Criminal Justice Leadership

Every criminal justice agency should require a structure generated by a practice of great management and leadership. The most effective managers are those who exemplify strong leadership abilities. Research has indicated that leadership must be present in criminal justice agencies to combat the growing trend of negativity by personnel and the public (Stohr & Collins, 2014). Leadership and management are not new terms, although sometimes they are used interchangeably. This essay will shed light on the role of leadership and management in criminal justice agencies and how leadership makes an agency operates more effectively.

Leadership and Theory

Leadership is defined as the technique of motivating individuals to work toward accomplishing a

Just one serious incident involving a police officer can reflect negatively on an agency and community. With effective leadership practices these dilemmas can be minimized (Reeves, 2011). Promoting ethical behavior is an essential responsibility of leadership in the criminal justice community. Good moral behavior starts at the top and with effective leadership in place, it can prevent a wide range of unethical behaviors by being engaged, involved and holding personnel accountable. Judges continuously make ethical decisions at all levels of the government. Unethical behaviors at this level can be in the form of bribery, hiring employees due to favors for politicians, or sentencing a subject unjustly (Yukl,

One of the most common techniques is the authoritative style. An authoritarian leader demonstrates close control over the workforce and motivates individuals in carrying their duties (Reeves, 2011). This leader manages individuals through the application of strictly enforced regulations, penalties, and rules. The words of an authoritarian leader are usually final, and employees are not expected to question instructions. This leadership technique is valuable when there is no room in the organization for errors often applies to a managerial role (Reeves, 2011). Some agencies who are taking on a more leadership style role are using a democratic or participative way of engaging employees. This style allows all staff to be part of the decision-making process. Unlike the authoritarian leadership style whereby the leader takes full control and command, in this form, other staff and employees are involved in the decision-making process. This style of leadership has more positive impacts with little negatives. This style ensures that voices of staff and employees are heard and can make a decision concerning the management of the system (Singer & Singer,