NCJ Number
215185
Journal
Criminal Justice Studies Volume: 19 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2006 Pages: 121-137
Date Published
June 2006
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This article explores the role of management and leadership in a modern United Kingdom police service.
Abstract
The author begins with the hypothesis that management and leadership are fundamentally different and that a modern police service requires a mixture of good management and good leadership. Although different, it is difficult to distinguish between management and leadership within police services and this is partly due to the complex and diverse nature of policing. The author points out how traditional police organizational structures impart the most discretion on the lowest ranking members. As such, the success of the organization as a whole is largely dependent upon the personal ethics and integrity of the individual police officer. It is the role of the modern police management to impart on the individual officer the management and leadership skills necessary to exercise their discretion responsibly. The author begins their analysis with a review of the different definitions of management and leadership and how they relate to the policing industry. Different leadership styles are described and the concepts of management and leadership are analyzed in terms of how they relate to personality traits, individual motivation, and organizational behavior. The author argues that the policing industry requires a management style that is decentralized to allow for local problem solving so that police responses can be tailored to the unique circumstances. The organizational management must contain a mechanism to allow all personnel to develop individual management and leadership potential. The complexities of management and leadership within police services, however, stand as an obstacle to incorporating all the necessary management and leadership concepts into one management model for policing. Notes, references