Leading, Organizing and Decisions in Criminal Justice - Essay Example

Leading, Organizing and Decisions in Criminal Justice Today’s leadership is faced with increased pressure to achieve success within high-performance levels. The institutions are led by staff supervisors with expectations of operating at similar levels. The attributes for which leaders require, develop and perfect the successful roles of leadership. The attributes are discussed in ways that improve and enhance an individual’s leadership style. From my experience, I appreciate that leadership is conducted for purposes of identifying positive leadership attributes while enhancing person’s skills. Despite a number of leaders possessing the basic skills, more research should be conducted for purposes of enhancing the skills. Future leaders in criminal justice face greater and complex issues. Information age is presenting more problems hence the need to confront faster paces as compared to before. The issues with leadership are more complex and attained at faster rates hence the need to have the skills in which the leaders require mastery. To attain success, the leadership should be in a position of calling on the attributes while using them daily to deliver on their roles. The specific problems in management of crime and criminal justice within local governments vary across regions. However, there are various issues that are prevalent in strategic communities. The public safety and crime control approach, the focus has a typical inclusion of assaults, auto theft, robberies, commercial and residential burglaries, petty store thefts, drug dealing and possession as well as driving under the alcohol or drugs influence, domestic violence, and gang violence. The broader societal impact is that such problems lead to specific crime types and other far-reaching complexities such as decreasing agency operations funding for programs, detention and jail overcrowding, disproportionate minority contact, as well as pretrial release and bail policy issues. Substantive challenges include exacerbation from various fiscal challenges (Stojkovic,  Kalinich,  and Klofas 67). The resultant cuts and state budget shortfalls in state-funded agencies of criminal justice exert increasing burden to cities and counties to avail more services for their respective budgets. The process of budget cutting is meant to induce reductions form broad areas such as budgets of alternative agencies providing needed services by justice system. The essential threshold criminal justice challenge includes coordination of councils for developing basis for knowledge on funding streams. The focus supports activities of jurisdiction’s entities involved in processes of criminal justice as well as specific functions that funding stream offer support (Kania and Davis 89). Our levels of integrity illustrate how persons should characterize their leadership trends. High integrity levels are respected by most staff while leaders supervise and undertake leadership decisions. States, cities, and counties are trying to appreciate significant budget deficits for which the local level courts, as well as criminal justice institutions, are forced to cut down on budgets and dismissing personnel. There are strong urges of attaining sound local-level practices and policies to enable effectiveness in the engagement of limited resources in the justice system. The major challenges include overcoming public moneys with expectations of using effective measures to reduce crime and address persistent issues in criminal justice (Doss, Guo, and Lee 87). The primary trigger in addressing issues within the criminal justice is based on multi-disciplinary commission or council that such as leaders from respective agencies and institutions involved in policymaking and implementation for criminal justice. Effectiveness in criminal justice is achieved while leaders perceive competence in their supervisory roles and majority of staff supervised. It is critical for leaders to appreciate their job expectations and requirements of independent positioning. Such jobs become lessons that allow for extensive experience that does not involve bad consideration of the organization against frequent changes in job requirements hence frequent restructuring. Minimal understanding among criminal justice leaders on job responsibilities increases the possibility that no initiative is shown, or such leaders make more mistakes. It is critical that leaders have an enabled sense of appreciation and direction within their jobs. Good leaders go past waiting for their supervisors to explain the job responsibilities details as they seek out for more information by themselves (Stojkovic,  Kalinich,  and Klofas 76). Dynamism is one of the critical standards that good criminal justice leaders are expected to have. Positions of leadership should have balanced basic values within volatile and competitive environments. In turn, the overall abilities of each leadership to achieve success in performing functions and duties require regular perception of adapting and cope with the changing mandates, focus, and pressures. A closely related aspect to the dynamism concept is a requirement of each quality leader to be skillful and knowledgeable about their jobs (Carpenter and Fulton 72). The implication of this is attributable to experiences where absence of the latest technology within the profession poses quality issues for individual’s leadership. Leadership in this case is solely relevant while the individuals assigned to leadership roles have regular attendance of necessary trainings and other refresher courses to be updated. Features of good criminal justice leaders include flexibility, versatility, and adaptability. In application, there are critical elements of good leaders that allow for versatility in various leadership areas such as, gender issues, strategic planning, labor relations, legal issues, social issues, law enforcement matters, and media relations. Leaders with such qualities are in a position of performing leadership roles effectively. This aspect is notable in the provision of guidance to subordinates (Doss, Guo, and Lee 78). The utilization of social construction theory allows police organizations to have substantive sites of gender specification where cults of masculinity are common to police organizations and in the creation and maintenance of sustainable structures. Female oriented approaches for problem-solving have a historical approach to orientation. The elements of ethical practice allow leaders to have an understanding of the division lines between organizational integrity and friendship. The considerations trickle down to client’s interests and organizational goals in finding demarcation between personal biases, feelings, interest, and other professional job standards. In such regard, there are expectations that each leader within law enforcement agencies is in a position of avoiding unethical behavior for purposes of performance of duties. The conceptual integration is beneficial in considering the urgent decisions associated with performance of duties. For instance, police officers working in societies for enforcement of laws have the power of depriving individuals of their liberty (Kania and Davis 102). Other forms of power include investigation, issuing tickets, and power of participate in undercover operations. When the police officers act as criminal justice system agents and are not subject to the ethical practices, arbitrariness is a probable outcome. This leads to lawsuits against government and misuse of ; hence, ethical practices are significant. Further, prosecutors have the power of deciding on the cases to present to the court and those that require grand jury (Stojkovic,  Kalinich,  and Klofas 98). The decision settles on the approach to prosecuting and appropriating various forms of crime. The decisions are expected to be achieved by prosecutors while undertaking critical weights for the justification of need for the prosecutors subjected to best ethical practices in their jobs. The decisions are not made on sound ethical practice; negative impacts on individuals and society are enormous. Within prison systems, correction officers make decisions on a daily basis affecting the health, well-being, and total life of prisoners under their supervision. While such practices from prison officials do not receive guidance from sound ethical practices, the outcome includes lawsuits, death, and prisoners rioting. This leads to unfavorable responses from the larger society and other stakeholders. Alternative studies establish the significance of ethical behavior for criminal justice leadership in respective agencies (Doss, Guo, and Lee 83). For instance, irrespective of the community policing usefulness for delivering on efficient and strong partnership between the community and the police, this intended gain will be easily withdrawn from the unethical decisions by leaders. Further, the implication of effective leaders in guiding the unethical decisions is becoming necessary. Leadership in all aspects of an organization should regularly focus on line personnel and supervisors through their awareness of the ethical behavior expectations and integrity disposition expected from the management. The approach is critical if the leader is to set a high standard of behavior among the people and their respective subordinates (Carpenter and Fulton 82). The position within a present study allows for interpretation of leadership in levels such as training, stress, and enforcement of organizational policies and rules. The variation ensures that personnel have clear understanding of organization guidelines and policies of rules and operation of conduct to eliminate conflict between line personnel and supervisors. New rules prevent unethical behavior and hence the need for continuous creation. Further, leadership in criminal justice should address unethical behaviors and misconduct while facilitating the strict deterrence for future outbursts. Supervisors require alerts and awareness of respective responsibilities while encouraging colleagues to have immediate reporting on unethical behavior seen in workplaces (Stojkovic,  Kalinich,  and Klofas 90). Achieving this further strengthens mechanisms of prevention in misconduct. The significant practice among good leaders includes involving ethical education within the organization while eradicating unethical behavior. Further, ethical education remains critical among agencies of the criminal justice fields due to the focus on membership and staff consideration. This is a better-equipped approach in avoiding ethical violations and giving them opportunities of going through respective careers without civil and criminal liabilities. The concept reduces possibilities of officers having to lose their jobs as a result of unethical and poor decision-making (Cools 98). Additionally, some consequences of ineffective leadership and unethical decisions are based on possibilities of lowering morale, discrediting staff, and erosion of the confidence among general citizens for the existing system. The paper identifies and discusses important standards required by effective leaders as well as ethical practices linked to quality leadership. The focus analyzes combinations of good leadership and practices that have the potential of curbing unethical practices and preventing conflict between subordinates and supervisors in creating new rules. The approach and argument within the approach to leadership are that organizations within the criminal justice require an adoption of leadership practices for purposes of motivating and encouraging employees. This will deliver on strife for ethical performance of their functions and duties. The concept also becomes relevant in appreciating the capabilities of assuring high productivity. Further, there is a highlight of the organizations with continuous reevaluation of leadership positions to achieve the agency’s goals and objectives. The facilitation also minimizes conflict and opposition between subordinates and supervisors where new policies and rules curb unethical behavior. Works Cited Carpenter, Michael., and Fulton, Roger. A Practical Career Guide for Criminal Justice Professionals. New York: Looseleaf Law Publications, 2007. Print Cools, Marc. Readings on Criminal Justice, Criminal Law & Policing. New York: Maklu, 2009. Print Doss, Daniel., Guo, Chengqi., and Lee, Joo. The Business of Criminal Justice: A Guide for Theory and Practice. New York: CRC Press, 2012. Print Kania, Richard., and Davis, Richards. Managing Criminal Justice Organizations: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. New York: Routledge, 2014. Print Stojkovic, Stan., Kalinich, David., and Klofas, John. Criminal Justice Organizations: Administration and Management. New York: Cengage Learning, 2014. Print Read More