Training in Law Enforcement Leadership
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Document Type
Oral Presentation
Department
Leadership and Organizational Studies
Faculty Mentor
Elizabeth Goryunova, PhD
Keywords
law enforcement, leadership, training, standardized training, police leadership styles.
Abstract
Law-enforcement agencies are facing a number of complex issues, including communities’ public perception affected by the incidents of misconduct, and struggling to retain qualified and diverse personnel (Davis, 2020,). Solving complex problems requires effective leadership, yet there is currently a research gap in understanding the effective leadership styles, leadership training, as well as lack of standardized training, for law enforcement. Police academies train officers in standardized training for driving, firearms, defensive tactics, report writing, and other tasks. These tasks have standard operating procedures that help to guide officers in completing these tasks in a uniform method. There are fewer documents that intertwine standards for leadership training for police supervisors. When an officer is promoted to a leadership role in a police department, there is no standardized training for those leadership positions. This research focuses on standardized leadership training for law enforcement. It explores the varied leadership training in law enforcement on the East Coast of the United States, to identify existing practices and ways to improve those across the nation. This study uses a qualitative approach, where the information is gathered through interviews of current supervisors from departments of varied size, in both rural and urban communities. The data from these interviews is analyzed to provide insights into the current leadership training in law enforcement. Several themes are identified in this study, such as the need for varied leadership styles for supervisors, the various needs of different police agencies and communities, and the feelings toward standardized training for police supervision.
Training in Law Enforcement Leadership - transcript
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Training in Law Enforcement Leadership
Law-enforcement agencies are facing a number of complex issues, including communities’ public perception affected by the incidents of misconduct, and struggling to retain qualified and diverse personnel (Davis, 2020,). Solving complex problems requires effective leadership, yet there is currently a research gap in understanding the effective leadership styles, leadership training, as well as lack of standardized training, for law enforcement. Police academies train officers in standardized training for driving, firearms, defensive tactics, report writing, and other tasks. These tasks have standard operating procedures that help to guide officers in completing these tasks in a uniform method. There are fewer documents that intertwine standards for leadership training for police supervisors. When an officer is promoted to a leadership role in a police department, there is no standardized training for those leadership positions. This research focuses on standardized leadership training for law enforcement. It explores the varied leadership training in law enforcement on the East Coast of the United States, to identify existing practices and ways to improve those across the nation. This study uses a qualitative approach, where the information is gathered through interviews of current supervisors from departments of varied size, in both rural and urban communities. The data from these interviews is analyzed to provide insights into the current leadership training in law enforcement. Several themes are identified in this study, such as the need for varied leadership styles for supervisors, the various needs of different police agencies and communities, and the feelings toward standardized training for police supervision.
