1. Identify and discuss the eight (8) recurring reasons that change occurs in law enforcement agencies.
There are many recurring reasons that changes occurs in law enforcement agencies. The book outlines 8 reasons that change occurs. The 8 reasons are as follow:
1. A single catastrophic event, often followed by civil liability litigation, leads to the chief of police being replaced (Swanson, 2012, pg. 650). This forces changes because it addresses a single incident and forces change. A good example of this would be the failure to adequately respond to an incident. This can be seen when an incident unarmed person is killed by the police. This can be a result of inadequate training or a trigger happy force. None the less the reason, the community and high up administration want justice and thus sometimes come in the form of change agent or decision maker, e.g. the police chief.
2. A new mayor is elected and the current chief is replaced with one of the newly elected mayors own choosing. The new mayor may bring his or her own vision of how the agency should be organized and operated (Swanson, 2012, pg. 650). This can ultimately lead to the dismissal of the current police chief because the new chief is better fitted ti implement changes that are consistent with the new mayor’s political and philosophical vision of governance (Swanson, 2012, pg. 651).
3. A key political figure suffers a major embarrassment and feels the law enforcement agency is to blame, resulting in the chief being forced out (Swanson, 2012, pg. 651). A good example of this would be a tremendous embarrassment that is publicizes and leads the political figure with a sense of disloyalty or support. The embarrassment alone can become a reason for change to occur in law...
... middle of paper ...
... is a function of their perceptions of the extent to which their agency is prepared for such a change (Swanson, 2012, pg. 664). This model bases receptivity to change on the actual structure of an organization. An officer may show receptiveness based on the agencies readiness as it pertains to adequate training, resource distribution, reorganization and administration commitment. These are all important aspects to consider when trying to determine and outline change resistance amongst an agency.
In order to accomplish organizational change the police manager needs to have the will as well and skills to determine when change is necessary and also to properly embrace the opportunity to implement the change.
Work Cited
Swanson, C.R. (2012) Police administration: structures, processes, and behavior/Charles Swanson, Leonard Territo, Robert W. Taylor -8th ed.
Once chief Robin Richardson was in command she made the decision to change the organizational structure within the police department. MPD chief Richardson made the decision the change the police department 's centralized organization structure to a more decentralized structure that relies on employees to communicate information to make decisions and recommend changes” ( Textbook, Chapter 10). MPD chief Richardson decisions to change the “organizational structure was to accommodate the dramatic shift in performance culture”( Textbook Chapter). MPD chief Richardson felt that the traditional functional organization structure under the vertical hierarchy has lost sight of MPD organization mission. Chief Richardson wanted to create an organizational structure that provides certain levels of autonomy, that allows employees to make decisions based on their individuals discretions. MPD chief Robin Richardson considered a “divisional organization a design structure that groups processes and jobs based on clearly defined market segments or geography”( Textbook Chapter 10). Chief Richardson considered “divisional organization structure that allows decision making to take place at the divisional level by managers, and differences of opinion would be resolved without depending on the chief. Chief Richardson felt that this design was leaning more toward what she visualized for the MPD: a centralized, horizontal organization” (Textbook chapter 10). According to the text, chief Robin Richardson “finally decision was to create a matrix organization, a design structure that facilitates horizontal integration and collaboration. A matrix model combines elements of both the functional and the divisional organizations, has dual lines of authority, and is designed to encourage the sharing of information. Robin felt that by using this model, the reporting line would shift
...Territo, L., & Taylor, R. W. (2012). Intelligence, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. Police administration: structures, processes, and behavior (8th ed., pp. 90-99). Boston: Pearson.
(Swanson, Territo and Taylor, p. 2). However, in recent years some major changes have occurred in a shorter time period. Innovations in law enforcement During the past two decades, I have observed major changes in the viewpoint of society towards police officer's as the symbol of trust and dignity, the technological advances of communication and information systems in law enforcement, and the revision of selection and hiring practices for police officers. Organizational change occurs both as a result of internal and external agents (Swanson, Territo and Taylor, p. 664).
In law enforcement, discretion is left up to each police officer to make responsible and reasonable decisions on situations while in the field. A police officer will have no choice but to use discretion in certain situations and make decisions on what type of force or punishment is necessary for the situations. Many people in the society always believe that police officers can make any decision they wish to at any time while working. This is very wrong because there are situations whereby a police officer or even the chief of police has no other choice, but to follow the law in making decisions. The role of the police administrator is double challenging because, he/she must determine how best to use discretion as well as encourage or dissuade discretion by subordinate members ...
At some point in our lives, everybody eventually comes in contact with a law enforcement officer, some people for different reasons. Law enforcement officers work around the clock to keep citizens safe. Many people do not know a lot about law enforcement, some of those will be discussed. Those topics include agency administration, issues with law enforcement in today’s society, and law enforcement history. To start off, agency administration can vary from department to department.
Reformers wanted to stray away from political influences and believed that policing should be in the control of police executives (Peak, 2015). While the Political era’s goal was social services, the Reform Era began to shift policing to controlling crime. In addition, the police organizations were reorganized through the study of scientific theory of administration advocated by Fredrick Taylor, which led to the development of maximizing police efficiency (Peak, 2015). To improve professionalism within police departments, O.W. Wilson began emulating what J. Edgar Hoover did with the FBI. In 1924, the FBI director began to raise eligibility standards to develop an incorruptible force. As a result, it had a direct influence on local police agencies by placing emphasis on education, training, honesty and professionalism. Professionalism in police departments came about in the form of new Technological advances and a focus on crime fighting. During this period there were three major advances in technology: two-way radio, police cars and the telephone. Unlike the problems faced during the political era, the advent of these technologies changed everything. With two-way radios, supervisors now had the capability to notify patrol officers of calls and maintain accountability. Patrol cars allowed for greater mobility, which led to officers responding to calls more efficiently. Then telephones allowed for citizens to have a direct line to the police and were encouraged to call for any problem. However, while the advances in technology greatly increased police efficiency, it had unexpected consequences. In contrast, during the political era, officers patrolled on foot, which allowed them to engage citizens and develop a relationship within the community. With the use of police cars, officers no
Our society has become one that is very diverse. Law enforcement agencies (local, state, and federal) for our changing society need to include an increase representation of women and minorities, definite improvement in leadership skills, and to strengthen community policing. These are all issues of great importance, which are no longer going to be pushed aside.
This innovative strategy allows law enforcement officers to achieve a level of respect and cooperation of the community through close working relationships between the citizens and the agency. “The key to infusing community policing throughout the department is by restructuring agency management, in particular making changes
Wilson, J. (1978). Varieties of Police Behavior: The Management of Law and Order in Eight American Communities. American Journal of Sociology, 75(1), 160-162
This paper is an attempt to articulate the organizational change that is taking place within the Police Department and how the existing norms, culture, and organizational profile affect the desired change, as well as the resistance to change that might be affecting the change agent and the personnel affected by the change.
Martin, Rich. "Police Corruption: An Analytical Look into Police Ethics." The FBI Enforcement Bulletin May 2011: 11+. Academic OneFile. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.
A common style of police leadership is a more bureaucratic style where the leader manages “by the book”, everything must be done in accordance with pre-written policies and procedures (Cordner & Scarborough, 2010). When a certain problem or concern isn’t covered by the book the leader refers to the next level for a decision. This style removes the ability of the leader to manage and forces a strict accordance to the “book”. This style can be very effective when dealing with dangerous situations which can be a common occurrence in police work.
The New Zealand Police is the lead agency responsible for helping the community to decrease or reduce crime, corruption and improve the responsibility of safety and protection in New Zealand. There is a need to make changes to the police culture in order to improve the performance of their organisation. However there are three fundamental errors that need to be addressed which will be discussed in this essay. Firstly, there is a lack of an established sense of urgency which has the potential to jeopardize the future of the organization. Secondly is, not creating a powerful enough guiding coalition which means there is a lack of communication which resulted in an absence of leadership and teamwork from frontline staff to national headquarters. Finally, an undercommunicating the vision by a factor of ten that organisation leader needs to communicate visions and strategies. These three errors are relevant as they are pivotal in the implementation of a managing change programme. Recommendations are also provided to improve on how the New Zealand Police can be enhanced within a management perspective.
♦ Make a strong commitment to community-oriented policing. Everyone in the police department should be involved, not just a few units or off...
Rich, Martin. “An Analytical Look into Police Ethics.” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. Vol.80. Issue 5. May 2011. 11-17. EBSCOhost. Web. 12 Nov 2013