Leadership vs. Power in Policing (Essay Sample)

Leadership vs. Power in Policing Ky’Lee Abrahams Idalia Alfaro Elizabeth Jimenez Romario Jimenez Stephanie Moralez Ivan Rodriguez CJA 445-41 Summer 2023 30th July 2023 INTRODUCTION: Power is described to be the foundation of leadership. While in policing, power is provided to give one the ability to influence a group of subordinate within an organization. It’s the key to having the group of subordinate successfully accomplish their tasks in an efficient and effective manner. Because power is had to come by within an organization. it is only given to the people that organization believe have leadership role, personality ,and are capable of taking on responsibilities that they have proven to uphold when given an assignment. Although one might believe that power and leadership go hand in hand, having power is one thing, while having the leadership skills to provide influence to others is proven to be something completely different. While it was previously described that power is the foundation of leadership, it is such that leadership is the ‘’process of directing and influencing individuals or group to achieve goals.’’(Gaines; Worrall.2011.p.152.) While we are being told that a police officer is unlikely to be a leader if they present them with no power, do administrators really improve themselves by having power to be able to be a leader with a law enforcement organization if that really means nothing during this time. Lately, police agencies and officers have been far too aggressive towards the community. They have been accused of police brutality and racial discrimination. Going through difficult times like the last 3-4 years, including Covid and the riots that were happening in Los Angeles County, make the community think about what they did/do to deserve such treatment if the police agencies were the ones that they supported to fall back on when in danger. Rather, they are continuously abusing their organizational power, which a power is given to an individual based on their hierarchical position within the organization. ‘’…the need for eliminating bad leadership qualities for improvement in public safety agencies to reduce threats to law and order.’’(McBride, 2015.p.8.) The fact that as a community, we have to look out for one another is the point that these people are attempting to make and get across these law enforcement agencies to bring safety back into the communities. Citizens throughout the United States need to feel safe in the country that they live in and not, for one second, doubt in their law enforcement officers capabilities to offer them any type of help .On the contrary, officers should be capable of being trained sufficiently enough to not bring in any type of hatred or personal experiences to let it affect their work space. Instead of abusing their ‘’power’’ as a sworn police officer, agencies need to possibly look into training 2within their hierarchy’s and put these types of officers within a probationary period to prove themselves to be worthy of the positions and power that they are supposed to have effective their time throughout the probation period. Unfortunately, sometimes subordinates are so easily influenced by other supervisors that they believe that the way that their supervisor taught them to do things is exactly how things are supposed to be done. However, given the situations that the United State is facing right know with racial profiling and police brutality, agencies should be capable of making rapid decisions like this to protect their communities, but most importantly their image as a rapid decision like this to protect their communities, but most importantly, their image as an organization. The purpose of this is to effectively relay the message that police agencies sometimes are not using their leadership skills effectively and they are using their power in such a way that communities are not responding to their authorities like they would before. On the other hand, the people would much rather seek their own help and do their own research before they call their nearest police departments. So the purpose lies on how this paper will demonstrate, with supportive research, how police administrators and agencies can use their leadership roles in an effective way the surrounding communities will not believe that police officers are overstepping their boundaries and simply over using their power in such a way that they are affecting community instead of helping it changer and realize what the efficiency of the problem really is when the question becomes’’ is there really a difference between leadership and power?’’ The abuse of authority inside police organizations has had grave repercussions, including destroying public confidence and creating an atmosphere characterized by fear and hatred. Outrage and confusion have been aroused in communities due to incidents of police violence and racial profiling, which have caused people to doubt the authority they used to rely on for security. It is essential to address the problem of poor leadership characteristics that are prominent within certain law enforcement agencies (McBride, 2015). Doing so will help enhance public safety agencies and restore confidence in these organizations. The misuse of organizational authority, which may be acquired through hierarchical positions, is a source of worry and calls for a prompt response from management. Training and professional development should be given high priority within the ranks of law enforcement agencies to ensure that officers are fully equipped to deal with the myriad of issues they confront daily. Officers may be helped to avoid bringing personal prejudices and unpleasant experiences into their workplaces by receiving the appropriate training. It may also be useful to institute a training term known as a probationary period for newly appointed officials. During this period, they would have the chance to exhibit their competencies and ethical leadership in real-world situations, which would serve as an opportunity for them. Agencies will be able to guarantee that persons who occupy positions of power are worthy of their responsibilities and can responsibly...