What Is Leadership within the Context of Contemporary Policing - Essay Example

Introduction Leadership is the focus of ideas, concepts and efforts of a group of people towards a given collective effort, (New Oxford English Dictionary 2005). A leader therefore plays the role of concentrating ideas and efforts to achieve a given set of objectives through active decision making and prompt issuance of instructions. In a police force, there is a structured form of leadership with hierarchies such as sergeants, captains, superintendents and commissioners, in an ascending order of importance, Dantzker, M. L (1998). At all these levels there is a complex set of demands facing the leader that require different skills, abilities and orientations to handle. One of the biggest challenges facing police leaders in contemporary times is to develop police organizations that can effectively recognize, relate and assimilate the global shifts in culture, technology and information. Their roles involve conceptualizing ever changing community expectations, technology, government policy, policing philosophies and ethical standards in their operating environment, Doerner, W. G. (1999). This paper sets out to critically examine this conceptualization of police leadership in the context of contemporary policing. The leadership involved is first classified and each type analyzed. Next, changes that have taken place in police leadership are examined followed by identification of the factors bringing about these changes. The next thing is to look at how leaders in the police service cope with these changes in their roles, before drawing a relevant conclusion. Types Of Police Leadership Police leadership can be categorized into the following types: command and control; management; and supervision, Grint, K. (2005). Command and control are oriented towards the old traditional philosophy of police leadership. This kind of leadership was based on a rigid command style in which juniors did not have room to question orders from superiors. It had its glaring limitations in that it led to magnification of poor leadership decisions when thus implemented. It also limited consultation with the community and juniors. However, the main advantage of this type of autocracy is that it made it easy for the commander to take full responsibility for all decisions. Even in the other leadership approaches, the final responsibility for actions taken lies with the leader. It also enabled quick action in emergency situations without wastage of time. This is one aspect of this leadership that remains useful and enduring even today. The second type of leadership, management, calls for close consultation between the leader and his charges as well as with those in the immediate environment. Orders issued are more broad-based and are implemented by juniors who appreciate the full implications of what they are doing. Conversely, it has the disadvantage of being time consuming in discussions and may thus not be applicable in situations that call for emergency response. The third type of participatory leadership involves supervision and advice. It is the hands on type, where the leader oversees the implementation of his orders and is readily available for consultation. Its main disadvantage is that it occupies the leader leaving him unavailable for other duties. For instance when the station commander is out in the field with his charges, important matters may go unattended to at the station. Changes In Police Leadership Roles Police leadership roles have undergone a lot of changes due to the demands of contemporary times. The transition to participatory management from the traditional rigid style is quite inevitable in at present. The Police Commissioner finds himself left with no choice but to undergo this transition. Contemporary organizations are in a constant empowerment environment in which traditional hierarchical structures of traditional police leadership find no place. Commissioners must therefore work closely with and cooperatively with all levels of the command structure and workforce. For many of them, this power-sharing and relaxing of personal expectations of infallibility and omniscience is a painful process, but one that must be undertaken nevertheless. For the sake of success in modern settings, they must undertake the emotional and operational transition. Command and control is becoming less productive as the dominant leadership style. Power has to be increasingly shared down the hierarchy even as accountability and responsibility are not. Since the Commissioner is well aware that ultimate responsibility shall remain with him for the foreseeable future, he must maintain a delicate balance between sharing out power while still covertly maintaining control. The role of supervision has also been broadened in that officers rely on supervisors for information, support and evaluation of their performance. This calls for consultation rather than traditional disciplinary measures to improve the overall performance of the force. The logic is that early supervision prevents ultimate mistakes that lead to disciplinary action. The modern Police Commissioner plays the role of leader, decision maker, confidant, politician, disciplinarian, therapist, mentor, administrator, task master, spokesperson, community leader, educator, change agent, facilitator, partner, negotiator, role model, steward, student, visionary, manager, leadership developer and minister. All these values must be delicately balanced to avoid contradiction in roles or creating confusion, Heifetz, R. (1994). Research shows that there are four major policing models that are supported by theory. They are; police professionalism, community policing, problem oriented policing and the security orientation. Police leadership finds itself accommodating in different degrees these models. In the process the requisite leadership style is subjected to change. Internal Factors Determining Contemporary Changes In Police Leadership Education And Professionalism Officers are increasingly college graduates rather than high school diploma holders. This has contributed to their need to perform exemplarily, professionally and accountably to the communities in which they serve. The better educated officers also need to be recognized and respected not only by their superiors but also by their contemporaries not in the police service. The management of the service must also change accordingly to live up to these expectations. The higher education levels are a plus to the service since this can be tapped towards the improvement of services to the public and raising of the reputation of the service. This situation has led to the emergence of the professional policing model. This model assumes that the focus on improvement of internal management is geared toward accomplishing the goal of crime control and law enforcement. The model carries the themes of uniformity of treatment of officers, improved superior-subordinate relations, military style discipline and the efficient use of police personnel. A good example of this is the Chicago police department under the leadership of OW Wilson in the early 1990s. The department prioritized motorized patrol, rapid response to calls, thorough criminal investigation, search and preservation of evidence at crime scenes and the arrest of perpetrators of crime. Professional policing has since developed to include discussion of cases and even consultation with victims and other members of the community. Nevertheless, managing such a highly educated workforce has its challenges. The leader has to adjust to a situation where old methods and approaches are increasingly challenged. Suggestions keep flying in for change and consequently, leadership itself either changes or is swept out by change, Baker, T. E (2005). At the same time, members of the community in which the police service operates, are also increasingly highly educated and informed on issues. In such an environment, the police service cannot afford to be stagnant since its roles become critically examined by a well informed community, Haberfield, M. R. (2005). Community Policing The model of community policing has strongly emerged as the new measure of modern policing over the recent years. It expects that the police must mobilize and involve members of the community in their operations. To do this effectively the police need to maintain good relations with the community. This kind of policing is expected to have a direct impact on the quality of life in the community in terms of the community ability to maintain stability and the police department's capacity to deal with crime, Kratcoski, P.C., Dukes, D. (2007). To enable this model to work, the police need to adjust their philosophy to neighborhood variation. The scope of police officer's roles naturally needs to be broadened to accommodate such and arrangement. Moreover, engagement in proactive police activities such as regular meetings with community members, interaction with the public during patrols and collective implementation of various community crime prevention programmes. Problem-Oriented Model This model is based on the assumption that the police would be more effective if they stressed the substantive outcome of police work by analyzing and stressing on public problems. Police are expected to deal with the circumstances which produce recurrent crime and disorder by developing the capacity to collect and analyze data and conduct evaluations of their operational effectiveness. Activities in this model include systematic research, selective approaches and focus on crime prone locations. They are also expected to focus on repeat victims and recurring problems. In addition, they are expected to enlist other agencies and plan cooperatively with them, Watson, N.A. (1966). Partnership Working This model is supported by situational crime prevention theory, (ibid). It assumes that blocking or designing out opportunities has a significant effect on crime reduction. Information and decision processes vary greatly between different offences, therefore, understanding the information and differential decision processes for different offences can help the police to prepare better for crime prevention. Principles involved are the deployment of police officers as security guards to reduce opportunities for crime and training police officers to use security techniques, (Ibid). Police officers can engage in such activities as fortressing targets, controlling access, screening at entries and exits, formal surveillance, property identification and rule setting. All these would help them to better understand and relate with day to day security situations. The role of the police leader has to undergo changes to adjust to this relatively new approach. First of all, there is an extended command that goes beyond police officers alone. The head of a police station may find himself in charge of private security firms in addition to his own officers. Secondly, police strategy meetings may sometimes involve the inclusion of these firms to highlight roles and map out joint strategies. Where rivalry and exclusion may have existed before, a new understanding with the partners involved must be fostered by the police leader. External Factors Influencing Leadership Changes The Police Commissioner is faced with several forces to which he has to adjust. The external forces emanate from the community in which the department operates, other police departments, the government and the international community at large. To run a successful service the Police Commissioner must take cognizance of these factors so as to design a leadership model that takes them into full consideration. The factors are examined below. The single most influential external factor influencing police operations is politics, Thurman, Q. & Zhao, J. (2004). Police Commissioners serve political, community, administrative and justice constituencies all of which have individual special interests. A delicate balancing act is therefore imperative on the part of any Police Commissioner who wants to succeed in serving all these interests. In fact, the very survival of the Police Commissioner may depend on the ability to do this. This ability constitutes the politics of policing which is an integral part of police work. The Commissioner interacts regularly with the mayor and city managers. These are the characters that set the agenda and provide policy and program frameworks for the Police Commissioner. Typically most of these frameworks will conform to those on the Commissioner's own preferred agenda. But inevitably, there are those which will conflict. More often than most there are mixed signals at most or no direction at all at worst from the city fathers. The Commissioner therefore has no option but to maintain a contact with the mayor and managers on major political issues, programs and initiatives to successfully manage the environment and thus survive, Leishman, F. Loveday, B. & Savage, S. (1995). The same balancing act must also be maintained with council members who directly represent the interests of electoral districts and individual citizens. Commissioners often experience difficulties in satisfying the interests of council members who are hypersensitive to every need and whim of the constituents who elect them. Commissioners will avoid anything that tends to politicize police operations. As such they have a responsibility to define terms of police relations with elected local representatives, and must make these positions known to the latter as well as their police superiors. Another glaring trap in which Police Commissioner find themselves ensnared is that of political loyalty. The Commissioners themselves come to their positions with explicit support from many key political leaders. Appointment and continuing tenure is often accompanied with quid pro quo expectations, Burke, R. H. (2004). However, if the Commissioners continue with the feeling that they owe their jobs to political loyalty and succumb to constant manipulation they are not likely to operate professionally and succeed in their jobs. So, once in place, Commissioners must function within the framework of their job descriptions, the law and immediate superiors. The only forms of political overtures they can accommodate are those which strictly fall within proper professional police practice. Commissioners must lay the ground rules right at the beginning of their carriers when they still enjoy the goodwill of their political benefactors. Encouraging political encroachment into their work only to change later simply does not work. Inevitably, Police Commissioners are answerable to several formal authorities including mayors, councils and Police Commissioners. However their direct line of command must always get the first priority in terms of obedience and conformity. Conversely, the Commissioners must inform their direct superiors to make them mindful of the challenges and conflicting pressures under which they operate. Only in this way can they ensure that they are no loaded with orders that tare practically unworkable in their circumstances, Adlam, R. & Villiers, P. (2003). Finally, pressure may be mounted politically for the Police Commissioner to promote officers recommended by political god-fathers rather than the most efficient and qualified in the ranks. In such a case, the Commissioner has no choice but to scrupulously observe civil service and administrative regulations in carrying out promotions. Even in terms of deployment of officers to various jurisdictions, the actual need on the ground should be the sole guiding factor based on data problem analysis rather than political demands. The community should be well aware of the scarcity of officers and the basis on which they are deployed. Even in cases of political power transition, Commissioners who remain loyal to the force are more likely to survive than those who toed the line of the outgoing government. The second external factor is community demographics. America has an increasingly aging population, Kenney, D. J (1989). Police service, crime and volunteerism all recruit from without the immediate community. Moreover, the influx of new ethnic groups and sizeable increase in population of present groups require police to possess and operationalize a high degree of awareness of subcultures and tailor their leadership around this. The third factor is technology. Current and future police leaders must be up to speed with the new wave of technological innovations and understand their impact on police operations, Weick, K. (1995). It is no longer sufficient just to have a staff specialist who possesses information technology capabilities. For the sake of present and future decisions it is imperative to have the ability to mobilize and manipulate information and data. New technology of course comes at a high prize which is of concern to small and rural based departments. Fourth is the related issue of first-time problems, Heifetz, R. & Linsky, M. (2002). The new Police Commissioner faces problems that his predecessors knew nothing about and hence did not formulate any policies to deal with. These include computer crime and domestic and international terrorism. These are tasks more daunting than traditional issues like drug abuse and gang violence. To cope, the Commissioner has to develop the ability to assemble and assimilate information much faster than before. He must quickly adjust to working in unusual grounds with new types of experts. These call for new types of education, training and development experiences. Next is the issue of new litigation and legislation trends. Mounting legislation complicates analytical and planning decision processes thus multiplying the workload required to ensure that policies, protocols, training and workforce behavior are consistent with new legislative initiatives. Commissioners find themselves operating in zones of uncertainty until new legal mandates are clear-cut and well defined by the courts or legislation. The Commissioners also have a role to play in offering guidance to state and federal legislators with a view to influencing new and useful initiatives to be legislated into law. They therefore have to participate proactively in the process of recommendation, drafting and debate of legislation aimed at achieving public safety and ensure that legislation does not damage the department's control of crime. State associations of Police Commissioners are an excellent channel through which such influence can be channeled Anderson, T. (1999). Labor partnerships have also exerted their own influence on police operations especially on the aspect of community policing. For effective change to take place, the contemporary Commissioner must develop or possess a different perspective to that of predecessors. The Commissioner must also exhibit new welcoming behavior toward organized labor. Strategies must be evolved and recommended to motivate and lead the workforce, while more constructive labor- management partnerships should be promoted in the face of this environment. Another powerful sector that has progressively emerged in recent times to take its pride of place in police operations is that of business interests. This is a powerful constituency with special concerns. Leaders of major and minor business frequently wield substantial political power and can be mobilized for political and financial support including much needed resources. Successful Police Commissioners have all in one way or another established conducive partnership with business leaders. Coping With The Factors To succeed in modern policing, Commissioners and their superiors must come to unambiguous and comprehensive understanding of the rules of the relationship, Grint, K. (2008). The Commissioners should meet with mayors, city managers and legislators to develop guidelines to handle policy issues and define appropriate and inappropriate behavior in their relations. These opportunities also provide an ample forum for the Commissioners to launch and expound their vision for the department and their personal values. Secondly police departments must specify the basic levels of education required to lead the police force. For instance a graduate degree should be the least requirement for leading smaller police departments, while the larger ones with more than 100 officers should be led by a person with at least a masters degree, Doerner, W. G. (1999). Channels of communication should also be opened between the community and the police in the face of the emergent community policing policies. Where there is ample communication, cooperation is more enhanced thus making police work more efficient and acceptable to the community, Waddington, P. J. (1998). The Police Commissioner will find himself employing different models of operation in his department. The Commissioner should therefore be conversant with all the different models to enable operations of each in the department depending on the particular situation faced. The Police Commissioner will be called upon constantly to identify leadership within the force for appointment and promotion. The Commissioner must therefore establish closer relationships with officers in order to keenly observe them to be in a position to identify leadership easily. In carrying out new recruitments, a balanced force must be established by taking into cognizance ethnic and gender representation to widen diversity, Grint, K. (2001). The Commissioner should always strive to have integrity of character, a positive attitude to work, the courage to self-manage, the courage to readily adopt change, moral fortitude, compassion, the desire for continuous learning and self-improvement and willingness to lead. Conclusion Contemporary police leadership methods are obviously different from the original traditional approach used in the past century. The leadership has undergone numerous changes. Any Police Commissioner who wants to cope with modern leadership must not only readily and quickly adjust to modern demands of the job, but must also be willing to adopt the wide variety of approaches covered in this paper. Innovation according to fast changing circumstances is also a must. They must be ready to be commander, manager and leader when faced with the different situations. Leadership in contemporary policing is therefore a highly versatile and dynamic process that encompasses both the traditional approaches and an ever increasing range of adjustments. References Adlam, R. & Villiers, P. (2003) Police Leadership in the 21st Century: Philosophy, Doctrine and Developments, Waterside Press Anderson, T. (1999) Every Officer is a Leader: Transforming Leadership in Police, Justice, and Public Safety, CRC Press, 1st Edition Baker, T. E (2005) Effective Police Leadership: Moving beyond Management, Loose-leaf Law Publications, 2nd edition Burke, R. H. (2004) Hard Cop, Soft Cop: Dilemmas and Debates in Contemporary Policing, Willan Dantzker, M. L (1998) Police Organization and Management: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Doerner, W. G. (1999) Contemporary Police Organization and Management: Issues and Trends, Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd Grint, K. (2005) Leadership: Limits & Possibilities, Palgrave Grint, K. (2001) The Arts of Leadership, OUP Grint, K. (2008) 'Wicked problems and clumsy solutions', Clinical Leader, Volume 2:1 Haberfield, M. R. (2005) Police Leadership, Prentice Hall Heifetz, R. (1994) Leadership without easy answers, Harvard University Press Heifetz, R. & Linsky, M. (2002) Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading, Harvard Business School Press Kenney, D. J (1989) Police and Policing: Contemporary Issues, Greenwood Press Kratcoski, P.C., Dukes, D. (2007) (Eds); Issues in Community Policing, Anderson Publishing, Cincinnati. Leishman, F. Loveday, B. & Savage, S. (1995) Core Issues in Policing, Longman New Oxford English Dictionary (2005), OUP, Oxford. Thurman, Q. & Zhao, J. (2004) Contemporary Policing: Controversies, Challenges, and Solutions - An Anthology, Roxbury Publishing Company Waddington, P. J. (1998) Policing Citizens, Routledge; 1st edition Watson, N.A. (1966), Law enforcement-society Affairs, International involvement of Commissioners of Police, Washington, DC. Weick, K. (1995) Sense making in Organizations, Sage Read More