Ethical Policing
In the case study, the leader, Lauren, who is a senior constable, approached the situation at hand using her expertise. She understood her duties excellently and all the steps she undertook in ensuring that the accident scene had been cleared. Lauren used several aspects from Baker’s problem solving policing to ensure that the case at hand had been solved in an ethical and thorough manner. Ethical policing can only be successful when senior sergeants cooperate with police officers to tackle issues as a unit. Situational leadership motivates change and can be applied at any rank in policing. Senior constables like Lauren have the strategic advantage of identifying issues and using situational leadership techniques, which are flexible depending on the type of problem, to respond appropriately to the problem.
The constable demonstrated effective leadership skills over other police officers. She responded quickly to the alert that an accident had occurred. Immediately she ordered the police and ambulance to come to the scene. On the scene, she totally showed her leadership ability by doing several tasks at once. She ordered for more policemen to help close down traffic and change traffic direction while the accident scene was being cleared. She helped attend to the injured lady while also spoke to the driver who had knocked her down. As soon as the accident was cleared, she ordered traffic to be brought back to normal. Her ability to give orders at the right time and make important decisions to solve the situation at hand was exceptional.
Lauren demonstrated proactive supervision when she supervised the whole accident problem from the time she got the alert to the time the accident scene was cleared and she ordered the traffic to be cleared to flow. She also demonstrated transforming leadership when she calmly tackled the whole situation without having to sound harsh to anyone. Lauren’s transforming leadership qualities could be demonstrated when she maintained professional but firm approach towards solving the problem. She communicated with her junior colleagues reasonably without criticism. Similarly, she communicated with the accident victim and the man who knocked her down without showing criticism. She did her work lawfully, responsibly and equitably.
The leader demonstrated diagnostic ability when she always made correct decisions each time she gave out orders. As soon as she got to the accident scene, she knew the victim was not in a good condition. She decided to stop traffic until the scene is cleared. She decided to order more cars to close down the road and to ensure traffic uses other roads. Her leadership style was also flexible to suit the demands of the situation. She knew she had to handle different people in this situation, the driver, the victim and her junior colleagues. She managed to juggle her leadership skills to give orders to police, keep the accident victim occupied until the paramedics took over and take down details of the accident from the driver. The leader was also conversant with the relationship between the readiness of her junior followers and the effectiveness of her leadership style. She made decisions based on what she knew her juniors could accomplish within a time period that she expected would help solve the problem.
Therefore, situational leadership was effectively demonstrated by Lauren’s ability to conduct ethical policing in a professional and lawful manner. She used aspects of the Baker approach where she focused on her leadership, her junior colleagues, communication and the problem at hand. These factors helped her make correct decisions and solve the problem without experiencing any inconveniences.
Reference
Baker, T. (2000). Sergeants and police officers: Effective police leadership. New York: Looseleaf Law Publications.
