Date of Award

Spring 2021

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Elizabeth Goryunova, PhD

Keywords

law enforcement, leadership, training, standardized training, Leadership and Organizational Studies

Abstract

This research focuses on the need standardized leadership training for law enforcement. There is currently a gap in research for the need for standardized training in general and practical leadership training for law enforcement. Police academies have standardized training for driving, firearms, defensive tactics, report writing, and other tasks. These tasks have standard operating procedures that guide officers in completing these tasks in a uniform method. However, when an officer is promoted to a leadership role in a police department, there is no standardized training for those leadership positions. Many police departments find leadership training for their supervisors, but this is not a requirement for the positions and some may go without training. This research explores the varied leadership training in law enforcement on the East Coast of the United States. A qualitative approach compares information gathered from interviews of individual leaders from various departments about the need for standardized leadership training. The data from these interviews were analyzed to provide insights into the current leadership training in law enforcement. This research finds that there is a problem with not only the lack of standards for law enforcement leadership, but the leadership styles that are being used for training in law enforcement officers.

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