Introduction
Background Statement
For any organization to ultimately be successful, it depends on the presence of competent and effective leadership. It does not matter they type of the organization, and this truth especially applies to the law enforcement community. This reality also applies to organized sports, where a football team may be able to win a game, but without effective leadership in the form of a team manager, coach, or captain, its chances of ultimately winning a title will remain elusive (Schwarzwald, Koslowsky, & Agassi, 2001). Police service is not different than this analogy. Perhaps the most essential component of police work lies in the core objective to protect and to serve the public.
It should be noted that the managing of police personnel comes with its own complexities, primarily because it directly involves the management of crime. The implication is that police leadership has its own unique needs, requiring a separate study in the area of leadership to determine the proper development related activities that should be implemented into the discipline. As technology related to the solving of crimes continues to advance and increase in effectiveness, it important to continually incorporate more innovate methods into the understanding of how crimes are committed (Zhu, May, & Avolio, 2006). As a law enforcement agency, any given police department is affected in some way by various political factors, demographics, and numerous socioeconomic factors.
The increased level of complexity inherent in the law enforcement profession requires police departments to engage in a constant evaluation of their stated vision and mission in order to examine the overall role and function that the organizations plays throughout society as a whole. As a result, there is a stated need for leadership development strategies to be readily applied to police personnel. Two of the primary means of development such leadership initiatives among police departments include education and training. However, the extent to which such leadership initiatives can be develop across police ranks relies on personal life experiences, including work related objectives and experience with members of their family and community (Avolio, Zhu, Koh, & Bhatia, 2004).
Problem Statement
The problem is that training hours in the law enforcement profession are already highly limited and focused in scope. While the industry acknowledges the importance of leadership development, not much attention has been paid to this point in terms of developing programs that are maximally effective in their approach and scope.
Objectives of the Study
It should be noted that the managing of police personnel comes with its own complexities, primarily because it directly involves the management of crime. The objective of this study is to analyze implication is that police leadership has its own unique needs, requiring a separate study in the area of leadership to determine the proper development related activities that should be implemented into the discipline. As technology related to the solving of crimes continues to advance and increase in effectiveness, it important to continually incorporate more innovate methods into the understanding of how crimes are committed (Zhu, May, & Avolio, 2006). As a law enforcement agency, any given police department is affected in some way by various political factors, demographics, and numerous socioeconomic factors.
Hypothesis
Leadership development trainings for supervisors have a positive impact in terms of providing the tools and resources that are needed to more effectively manage police personnel across all departments.
Literature Review
Police departments around the country have been concerned about the proper implementation of training and education programs since the 1960s. Such training, however, has often been oriented toward a particular skill set that is believed to be needed in order to both reduce and solve crime (Deluga & Souza, 2011). As such, studies have revealed that not much training has been devoted to the effective leadership skills needed within law enforcement agencies, even though it is acknowledge that such training should really be seen as essential. Leadership development for police officers must encompass a variety of life experiences. This includes not only what family members and close acquaintances have taught them through the course of their career in law enforcement, but also what more senior members of the force have imparted upon them as well. Because there is currently a lack of formal leadership development programs across the law enforcement profession, however, it has become difficult for supervisors to fully understand how to better lead and develop the very officers under their charge within their respective departments.
Time and time again, studies have revealed that the success of a law enforcement agency is heavily dependent upon the implementation of effective and integrated approach to leadership development for all members of the agency, from supervisor down to line officers. As officers are promoted through the ranks, this needs becomes even greater, As previously alluded to, new sergeants are thrust into a leadership position that many are simply not prepared for. By offering a more comprehensive, integrative, and inclusive approach to leadership development, officers will much more prepared and ready to assume elevated positions of leadership when the time comes.
The law enforcement profession, by its very nature, comes with high expectations placed upon any individual entering the workforce. As many newly promoted police supervisors come into the job with little to training prior training in areas of the discipline, they are at an inherent disadvantage from day one. In fact, there is a psychological principle that creating a supervisory position for an individual without first providing the necessary skills in leadership development is simply counterproductive to both the individual and the organization as a whole (Schwarzwald, Koslowsky, & Agassi, 2001). This failure to provide the necessary guidance and support to leaders will result in a reality whereby many fail in their new position.
It has been noted that when a new promoted officer received the support and encouragement that they to develop in effective leadership, then they will have the best opportunity to succeed. In addition, subordinates better respect effective leaders within the law enforcement community, and officers will be more willing to follow the example set forth by their supervisors and managers. Within this in mind, it is also noted that effective leadership development programs lead to more positive, substantial, and noticeable benefits across the organization. This, in turn, has been seen to lead to less officer turnover, a great sense of employee satisfaction, and a more robust and talented group of internal applicants for open positions throughout the department. The latter is particularly important because the law enforcement community is tightly knit. If a department is know for strong leadership and development opportunities, officers will naturally want to get a position within the agency and remain there for quite some time (Zhu, May, & Avolio, 2006). This type of employee retention is particularly important in a police department, as experience and expertise matter.
Moving forward, effective leaders throughout all sectors of law enforcement need to be engaged in proper staff development programs. The future must not consist merely of a set of manager, but rather of a group of men and women that are able to provide new direction, innovative methodologies, and be able to effectively lead by example.
Methodology
The approach for this research study has been based on the meta analysis methodology. A series of scholarly articles and reviews were consulted to determine the most plausible way of explaining the impact that leadership development programs have the ability of police supervisors to more effectively do their job. As the research process itself should be viewed through a long term lens, there are certainly no shortage of questions that can be asked in the area of leadership development. This is particularly true when it comes to issues related to police supervision. Current issues that are facing the global law enforcement community have served to provide researchers with an abundance of possible angles to study moving forward. The methodology employed in this particular study has been to examine and analyze many such studies that have been previously published into one succinct report that illustrates answers to the research question in a concise manner.
Police officers, no matter their level, are professionals in a field that is constantly evolving and changing. Supervisory roles are particularly stressful and dependent upon leadership skills to get the job done. It is important to examine current research studies in this field in order to gain a deeper understanding of the impact that leadership development programs have on the supervision of police officers. As such, it is viewed as important to dissect certain qualitative characteristics that describe what an effective leader within law enforcement looks like, and to better understand why these skills need to be more readily taught and accessible to each officer.
Data Analysis
Data for this study was analyzed via a comprehensive of previously published journal articles readily available online. This search yielded 5 studies that were of particular interest and that proved to be particularly applicable to this study. These studies were then synthesized into one concise report that illustrates the impact that leadership development programs can have on the law enforcement community as a whole. This process of data analysis has proven to be effective because it provides a succinct overview of the benefits of leadership development programs, as well as highlighting the potential pitfalls should such leadership skills be neglected moving forward.
Findings
The success of police service relies greatly on effective leadership development for both supervisory and rank and file officers. When sergeants are newly promoted, they become leaders right away. A great deal of responsibility is therefore put on them and expectations become high. They will only succeed in their tasks if they have sufficient education and training (Deluga & Souza, 2011). Without leadership development, transitioning of police officers to leadership roles is unreliable. Failing to offer guidance, support and leadership development for sergeants that are newly promoted causes many to fail. Organizations that provide leadership development programs aimed at enhancing employees’ skills always prove successful. When encouragement, support and leadership development are offered to employees, they are given excelling opportunities. Programs for leadership development offer significant paybacks to organizations that provide them. Some of the benefits include greater satisfaction of employees, more talented agency positions’ internal applicants and fewer turnovers of employees (Densten, 2003).
Conclusion
Leadership development can be approached from multiple angles, particularly in the law enforcement arena. While some programs tend to focus more on the leaders within each respective department, others go beyond that and delve into the deeper issues of leadership. It is well documented that first-level supervisors, such as corporals and sergeants, play a key role in leading other officers that serve under their command. These supervisors become mentor to other officers, and they are expected to a positive influence to guide the actions of the department each and every day (Avolio, Zuh, Koh, & Bhatia, 2004). As a result, it is recommended that ongoing leadership development programs and trainings be provided to such individuals on a regular basis. The following recommendations can be made to further study this issue moving forward.
Ongoing and regular participation in various types of leadership development programs should be encouraged
Training partnerships with other agencies should be both developed and maintained in order to increase the number of available instructors that can then impart similar knowledge to other officers
Training partnerships should be utilized in order to provide effective leadership instruction to other police officers and affiliated law enforcement agencies
There are many positive effects to encouraging the ongoing participation of police officers, particularly superiors, in leadership development programs. The most significant of these is that there is currently a strong and noticeable need for leadership development to be implemented throughout police departments. Such a leadership development program can help equip supervisors with the skills, abilities, and special knowledge that they need to be an effective law enforcement leader. This knowledge can be imparted to others throughout the force, thereby creating a culture of leadership that many law enforcement agencies currently lack.
References
Avolio, B. J., Zhu, W., Koh, W., & Bhatia, P. (2004). Transformational leadership and organizational commitment: mediating role of psychological empowerment and moderating role of structural distance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(8), 951–968.
Deluga, R. J., & Souza, J. (2011). The effects of transformational and transactional leadership styles on the influencing behaviour of subordinate police officers. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 64(1), 49–55.
Densten, I. L. (2003). Senior police leadership: does rank matter? Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 26(3), 400 - 418.
Schwarzwald, J., Koslowsky , M., & Agassi, V. (2001). Captain's leadership type and police officers' compliance to power bases. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 10(3), 273-290.
Zhu, W., May, D. R., & Avolio, B. J. (2006). The Impact of Ethical Leadership Behavior on Employee Outcomes: The Roles of Psychological Empowerment and Authenticity. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies , 11(1), 16-26.
