Leadership and Management in the Investigative Context - Essay Example

Police Leadership is no longer simply about the formal Leader Police Leadership is a unique form of leadership that has traditionally been characterized by bureaucratic and a very inflexible formal chain of command, which is characterized by unquestioned and questioning command (Hughes, n.p.). Therefore, obtaining a police leadership position has not been a matter of possessing leadership qualities that are essential for managing the police unit, but merely a matter of promotion from one rank to the other within the police force. Traditionally, the police force has been characterized by a huge disconnect between the leadership and the police officers, owing to the nature of the formal and bureaucratic relationship that traditional police customs have established (Ginger, 112). In this respect, the loyalty to the leaders has been defined as the hallmark of police leadership-to-officer relationship, which entails the police officers being totally loyal to their leadership, regardless of the nature of the command. This has most often resulted in the poor performance of the police officers, with low levels of motivation being the major element that characterizes the police force (Wuestewald and Steinheider, 48). This is because, when the police officers are treated like programmable creations, meant to stick to a form of authority and chain of command that is inflexible, most of their human needs are unmet and thus their motivation in their jobs diminishes. However, there has arisen a wind of change that is sweeping through the police force currently, where the characteristics of wisdom, courage and integrity that were the major factors that defined traditional solitary police leadership are being replaced with dynamic and multifaceted teamwork that defines the modern police leadership (Wuestewald and Steinheider, n.p.). In this respect, the police leadership is no longer simply about the formal leader, but a more dispersed and inclusive leadership that is trying to melt away the traditional strict bureaucratic and unquestioned command with more flexible and involving leadership that is appropriate for motivation and boosting the morale of the police officer to undertake their jobs with pride and willingness, as opposed to doing it as a matter of duty (Wuestewald and Steinheider, n.p.). The major focus of this changing trend in the police leadership is on how the police officers obtain their promotion to positions of leadership, and the procedure and benchmarks that are used to measure the behaviors and skills that are appropriate for police leadership. The question as to whether the right people are placed in the positions leadership in the police force is a complex one, considering that the commitment and loyalty to the force, moiré than other aspects of performance and duty achievements, have served as the major factors that define the promotion of police to leadership positions (Morreale and Ortmeier, 92). Additionally, the complexity of the assessing the suitability of an individual to lead in the police force arises from the fact that, the organization of police force is unique, considering that the performance indicators of an individual achievement in the work are abstract. While there could be some measures that have been established to measure the performance and achievement of police officers, such measures are not comprehensive, considering that the work of the police is diverse and highly unspecified, since it is mostly situational than duty specific (Mastrofski, 27). Thus defining the elaborate benchmarks that can be applied to measure the behaviors and skills that are appropriate for promoting police officers to the position of leadership still remains complex. Nevertheless, while the strict bureaucratic and unquestioned commanding structure of the police chain of command has been criticized for lacking flexibility and inclusiveness, it perhaps remain the most suitable leadership structure for the nature of the police work. This is because, there are severe situational encounters that the police officers have to meet every single day while undertaking their police work, which also have great amount of liabilities that accompany such incidences (Hughes, n.p.). Thus, under such circumstances, a highly structured organizational structure that has an elaborate top down command and authority structure is essential, for the purpose of liability and responsibility apportioning. Since the highly structured organizational formation of the police force clearly defines the roles and responsibilities that accompany each police position title, it becomes easy for each officer to be apportioned duties, and to report to the relevant authority in the command structure, so that the relevant action can be taken, especially since most of the police work entails legal implications (Wuestewald and Steinheider, n.p.). Therefore, while the structure can be faulted for lack of inclusiveness in the decision-making process, the highly structured police and bureaucratic leadership formation of the police force is highly effective. Therefore, replacing the police leadership structure with a new one entirely is difficult, since the existing structure serves for the needs of the risky, high liability and non-specific nature of the police work. However, the traditional police leadership is deficient of proper communication networks between the leadership and the police officers on the ground, with communication limited to the essential aspects of command and duty (Hughes, n.p.). In addition, the participation of the subordinate officers in the decision-making of the police force even in matters that affects them directly is so limited, such that they only play the role of obeying orders, with little chances of their suggestions making it to the decision-making levels of the police organ. The other leadership aspect that seems to be lacking in the traditional police leadership structure is ethical leadership, considering that the strict bureaucratic and excessive commanding nature of the police leadership does not provide room for ethical considerations (Hughes, n.p.). Subordinate participation and contribution to the matters of leadership affecting them is yet another aspect of leadership that is lacking in the traditional police leadership structure, since all the decisions regarding the police force are made at the apex of the hierarchical leadership structure, with such decisions flowing downwards for implementation without questioning (Ginger, 114). The effect of all these shortcomings of the traditional police leadership structure is the lack of organizational commitment, increase levels of dissatisfaction and lack of motivation for the police officers, which in turn creates room for corruption within the police force (Mastrofski, 33). It is these shortcomings that have necessitated the newly developing leadership transformation in the police leadership, which is creating more participation and flexibility for the lower rank police officers. The current trend in the police leadership is characterized by a more informal leadership style referred to as shared leadership, where most of the police departments are increasingly reducing the ranks and hierarchies involved in the police commanding structure, to pave way for even the lower rank police officers to be involved in leadership and decision-making (Morreale and Ortmeier, 95). Thus, the current trend has increasingly seen the low rank officers being delegated the duties and responsibilities of making decisions, which were traditionally reserved for the senior positions. Therefore, the police officers are increasingly involved in sharing authority and power amongst hierarchical unequals (Wuestewald and Steinheider, n.p.). This has in turn enhanced the investigative and prosecutorial roles of the police force, considering that even the lower ranks of the police force who are on the ground are able to make swift and urgent decisions regarding certain incidences and situations that occur within the society, which would have otherwise required the bureaucratic procedures of involving the whole commanding structure, which would in turn waters down the effectiveness of such investigations and prosecutions (Hughes, n.p.). Therefore, police leadership is no longer simply about the formal leadership, but increasingly about intelligence-led policing, which requires that the line officers are empowered to effectively discharge their mandate, without being deterred by the excessive bureaucratic and restrictive unquestioned commanding (Wuestewald and Steinheider, 52). In this respect, the police leadership is now tending towards a flexible professional management organization, which is creating a high degree of autonomy at all levels of the police force hierarchy. Works Cited Ginger, James D. “Review of Police Leadership in the Twenty-First Century: Philosophy, Doctrine, and Developments”. International Journal of Police Science and Management 6, 2 (2003): 112-114. Hughes, Patrick J. Increasing Organizational Leadership through the Police Promotional Process. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/October-2010/copy_of_confronting-science-and-market-positioning Mastrofski, Stephen. Community Policing and Police Organizational Structure: How to Recognize Good Policing: Problems and Issues. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage, 1998. Print. Morreale Stephen A. and Ortmeier, P. J. “Preparing Leaders for Law Enforcement,” The Police Chief 71 (2004): 89–97. Print. Wuestewald Todd and Steinheider, Brigitte. “Shared Leadership: Can Empowerment Work in Police Organizations?” The Police Chief 73 (2006): 48–55. Print. Wuestewald Todd and Steinheider, Brigitte. “The Changing Face of Police Leadership”. The Police Chief 73, 4 (2006). Retrieved May 3, 2014, from http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=859&issue_id=42006 Read More