Police Management, Essay Example

Your text discusses several police executive management styles. Although there are many additional styles written about by many additional authors, you mostly resemble the democratic style. Why?

Police in the United States resemble the democratic style of policing. Anyone who is arrested is read their Miranda Rights and is innocent until proven guilty. Police are also not allowed to use excessive force. If a person becomes combatant then the police are only allowed to use necessary force in order to restrain that person and place them in cuffs and shackles, if necessary. The police executive management personnel in the United States use the democratic style of leadership as they allow their subordinates to have a certain amount of say in the police workforce. Also, when field officers incur severe reprimand they are usually suspended with pay rather than suspended without pay, fired, or forced to endure physical punishment. Democratic policing is very common in the Western world but has only recently been introduced to places such as South Africa. In 2007, a group of Swahili police came together to form a police union (Marks 451). Unions are another trait that separates democratic policing from the other forms. Police officers deserve to be treated with respect and dignity when they are performing their assigned duties. The democratic policing style assures that all measures will be taken to allow police workers to be treated and compensated in a fair and just manner.

What do you think about the relative importance of education and experience as qualifications for police chiefs? If you were serving on a selection committee to choose a new chief for your city, how much of each would you require of police chief applicants? Why? Do you think that police chiefs should be educated in law, criminal justice, public administration, business administration, or does it really matter? Why?

Do you think College is only accessible for richer people that being the reason why more people would not have the qualifications, as a non degreed applicant?

In the days of the previous generations, college was a luxury that only the wealthy could afford. Today, anyone can obtain higher education even if they are extremely poor. However, advanced degrees are still generally considered only available to the wealthy students as they are difficult to obtain and highly costly. In the past, police officers were only required to attend a police academy for a relatively short amount of time in order to obtain the necessary training that is required of field officers. However, this too has changed and now most police officers must hold at least a Bachelor’s degree.

Based on the Authoritarian and Laissez-faire styles give a reason why you disagree with that management style?

The Authoritarian and Laissez-faire styles do not work well in a police management setting. While each style of leadership has its place, the most effective style of leadership for police management is the democratic style. The authoritarian style is too extreme and it can cause problems such as lack of creativity, an increased need for supervision, passive-aggressiveness, and hostility. The Laissez-faire style is far too laid back for police management. Police officers cannot simply just wander around aimlessly doing as they see fit with little to no supervision. This opens the door for problems such as abuse of power, lack of direction, and general chaos.

Why should the police chief be educated in business administration?

The most criticized aspects of policing are administrative and management practices (Dantzker vii). The police chief should be educated in business administration because his or her job is to manage the entire police force and to oversee the day to day operations of the police station. These skills are very similar, if not identical, to the skills that are needed to successfully manage a business. If someone is formally educated in business management then they will be able to handle the task of being a police chief with ease. It is equally important for a police chief to be educated in domestic security as they will be responsible for several people’s lives (Innes).

Works Cited

Monique Marks, and Jenny Fleming. “Having a voice: the quest for democratic policing in Southern Africa.” Journal of Organizational Change Management 21.4 (2008): 451. ABI/INFORM Global, ProQuest. Web.  15 May. 2010.

Dantzker, M. L. Police Organization and Management: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. St. Louis: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1998. Print.

Innes, Martin. “Policing Uncertainty: Countering Terror through Community Intelligence and Democratic Policing.” The American Academy of Political and Social Science 605 (2006): 222. Print.