and then provide an analysis of Chief William Bratton and the Los Angeles Police Department that demonstrates the impact of leadership on an organization. Leadership vs. Management. The words “leadership” and “management” themselves suggest the inherent differences between the two concepts. Leaders lead; managers manage. In a general sense, it can be framed as seeing “leadership to be the art of influencing people to accomplish organizational goals, while management is the ancillary and subordinate science of specifying and implementing means to accomplish the same ends” (Whicker & Areson, 1990, p. 173). This can be further understood in terms of the time range upon which each focuses, i.e., long-term future (leadership) as opposed to present and short-term future (management). It can also be described in terms of functionality; the leader provides a place for the organization to arrive or a course upon which the organization is to move toward a goal while the manager is responsible for the process that moves the organization to that ultimate goal. If a leader focuses on the end result, the manager is the means to that end. William Bratton and the LAPD. Chief Bratton has been with the LAPD since 2002, and has overseen a “major reengineering and reform effort” to bring the department to higher levels of effectiveness and excellence (LAPD, 2009, n.p.). The differences he has made are significant in both the department and the community it serves and, while he does not take personal credit for the decrease in the crime rate, it is notable that since 2002 when he came to the department, “violent crime is down 49%, property crimes have decreased 28% and Part I Crimes have fallen 33%. In addition, there were 1,700 fewer shooting victims this year in comparison to the same time period. Over the past year alone, homicides have dropped 8.3%” (LAPD, 2009, n.p.). The magnitude of his contribution, however, is not realized in raw statistics as much as it is in the change of philosophy for the department. In the LAPD, effective policing is not about merely stopping criminals; it is about improving the quality of life in the community. Under Chief Bratton, officers are expected to do more than apply the law, they are to apply that law “within a legal spirit which was so clearly set forth by the framers of the Bill of Rights” (Glenn, 2003, p. 24). This is a much broader approach to law enforcement than the department previously used and is based on Bratton’s concept of the “broken window.” This is an approach to law enforcement that he developed as the Police Commissioner of New York City, when Mayor Rudy Giuliani promoted Chief Bratton from his position as Transit Chief. Bratton introduced “sweeping changes to the New York Police Department…introduced a computer-driven, problem-oriented internal accountability system…and refocused the police on ‘quality of life’ offenses and advocated assertive and prominent police actions that cam to be termed zero tolerance policing” (Bass, 2001, p. 156). The logic of the broken window approach to law enforcement, simply stated, is that if a building has a broken window that remains unrepaired, vandals will be tempted to break more windows. With most of the windows broken, vagrants will be tempted to break into the building and, as others follow suit, criminal activity will increase in the community; fixing that broken window stops the cycle from progressing; broadly applied, the vision is that community policing at the “broken window” level will reduce petty crime and result in the reduction of more serious crimes (Kelling & Bratton, 1998, p. 1218). Chief Bratton brought this concept to the LAPD with dramatic success. His leadership is demonstrated in the fact that he provided the department with its overall philosophy and underlying principles. He set the vision for the LAPD to become a superior organization at policing and reducing crime, while maintaining the highest standards of ethics and community service. In broader terms, it could be said that Chief Bratton believes in deterrence as a primary goal, and enforcement as the necessary secondary goal; that prevention is better than cure. If police officers are seen as positive members of the community rather than an antagonistic presence, e.g., the Rodney King incident, crime is reduced and law-abiding citizens are reassured. The same concept is applied in police departments across the country; if motorists get accustomed to regularly seeing a police traffic unit on a particular street, they will tend to drive more slowly as a habit rather than risk a traffic ticket. Thus, the police make a positive contribution within the community as they improve the quality of life by policing the small offenses and thus deterring the likelihood of major crime. Chief Bratton has not accomplished the success at LAPD alone. Having a vision and setting a goal are good, but insufficient to produce the desired results. This is where management comes into play. By introducing the “big picture” goal, Chief Bratton established the destination; he requires several layers of management, however, to meet that goal. Managers are responsible for seeing that the action plans and programs are carried out efficiently. Without IT professionals to manage and ensure operations and efficiency, Chief Bratton’s computer and technological platforms would not function. Without a team of departmental leaders and supervisors, the police officers on the street would lack the guidance and input required for the quality of life approach to a reality. The LAPD demonstrates how leadership and management work in a complementary way. Chief Bratton has provided the philosophy, and managers ensure that the philosophy is deployed as a departmental culture. Once the leader has communicated the big idea, the managers take over the processes necessary to carry out the plan and oversee the daily execution of the tactics that will make the idea a reality. This frees the leader to monitor the success of the broad concepts and make adjustments to implementation methods as he “fine tunes” the goals and vision. In this symbiotic relationship, the leader gives management a vision to accomplish and a broad-strokes picture of where the organization is to be taken; managers cannot effectively function without the path being defined. Similarly, management gives the leader the means to accomplish the goal. After the leader sets the vision, the managers bring their own technical and organizational skills to bear and accomplish the goals; a leader cannot effectively lead without depending on managers to oversee the day-to-day operations. Neither one can effectively function without the other. Accordingly, leadership and management are different, but complimentary. When aligned properly, the combination of the two results in an effective organization that efficiently meets its goals and objectives. Chief Bratton and the Los Angeles Police Department demonstrate this principle with excellence and success. References Bass, S. (2001). Policing Space, Policing Race: Social Control Imperatives and Police Discretionary Decisions. Social Justice, 28, (1), 156. Glenn, R.W. (2003). Traing the 21st century police officer: Redefining Police Professionalism for the Los Angeles Police Department. Santa Monica, CA: Rand. Kelling, G.L. & Bratton, W.J. (1998). Declining Crime Rates: Insiders’ Views of the New York City Story. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 88, (4). 1217-1223. Los Angeles Police Department (2009). William J. Bratton: Chief of Police. Retrieved January 10, 2009, from http://www.lapdonline.org/lapd_command_staff/ comm_ bio_ view/7574 Whicker, M.L. & Areson, T. W. (Eds.). (1990). Public Sector Management. New York: Praeger Publishers. Read More