POLICE SUPERVISION

Police Supervision and Leadership

Abstract

In this study we try to explore the concept of “police supervision” in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on “police supervision” and the “primary issues faced by police supervisors”. This paper focuses on the in-depth analysis of different concepts of “leadership” and tries to evaluate the practices of “police supervisors” accordingly. Finally the research describes various factors through which the “police supervision practices” can be improved through strategic and stable decision making process.

Table of Contents

Introduction4

Primary Issues5

Literature Review6

Police Supervision and Leadership Attributes in United States7

Police Supervision and Leadership Attributes: Global perspective7

The Roles of Police Chiefs8

Conclusion12

References13

Police Supervision and Leadership

Introduction

The management system of any institution serves as a process for directing and controlling people and work, so that organizational goals are achieved. An integral part of the management system is supervision, which refers to overseeing of people, their performance and behavior in the work environment. This activity tends to take place in all levels of organization with the exception of the level of work. The purpose of this paper is to focus on police supervision by taking the concepts of leadership into consideration. This paper explores how leadership is perceived from police supervision and analyzes different aspect of police supervision in a theme of leadership. Leadership is a crucial concept in the development of effective organizations. Just what it consists of and how it should be exercised is the subject of serious study across several disciplines.

Effective leaders motivate their followers to do what is best for the organization. They have the ability to get followers to do work that is well beyond the minimum required of them. Leaders are expected to generate a sense of purpose that both motivates and directs followers so that they voluntarily make meaningful contributions to the organization. The leader is a source of both guidance and inspiration. The elements of police leadership are a vital concern to practitioners in the field. Police executives have been exhorted to recognize that leadership can be exercised at any level of the department. According to contrastive studies, police leadership as 'the ability to make a split-second decision and take control of a potentially high-voltage situation that evolves on the street'. She also asserts that line officers are 'the true leaders on the streets, using their leadership skills in daily encounters with the community, and police executives and policy makers need to realize it'.

Therefore, the supervisor officer is selected by the management and the officers' official authority is to stem the spirit of collaboration, respect and confidence that he is able to attain from his subordinates. Also, the superior is responsible for keeping his superiors informed through oral and written reports, in order to this he is required to keep himself informed about the happenings in the workforce by records, researches and inspections. The superior also needs to communicate to his subordinates all the time and make sure he communicates the matter with clarity to avoid any barriers which can further create problems between his ...