Category: Police

Introduction

For a society to be sustainable in the short run and in the long run, it needs to ensure that its members are safe from any dangers that might arise from within or outside of the society. To achieve this goal, all nations around the globe have developed various law enforcement agencies to guarantee security to its citizens as well as any other individual who might be within their jurisdiction.

In the Emirates, the Abu Dhabi Police is the main law-enforcing agency. The police force is under the directives of His Highness Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Deputy Prime Minister. The vision of the Abu Dhabi Police is to ensure that it meets the needs of the public through effective training and integrity.

Thus, its core values are integrity, honesty, justice, and the respect of the rights of every individual irrespective of their race, religion, or background. The Abu Dhabi Police operates under the Ministry of Interior. However, to ensure that its operations are effective and efficient, it has collaborated with local, national, and international organizations to ensure that the law has been enforced in the latter, public safety is guaranteed, and law and order is maintained.

In the quest of fighting crime and ensuring that the people and interests that it protects are safe from danger, the Abu Dhabi Police force has always strived to be effective and efficient in its operations. To achieve this goal, the force has put in place an organization structure that ensures directives and information from the higher levels of command are conveyed and acted upon by the respective personnel within the force.

Consequently, it has been the culture of the police force to adopt new technologies and practices that are effective in its operations and incorporate them with traditional practices that have been successful to ensure that it achieves its goals and objectives. In the process, Abu Dhabi police force has been able to meet the needs and requirements of the people, institutions, interests that it serves, hence been regarded as the leading partner of the Abu Dhabi community.

The Abu Dhabi Police was founded in 1957 (Metcalfe 141). Since then, the police force has experienced great changes in its organization and the manner in which it operates. During its early days of operation, the force only comprised of 80 police officers. The main role of these police officers was to guard royal locations within the emirate and provide security in market zones and banking institutions.

However, given the increased needs of the community such as naval security, the number of police officers had increased to over 150 by 1960. However, it was not until in 1971 when the Abu Dhabi police was recognized as an official government institution.

During this time, the leader of Abu Dhabi and the then president of the UAE the late H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan issued a directive that led to the departmentalization of the government of Abu Dhabi (Dicke 165). This directive led to the formation of various ministries. Among these ministries was the Ministry of Interior under which the Abu Dhabi Police has been operating up to the present moment.

By 1995, the Abu Dhabi Police had formally merged with the Federal Ministry of Interior. This merger increased the power and responsibilities that were vested in the police force. Therefore, to ensure that its operations will be sustainable in the short run and in the long run, the Abu Dhabi Police commenced a modernization exercise that aimed at modifying its operations to meet the changing needs of the society.

To realize this goal, a strategic plan was implemented. This led to a change in the organization structure of the police force, an increase in the number of police officers, introduction of rigorous training and development exercises, and the acquisition of sophisticated technology to assist in the operations of the force in providing safety and security to the community.

At the present moment, there are over 36,000 police personnel under the umbrella of the Abu Dhabi Police. These individuals are guided by their codes of conduct that emphasis on morality, accountability, reliability, honesty, and integrity.

Characters

The Commander General, Ismail Alkaabi, heads the police force with the help of his deputy, Salem Alhajiri. Below him are the department heads of various departments and service centers that are supported by their deputies in their operations.

Despite the fact that the Abu Dhabi Police has different department and service centers, it is the role of the Human Resource Department (HR) to ensure that the activities of all these departments lead to the realization of the goals and objectives of the police force.

Ahmed Alhashimi heads the HR department. With the help of his deputy, Ahmed Khalid, they ensure that the members of the Abu Dhabi police force are qualified, effectively trained for their respective roles, adhere to the ethics and rule of conduct of the police department.

Ismail Alkaabi has been the Commander General of the Abu Dhabi Police since 1999. Born in 1951, Alkaabi commenced his career as a police officer in Abu Dhabi when he was only 20 years of age. Through his hard work, he has managed to develop his career and achieve the highest police rank in the emirate. Between 1981 and 1985, Alkaabi went the United States for his undergraduate degree in criminology.

After his graduation, he enrolled in a Masters Degree in the same course. Furthermore, Alkaabi has undertaken several other short courses and training exercises. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Alkaabi held the position of the Deputy General Directorate for Central Operations in the Abu Dhabi police force. While under this docket, the leadership style of Alkaabi was characterized by morals, ethics, wisdom, and integrity.

While holding this post, he had zero tolerance for criminal activities especially with regards to petty crime. Guided by the broken window theory, Alkaabi believed that if petty crime is not checked in due time, it will eventually lead to even greater crime. Thus, to ensure that Abu Dhabi is safe from any criminal activities, Alkaabi advocated to have a police force that is friendly to the public.

This ideology played a critical role in enhancing the relationship between the police and the public. Consequently, Alkaabi played a significant role in the modernization of the Abu Dhabi Police. It is these factors that probably led to his appointment as the Commander General in 1999.

As the head of the Abu Dhabi Police, Alkaabi has played a significant role in modernizing the police force, improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the police force, empowerment of the public in fighting crime, and fostering a desirable relationship with the stakeholders of the police force.

The Deputy Commander General, Salem Alhajiri also has a desirable track record in the Ministry of Interior. The 56 year old commenced his career as a military personnel in 1980. After serving the military, Alhajiri became the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Interior between 1992 and 1995.

During this time, he played a significant role in the development of strategic plans that would modernize the Abu Dhabi Police to ensure that it met the needs and requirements of the people and interests that it served. In 2001, Alhajiri became the General Directorate of Finance and Services in Abu Dhabi Police, a position that he held for three years after which he was promoted to the rank of Deputy Commander General.

As Harque (2012) asserted, the success of an organization highly relies on its employees (137). With this realization, Abu Dhabi Police has always strived to have the best personnel to work under its umbrella. It has thus been the work of Ahmed Alhashimi, the head of the Human Resources in Abu Dhabi Police to ensure that the correct personnel are recruited and trained as per the requirements of the police force.

At the same time, Alhashimi has ensured that employees within the police force adhere to the organizational culture of the police force, follow the rules and codes of conduct that govern their profession, treat each other with respect, and most importantly, work to achieve the vision and mission of the Abu Dhabi Police. Other than being the head of the HR department of Abu Dhabi Police, Alhashimi has serviced in several posts within the force.

He has been the acting Deputy Directorate of Policing and a member of several committees within the police force and the Ministry of Interior. In the process, he has received several medals and honors. For instance, in 2009, he received the sustainable leadership medal that was presented to him by the President of the UAE. Consequently, he holds a Masters Degree from Stanford University in Information Science, a Bachelors Degree in Public Administration, and a diploma in Policing Studies.

The work of Alhashimi has received a lot of effort and assistance from his deputy, Ahmed Khalid. Just like Alhashimi, Khalid has played a significant role in ensuring that the Abu Dhabi Police has the right personnel to achieve its goals and objectives. Khalid is a holder of a Bachelors Degree in Military Science.

He has served in the Ministry of Internal and has been a special advisor of the President of the UAE for several years. In the course of his career, he has received several awards. Thus, under the leadership of Alshamini and Khalid, the HR department has been able to modernization of the police force. For instance, five major departments have been automated with the help of ICT technologies.

These include personal affairs, training and development, and performance appraisals. While using the HOPAS system, the automation has saved over 43% of the time used to develop performance appraisals by all the employees. Consequently, the two have managed to introduce development projects and reward systems that have increased the levels of job satisfaction within its employees. This move has greatly increased the performance of the Abu Dhabi Police, especially in the 21^st century.

External Environment

The external environment of the Abu Dhabi police force is comprised of the residents of Abu Dhabi. According to the national statistics, it was approximated that Abu Dhabi has a population of 1.5 million people (Ndou 16). 4.6% of this population is comprised of expatriates while the rest of the population comprised of residents of Abu Dhabi and other member states of the UAE.

Being a business center of the UAE and the Middle East, Abu Dhabi hosts several business entities, research institutions, and manufacturing plants. Since the emirate has 95% of the world’s oil reserves, a lot of oil mining companies have interests in this region. Consequently, the city has a scenic view that attracts tourists from all around the world.

Given its economic status, it has been of great importance for the government to maintain desirable relationship with other governments, multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations. Finally, the media plays a significant role in conveying information within and outside the emirate. There are state and privately owned media houses.

Abu Dhabi TV is the most watched TV station in the emirate. Consequently, The National is the most common newspaper that is printed in English. There are other TV, radio, and print media houses that convey their information in Arabic, English, French, and many other languages.

Given this composition therefore, it is the duty of the Abu Dhabi police to ensure that all the stakeholders of the emirate are protected from any harm within and outside the emirate. To achieve this, it is the role of the police to ensure that the rules that govern the emirate are implemented equally and fairly.

The Problem

Since 1995, the Abu Dhabi Police has been involved in a modernization program that aimed at enhancing its operations through the incorporation and use of ICT. One of the main goals of adopting and implementing this strategy was to enhance transparency and accountability within the police force.

To achieve this, it is recommended that firms put in place monitoring mechanisms such as financial audit systems, scorecards, performance appraisals, to monitor and control the activities of employees within a given organization (Kim 154). Despite the presence of these systems, the Abu Dhabi Police faced a huge crisis in 2006.

It emerged that the police force is facing problems in maintaining its integrity as a result of several instances where confidential information was leaked to the public via the media. As a result of lack of accountability, transparency, and effectiveness, the police force failed to meet the expectations of the public. According to the theory of organization, communication plays a significant role in the management of an organization.

Thus, with effective communication mechanisms, every individual within the firm was expected to be accountable for their actions and the role that they play in the force. However, this was not the case. The major scandal involved an ongoing investigation where Rajeev Patel, a resident of Dubai was arrested in Abu Dhabi for being involved in money laundering.

After careful investigation, the police ransacked Mr. Patel’s office in Abu Dhabi after being issued without an arrest warrant. In the process, money and crucial documents were ceased. Consequently, Mr. Patel was chained, tortured, and locked in an underground police cell without being given the permission to call for a representative, a move that was consistent with the laws of the emirate.

Following several days in the underground prison, Mr. Patel was taken to the Abu Dhabi Police Station where he was kept behind bars for over one year while further investigations were taking place. It is during his stay in Abu Dhabi Police Station that the story was leaked by unknown individuals to the public.

Jamila Hussein, an investigative reporter wrote an article in The National that exposed the inhuman and brutal acts of the police. In her article, Hussein managed to expose the names of the police officers that were involved in the raid, the fake police warrants that were used, and the manner in which the police planted fake evidence in Mr. Patel’s office to make him look guilty.

The article also covered the brutal manner in which Mr. Patel was being treated while in police custody. To support her allegation, Hussein uploaded pictures that were taken by the police during the raid. There were pictures of Mr. Patel being tortured by the police, some of which showcased the senior investigators posing before the chained businessman.

Consequently, it emerged that the raid was organized as a result of personal differences between the said businessman and rival businessmen in Abu Dhabi. The main question therefore was how can the police be so corrupt and act in a manner that is not consistent with the morals and standards that drive is operations.

Consequently, the main concern from the public was the failure of senior police officers, particularly the Commander General, Ismail Alkaabi and his deputy, Salem Alhajiri to detect such an incidence of misconduct within its force. Furthermore, with the help of ICT monitors, the General Directorate for Central Operations who in charge of IT and ICT would have been in a position to detect the unauthorized raid by questioning the issue of police gear and equipments in the material day.

It is perhaps due to these failures that Hussein believes that senior police officials might have been involved in the raid. The impact of this whole incident however lies in the human resource department. Given the presence of sophisticated technologies, they would also have been in a position to detect the incident.

Had the human resource been in a good relationship with other personnel in the force, it would have been easier for the relevant personnel within the department to detect the incident after conducting internal investigations, and by checking performance appraisals of the police personnel. However, the major problem that Ahmed Alhashimi and his deputy were facing is the desirable action that they would take against the police officers who were involved in the raid.

According to the statement that was issued by Alhashimi, the acts that were conducted by the alleged police officers were brutal, inhuman, and went against the codes of conduct of the police department hence giving it a bad reputation. He promised that the issue would be investigated to determine the factors that led to the failures of the system from detecting such an incidence. He also apologized to Mr. Patel, his family, and the residents of Abu Dhabi and promised them that justice will be served.

Ending the Case

This incident clearly presents the failures that are present in public systems. What do you think could have been done to prevent the incident from occurring? Do you think that senior officers were involved in the scandal? What measures should the Abu Dhabi Police put in place to prevent such flaws within its systems?

What impacts do you think this situation will have on the diplomatic relationship of Abu Dhabi? Finally, what was the role of the HR department in this failure and what measures do you think the head of the HR department will put in place to resolve the issue?

Works Cited

Dicke, Lawrence. ‘Ensuring accountability in human services contracting: Can stewardship theory fill the bill?’ American Review of Public Administration, 32.1 (2002): 455-470. Print

Harque, Sirajul. ‘Modernizing Public Sector Organization: Enhancing Coordination and Communication by the application of E-Government Technology.’ International Journal of Independent Research and Studies, 1.4 (2012): 135-141. Print.

Kim, Seok-Eun. ‘Balancing Competing Accountability Requirements: Challenges in Performance Improvement of the Nonprofit Human Services Agency.’ Public Performance & Management Review, 29.2 (2005): 145-163. Print.

Metcalfe, Dawn. Leadership Development in the Middle East. New York: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011. Print.

Ndou, Victor. ‘E-Government for Development Countries: Opportunities and Challenges.’ Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 18.1 (2004): 1-24. Print

Abstract

For a society to be sustainable in the short run and in the long run, it needs to ensure that its members are safe from any dangers that might arise from within or outside of the society. To achieve this goal, all nations around the globe have developed various law enforcement agencies to guarantee security to its citizens as well as any other individual who might be within their jurisdiction.

In the Emirates, the Abu Dhabi Police is the main law-enforcing agency. However, due to its centralized organization structure and poor e-service technology, the force has failed to meet the needs and requirements of the people it serves. It has been recommended however, that the force adopts modern e-government mechanisms that will improve the efficiency of communication and accountability within the force.

Organization

The Abu Dhabi Police is the main law enforcement agency within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (Ghayur 1020). The police force is under the directives of His Highness Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Deputy Prime Minister (Basu113). The vision of the Abu Dhabi Police is to ensure that it meets the needs of the public through effective training and integrity.

Thus, its core values are integrity, honesty, justice, and the respect of the rights of every individual irrespective of their race, religion, or background. The Abu Dhabi Police operates under the Ministry of Interior. However, to ensure that its operations are effective and efficient, it has collaborated with local, national, and international organizations to ensure that the law has been enforced to the latter, public safety is guaranteed, and law and order is maintained. These are essential factors that determine the peace and security of the Emirates.

Characters

To ensure that the operations of the police force are efficient, Abu Dhabi police force has adopted a centralized form of organization structure. The Commander General Ismail Khattab, heads the police force with the help of his deputy, Zainab Khadija. Below him are the department heads of various departments and service centers that are supported by their deputies in their operations.

Despite the fact that the Abu Dhabi Police has different department and service centers, it is the role of the Human Resource Department (HR) to ensure that the activities of all these departments lead to the realization of the goals and objectives of the police force. Daudi Zacharia heads the HR department.

With the help of his deputy, Ahmed Khalid, they ensure that the members of the Abu Dhabi police force are qualified, effectively trained for their respective roles, adhere to the ethics and rule of conduct of the police department.

External Environment

The external environment of the Abu Dhabi police force comprises of the residents of Abu Dhabi, local, national, and international agencies. Thus, it is essential for the police force to ensure that its operations are effective and efficient for it to meet the diverse needs and requirements of its people as well as the international community.

The Problem

The world is currently experiencing a lot of advancement in the field of information technology. It is due to this fact that the Abu Dhabi Police has found it necessary to integrate e-services in its operations. However, it has emerged that the police force is facing problems in maintaining its integrity as a result of several instances where confidential information has leaked to the public.

As a result of lack of accountability, transparency, and effectiveness, the police force has failed to meet the expectations of the public. According to the theory of organization, communication plays a significant role in the management of an organization (Gortner 41). Thus, with effective communication mechanisms, every individual within the firm will be accountable for their actions and the role that the play in the force (Harque 137).

To achieve this goal therefore, the police force will require adopt and incorporate modern e-government technology to ensure that communication within and outside the force is secure, effective and efficient (Seok-Eun 3). This will bring about a sense of accountability and integrity.

Works Cited

Harque, Sirajul. “Modernizing Public Sector Organization: Enhancing Coordination and Communication by the application of E-Government Technology.” IJIRS, 1.4 (2012). 135-141

Seok-Eun, Kim. “Balancing Competing Accountability Requirements: Challenges in Performance Improvement of the Nonprofit Human Services Agency.” Public Performance and Management Review, 29.2 (2005): 145-163. Print.

Basu, Simon. “E-Government and Developing Countries: An Overview.” International Review of Law Computers and Technology, 18.1 (2009): 109-132. Print.

Ghayur, Allen. “Towards Good Governance: Developing an E-Government.” The Pakistan Development Review, 45.4 (2010). 1011-1028. Print.

Gortner, Hillary. Organization Theory: A Public and Non-ProfitPerspective. Belmont, CA: Thomsom Wadsworth, 2009. Print.

Introduction

Policy and law development is a multifaceted discipline that often requires a strong understanding of the contextual political, social and economic issues that affect it (Hill & Hupe 2014). Since many private organizations and government agencies often fail to understand this fact, they miss the opportunity to develop relevant policies and laws that would create a positive social change (Koontz & Newig 2014). This systemic problem affects different levels of public and private sector performance.

However, there are many lessons to learn from the business, psychology, and military spheres of governance (regarding the formulation and implementation of successful policies and laws) that could be used to remedy this problem. This paper draws on some of these lessons to present a case for the development of leadership and management capabilities in policy and law development. Using an inquiry-based approach, this paper presents a high-level business case for the use of leadership and management skills in policy formulation and implementation. Key tenets of this paper explain the drivers for policy change and explain the principles that must apply for inquiry-based research to produce effective management and leadership capabilities.

This analysis occurs within a firm understanding that the main aspects of leadership and management, such as teamwork, creativity, planning and decision-making, are central to the formulation and implementation of policies and laws. Key sections of this paper also highlight the need to nurture a culture of high performance that is centered on the need to use resources efficiently to implement useful policies and laws. These insights are relevant in explaining the management of policies and development of law. In the first section of this review, we explain how military doctrine could influence the development of laws and policies.

Infusing Military Doctrine in the Development of Law and Policies

There are different lessons we could learn from the use of military strategies in the development of policies and laws. This relationship comes from the application of military doctrines in the legal practice. Based on this finding, different researchers have explored how governments could use military doctrines to leverage the policy formulation process (Santos 2013; Pollitt 2015). Those that have done so have also investigated the doctrine as another influence of an organization’s strategic direction (Scott 2013). Others have compared such an influence, as any other that would affect a typical business or political decision (Pollitt 2015).

Here, it is important to point out that the definition of strategy and policy, as applied in the military, is the same as the definition of the two concepts in policy and law. Although different researchers have presented different arguments and definitions of strategy and policy in the military, their definitions all converge in portraying these two concepts as the effective use of military means in the accomplishment of a specific policy agenda (Scott 2013). The concept of strategy, as applied in the military sense, has a deeper meaning because it involves the deployment of military capabilities through long-term planning to increase the odds of success in a military confrontation.

The similarity between the definitions of strategy in the military is the same as that incorporated in law because the latter employs its strategies as an integration of specific actions with an anticipated event to achieve a specific legal outcome (Pollitt 2015). Indeed, when lawmakers develop policies or laws, they aim to achieve a specific outcome through the employment of state or organizational resources. Thus, the definition of strategy and policy, as used in the military and in the development of law, are the same. This finding is useful in improving the policy formulation process because there is a pool of resources from the military doctrine that policy formulators could use to enhance their performance.

The drivers for maintaining authority in military doctrine and in the government are also the same because they all stem from the same basis – protecting public interests. In military doctrine, authority is maintained through an assessment of political, economic, social, environmental and religious needs (Pollitt 2015). The same drivers are the sources of authority when developing government policies because the same guidelines are aimed at protecting the political, economic, social, environmental and religious interests of the people. Indeed, as Ahmed and Dantata (2016) point out, governments have to consider different social, environmental and religious interests when making policies that apply to specific groups of people, or to an entire national population. The findings of this analysis could be useful in developing a framework for formulating laws and policies.

Being part of an international community could help in the development of policy and law because it normalizes, or standardizes, different laws, thereby creating minimal room for conflicts and misinterpretations. Cross border enforcement of laws is also possible through the internationalization of laws. Therefore, countries that are part of a larger international community could benefit from judicial cooperation because their laws are enforceable beyond their borders (Bakhtyar 2013). The contrary situation is undesirable because it would be difficult for countries that are not part of any international agreement to have their laws enforced outside their borders. Comprehensively, being part of an international community helps in the development of policies and laws through the normalization and standardization of legal statues. These findings are useful in the integration of law across international borders.

Nonetheless, global players could experience significant limitations in enforcement when a legal issue is of an international nature. In this sphere of analysis, it is critical to point out a difference between a legal understanding and information because international agreements are often based on common understandings between multiple parties, while information is mostly based on a set of rules relied on by these entities (Ahmed & Dantata 2016). Sometimes, these definitions create a lot of confusion in the implementation of law. This is why many researchers have emphasized the need for effective leadership and management of policy and law (Ahmed & Dantata 2016). Nonetheless, understanding these lessons in international law development could help to avoid legal misinterpretations and misunderstandings in the global political space.

Some key diplomatic attributes that global leaders should have to avoid these problems include a meticulous attention to detail and an analytical temperament because the global legal space is more complex today than it was in the past. Indeed, leaders need to know how to navigate through the different tenets of international legal enforcement, with minimal distractions and with a laser focus in achieving the desired goals. The findings of this analysis could be useful in choosing the right leader to spearhead the policy formulation and interpretation processes.

Context for Change

To initiate change in a policy setting, it is important to create a context that would support it. Ideally, regulations should be redesigned to respond to the complexities of different societies. The main drivers of change in the regulation environment are globalization, economic conditions, changes in civil society, cultural changes, external pressures (treaty-driven regulations), technological advances, terrorism and environmental issues (Pollitt 2015). Many jurisdictions, especially in the UK, have taken proactive measures to change their laws to align with some of these drivers. While some of them are reactionary (such as responses to terrorism), others have benefitted from regulatory foresight and changed their laws to pre-empt some of the aforementioned drivers of change. These findings are useful in public education because people need to understand why change needs to occur.

Doing nothing has never been an option for many countries, whenever there is a need to change, because some of the drivers of change cannot be effectively ignored because of their adverse outcomes. For example, terrorism is a key driver of legal change and cannot be ignored because it is important for authorities to be a step ahead of the terrorists. Doing so requires them to use existing legal jurisdictions to get the information they need and deter the terrorists from causing harm to the public. Environmental change is also a key driver affecting the legal environment and cannot be ignored because of its possible devastating outcomes on human wellbeing.

Global warming and severe weather patterns are some of the issues that could arise from the failure of countries to effectively address such a problem. This is why many nations come together in global conferences to address the issue of climate change because they recognize that it cannot be ignored anymore. The Paris Climate Agreement, which is a legally binding document signed by hundreds of countries, is a product of such a conference. Comprehensively, based on the consequences attached to some drivers of change, doing nothing is not an option. This finding is useful in encouraging stakeholders to be part of policy change processes.

While “doing something” is a positive step towards addressing some of the issues highlighted above, changes to legislation do not always lead to policy changes, or reform. This problem often arises from several issues, including poor enforcement of legislations, lack of goodwill to “do the right thing” and sabotage by people or parties who may have conflicting interests (Pollitt 2015). This finding is essential in assessing the risks associated with policy implementation.

Based on the aforementioned issues, there is a need to undertake independent inquiry into legislative change. This function cannot be left to the government alone because some agencies could be compromised, or fail to be objective, when undertaking such inquiries. An independent inquiry would be free from such influences and promote an objective analysis of the legislative change process (Bakhtyar 2013). This analysis is useful in evaluating policy implementation processes.

Based on the above factors, there are supposed to be checks associated with the lawmaking process because there is a limit that lawmaking should extend to. Furthermore, there is a limit that lawmaking should stop. For example, law making should only extend to the protection of public interests and refrain from infringing on private ones (Bakhtyar 2013).

This provision explains why most jurisdictions protect certain freedoms, such as the freedom of worship, because they understand the need to protect private interests, while at the same time preserving public ones. Additionally, the process of making laws should stop at the point where there is a judicial process preventing the process, or if there are existing international statutes that prevent the same (Koontz & Newig 2014). These finding are essential in developing limitations of law.

My criteria for changing current law or initiating a new law would mostly be hinged on an evaluation of whether the laws deviate from the interests of the people, or parties, it is supposed to govern. For example, laws should be changed when they deviate from the interests of the people it is supposed to cater to. New laws should be initiated when existing laws fail to sufficiently address new issues emerging in the society.

For example, different jurisdictions have had to introduce new laws to prosecute cyber crime because this is a new type of problem affecting societies today. The same is true for countries that have withstood the worst of terrorist attacks because they have to introduce new laws to manage new threats. This observation was true for America after the 9/11 attacks because it had to introduce new laws on information access, which was a big political issue at the time. Comprehensively, these findings show that new laws should be introduced when new issues have to be addressed.

Understanding how to Assess and Benchmark Performance

There are different types of data that could be used to assess or benchmark performance. However, they are mostly dependent on the type of business one is engaged in, or the kind of services offered by an institution. Indeed, based on the type of work involved, different benchmarks of performance could be used to evaluate performance. For example, to assess the performance of a police service, we could use unique benchmarks, such as crime rates, arrests, clearances and response times. Although there is a big debate surrounding the role of creativity in law, the science behind the concept in human beings is straightforward.

Psychologists and biologists have often explained how the human brain is engaged in creative thinking by showing that the left and right sides of the brain serve different functions (Santos 2013). While the right side of the brain is mostly engaged with logic and reasoning, the left side of the brain is mostly responsible for creativity. This explanation is mostly contained in the left-brain right-brain theory, which presupposes that creativity is often associated with people who are right brained and they are more tuned to be intuitive, subjective and creative. These findings are useful in understanding the source of human creativity.

Although the use of creative thinking in law is considered relatively problematic, some researchers point out that there are specific instances when creative thinking may be valuable in the practice. According to Bullock and Sindall (2014), there are many opportunities for using creative thinking in law, most of which are concentrated in the area of problem solving. In fact, they say that effective lawyers are mostly creative thinkers. For example, creative lawyers often use infographics as a tool for presenting arguments. These findings are instrumental in understanding how to incorporate creativity in policy and law development.

Although there are unique situations for using creative thinking, as outlined above, the process is not often acceptable in some legal contexts. Part of the reason for this issue is the belief by some practitioners and the public that it may cause a travesty of justice (Bullock & Sindall 2014). Others believe that it may cause an injustice because it could involve people “twisting” the law to suit their arguments (Bakhtyar 2013). In this regard, some people believe that the spirit and letter of the law would not be followed if creativity were allowed. Those who hold this view assume a “black and white” view of justice. For example, they would argue that a person has either broken or the law or not. In other words, there are no special circumstances to “twist” the analogy to suit one version of an argument or another.

There are different risks associated with using creative thinking techniques. Most of them centre on the failure of the new ideas to work. For example, coming up with a creative legal maneuver may fail to achieve the desired goal and create resentment among all or some of the parties involved. Granted, creativity comes with its own set of risks because most creative ideas are novel ones. Nonetheless, the absence of a record of accomplishment to prove their success underlines the risk itself because there is always a possibility that the new ideas may fail to work. This is why many analysts often recommend the development of a counter strategy in case the creative idea fails (Pollitt 2015). These findings are instrumental in developing a risk framework for policy implementation.

Since research has proved that some people may be more creative than others are, people who are not creative may find themselves stuck in situations that demand such ingenuity. One solution for overcoming this problem is to develop a problem-solving team. Having a collaborative approach to problem solving will help people who are not creative to get assistance from other members of the team who are creative (Pollitt 2015). Alternatively, some researchers also propose the creation of relaxed workplace environments to stimulate creativity. For example, some have recommended taking a walk, or a stroll, to boost creativity for people who are not naturally this way (Bullock & Sindall 2014). These findings give a pointer on how non-creative people can be creative at work.

Although some people sometimes question the link between creativity and law, I have witnessed instances where the concept has been successfully practiced in the field. There is a case where a defendant was accused of stealing a bunch of notes that were presented in court and serialized to show that they were the missing notes. His lawyer creatively argued that such evidence could not be admissible in court because the law stated that someone who had knowledge of the contents should present evidence. In the aforementioned case, the court ruled that the evidence was inadmissible because the serial numbers of the notes were produced from a computer, which was incapable of knowing the contents of the case (Bullock & Sindall 2014). Although this ruling was a travesty of justice, it shows how creativity can be successfully used to win cases. From this example, I have learned that creativity and law can coexist perfectly so long as the creative element of an argument does not contravene the rights of any of the parties involved.

Comparatively, Chanin (2014) presents a different case where creativity has failed to work in the legal setting where in an electoral petition in Ghana one aggrieved party felt the he was cheated of a win and wanted the results nullified by the court. The defendants argued that the evidences of cheating could not be admissible because they were time barred (the application for nullification was made late). However, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff. This case shows the limits of creativity.

Public Engagement

Engaging the public in assessing and benchmarking performance is a strategy recommended by Dawson and Stanko (2013) and Effiong (2013) to realize public buy-in in the implementation of public policies and laws. Policymakers could engage with the people using crowd sourcing because it has the ability to reach a large number of people within a short time and in a relatively inexpensive way (Dawson & Stanko 2013). Comparatively, the ideal way of involving the public via the ethnography approach is through focus groups (Scottish Parliament Justice Committee on Policing 2013).

The public could also be engaged in the policy making process through idea generation, which should typically happen through brainstorming (Dawson & Stanko 2013). Deliberative dialogues are often up-close and personal and should typically involve getting the views of experts or peers in the policy-making process. Lastly, getting the views of the public through social media platforms could be another way of engaging the public in the policy making process. However, this type of platform is often prone to abuse. Therefore, it should be consistently checked and monitored to make sure that only the useful views are included in the policy-making process. These findings explain the factors to consider when choosing the right engagement platform to use in the policy making process.

Policymakers could also use other techniques in their work to make or design policies that are beneficial to the society. For example, the use of change cards is an unconventional and sometime unpopular technique of policymaking that could be used by this group of professionals to formulate and implement policies. Policy makers often use change cards to give a different view of the process, usually by challenging conventional assumptions about the same (Dawson & Stanko 2013). This technique could be beneficial in developing new ideas about policy. Open-policy techniques are also alternative tools that could be used in the policy-making process. People who choose to use them are often curious, networked or digitally engaged. Collectively, these kinds of techniques would be instrumental in generating novel ideas in the policy-making process.

Nonetheless, using open policy-techniques comes with new challenges when applied in the workplace setting because it is prone to conflict and fierce debates, as noted in my workplace setting. The reaction I would get from using this type of technique in my workplace setting is unique because people would appreciate it because they are often governed by dictatorial management guidelines that rarely appreciate open discussions. Therefore, if management were to introduce an open-policy system that fosters transparency and values public opinion, many of my colleagues would embrace it. These findings are useful in highlighting the importance of transparency in the workplace and policy environments.

Importance of Communication in the Development of Policy or Law

One of the most important aspects of policy development is communication. In this regard, policy makers need to possess important communication skills because it would help them to engage effectively with the public, or the people who are subject to the policies in the first place. For example, these skills are essential in developing trust and cultivating positive relationships with the public because some members of the public often view some policies suspiciously. Areas that are often characterized with increased suspicion about law enforcement are key areas that require constant communication with the public about the policy making process.

Based on the inherent risks associated with poor communication, or the lack of it, it is important to align policy with the communication structure to achieve the intended goals because without doing so, the policy making process becomes irrelevant or problematic (De Sardan & Ridde, 2015). These findings are instrumental in highlighting the need for stakeholder involvement in the policy formulation process.

At the same time, it is pertinent to ensure that the right inputs are involved in the communications process because the right stakeholders need to be consulted, in the right way, for the best results to be realized. For example, it is important to have a sound communication strategy that aligns with the views of the target audience. Furthermore, it is important for policy-makers to be sensitive about the cultural or political issues that may cloud the communication process. These findings are important in developing the right message contents for each stakeholder group.

Although the communication structure needs to be thoughtful of the interests of all stakeholders involved, it is also essential for the actors and institutions involved in the process to manage their expectations well because the process is often complex. The possibility of policy failures, or disagreements, is often real as is the likelihood that specific policies may fail to achieve their intended goals.

The Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. the Board of Education highlights this fact because although a specific ruling was given, there was no reliable implementation framework to enforce the ruling (De Sardan & Ridde 2015). This example shows the possibility of failed expectations despite the existence of a meticulous process of policy formulation. This finding is important in preparing stakeholders for possible outcomes associated with policy implementation.

A critical component of managing expectations is setting realistic objectives. This is highlighted in literatures that have investigated why policies have failed to achieve their goals (Hill & Hupe 2014). They have shown that setting unrealistic goals is part of the problem. Policy-makers should make sure that the goals set in the policies are not only attainable but also realistic. Similarly, efforts should be made to understand the capacity of the stakeholders involved to formulate and implement policy guidelines as well as the resources available to implement specific policy guidelines. These findings are useful in developing the policy framework for the implementation of existing and new laws.

Options for a Communications Strategy

The elements of strategic communications that I can consider for communicating with internal and external stakeholders in my work include having the right team and knowing the target audience (Hill & Hupe 2014). These elements of strategic communication are important in communicating with the stakeholders because they complement each other in the sense that knowing the right target audience helps to assemble the right team to develop the right contents that would appeal to the audience. These findings are useful in understanding how to develop the right communication framework for policy development.

My former supervisor, Edward May is one person who has taught me how to develop effective communications strategies because I have seen him develop some of the most successful communication strategies responsible for the success of my former company. He developed a successful marketing campaign that saw the company’s sales increase by 50%. This strategy was hinged on developing the right communication content on the digital space. This finding is useful in demonstrating how the right selection of communication elements could yield unforeseen success in policy development.

Although other people have achieved tremendous success in communication, it is often difficult to know which communication strategy appeals to a specific workplace or institutional setting (Froestad, Grimwood & Herbstein 2015). This is the case in my organization because there are unique situational issues that require a specific communication strategy.

However, based on the recommendations of Fyfe (2014), people should always use past examples as reference points when formulating communication strategies. This is a solution to my organizational context because I can use past examples of successful communication strategies to understand how to design my communication plan to appeal to the target market. This finding helps in identifying the right elements of communication to include in the policy planning process.

Nonetheless, knowing what is right is not enough to guarantee the success of a communication plan. According to Fyfe and Scott (2013), there needs to be several things in place to implement a successful communications plan. One of them is a right team that would steer the entre communications process. This finding is useful in knowing the supportive structure to have when developing a communication plan.

The last step in developing a communications strategy is understanding how to evaluate it. To understand the effectiveness of the communication strategy, I would assess the feedback received from the other parties in the communication framework. A high volume of feedback could possibly signify the effectiveness of the communication strategy. Another strategy I could use to evaluate the communication strategy is testing the communication plan on a sample of people that have the same characteristics as the target audience. This process would create opportunities to tweak the strategy depending on how well the sample group responds to the overall plan (Fyfe & Scott 2013). These findings are useful in fine-tuning a policy plan.

Gaining an Insight into the Audience’s Views

As highlighted in the above section of this paper, developing an effective communication framework/strategy is important in the policy formulation process. However, implementing a seamless communication plan requires policymakers to gain an insight into the perspectives, or views, of the audience, which they target. An inquiry-based approach is an effective way of developing leadership and management expertise in this process (Fyfe & Scott 2013). This approach mostly works by asking the audience probing questions in an open and interactive way, as opposed to presenting a stream of arguments or information to be discussed.

The inquiry-based approach to seeking the views of the audience regarding their perception of policy-making is also justified in the context of this study because it helps to arouse curiosity of audiences that may not be interested in the policy-making process in the first place. This problem often affects the policy-making processes because even when organizers arrange for public discussions about critical issues, a significant percentage of people may fail to show up (Whitford 2014).

This kind of apathy is detrimental to the entire process because it denies the policy-makers an opportunity to get an accurate view of the views of the public. An inquiry-based approach helps to solve this problem by arousing the interests of the public regarding the policy-making process. Through the same process, audiences are likely to benefit from an increased understanding of the policy-making process because open discussions guide them on how to contribute and help them understand the critical areas that need their attention. In this regard, they are likely to develop a growth mindset that should be cultivated within a culture of public participation in civic affairs, or policy-making processes (Fyfe & Scott 2013).

Some literatures have shown that the benefits of using an inquiry-based approach in policy-making are much deeper because they help policy-makers to engage the audiences beyond the level of general curiosity, by allowing them to develop a critical and in-depth understanding of the policies discussed (Fyfe & Scott 2013). This approach has a proven record of accomplishment in education and business management because it has been proved to be successful in improving the competencies of teachers, managers and leaders in understanding the issues that affect their subjects (Fyfe 2014).

The same success could easily be replicated in the policy environment because managers and leaders are in a better position of understanding the views of their audiences by adopting this inquiry-based engagement approach. The findings of this analysis can be useful in understanding how best to engage audiences regarding policy issues. Since the context of discussion is of a public nature, the findings of this study are useful in increasing the participation of audiences in public forums.

Changes in Communication and their Effects on Policing

Globalization is one aspect of modern communication that I need to understand for policy safety and security. In other words, as Fyfe, Terpstra and Tops (2013) observe, people should understand that the audience today is no longer local but global. This aspect of communication is useful in designing messages for different stakeholders because policy-makers should understand that a global audience would spontaneously consume their messages (Barbosa & Brusca 2015).

In the context of policy formulation, speaking is the most important aspect of communication that I would use. It involves conveying information to receivers in ways that they understand. Speaking may occur in town hall meetings, public forums and the likes. Although this aspect of communication may be effective in getting instant responses from the public, it is still subject to changes in modern technology. This finding is important in identifying the right communication platform to use in policymaking.

The digital revolution is perhaps the most dominant force that could change speaking as an aspect of communication (Greasley & Hanretty 2016). The digital revolution is bound to affect public speaking by changing the entire format of communication in a way that people may not necessarily see the need to attend public meetings (because such engagements could happen in a virtual setting). These findings can be used in designing communication messages, or (broadly) in determining the best communication strategy to use.

I could be in touch with changes in communication by observing existing trends and seeing what industry leaders are doing (Barbosa & Brusca 2015). This strategy stems from the fact that industry leaders often dictate the new ways of communication and influence the kind of communication platforms that would be available in the future. Here, there needs to be a thoughtful communication structure, which allows people to understand their roles, and obligations in the entire communication framework (Fyfe 2014). This provision does not only include the communication team, but also the subjects of the communication plan because they need to understand who to consult whenever they have questions, or want to seek clarification about a specific issue. These findings are useful in the risk management process associated with policy formulation.

Lastly, I believe there is a gap between perception and reality, as is communicated in the political setting. The digital age has especially brought new challenges to the process of deciphering messages that are reliable and credible from those that are not. In this regard, I believe the line between perception and reality is increasingly blurred. Thus, it is becoming important for people to take extra care when consuming information available in the public domain because what may be presented as factual may not necessarily be so. These findings could be instrumental in evaluating what is important and what is not.

Developing Communications vs. Developing Policy and Law and Stakeholder Mapping in the Communication Process

As highlighted above, developments in communication happen all the time and affect how people conduct their business in the policy-making arena. However, it is important to point out that there are differences in communications development and the development of policies and law. One of the most significant differences between developments in communication and developments in policy and law is the context in which they both occur. Advances in communication are often non-contextualized, but developments in policy and law are often contextualized. For example, developments in policies and laws often happen within jurisdictional boundaries, but developments in communication are not limited this way (Greasley & Hanretty 2016).

Another difference between the development of policies and communications is the trajectory of developments that often occur in each segment (Ferlie & McGivern 2014). In policy implementation, it is difficult for any development to contradict an existing policy or law. However, the same is not true when developing communications because a new development could easily contradict a previous one and become acceptable. Comparatively, one notable similarity between policy and law development and developments in communication is that both advances are designed to improve public welfare. These findings are useful in understanding the limitations and delimitations of policy development.

According to Hill and Hupe (2014), stakeholder mapping important in the communications process because it helps policy-makers to understand their partners better. In this regard, the stakeholder mapping process will help policy-makers to develop their communications in a way that would avoid the risk of misunderstanding in the long-term. By understanding the stakeholders better, they would also be in a good position to tailor their messaging strategies and develop the contents of their communication to align with the needs of the stakeholders. These insights show that stakeholders are an important part of the policy-making process because they could “make or break” the process.

There are different ways through which policy-makers can get the agreements of their key stakeholders during the policy-formulation process. One way of doing so is to collaborate with them because collaboration is a form of partnership and a type of approval for the activity or policy in question (Hill & Hupe 2014). Indeed, it is difficult for stakeholders to agree to collaborate with policy-makers on an issue that they do not approve. Therefore, their willingness to collaborate is a form of agreement on the type of policy being developed.

Empowering the stakeholders is also another way of getting the agreements of the stakeholders in the policy-formulation process because the process is supposed to benefit the stakeholders. Often, when stakeholders are empowered, they approve of the process or policies that lead to this outcome (Ferlie & McGivern 2014). Conversely, if the policy-formulation process does not empower them, they are bound to feel frustrated and refuse to approve of the process. In this regard, empowerment stands out as a key step in getting stakeholders to agree on the policy-formulation process. These findings are useful improving the stakeholder engagement process.

Implementing and Delivering Policies

Having an over-ambitious timescale is at the top of the list of challenges associated with policy implementation because policy-makers sometimes create unrealistic targets for implementing different phases of a policy, thereby making it difficult to implement the project well (De Sardan & Ridde, 2015). The failure to properly plan for the implementation process is a key cause of this problem because having inadequate knowledge about the requirements of the implementation process could mislead policy planners to create the unrealistic timescales. In this regard, planners should conduct proper research and provide realistic guidelines for when specific policy implementation phases should be completed (De Sardan & Ridde, 2015).

At the same time, it is vital for policy planners to ensure that the people who are mandated to implement the said policies have the requisite skills and requirements needed for the job. As Holmberg (2014) points out, it is important for policy planners to train the policy implementers about the process. These findings are instrumental in the formulation and implementation of policy plans. More so, they are valuable in understanding the steps that need to be followed when implementing policy plans.

Poor project management is also a likely cause of the poor implementation of policies. Policy implementers need to protect themselves from this risk because poor project management often leads to missed deadlines and poor relationships between stakeholders (De Sardan & Ridde, 2015). To shield themselves from this mistake, the project managers need to ensure that there is sufficient communication among all the stakeholders involved so that they all understand what the implementation process entails. They also need to understand how each part of the implementation process works together because failing to do so often leads to the failure of some people involved in the implementation process to do their work on time (Holmberg 2014).

To shield themselves from most of the aforementioned perils, policy-makers also need to ensure they have a contingency plan to specify the necessary actions that need to be taken when the project fails. This plan should also specify the kind of risks that policy planners could face when implementing the policies (Holmberg 2014). Having this plan in place could salvage a bad situation where the implementation process has failed to achieve its goals. The policy planners would be able to get right back on track when they have this plan. This way, it would be easy for public institutions to protect their resources and minimize the inconveniencies that they would experience from the failure of their implementation plan.

A key part of the implementation plan is also the clarification of roles among all the actors involved in the implementation process. This process would save time and resources because the implementers would not waste a lot of time on undertaking projects that do not add value to the implementation goal. Nonetheless, at the center of the process of minimizing this risk is the need to make the right decisions surrounding the implementation plan. The section below outlines how to devise a map for designing the decision-making process.

Devising a Map for the Decision-Making Process

Before determining the need for a policy or law change, I would follow a specific step of action reviews that would clarify the process. One criterion of doing so is checking to see if the policy review process is due because in some organizations, policies and laws are reviewed periodically (Holmberg & Balvig 2013). If this is the case, the policy review process should occur without fail. These findings are useful in evaluating new policies before they are implemented.

When developing the decision-making map, there are limits to which a person could infer decisions based on environmental or personal factors. The minimum I could do before making any decision in this regard is to understand the existing decision alternatives. This is the only way that a person could know which decision to make because without doing so, it would be difficult to know which course of action to take. The maximum I could do is to start executing the idea as a preliminary test to understand how I would feel about its implementation. Doing so could lead to the development of new ideas, or a change of the initial decision, depending on the outcome of the testing phase.

Setting the objectives is also a central theme in the decision-making process. To do so, I would use the SMART framework as proposed by House (2013). This framework dictates that goals or objectives should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely (House 2013). Similarly, I would make sure that the objectives formulated fit within the overall vision of the institution because they should be relevant to the overall mission and vision of the organization. These alternatives are useful in developing a criterion for developing policy goals.

Although the options that would be generated using the SMART guidelines may be relevant to the overall vision and mission of the organizations, there is a need to refine them further to get only the ones that would be easy to implement with minimal resources. These two criteria would be used to refine the objectives. Sharing the ideas (of the objectives) with peers would also help to refine the objectives further to come up with those that are appropriate for implementation. A third party analysis could help to point out issues with specific objectives that the original formulator could not see (Tummers 2017). These findings are instrumental in developing a policy review guideline.

To make sure that I have selected the best business case for the policy review process, I would check to see if there are any inconsistencies in them. Particularly, inconsistencies with the overall goals of the institution, or of the policy framework, would be deemed unacceptable because it would mean that the objectives are counterproductive, or ineffective, in the accomplishment of institutional goals (Tummers 2017). Collectively, this process would make sure that the selected business case appeals to the overarching goals of the organization and complements it as opposed to contradicting it.

Building and Assessing Capabilities for Implementing Policies or a Piece of Legislation

Before implementing policies or pieces of legislation, it is important to make sure that there is adequate capacity to do so. Using an inquiry-based approach, it is possible to assess such capabilities by identifying and resolving barriers that would stand in the way of implementing the policies (Whitford 2014). To do so, it could be useful to undertake a pilot test to assess people’s response towards the policy or law. This test would provide a general overview of the barriers that may arise in the implementation of a policy. From their identification, it would be easier to address the problems that affect the implementation process by consulting with stakeholders who may not support the process.

Another criterion I would consider for reviewing existing policies is checking out whether they align with any changes in the policy environment. If they do not align with the institutional framework, the need for a review would be inevitable. The same is true if they fail to align with the institutional goals currently in place. Tweaks to the policy implementation process may occur as a result (Whitford 2014). These findings are important in developing contents to use in the policy formulation process.

In other words, based on the findings highlighted in this paper, we find that many facts about policy and law implementation and formulation could be borrowed from other disciplines, such as business and military strategic development. Broadly, we also find that the internationalization of law is beneficial for parties that ascribe to international legal agreements because they would easily implement or enforce their laws outside their borders through jurisdictional cooperation. However, the global space is complex, owing to the multiplicity of different interests from global players. Therefore, it is important for leaders to demonstrate good leadership acumen hinged on the execution of well thought out diplomatic strategies.

Policies that need to be implemented rapidly may come with increased risks of suspicion and poor implementation because there is not enough time to plan for their application. To manage these risks, it is important to undertake public education about the urgency of implementing such policies so that people are not suspicious about the process. If the stakeholders understand the reasons for implementing such policies quickly, they are bound to create less resistance to the process. This finding could be useful in reducing the barriers associated with implementing new policies.

To make sure that such policies are relevant for a long period and align with government policies, it is also important to design them to align with international best practice because this is what most policy formulation processes are striving to align with (Fyfe 2014). The main assumption here is that governments would not want to isolate themselves from the rest of the world. Therefore, they would want to align their laws and policies to align with international best practice. Although this strategy is not 100% guaranteed to align policies with future political interests, it is the best bet that policymakers could make if they want their policies to remain relevant over long periods (Fyfe 2014).

To achieve the above objective, it is pertinent to make sure that the policy implementation process is a part of the policy design phase. Doing so requires policy planners to involve actors or players who would be involved in the policy implementation phase to be part of the policy design team. In this regard, when the policy design phase is happening, they may give their input because they would want to make sure that the design phase does not interfere with the implementation phase. In fact, according to Hupe (2014), they would want to make the design phase work for them by giving in their input before the completion of this stage. This finding is useful in improving stakeholder buy-in.

One barrier that could possibly impede the implementation of a policy plan is the resistance to change by some stakeholders. This barrier could also affect the roles and responsibilities that are allocated to those who will spearhead the implementation process, or be a part of the team because it could make some of them hesitant to carry out their duties (Fyfe 2014).

Since some of the senior managers in organizations are also resistant to change, it may also be difficult getting all the resources needed in the implementation plan. The same group of people may also affect details of the finance, skills and infrastructure that are important in the implementation process. Therefore, having a culture of change is important in the implementation process because, as seen from the examples above, it may be difficult to control its effects on different aspects of the project plan.

Safeguarding the Trust of Partners and Stakeholders

One of the ways of building trust in the policy implementation process is communicating regularly with all stakeholders to inform them about what is happening in the policy-formulation process, as well as involving them in the same process as well. Such communication structures should be clear and open so that no player feels left out, or sidelined during the process of policy formulation. The underlying lesson here is that trust can only be fostered if the communication structure is clear, regular and open.

Another step that we could take to build trust among stakeholders is to allow relationships among stakeholders to develop incrementally, as opposed to one-offs. The key for doing this is to allow partners to develop deep-rooted relationships, which cannot occur without allowing the players to take their time to trust each other (Van Sluis, Cachet & Jochoms 2013). Particularly, if stakeholders are entering into a relatively under-researched policy area, they may encounter the challenge of not knowing how their policy recommendations would be received. One stakeholder may understand the strengths and weaknesses of the policy better than others do and teach the others on the same subject and create a stronger implementation team. However, if trust were developed in this kind of environment, it would be easier for the concerned parties to take their time to do so, as opposed to rushing to forge such relationships (Zhan, Lo & Tang 2014). This approach would be a key hallmark in my quest to foster stakeholder trust.

While developing trust is an essential part of the policy implementation phase, making sure that the stakeholders deliver on what they are supposed to, and within the right specifications, could be problematic for most policy planners (Ingold & Leifeld 2016). To mitigate this challenge, I would curb the problem by choosing carefully the stakeholders to work with. These findings are useful in improving stakeholder engagement.

Managing stakeholders could be a difficult process especially if there are many cases of lip service, as opposed to the actual aiding of the implementation process. Managing stakeholders therefore becomes an important task for policy formulators because doing so is the only sure way of pushing them to achieve their objectives (Fyfe & Scott 2013). Although some of them may not necessarily meet the specified level of performance, it is important to adopt the views of Koontz and Newig (2014) who say that not all stakeholders are the same.

Therefore, it is pertinent to define different levels of acceptable behavior for each group of stakeholder. Stated differently, each stakeholder should be evaluated differently to understand how his or her behaviors affect the overall implementation plan. If their failure to meet the desired objectives falls within the acceptable boundaries, I believe that nothing should be done. In worse situations, a warning may work to inform them about the effects of their behavior on the overall policy implementation process.

However, when such warnings are ignored, it is imperative for the policy implementers to reprimand such stakeholders by excluding them from future engagements (Koontz & Newig 2014). Having an implementation unit to enforce these guidelines is important. Such implementation teams help policy makers in different ways.

For example, their contribution, in this context, could be practical, in the sense that they could be the team on the ground to liaise with stakeholders and make sure that each one was doing what is required of them. Their contribution could also be advisory because they could provide informed advice to the top leadership of government agencies and the policy teams (Ulibarri 2015). The lesson we can learn here is that of proper stakeholder management because although they may understand what to do, they may not necessarily deliver. Therefore, the findings of this section are important in safeguarding the policy implementation success.

Based on the above assertion, one may question whether the actions or behaviors of others may be transferable to the managers of the policy implementation team. I believe that this is a fallacy because it is difficult to control the actions of other people, while keeping the core of the implementation process in place. In other words, one has to suffer. The main observation to be made in this context is the need to let all stakeholders do what is required of them. In other words, their actions and behaviors are not the responsibility of others.

Through an effective communication framework, they already know what they are supposed to do and should work towards such a goal without necessarily transferring blame for their inability to do so to other people. Typically, whenever they fail to deliver as expected, they should be reprimanded (as highlighted above) and possibly replaced with other representative groups who are willing to accomplish the policy implementation goals.

Addressing Implementation Problems

As demonstrated in this paper, implementing policies in the public space may be a difficult process because there are several obstacles that may be experienced, ranging from poor stakeholder cooperation, inadequate resources, and the likes. Solving most of these problems could be an issue for policy planners because getting to their root causes and understanding how to navigate through these challenges without necessarily affecting others aspects of the implementation plan could be problematic.

In this regard, it is important to use an issue tree, which, as defined by Ulibarri (2015), is a customized framework for understanding the root causes of implementation problems. Such a framework could be useful in identifying solutions to specific problems. These issue trees could also be useful in structuring the implementation process and developing solutions to issues affecting the implementation plan (Koontz & Newig 2014).

For example, they could help policy planners to analyze their problems by investigating the “why” and “how” questions of policy implementation. Using this framework, they could always breakdown a question and dissect it into different parts that would help them to identify where the main issues lie (Ulibarri 2015). These findings are useful in identifying workable techniques of problem solving in the policy environment.

After the identification of implementation problems and the subsequent identification of solutions using the issue tree, it is pertinent for policy makers to develop an implementation team that would spearhead the implementation of the policies. In some cases, government organizations often seek the services of an implementation unit to carry out this function. For example, in the UK, under the Tony Blair government, there was a Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit (PMDU), which was a de facto implementation team that would oversee the implementation of the government’s policies and drive its agenda through different cadres of social and political governance systems (Ulibarri 2015).

Recent governments have also had implementation units (IU) which carry out the same function. Unlike past implementation units, recent ones have developed the reputation of being more flexible and knowledgeable about how different government departments work (Koontz & Newig 2014). They have also demonstrated their knowledge on three government departments – crime reduction, health, and education (Koontz & Newig 2014). Similarly, as units that often consult with different government departments, they have a vast knowledge of interdepartmental issues that may affect the implementation agenda.

Therefore, unlike a situation where a government department may want to implement a policy by itself and run into problems associated with overstepping its mandate, the implementation units could step in and prevent such problems from happening because they understand how inter-departmental issues may arise and how they could be solved. Generally, these units are integral in increasing the capacity of policymakers to implement their policy plans. These findings can be used to simplify the process of policy implementation not only for government agencies, but also for organizations that want to implement new policies.

Developing a Culture of High-Level Performance

Developing a culture of high-level performance is important in making sure that organizations constantly meet the requirements of their customers. Using a customer journey map is one way of making sure that an organization maintains a culture of high performance because it helps them to stay focused to the main goal – customer satisfaction. Resource management processes could also be improved using this strategy because customer journey maps would help policy makers to allocate resources to the most important functions. These findings can help policymakers to improve the effectiveness of their policies.

Although having a customer journey map is integral in improving the effectiveness of new policies and laws, it is often difficult to determine the amount of resources organizations should allocate to this process. Nonetheless, according to studies by Lavertu and Moynihan (2013a), the amount of resources spent on customer mapping should correspond to the number of touch points on the customer journey map. This finding could be useful in improving resource-mapping processes associated with policy implementation processes.

Developing a customer journey map is often not important for some organizations because they deem the nature of their processes to be too small to warrant the use of such a management tool (Lavertu & Moynihan 2013a). However, this should not be the case because no matter how small a business is, they should understand their customer journey to improve the experience of their clients.

The above-mentioned benefits of the customer journey-mapping tool are important in the improvement of customer experience, but fundamentally differ from the process-mapping tool, which seeks to improve an organization’s processes, not from the customer’s point of view, but from the organization’s point of view (Greasley & Hanretty 2016). As a management tool, companies are bound to find customer journey maps to be more beneficial than process-mapping tools because they would help them to optimize their operational efficiencies and provide (almost) instant customer satisfaction by tweaking their products and services (Greasley & Hanretty 2016).

Customer-mapping tools also have a low probability of experiencing acceptability error compared to process-mapping tools because customers are used as the main measure of organizational process changes, as opposed to using what management thinks is right for the customers. The latter approach could backfire on companies because they do not understand what the customer wants (Lavertu & Moynihan 2013a). The findings are useful in identifying the target market.

Lastly, measuring customer satisfaction ratings would be an important part of the customer mapping process. To do so, undertaking a survey to assess the level of satisfaction customers have concerning a specific product or service would be a practical way of understanding their opinions (Terpstra & Fyfe 2014). Since surveys are scientific ways of assessing people’s views, the findings would be reliable in the policy implementation process because it will align it with existing customer needs and requirements.

How to Propose and obtain an Agreement for Policy or Legal Implementation

As observed by Lavertu and Moynihan (2013b), policy implementation could be a problem for many organizations and institutions. Being open-minded about this process is useful in minimizing some of the problems associated with the process because doing so could lead to the development of new and innovative ideas that would help policy implementers to overcome some of the hurdles associated with the process without using many resources (Greasley & Hanretty 2016). This finding stems from the understand that policy and law development is a multifaceted discipline that often requires a strong understanding of the contextual political, social and economic issues that affect it (Hill & Hupe 2014).

Since many private organizations and government agencies often fail to understand this fact, they miss the opportunity to develop relevant policies and laws that would create a positive social change (Koontz & Newig 2014). This systemic problem affects different levels of public and private sector performance. Therefore, it is important to be open to new ideas because it promotes the cohesiveness of the implementation team since this type of culture exemplifies the strengths of each stakeholder and accounts for any differences that may exist between them (Lavertu & Moynihan 2013b). This way, it creates an environment where people feel valued and more encouraged to participate in the implementation process.

Before undertaking significant changes in policy or regulatory framework, it is important to ask key questions such as

• How would the policy change improve the lives of the subjects?
• Who would implement the policy changes?
• Are there adequate resources to undertake the policy change?

These questions are central in making sure that the implementation process goes on smoothly and the barriers that would prevent the realization of the implementation goals are eliminated. Only after answering these questions should the policy changes go on.

Weaknesses and costs associated with the implementation plan could significantly delay the process of implementing policy changes. Bringing these concerns to parties who initiated the policy changes in the first place could be problematic because it may create mistrust and suspicion regarding the commitment to implement the change (Lavertu & Moynihan 2013b). It is important to overcome this issue because securing the trust of all stakeholder groups is an important ingredient in the successful implementation of policy implementation plans. Trust would lead the stakeholders to invest in the implementation process because they would be committed and motivated to see the successful implementation of the process, as opposed to adopting a wait and see approach, or doing the “bare minimum” (Koontz & Newig 2014).

However, to get this trust, there needs to be careful and deliberate steps taken to improve stakeholder relations. To overcome the risk of poor stakeholder involvement, it is imperative to approach this issue in a sensitive way. For example, instead of saying cost issues could be a problem, one could say, “do you think that cost issues could be a problem?” Doing so presents a non-judgmental attitude to making stakeholders aware of possible problems associated with the implementation process. The lesson here is that policy change initiators should not feel they are being judged or “being put down;” instead, they should feel that they are being “made aware” of an issue.

In case there are risks that are classified as important, attention needs to be drawn to the fact that the policy implementation process could be significantly compromised without addressing these risks. Thus, it is important to address these issues first before the policy implementation process goes on. The first step I would take in such a situation is to mitigate the risk. For example, if it was discovered that the policy implementation team does not correctly understand the scope and nature of the policy change, it should be known that the implementation process could be significantly jeopardized because it would not be able to understand the scope of the implementation plan.

The risk mitigation plan I would undertake here would be to educate the team about the policy change and make sure they understand all its tenets. However, before undertaking such a drastic process, it would be prudent to consult the policy change initiator to make sure they also understand the severity of the risk and the importance of undertaking the risk mitigation strategy. The lesson we could learn here is the need to assess all types of risk before undertaking a policy change. These findings could be useful in evaluating the policy implementation process and in maintaining good stakeholder relations, because, as demonstrated in the above strategy, the policy change initiator needs to be involved in managing the risks associated with the policy change.

Risk Identification and Management

It is often difficult to understand all types of risks that may occur in the management of policies and the development of law because it is difficult to anticipate the actions of all actors or players in the policy implementation process. Similarly, it is difficult to predict the reactions of some stakeholders after a policy change is implemented. However, as mentioned in this paper, contextual factors need to be considered when communicating with different stakeholders in the policy-making process. Each context often demands a unique communications strategy.

As a policy initiator, it is important to have absolute control of the policy implementation process because there is a likelihood that the policy implementers may fail to understand the letter or spirit of the law. Indeed, it is common for people and policy implementers to misunderstand new policies and laws, thereby requiring an interpretation of the same in a court of law (Lavertu & Moynihan 2013b).

Without an absolute control of the process, such issues are bound to arise. Consequently, it is pertinent for the policy formulator to be present, as a point of reference, to minimize the possibility of such occurrences happening, especially in the implementation phase. The findings of this section could be useful in understanding who should steer the implementation process. Indeed, as highlighted above, the policy formulators should steer the policy implementation process. These findings could be useful in determining who should spearhead the policy implementation process.

Completing the project should be the last stage of the policy implementation process. However, it is often unclear when to do so because there are some specific indicators that should let the policy implementers know that their work is done. Some of the key points to monitor before the closure of the implementation phase are a sense of alignment with the overarching goals and laws governing a specific jurisdiction and the realization of quantifiable metrics that could be shared across different government departments (Lavertu & Moynihan 2013b).

The latter metric is important because it provides a framework for understanding the initial success or failures of a policy. It could also be used as a performance measurement tool that could provide a platform for evaluating future policy changes. Ensuring that the newly implemented policies or laws align with the overarching policy environment is equally as important because, as mentioned in earlier sections of this paper, new laws should not contravene existing ones.

For example, once the policy makers establish that their new laws align with existing ones, or complement them, they would know that their work is done (Fyfe & Scott 2013). Such alignments could be with existing laws, culture of the society, or even with existing international laws. When policy makers can establish that these criteria are met, they can initiate the closure of the implementation phase. The findings of this section are useful in helping policymakers to understand some of the key performance indicators they should watch out for during the policy implementation phase.

Policy Impact Evaluation

There are two main types of evaluation criteria for analyzing the impact of policies on affected populations. One of them is the outcome evaluation criteria which strives to understand the effect of the policy implementation process on a population by evaluating its progress on people’s social, economic, or political development (Teodoro 2014). The second evaluation criterion is impact assessment, which strives to understand the effectiveness of the policy on meeting its projected outcomes (Fyfe & Scott 2013).

It is important to control who is affected by a policy because the failure to do so could significantly jeopardize the ability of policymakers to evaluate their policies. To do so, it is important to specify the exclusion and inclusion criteria in the policy to define who is affected by it and who is not. Indeed, in many countries, the impact of laws is defined by different social, political and economic metrics. For instance, in Ireland, government’s policies are made after considering the interests of people with different religious beliefs, people of different political opinions, people of different racial groups, people of different ages, people of different marital status, and people of different sexual orientation (Ahmed & Dantata 2016).

This analysis shows that these considerations affect the government’s policymaking criteria. More importantly, they span across different religious, social, economic, and political circles, the same way as other countries do (Bakhtyar 2013). In this regard, we find that many countries use social, political and economic measures to define who is affected by a policy and who is not. This finding is useful in the policy design phase because it can help policy formulators to pre-empt some of the implementation challenges that may arise and correct them accordingly.

It is also important to stop control or comparison groups from getting any intervention because they would complicate the evaluation process (Situmorang 2015). To stop this from happening, it is important to design the evaluation criterion in a way that there is a disclaimer in the decision-making process about the possible interference of the evaluation process because of the control group. This disclaimer should be made through the process of establishing the decision-making criteria (Teodoro 2014). In this section of analysis, specific decision about how the evaluation would be conducted, including the exclusion of control groups would be made.

This way, stakeholders would understand the reasons for excluding the control group and its impact on the evaluation process. Nonetheless, many practitioners often experience difficult situations where they have to build a context for change to get the support they require to build commitment and support from stakeholders during the policy evaluation processes. Thus, to get the buy-in required for undertaking the evaluation, a right context should be created and fostered (Koontz & Newig 2014). This finding would be useful in making sure that the evaluation process is contextualized to the scope of evaluation.

To ensure that the policies or laws are applied to all target groups, it is also pertinent to involve all stakeholders from all the target groups and make sure they are involved in the policy formulation and implementation phases (Situmorang 2015). There are different ways of engaging the public during policy-making. As highlighted in this paper, some of the most common ways include crowd sourcing, ethnography (decision thinking), idea generation (design thinking), deliberative dialogue, and social media analysis (Dawson & Stanko 2013). In the context of this study, crowd sourcing involves getting the views of the public from a large number of people.

Based on the sheer number of views that could be received on this platform, it is more practical for policy makers to use the internet and web-based platforms to get their views. Doing so will create awareness regarding the process and encourage them to be part of the process. Comparatively, if such methods of engagement are not used and stakeholders feel excluded from the process, they are bound to be disengaged. In extreme situations, they are bound to oppose the policies under implementation. Consequently, the policies would not apply to them. This finding is useful to our analysis because it helps to explain how to gain stakeholder buy-in in the implementation process.

Benchmarking performance is an important step for organizations and public institutions to use in policy evaluation because they help to identify gaps in performance and provide a platform, or justification, for filling them. Additionally, assessing and benchmarking performance is important for organizations and public institutions because the process helps in providing a platform for quality controls and a basis for referencing organizational performance (Barbosa & Brusca 2015). There are five key steps for assessing or benchmarking performance. They include determining what to benchmark, defining the metrics, developing a data collection methodology, collecting data, and identifying performance gap (Barbosa & Brusca 2015).

Nonetheless, to understand the causal mechanisms that affect the policy formulation process, it is important to conduct a scientific study that is based on conditional probabilities to understand how one variable affects another (Storbjörk & Isaksson 2014). In this analysis, it would be easy to make statements such as “X causes Y,” if a specific variable is constant. This approach involves holding certain variables constant to focus on one specific relationship. The findings of this analysis are useful in developing the issue tree for problem solving and problem analysis.

Resource limitations could be an impediment to the evaluation process because they could limit the ability of policymakers to evaluate all aspects of the implementation process. However, to mitigate this concern, one could employ the use of advanced technology to undertake this process. Here, the use of technology involves employing software tools, data analysis techniques, and new communication techniques in the policy evaluation process (Storbjörk & Isaksson 2014). Depending on the selected technological tool, it would be easier to choose between the impact or outcome evaluation technique.

For example, the availability and use of data analysis software could make the policy implementers move towards using the outcome evaluation method, as opposed to the impact evaluation method. Often, the adoption of these techniques is inexpensive because they help to make the evaluation process easier and more efficient. Furthermore, the increased availability of new technology has made technology cheaper. The findings of this paper could be useful in making policymakers operate more efficiently when implementing their policies.

Having powerful stakeholders in the policy implementation process could prove to be problematic for many implementation teams because their inputs could “make or break” the implementation process. Extra effort needs to be made to make sure that this group of stakeholders understands the benefits of the policy change, or the introduction of the new policies, failure to which they would not support the process (Pettas & Giannikos 2014). A high level of openness should also be characteristic of the kind of communication made with this stakeholder group.

This is aimed at gaining their trust and cultivating relationships with them. Doing so would significantly improve the odds of success in policy implementation because such powerful stakeholders are responsible for resource allocation and the creation of a sound political environment to implement the policies (Storbjörk & Isaksson 2014). Although communication is an important aspect of policy-making process, it is important to understand that past communication strategies may not be as effective as they should be because of changes in the communication landscape.

Particularly, the digital revolution has changed how people communicate and similarly affected the efficacy of traditional communication techniques, such as print media and television. Based on these changes, we should understand many things regarding the modern communication landscape and its effects on policy, safety and security. The findings highlighted in this section could be useful in improving stakeholder engagement.

Lastly, within the evaluation design, there needs to be a plan to mitigate completion risks because the possibility that the implementation plan may fail to materialize is real. In such circumstances, it would be prudent to transfer the risk to a third party, such an insurance company, to manage such a risk because it may be difficult to control it within the institution or agency involved (Pettas & Giannikos 2014). Similarly, it could be prudent to shorten the time involved in the implementation phase to minimize the room for error.

This analysis occurs within a firm understanding that the main aspects of leadership and management, such as teamwork, creativity, planning and decision-making, are central to the formulation and implementation of policies and laws. Key sections of this analysis also highlight the need to nurture a culture of high performance that is centered on the need to use resources efficiently to implement useful policies and laws. These insights are relevant in explaining the management of policies and development of law and are useful in improving the outcomes of implementation processes because they would help policy implementers to reach their goals on time.

Considerations in Policy Implementation

According to Ferlie and McGivern (2014), there are different communication strategies, such as television communications, social media campaigns, public forums of engagement and the likes. This finding is useful in understanding the types of risks to consider in the overall policy implementation plan. There are several issues to consider during the policy implementation phase. For example, when identifying the criteria to choose for identifying a policy problem that needs to be tackled, it is critical to carry out an impact assessment test to evaluate the significance of the problem to the overall policy implementation process (Pettas & Giannikos 2014).

For example, only those policy problems that significantly influence organizational activities and human societies should be considered for review. Policymakers use this basis to develop policies that are relevant to human societies. In fact, Barbosa and Brusca (2015) say that courts often refrain from giving widely unpopular decisions because they know such rulings could be defied if they do not relate or resonate with the people they are intended for. When such issues happen, there is a risk of of people deeming them as irrelevant. Generally, policy problems that do not have a high level of materiality should not be given much attention. However, those that are material to the accomplishment of the policy goals should be managed with a lot of care. These findings are useful in making sure that policy makers understand which problems to focus on when implementing the policy plans.

The process of understanding which group of people the policy would mostly affect should inform the process of choosing a target audience for a new policy (Pettas & Giannikos 2014). Stated differently, those who are mostly affected by the policy would be the perfect target audience because there is no reason for other people to care about a policy that does not affect them (Scottish Parliament Justice Committee on Policing 2013).

The inquiry-based approach of gaining insight into the audience’s view is often justifiable when building the capacity for leadership to identify the target audience because it allows the managers to take ownership of the policy-making process, thereby increasing their odds of supporting the outcome of the process (Fyfe 2014). Through the same approach, not only will the audience’s voices be fortified, but also they would feel empowered to embrace the process and deem it their own (Whitford 2014).

The inquiry-based approach is also justifiable in this case because it would help to increase audience engagement in the policy-making process, thereby giving the policy-makers an opportunity to gain an insight into their views. This step is unlike other methods of seeking the public’s views, which could be limited by the audience’s unwillingness to participate in the process. The inquiry-based approach solves this problem by increasing the motivation for the audience to engage in such discussions. Through the process, the facilitator could observe and understand the views of the audience (Fyfe & Scott 2013). This finding is useful in designing communication plans, in the policy formulation phase, because the communication strategy should align with the needs of the audience.

Many government agencies use a payment for results method to run policies. However, this method is not effective in the public sector, and more so in the policy formulation and implementation arena, because the public space is often vulnerable to unforeseen changes, which could impede the process of policy implementation.

For example, propaganda could change people’s views about a policy and create public disapproval towards it (Scottish Parliament Justice Committee on Policing 2013). In fact, history is littered with many cases where noble ideas have been shelved because of bad politics and the unwillingness of some actors to do what they are supposed to do (Scottish Parliament Justice Committee on Policing 2013). In this regard, it is difficult to secure the success of policy implementation processes regardless of how much one actor may be committed to the process. The findings of this paper are useful in improving the evaluation of policy outcomes.

Lastly, although people may have a high level of commitment to implementing new policies, independent research may show that the policies have failed to meet their required objectives (Padurariu 2014). In such cases, the researchers should report such findings to relevant stakeholders, as opposed to shielding them from the public. The importance of doing so is to maintain good stakeholder relationships and possibly provide an environment where changes could be made to improve the problematic areas (Padurariu 2014). The findings of this analysis are useful in helping policy implementers to understand what to do when they encounter problems in the implementation process.

Independent Evaluation and Auditing

Since government spending may sometimes lack the clarity and transparency required of such an institution, it is important to undertake independent audits to investigate government spending (O’Toole 2017). There is a lot of value in carrying out independent audits because investors are likely to have confidence in the government and its spending habits because they could rely on an audit report that is objective and free from interference (Scottish Parliament Justice Committee on Policing 2013). Independent audits would also minimize the possibility of fraud, especially from errand government officials who may want to swindle public funds because they know that an audit would reveal their misgivings.

Based on these factors, it is important to point out that the findings of this analysis are central in increasing transparency in government spending. This is a critical component of the policy implementation process because the misuse of government funds could easily deprive policy implementers the resources meant for the policy implementation process (Scottish Parliament Justice Committee on Policing 2013). The main finding we get from this analysis is the need to train all employees to carry out their functions well to minimize the risk of fraud. In this step, the planners should avail all the important information pertaining to the policies to allow the trainees to understand what is required of them.

All concerned parties should also reiterate these policies regularly so that all stakeholders internalize them. Doing so will ensure that the implementers are equipped to manage most of the challenges associated with the policy implementation process. Similarly, to avoid such risks, there should be a clear definition of roles in the organization. This effort would help them to avoid unnecessary arguments about who needs to do what and where. Indeed, as Holmberg and Balvig (2013) points out, people tend to work better with each other when their roles are clearly defined. Conflicts between members of the implementation team would hereby reduce, thereby increasing the opportunity for successfully implementing policies. Comprehensively, most of the challenges defined above need to be mitigated to minimize the risk of fraud or a poor implementation of policies (Holmberg & Balvig 2013).

Although auditing is usually based on past performance, its findings could still be relied on to monitor what is happening in the present. This fact stems from the fact that past information could be used as a reliable measure of predicting the future, or understanding the present (De Sardan & Ridde, 2015). For example, an audit report that shows areas of pilferage of funds could be used as a reliable measure to predict areas of weakness in financial management. The same is true if I undertake extensive consultations with professionals who are knowledgeable about the field, and most importantly those who understand the organizational setting. These examples explain how to detect cases of financial impropriety in an organization, or institution. Such cases are likely to affect the quality of policy implementation. Comprehensively, the findings of this paper are useful in understanding how best to manage resources through early detection of risk areas.

Developing and Maintaining a Culture of Performance

Having a high-performance culture is useful in improving the probability of a successful implementation of policy objectives. For example, such a culture could help to make useful predictions about how people could respond to a new policy (De Sardan & Ridde, 2015). Some researchers often argue that it is not important to try and make predictions about new policies, but findings from Liu et al. (2015) show that doing so is important in designing policies so that they are able to overcome some of the challenges or impediments to policy implementation.

The failure to predict policies would make it difficult for policy makers to understand the kind of objections they may encounter in the policy implementation phase, thereby depriving them of their ability to plan for them. Particularly, large companies cannot afford to miss this strategy because they would fail to understand their customer requirements. Particularly, large multinationals or global companies that provide sensitive products or services should pay close attention to this strategy to develop a sound customer map because the failure to do so could lead to serious service delivery issues (Lavertu & Moynihan 2013a). These findings are useful in the risk management process because they would help policy planners to understand what to expect when implementing new policies.

Understanding human behavior is at the centre of this process because human beings and their actions could either impede the policy-making process, or support it. In this regard, the customer-centric approach is more reliable in the policy implementation process. Additionally, the customer mapping process would allow companies to point out which aspects of their operations are causing unnecessary delays and exclude them from their processes for the betterment of their customer relationships. Removing these impediments to the delivery of services or products would not only make the organizations more efficient, but more cost-effective as well in achieving their goals (Lavertu & Moynihan 2013a; Greasley & Hanretty 2016).

Having an efficient customer-mapping tool could equip companies with the skills of encouraging their customers to recommend their products or services to other people. Policy makers and their implementation teams can get better at understanding human behavior by investigating past behavioral patterns because as new research shows, human beings are often creatures of habit. In this regard, it would be useful for them to investigate past behavior to understand how they could exploit them for the benefit of improving the policy formulation and implementation processes. The findings of this paper are also useful in risk management processes because they would help policy makers to understand the kinds of objections or support they could encounter. In this regard, they could plan accordingly.

Linking Staff Appraisal to Organizational Performance

Linking employee appraisal to organizational performance could be a critical part of the evaluation culture. However, this evaluation culture should be action-oriented because the quest of the policy makers should always be to find solutions to pressing implementation problems (Murray 2014). At the same time, the evaluation culture should profess a teaching-oriented value in the sense that there should be a unity of formal evaluation through all cadres of the implementation team. Such evaluations should also not be limited to one individual or department in the organization because, as mentioned in earlier sections of this paper, the process should involve all stakeholders. The findings of this analysis could be useful in understanding the values to uphold in the policy implementation process because some government agencies often lack the direction to follow when undertaking this task.

Although it is important to evaluate policies and laws, it may not be practical to evaluate all of them because of their subjective nature. Indeed, as Moldogaziev & Resh (2016) observe, it is difficult to measure subjectivity because of the failure of a reliable index to do so. Additionally, some policies may not have an immediate impact that we could all observe. In other words, their impact could be felt in the long-term. Therefore, it would be difficult to holistically evaluate them because of time-frame limitations. Nonetheless, investigating what experts are saying about future communication strategies could also be a pointer in understanding how future strategies could be received (Greasley & Hanretty 2016).

However, this approach is not ideal because some of the information conveyed by the experts cannot be relied upon. Instead, we could use public platforms of engagement, or debate, where leaders initiative conversations surrounding a specific policy topic. Through spontaneous group discussions, policy makers could get the views of the public in any given policy area and incorporate the same in the process of policymaking. This type of format for engaging the public in the policy-making process is closely related to deliberative dialogue, which is often designed to get the best views regarding the policy making process (Effiong 2013).

For example, in the area of governance, the deliberative dialogue should seek to get the views of security experts, political scientists and the likes. Their input will add a professional touch to the policy-making process (Effiong 2013). Information could also be obtained using social media tools. However, this type of platform is often prone to abuse. Therefore, it should be consistently checked and monitored to make sure that only the useful views are included in the policy-making process. These findings are useful in understanding how to develop policy evaluation guidelines.

Comparatively, as explained by Moldogaziev and Resh (2016), evaluations are often easier done when they are simple because everyone could understand them. Based on the importance of communicating with internal and external stakeholders involved in the policy-making process, De Sardan and Ridde (2015) say the failure to engage stakeholders in the evaluation process could be disastrous for policy makers because there are several inherent risks attached to not doing so. For example, there is a high probability that community members would not cooperate with policymakers when they are not engaged in the policy evaluation process. Consequently, policymakers are likely to experience resistance to what they are doing, regardless of whether they have noble intentions, or not. However, organizations need to avail financial resources and the expertise needed to teach staff about evaluation if such processes are to be successful.

The policy implementation phase is among the most difficult ones after engaging stakeholders and evaluating their performance. There are different problems associated with the process, including the failure to have a team that understands the policies, using over-ambitious time-scales, poor project management, inadequate planning, and the failure to designate clear roles and objectives of each member of the implementation team. Consulting with professionals and understanding some of the political challenges that may impede the policy implementation process would ensure realistic targets are developed. Based on this need, I would say the best evaluation techniques are participatory because stakeholder engagement is a key part of the process.

To realize maximum stakeholder engagement, it important to work only with stakeholders that have a proven record of accomplishment in delivering what is expected of them, or those who have the capacity to do so. To make sure they meet agreed targets, it is also important to sign a performance contract with them that specifies the timelines of policy implementation. This document would be legally binding and would peg rewards to the realization of implementation targets. Such agreements have been used in several cases where government departments have tried to manage the performance of their employees, with relative success (Ingold & Leifeld 2016).

Its implementation in the policy environment is bound to be problematic because the success of the process partly depends on the sheer goodwill of the stakeholders, but it would be a start in specifying the kind of targets that are expected of each stakeholder, or partner. Another strategy of making sure that the stakeholders meet the required expectations and agreed targets is providing them with adequate resources to do so. This preposition stems from studies that have shown the willingness of some stakeholders to do their job, as is required, but the lack of resources may impede them from realizing the success they desire (Fyfe & Scott 2013). These findings are important in fostering engagement among stakeholders.

Lastly, I believe that the findings of policy evaluations should be used to suggest actions, as opposed to taking actions because a finding is a mere indication of an outcome and not necessarily a factor influencing the same. For example, in this paper, we have recommended that communications should be redesigned to fit the digital communication platform.

Indeed, based on the changes that the digital revolution brings to policy development, the process of designing messages to suit this platform and meet their intended objectives should be a top requirement in policy implementation because it is the only way of making sure that the messages conveyed reach their intended audiences and achieve the required goals. To get the information to include in these messages, policy makers could use focus groups. Nonetheless, focus groups are not only easy to work with, but also effective in getting the views of a large number of people because from a small sample of respondents, policymakers could understand the cultural views and norms that they need to consider in the communication plan. These findings are useful in policy implementation.

Comprehensively, based on the findings we present in this report, it is important to point out that laws are not static and neither is the process of making them. Laws should respond to different situations and issues, failure to which they would be deemed irrelevant. These findings are instrumental to our understanding of the need to foresee the regulatory framework and understand how it needs to change to appeal or address to current social, economic and political situations. While the process of law making is central to the change management process, it is critical to point out that there are limitations to law making because the process should not contravene any judicial limitation or international obligation that countries have in reference to the same. Generally, the findings of this paper are useful in creating a seamless policy formulation and implementation guideline that would work in both the private and public sector.

Conclusion

Generally, based on the findings highlighted in this paper, we find that many facts about policy and law implementation and formulation could be borrowed from other disciplines such as business and military strategic development. For example, we could draw comparisons between teamwork in business and stakeholder engagement in policy implementation. As highlighted in some sections of this paper, stakeholders are critical in the implementation of policies and laws. Involving their input in the communication process is similarly an important process in getting their support.

To do so, it is important to undertake a stakeholder mapping process because it has tremendous value in this regard. In this paper, we also find that the internationalization of law is beneficial for parties that ascribe to international legal agreements because they would easily implement or enforce their laws outside their borders through jurisdictional cooperation. However, the global space is complex because of the multiplicity of different interests from global players. Therefore, it is important for leaders to demonstrate good leadership acumen, hinged on the execution of well thought out policy implementation strategies.

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Reporting on a city like Dubai is probably the most adventurous and emphatic report one can develop. Bearing in mind that Dubai is one of the major cities on the globe, it is inevitable to state that Dubai is definitely a destination worth cherishing. Being situated at the Persian Gulf, which is ultimately the coast of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E), the Emirate of Dubai has grown into a cosmopolitan center. As a result of this, the global city has turned into a cultural and business hub of the Persian Gulf region and the Middle East. Despite the fact that the developing of the city started from the oil industry, it is now characterized by other forms of revenue such as real estate, tourism and other multiple financial services. However, this report will focus on the two most interesting aspects or rather areas about Dubai: governance (law enforcement and politics) and the economy (retail and tourism).

The Constitutional Monarchy was the main form of governance in Dubai till 1833 when the Al Maktoum family started leading the nation. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the current ruler and is also the vice president and prime minister of the U.A.E. In addition to this, the head of state is also a member of the SCU (Supreme Council of the Union). Another vital area of focus is the Dubai municipality which got developed in the year 1954 by Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. This body got created for the purposes of maintaining of local facilities, citizen services and city planning. The DM (Dubai municipality) gets chaired and controlled by the Deputy Head of State Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The municipality entails other comprehensive duties such as: financial affairs, public health and environment and survey and planning departments. Back to the year 2001, the Dubai municipality aimed at adopting the e-government initiative by providing all the forty functions of the municipality through Dubai’s web portal: dubai.ae. (Bennet, pg 45, 2008)

The aspect of law enforcements in Dubai is another aspect of distinct interest in the operation of this Emirate. In 1956 the Dubai Police Force got first established in the Naif locality with the force being under oath and command of the head of the Emirates State. There are two parts of the Emirates that do not comply to the judicial system of the U.A.E. – Ras al Khaimah and Dubai. The judicial courts of the Emirates comprises of Court of Appeal, Court of Cassation and Court of First Instance. The court of First Instance entails the Civil Court, responsible for civil suits, the Criminal Court, responsible for addressing matters raised by the police, and Sharia Court which is ultimately responsible for solving religious (Muslim) related disputes. The Court of Cassation is the Emirate’s most Supreme Court and it only hears claims on matters of law only.

On the aspects of economy, the fact that the Dubai Emirate’s economy got built by the oil industry does not ultimately make it the main source of revenue now. In fact, the oil in Dubai only accounts for seven percent of the revenue generated in that Emirate daily. However, this section focuses on the most vibrant and upcoming industries in the Dubai Emirate which are ultimately tourism and retail. The main attraction of Dubai tourists is shopping. This helps attract multiple foreign currencies in the Dubai Emirate thus making its financial status more comprehend able. As of the year 2010, Dubai was the seventh most visited city in the world. The retail business can be easily illustrated by the multiple shopping malls (around seventy) in the Dubai Emirate. From these fact it is inevitable to note that these two aspects are the major revenue generators in the Dubai Emirate. (Campbell, et al, pg 110, 2010)

In conclusion, the Dubai Emirate is a symbol of the unique governance and Law enforcement mechanisms compared to all other major global cities. On the other hand, the fact that its major revenue creators are simple and have ultimately developed with time makes the city unique.

Works Cited

Bennett, Lindsay. Dubai. London: New Holland, 2008. Print.

Campbell, Hallie, and Collette Lyons. A hedonist’s guide to Dubai. London: Filmer, Ltd., 2010. Print.

Many people have usually a poor perception or frame of mind about the police personnel or their management. Police cops (in many countries) are lazy and don’t perform their duties at their best; moreover, people are often heard saying that police always reach after the incidence has happened. Even many of them don’t rely on police and don’t take their services even their property or belongings such as car, motorcycle, or cell phone are theft or lost. The fundamental rule is that performance depends over the effort and management of employees; whether it’s a police department, a bank, or any other company. And that effort comes from the quality of the employees that are kept. Not only other small or medium companies face the employee recruitment or retention issues, but the most common institution that faces these problems is a Police department.

All police organizations face the challenge of achieving good results from the personnel they have. This process has become more complicated in recent years (Wilson & Grammich, 2009) as violence and homeland security needs have increased in many communities. The employees in the police departments are often those who are addicted to drugs, involved in bribery, or face the problems of health fitness such as, obesity. All these personal issues no doubt affect their motivation and ability to work properly and honestly. But apart from these personal factors, there are some institutional or departmental problems that are the core reasons that reduces the job image and job satisfaction; hence resulting in the issues of employee recruitment and their retention.

Since this is the era of globalization, so along with its advantages there are some disadvantages, for instance, easy flow of ammunitions from one place to another or the increase in the terrorism acts such as bomb blasts, human trafficking, or cybercrimes. The crux of mentioning these issues are that they require effective and efficient services by the police or other law enforcement agencies in order to keep these issues from happening.

Now we’ll have a look at the problems that are being faced by the police departments in recruiting the quality employees. First of all, the candidates of today are more likely to need a stronger focus on strategic thinking and problem-solving skills (Wilson & Grammich, 2009); moreover, they need the ability to collaborate and as well as the greater capacity to use technology and problem-solving skills. Those who possess these abilities prefer to work in a reputable bank, company, or at any management position than to work in a police department. Another problems that occur in some countries is the gender issue; many countries don’t allow or prefer to recruit female candidates even if they are competent enough to work to the position applied.

A survey was conducted on 205 agencies which included a total of 124 questionnaires which produced an aggregate return rate of 60 percent. The survey asked about the reasons of poor employee recruitment and retention; majority of the people focused on the absence of sound salaries, lack of improved screening criteria, and raising new minimum standards for applicants. The police departments fail to entice the young candidates who are skilled and can efficiently fulfill their jobs because of the salary issue. The salary that is offered is very low; where as the job is hectic and tough, so skillful candidates prefer to work somewhere else. Another issue is that many of the candidates are hired on the basis of reference or source, even if they are not skilled. It worsens the quality of performance of the department and in the long-term affects the system as a whole.

Other problems include are, there are no proper minimum education or personal standards for the applicants, such as, age, criminal record, basic reading and math testing, ethnicity, and relationships with military and college programs. Moreover, the insufficient budgets of the police department remain a key issue for the proper employee recruitment and retention practices. According to (Yearwood, 2004), the research identified the most common barriers to recruitment, out of which agency budget restrictions got 77.6 percent of the agencies; nevertheless, the competition of police department with other criminal justice agencies was the also the main issue.

As far as the problems of employee retention are concerned, they should have been coped in order to increase the job satisfaction of the employees and create the most important thing that would encourage the new candidates, and that is, ‘word of mouth’. The results of the survey shows that Word of mouth got the rating of 6.83 out of 9 on an Average Effectiveness Rating Scale. Obviously, none would want to work more for less and to stay at the same level with his stagnant growth. The main issue that lead employees to change their job or to leave the current job is the lack of salary increases. People think that as the time goes along, no or little increase in the salary doesn’t satisfy the employees of police departments and compel them to leave the job. The survey result shows that the employees often resign or leave the job within 3 years of their starting. Another major issue is the lack of promotional opportunities. Usually the employees in police departments face stagnant growth and don’t get the opportunity to be promoted to a higher level.

Other issues include the lack of tuition imbursements and allowing officers to attend classes during the work hours, favorable work shifts, and lateral transfers. The number of lateral transfers across law enforcement agencies result due to the reason (Yearwood, 2004) that may include the lack of handsome salary, extending an officer’s employee contract, and other employment incentives to remain with an agency once employed.

Since the proper recruitment of quality employees can only help boost the performance of the police department or the whole system; therefore, proper measures must be taken to improve and standardize the recruitment of suitable and competent candidates. Moreover, the policies must be designed and implemented in order to let the employees to stick to their jobs and work diligently and efficiently. The need to be more effective and efficient for the police employees is rising, but it’s not impossible to manage it.

References

1. Douglas L. Yearwood. (2003). Recruitment and Retention Study Series. Sworn Police Personnel.
2. Douglas L. Yearwood, (2004). Analyzing Concerns among Police Administrators: Recruitment and Retention of Police Officers in North Carolina. The Police Chief, vol. 71, no. 3.
3. Jeremy M. Wilson and Clifford A. Grammich, (2009). Police Recruitment and Retention in the Contemporary Urban Environment. Published in 2009 by the RAND Corporation.

The issue of police misconduct has gained significant importance over the past few years due to the increase in the instances thereof. The effects of the above power abuse are drastic. First and most obvious, police power abuse leads to physical harm. The latter triggers an immediate psychological trauma, making the victim feel insecure once attacked by the people who are supposed to protect them. In other words, the victim of police misconduct will find it hard to accept the fact that they have lost their property (Klahm, Frank, and Liederbach 561).

As a result, PTSD and severe depression may occur (American Psychiatric Association 665). On a social level, the victims may feel marginalized o the sociocultural bias (i.e., being racial and ethnic minorities). Consequently, the rights of the above sociocultural tiers will be systematically abused (Shalhoub-Kevorkian 2). By disregarding the victims’ rights, police tampers with the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees every citizen of the country equal protection from injustice and any form of bias (Legal Information Institute par. 1).

The harm caused by the police brutally which related to the civil rights concerns the physical and emotional scarring of the people that have been apprehended without any legal basis for it. The effects of the police misconduct trigger an immediate psychological and often physiological harm (Klahm et al. 561).

By carrying out the actions that can be interpreted as the violation of people’s civil rights, police officers tamper with the citizens’ image of justice, in general, and the representation of the state legal system, in particular. As a result, the victims of police brutality, as well as the people that have been exposed to violent actions of police officers, may develop a case of PTSD. Moreover, the latter may trigger severe depression (American Psychiatric Association 665). The physical harm may come in the form of bruises.

Moreover, the phenomenon of police violence may affect not only individuals but also a separate group of people. The social tiers that have already been marginalized due to the sociocultural bias (i.e., racial and ethnic minorities) are under an especial threat in the environment that involves police brutality. In addition, the violent treatment reinforces further promotion of stereotypes in the society (Shalhoub-Kevorkian 2).

The abuse of power that can be observed among the American police officers is also likely to suffer a substantial financial harm. For instance, the victim of police violence may be intimidated into giving the corresponding police authority a bribe. Consequently, financial losses ensue.

Last but not least, the constitutional harm needs to be brought up. The violation of civil rights that the subject matter manifests is against the current Constitution of the Untied States, including the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees every citizen of the country equal protection from injustice and any form of bias (Legal Information Institute par. 1).

One significant cause of police misconduct which associates with civil forfeiture is the federal civil forfeiture law which gives the power and right to the government and police officers to take the property and assets from a suspect person or a suspect crime environment. The law, even though it is aimed at positive outcomes, has a number of weaknesses and blind spots, which make the proper conduct less likely (Jaros 1155).

First of all, the law is complicated: there are federal laws (Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act) that are complex on their own, but there also exist 49 state laws, some of which are more convenient for the citizens (Berg 869). Still, the federal law can be regarded as a legal means of avoiding stricter state laws, which makes their attempts at improving the drawbacks of the federal law useless (Berg 869). At the same time, the drawbacks of the law are numerous.

For example, although real estate property can only be seized through a complex of procedures, the personal property can be forfeited in a sinfully easy way (Brooks 328). Also, it has been argued that the law technically promotes corruption and provides the police with unbalanced power that they can use against the less protected and minority groups of the population (Brooks 324, 349). It is noteworthy that forfeited property is not supposed to end up in the hands of particular people; instead, it is expected to be sold, and the money are to be used for beneficial purposes (Baum 66). However, the details of the fate of a forfeiture do not have to be made public; in fact, it is legally possible to choose to keep them secret (Berg 869).

In other words, the law enforcement does not need to break the law to abuse its power due to the federal forfeiture law (Jaros 1149). Also, as pointed out by Jaros, misconduct is not always provoked by the corrupt nature of individual policepersons or the organizational issues. For example, the forfeit of shared property is likely to leave an innocent punished as well (Berg 877). As a result, the law enforcement is not likely to benefit from a complicated but imperfect law either: they need to balance their duties regarding the protection of the society and the personal rights of the people they try to protect while the law makes this goal less attainable (1195). To sum up, it cannot be denied that the law, its weaknesses, and limitations tend to cause misconduct and injustice of different kinds (Berg 868).

Another significant cause of police misconduct is the historical and cultural backgrounds of the civil forfeiture. In fact, some of the roots of the law can be considered ridiculous nowadays: it is based on the cases of legal action against property as a living being (Brooks 331). This idea was widely used in the ancient world and then (in slightly a transformed way) during the middle ages(Berg 873).

The concept of punishing the property together with the culprit does seem hilarious; apart from that, forfeiture could be used instead of punishing or even apprehending the criminal (Berg 875). What is more, even back then the law was used as a source of the revenue for the ruling family (Berg 873). Still, the apparently corruption-friendly law gained some justification throughout the history of the human society; an example is the drug war that resulted in the Comprehensive Drug Control Act in the 1970s and Comprehensive Crime Control Act in the 1980s (Berg 875-876). The latter allowed the use of forfeited goods for the police forces.

To sum up, the study of the history of the law proves its harmful potential, but it also explains the persistence of this kind of legislation. Indeed, the law is based on the fear of crime, and it did prove to be useful for certain cases. In fact, forfeiture law is applicable to the attempts to protect the society and its interests by definition (Brooks 325). The forfeited assets are supposed to be involved in a stage of criminal activity of any kind, and seizing them should improve public safety. As a result, the improper actions become associated with and protected by the positive idea of defending the society, which makes the historical and cultural background of the law a reason for continued misconduct.

Works Cited

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed. New York, NY: American Psychiatric Association.

Klahm, Charles Frank, James Frank, and John Liederbach. “Understanding Police Use of Force: Rethinking the Link Between Conceptualization and Measurement.” Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management 37.3 (2014): 558-578.

Legal Information Institute n. d., 14th Amendment. Web.

Shalhoub-Kevorkian, Nadera. “Palestinian Children as Tools for ‘Legalized’ State Violence.” Borderlands 13.1 (2014): 1-24. Print.

The question whether human nature is good or evil has been the object of intense philosophical and psychological debate for centuries. Some philosophers have held that humans are naturally wicked but others believe that man is naturally good. The philosophical musings find their application in practical legal structures of human society where the basic tenets presumes that humans choose to do good or evil and that people implicitly know the difference between right and wrong.

Modern science has however, found sufficient proof to challenge these long held dogmas. For example behavioral psychologists through neurobiological studies have found that the poor judgment performance of adolescents is attributable to “incomplete frontal cortex and cerebellum development” (Hanson 2006, 19). These are the realities that law enforcement agencies must have to factor. Intense debate rages over the ethics of using force in law enforcement and policing.

Many argue that use of force is counterproductive and that it goes against the grain of correct practices. Others believe that use of force by the Police is inevitable if the society is to maintain law and order. This essay examines the dynamics of use of force by the Police in Law Enforcement in the United States and the corrective measures taken to reduce such use.

Historical Imperatives

The U.S. system of law enforcement was significantly influenced by the nature of colonization of America. The early predominantly British settlers were actually religious refugees fleeing religious persecution in Europe. On arrival, the colonizers had a hard life. The area was thickly forested, the terrain difficult and the native American Indians none too friendly. The harshness of their conditions inculcated in the settlers an indomitable spirit to succeed which colored their approach to religion as well as what sort of administrative system to follow. The protestant philosophies of the New England society lead to the birth of liberalism.

This philosophy coupled with fierce independence of spirit led to formation of the various states each with its own body of law. This independence extended to the judicial and law enforcement systems also. Laws evolved to tackle the prevailing ground situation. The ‘rough and ready’ justice of the Wild West days still finds popular resonance in Texan law today. The concept of retribution and ‘making an example’ out of an offender of those days was codified into state laws, which also crystallized into the federal laws.

Policing Methodologies

The combination of liberalism, strong belief in the ‘rule of law’ and the independence of thought and action has led to the belief that use of force in Policing is a necessary evil. This led to a Police subculture that relied on a high degree of “solidarity, secrecy and violence (Greene 2006, 482)” which surfaced as a legal issue after the Los Angeles Police Department officer’s beating of Rodney King in 1991.

The gun culture in America which is protected by the Second Amendment allows all citizens the right to bear arms. This has made the task of law enforcement agencies much more difficult and risky. Therefore, it is no surprise that violent crime in the United States is much higher than in Europe. This free access to guns results in proactive police tactics where a gesture to reach for the inner pocket of one’s coat may be mistaken for an act of ‘reaching for a gun’ and may result in preemptive fire.

In such cases, to blame the Police for excessive force may not be the right thing to do. Police in the US have often used force as a deterrent in tough neighborhoods. In some areas, ruled by violent street gangs and drug cartels, policing may approach application of counterinsurgency tactics such as ‘area domination’ and employing tenets of ‘cordon’ and ‘search’. These measures do at times result in excessive force and ‘collateral damage’, which in the opinion of this author are inevitable and must be taken in stride.

Traditionally, police have used ‘billy clubs’ and batons that at times have resulted in serious injuries. Older models of rubber bullets had the potential to kill people at short ranges. At times, the Police have resorted to physical and psychological coercive measures during interrogations that have bordered on being labeled as torture. Of late, frequent patrolling, neighborhood watch and cooperative engagement of the Police with the community are some other policing methodologies which have had a modicum of success.

Defining Excessive Force

It is very difficult to define what constitutes excessive force. Force has been defined “as the exertion of power to compel or restrain the behavior of other (Greene, 483)”. However, how much power is justified and reasonable and how much could be termed as ‘excessive’ is difficult to legally define. Others have defined excessive force as “violence of a degree that is more than necessary to affect a legitimate police function” (Greene, 483).

Such definitions too do not resolve legal tangles and the best yardstick may well be a resort to ‘common sense’. Here one needs to divert from the legalistic approach and dwell more on the pragmatic approach wherein, it is presumed that most normal people know what the ‘right thing to do’ is. Using excessive force under mitigating circumstances have well known precedence and no legal agency would prosecute a policeman who exercises the right judgment, which at times may result in grievous injury or death of the person being subdued.

In Portland in 1985, the standard police subduing technique of using a ‘carotid artery hold’ resulted in the death of the person being subdued (Thornton and Endo 1992, 58). This use of force was then subsequently changed to incapacitate by using non lethal mace. Since it is difficult to define excessive force, law enforcement agencies have sought to make changes in the hardware and operational methodologies of policing to reduce the chances of excessive force being exercised.

The Efficacy of the ‘Iron Fist’ Versus the ‘Velvet Glove’

American Law Enforcement policies have traditionally taken a hard line stance, ‘the iron fist’ policy against perpetrators of crime compared to European agencies. A comparison of their crime statistics can give an assessment of the relative efficacy of the differing policies. “USA has markedly higher than average levels of violent crimes (Stenson and Cowell 1991, 3)”. America incarcerates people at a rate five to nine times greater than its peer nations (Burd-Sharps, et al. 2008, 142).

Evidently, the European nations have certain policies which have resulted in better success in keeping crime rates low. In Europe, the Police force employs the ‘Velvet Glove’ technique. The emphasis is on early intervention especially in case of juveniles. By early intervention, the community, the Police and the social workers identify the vulnerable individuals who are most likely to take up a life of crime. Having identified such individuals, the community then puts into place measures to prevent those individuals from falling wayside by providing them education, jobs and other avenues to utilize their energies.

Measures to Reduce Excessive Force

One of the major initiatives undertaken by law enforcement agencies across all states in America has been to equip their police personnel with non lethal weapons and provide clear guidelines for their use. These non-lethal weapons cover the entire range from better designed batons, nonlethal mace, tear gas, water cannons, Tazers (Steverson 2007, 37), nets and acoustic devices. At the operational level, Law Enforcement agencies have sought to employ preventive measures such as preventive arrests in domestic violence cases so that the stage wherein excessive force becomes inevitable is reduced or obviated.

Measures such as better street lighting, more surveillance cameras as well as a higher frequency of patrolling add to the deterrent effect and reduce the need for using excessive force. Administrative measures have included sensitization of the police force, better racial mix and decentralization of operations giving mid-level managers greater responsibility and accountability (Skogan and Frydl 2004, 83).

This accountability has been codified in certain instances which have resulted in far lesser incident of excessive force being used. However, no measure can succeed without the active participation and trust of the community. Skogan and Frydl succinctly capture this sentiment by stating that “The more lawful the police are, the more likely the outcomes produced by their actions will be accepted and embraced by the public (6)”. Better interaction and cooperation with the community is the key to better policing. Early intervention and European ‘Velvet Glove’ techniques could be adapted to the American environment for reducing the need to use force.

In conclusion it can be stated that the use of force may be inevitable under certain circumstances. However, law enforcement agencies need to evolve coping and ameliorative strategies to reduce the probability of using such force. Such strategies would involve the entire range of legal, administrative, operational and social transformation to credibly address the issue of use of Force by the Police.

Bibliography

Burd-Sharps, Sarah, Kristen Lewis, Eduardo Borges Martins, and Social Science Research Council (US). 2008.The Measure of America: American Human Development Report, 2008-2009. NY: Columbia University Press.

Greene, Jack R. 2006.The Encyclopedia of Police Science, 3rd edn. Boca Raton: CRC Press.

Hanson, Michael J. “Towards a New Assumption in Law and Ethics.” The Humanist, 2006: 18-21.

Skogan, Wesley G, and Kathleen Frydl. 2004. Fairness and Effectiveness in Policing: The Evidence. Washington D.C.: National Academies Press.

Stenson, Kevin, and David Cowell. 1991 The Politics of Crime Control. New Castle: SAGE.

Steverson, Leonard A. 2007 Policing in America: a Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.

Thornton, Robert Y, and Katsuya Endo. 1992. Preventing Crime in America and Japan. NY: M.E. Sharpe.

Every community in the world has its unique makeup and environment. An article titled “Neighborhood Organizations and Resident Assistance to Police” talks about the ways local communities can participate in high goals and prosperous future within policing.

People’s traditions and beliefs center on bettering the lives of the local residences, as well as their own. It is clear that social health can be on the rise and expected to grow further in cooperation with aw authorities.

There are several factors that relate to the status of policing and its effectiveness. This is a clear indication that people pay great attention to health issues and are focused on bettering the health of the community. The police have taken extra care and effort to increase the vigilance and the enforcement of laws.

As mentioned above, safety in the community is very important for people. Another benefit to the community is the publication of articles such as this, as people become aware of the help and safety that the policy provides. I agree with the article because the community is inseparable from police work. People’s willingness to cooperate shows that the public is determined to keep order focused on helping and supporting each other.

The article also mentions several patterns that the police effectively. Community programs and people’s cooperation is a fact, and it is greatly needed by those who enforce the law. As police officers are the most direct and hands on the force that deals with the public, they are the ones who are being heavily educated on the issue.

It is clear that training must be vigorous. I think that the police must be the most responsible because of the power they have supersedes all. The article fails to mention the specifics of police work, and the significance of obedience of the police officers (Hawdon & Ryan, 2011).

It is also clear that the process of recruitment and the selection of personnel have to be very strict and detailed. There are several strategies that the departments must use in the recruitment and implementation of new officers into the force. One of them is community familiarization, where officers would visit local community centers, schools, employment workshops, and other institutions.

The new officers must themselves visible and let the public get to know them. Often, police departments will look for candidates from the community, which helps to make a connection with the public. Women and minorities must also be preferred on the force, as it makes it easier for them to conduct searches, as well as talk to the suspects of the same gender or race.

A psychologists’ team must conduct several interviews with the potential officers to establish the nature of their views and predisposition towards law and crime. A major component in the prevention of crime is the incorporation of special courses into the training of new cadets. This must be made mandatory, and the lectures should be given in a clear-cut and easy to comprehend manner.

After graduating from the academy, the cadets have to work veteran officer or a supervisor who will guide them the first part of the way because the field work is much different from theory (Joyce, 2010). Overall, the article was educational, but some specifics and procedures of the real police work were not specified.

As policing is very isolated and sometimes an officer works alone, without a partner, the work must be greatly respected and aligned with the community. A careful examination and correlation between the incidents and arrests must be taken under attention so that a concrete way to establish the law and truth is created.

References

Hawdon, J. & Ryan, J. (2011). Neighborhood Organizations and Resident Assistance to Police. Sociological Forum, 26(4), 897-920.

Joyce, P (2010). Policing: Development and Contemporary Practice. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.

Introduction

The article “The Organizational Reasons Police Departments Don’t Change” shows clearly that there are underlying issues that make it impossible to have any meaningful change in American police departments. The organizational culture embraced by different police departments supports various malpractices such as inequality and the use of discriminatory policies. The current training practice also fails to consider the major issues affecting different citizens.

For instance, the use of force has been to be justifiable, especially when “an officer mistakenly shoots an unarmed suspect who only appeared to be reaching for a gun” (Armacost, 2016, p. 3). These aspects continue to affect the welfare of many societies in the country. A new change can, therefore, present better organizational practices capable of saving more American lives.

Problem Identification

The main problem described in this article is that of police misconduct. This kind of misconduct explains why many police departments have failed to change. This far-reaching problem explains why many lives continue to be lost daily in the country. According to the author, police-related shootings have led to over 590 deaths in 2016 alone in the country (Armacost, 2016). The external environmental forces presented below portray the major causes of this problem.

Government/Political Environment

The regulations promoted by the government can be used to describe the nature of the American police force. Many studies have been done to understand why police brutality is a major concern affecting many minority groups. Politicians have failed to propose better strategies that can transform America’s police departments (Armacost, 2016).

Economic forces

Although many whites have access to a wide range of job opportunities, individuals from minority groups struggle to have better lives. These trends have forced many African Americans to engage in various criminal activities (Armacost, 2016). Consequently, institutional racism has dictated the performance of the country’s police force.

Social factors

According to this article, minority groups have higher chances of being frisked, stopped, and arrested. Many police officers believe that African Americans have higher chances of becoming criminals (Armacost, 2016). These stereotypes have contributed a lot to the nature of this problem. Issues such as the distribution of wealth and educational inequality also explain why many unemployed African Americans are victimized.

Legal factors

The legal rules applied in America make it impossible for many trainees to learn from deadly blunders. For example, the legal framework supports “police brutality whereby officers are allowed to assume a specific level of violence in the situations they face” (Armacost, 2016, p. 3). The law also gives police officers the benefit of the doubt whenever they use brutal force (Armacost, 2016).

Public Opinion

The nature of this problem is also attributable to the public opinion existing in the United States. Many people believe strongly that the police force is brutal and racial (Armacost, 2016). The society also believes that some racial groups are violent than others. Consequently, such facts explain why this problem remains a contested issue in the country.

Addressing the Problem: Lewin’s Change Model

The ultimate goal of every police officer is to improve the livelihoods of the people he or she serves (Armacost, 2016). Certain forces have reshaped the nature of American police departments. These forces have made change impossible, thereby affecting the quality of security services available to many citizens. In order to transform the situation experienced by these departments, a powerful change model is needed, thereby safeguarding the lives of American citizens. The proposed tool for change is Kurt Lewin’s model. The discussion below describes how the model can be applied to revolutionize the police force (Kritsonis, 2005).

Unfreezing

During this stage, a powerful analysis will be done to examine the major causes of the existing problem. Members of the public and police officers will be engaged in the unfreezing stage. Every stakeholder will be informed about the major issues inhibiting change. Malpractices such as discrimination and legal misinterpretation will be highlighted (Kritsonis, 2005). Legal considerations will also be made in order to outline the major strategies capable of making the force more friendly and effective.

Changing

This is the most critical stage towards solving the existing problem. In order to record positive results, a positive organizational culture will be implemented. This culture will ensure every officer is accountable for his or her actions. The issue of ‘rogue cops’ will be abandoned in an attempt to promote positive actions (Armacost, 2016). Aggressive behavior will also be unpermitted in every department. Police officers will also be trained to handle suspects politely. The quantitative performance will be disregarded because it rewards negative actions. Positive crime-fighting practices will also be implemented in an attempt to record desirable results.

New training sessions will encourage officers to apply friendly policing techniques. This will be done by examining past events and violent incidents recorded in the country. Community policing and inclusiveness will be encouraged in the country’s police force. The officers will be taught about the dangers of institutional racism. Non-discriminative policies, positive leadership practices, and sophisticated training focusing on the welfare of the American citizen will be used to address this problem (Armacost, 2016). Transparency will be critical in dealing with racial profiling.

Refreezing

Over the years, police brutality has remained a major challenge in many societies. The proposed change can make a difference and safeguard the lives of many people. However, a powerful refreezing strategy is critical towards preventing most of the malpractices associated with various police departments. A positive leadership strategy will be implemented to promote best practices. Rewards will also be awarded to officers who produce positive results. Supervisory measures should also be employed to ensure no citizen is discriminated against because of his or her racial background (Kritsonis, 2005).

A new culture characterized by equality, proper training, and concern for every person’s welfare will be reinforced. Police officers should embrace the best leadership approaches whenever providing security services to their clients.

Addressing the Problem: 7-S Model

The performance of police departments can be improved using a powerful tool such as McKinsey’s 7-S Model (Ravanfar, 2015). This model can ensure the most desirable processes are implemented in an attempt to safeguard more lives. The first approach is to consider the hard and soft elements proposed by the model. These elements are presented below.

Strategy

This is one of the critical tools of this model. Leaders use this tool to outline the targeted change and how to address the ever-changing demands of the public. During the stage, the targeted objectives, such as the best organizational culture, legal practices, and community policing ideas, will be analyzed (Ravanfar, 2015). Positive practices, such as training and proper legal interpretation, will also be considered.

Structure

This tool will ensure the selected leaders create teams, select competent leaders, and recruit new supervisors who can support the targeted change. Decision-making and training will also be decentralized. Every police officer will be empowered to practice intelligently and safeguard the welfare for all. New communication strategies will also be outlined in order to deliver positive results (Ravanfar, 2015).

Systems

The systems existing in every department will be aligned with the targeted change. For instance, HR systems will be required to communicate with departmental leaders and officers (Ravanfar, 2015). New rules promoting team spirit will also be considered in every department. Supervisory measures will also be implemented to monitor the initiatives undertaken by different officers. New training processes will also be implemented in accordance with the anticipated objectives.

Shared Values

New values will be outlined in an attempt to strengthen the performance of different departments. The main core values will include integrity, respect, equality, and delivery of exemplary security services (Armacost, 2016). Such values will be used to create a new vision that can deliver quality outcomes.

Style

This tool is fundamental towards achieving the above objectives. A proper leadership style should be implemented in the police force. The recruited Leaders will support a positive culture that has the potential to address racial bias. Such leaders will implement new learning processes. Sophisticated training will ensure every officer is empowered. The training will ensure more officers handle various crime scenes and empower victims in a professional manner (Ravanfar, 2015). Policy implementations should also be guided by scientific inquiry.

Staff

This tool is relevant if the best results are to be realized. Police departments will be guided to have leaders, supervisors, and trainers. These individuals will be required to empower their respective teams. They will be expected to outline the best competencies that can deliver quality outcomes (Armacost, 2016). Feedbacks collected from community members will be used to improve service delivery.

Skills

New skills are needed to support the targeted organizational culture. For instance, leaders are required to punish abusive behavior in the force. They should use their skills to develop better-policing behaviors (Armacost, 2016). New skills, such as public safety, should also be taught. This strategy will minimize the unnecessary shootings recorded in the country.

Summary and Conclusion

A new organizational culture can make a huge difference for every American police department. The heartbreaking instances encountered in the country have shown that the shooting of unarmed suspects is justifiable (Armacost, 2016). The proposed change will, therefore, transform most of the activities and wrongdoings associated with different police departments. The change will result in a new style of policing that increases every citizen’s trust.

Complaints presented by citizens will also be handled in a humane manner. Police officers will also get new concepts and learn from every deadly error. Such training practices will also focus on better-policing techniques. A positive organizational structure will also make it easier for police departments to have responsible leaders. The culture will create the most desirable environment for promoting change and learning (Armacost, 2016).

The above external forces, such as politics, legal frameworks, and public opinions, will be considered in order to understand the unique causes of this problem. This understanding will ensure the above models of change are applied in a proper manner, thereby addressing the problem. The existing unconscious racial malpractices and biases can be addressed using non-discrimination policies. Every stakeholder should, therefore, be involved in order to ensure these police departments continue to save more lives in the country.

Reference List

Armacost, B. (2016). The organizational reasons police departments don’t change. Harvard Business Review, 1(1), 1-4.

Kritsonis, A. (2005). Comparison of change theories. International Journal of Management, Business, and Administration, 8(1), 1-7.

Ravanfar, M. (2015). Analyzing organizational structure based on the 7s model of McKinsey. Global Journal of Management and Business Research: A Administration and Management, 15(10), 1-7.

Abstract

Racial profiling is a major ethical issue in the Baltimore Police Department. Freddie Gray unrest is considered among other cases of racial profiling with deadly consequences. Hence, ethical situations arise. This implementation program is appropriate for the entire BPD, and senior leaders, including the Chief of Police, must participate. The solutions include creating a more diverse BPD, skills acquisition, community partnership, and data collection and analysis. These solutions are expected to be implemented with persons responsible to reduce cases of racial profiling. Finally, the draft Code of Ethics shows that the policing Department has a duty to protect the community and prevent crimes. As such, members of the Department are expected to meet these roles through fairness and impartiality without discrimination.

Introduction

One major ethical issue of concern currently facing the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) is racial profiling. It is widely believed that thorough and integrated police recruitment, selection, training, and professional development can work toward curtailing and reducing racially, biased policing currently witnessed in Baltimore among police officers (Hoskote, 2014). In addition, skills for policing, reaching out to the community, and data collection and analysis would help to address racial profiling. This is an implementation plan for the ethical situation, racial profiling in the BPD.

Ethical Situation

Research has revealed that the BPD focuses an overly concentrated effort in primarily African American populated parts of the city. For example, the BPD conducted 300,000 stops from January 2010 to May 2014 (Johnson & Peralta, 2016). The breakdown of those stops revealed 44% were solely in two predominantly African American communities, 12% of those areas compose 12 percent of the city’s population. Further, trespassing and failure to obey were the major charges documented (Johnson & Peralta, 2016). Although African Americans comprise only 63% of the city’s population, 91% of the 300,000 were African Americans (Johnson & Peralta, 2016). These figures reflect racial profiling in Baltimore, which is a case for ethical situations.

Identification of Stakeholders

The BPD has approximately 3,000 employees, including about some 2,600 sworn officers headed by a Police Commissioner (US Department of Justice, 2016). Given the weighty matter of racial profiling in the US, the Police Commissioner is an important stakeholder for this plan.

In addition, there are two major divisions, namely the Patrol Division and the Criminal Investigation Division. These divisions may also have several units. Thus, stakeholders for the issue must be chosen carefully across various units.

The police chiefs who oversee each division will take part in the training. Patrol officers will be drawn from the nine police districts to attend the training, as well as their captains, whose roles involve supervising officers and directing police activities.

Stakeholders will also be drawn from the Criminal Investigation Division and the Operational Investigation Division. Each unit within these Divisions would provide their representatives, specifically officers investigating violent offenders, gangs, drug, and gun crimes.

Other stakeholders would also be drawn from the BPD’s Community Collaboration Division. This Division concentrates on building better police-community relations in Baltimore.

District supervisors who handle some complaints involving police misconduct will also take part in this program. These supervisors handle offenses deemed as less serious.

Further, the Civilian Review Board will also provide representatives because the Board acts as the public ‘watchdog’ to enhance accountability in the BPD. Representatives from the Board will also represent members of the public.

Finally, BPD also works alongside several auxiliary law enforcement agencies. For instance, the Baltimore School Police, the police force of the Baltimore City Public School System will also provide representatives for this program to reduce racial profiling in police activities.

Training

The training program will be developed for the above-mentioned stakeholders. The program is intended to address racial profiling as an ethical situation and all other challenges associated with it. In addition, this training will be about practice rather than memorizing policies. It will be practical and face-to-face live training instead of relying on online training tools to demonstrate basic knowledge of racial profiling and bias-free policing.

The Plan to Address Racial Profiling

Decisions about the benefits of racial profiling ethical issues are vital and should be based on facts rather than partial analysis and anecdotal accounts. As such, this plan presents specific interventions and illustrates them for a given situation. It shows strategies of how to handle issues of racial profiling in BPD.

The Relevance of Addressing Racial Profiling

It will enhance police safety when officers are on patrols. Baltimore is a city that has experienced some of the most recent riots because of racial profiling issues. Addressing the issue will lead to enhanced trust between the police and the public.

It is ethically right because racial profiling is poor policing. An open discourse about racial issues would allow the community and police to understand factors that have led to the current situations.

The BPD will experience reduced cases of expensive litigations. The focus on curtailing inappropriate and negative impacts of policy actions on minorities would ensure that the BPD reduces possible criminal and civil lawsuits associated with racial profiling.

Trained officers are most likely to be more effective. By relying on search and seizure information, officers would be able to identify specific persons of all races whose behaviors could indicate criminal intentions.

Finally, the city is changing in terms of demographics. The BPD must strive to ensure that Baltimore is safe and attractive. In this case, hiring practices should account for diverse communities while officers also get cultural competence training programs.

Solutions and Best Practices

It may take a long period before the ethical issue is utterly comprehended. In the meantime, the BPD should implement the following solutions to tackle racial profiling as a series of interventions planned to reduce inappropriate and negative consequences of such practices on minorities, especially people of color.

The possible approaches are presented here.

Solution One: Create a More Diverse BPD

Baltimore is a city made of many races. By ensuring diversity in the BPD, the police will enhance mutual understanding in the city. Although the current composition reflects some aspects of diversity, the BPD still needs to increase the percentage of officers from minority races.

First, the BPD will adopt different recruitment and hiring practices and policies. Past policies and practices have restricted hiring of qualified people from minority races. The BPD should consider qualifications based on broader criteria to match new realities in the community. Experiences and qualifications would prepare any persons to a better career with the BPD.

Second, the Department should also adopt a new recruiting approach. Instead of depending on narrow sources of applicants, the police recruitment exercise should be a well-publicized affair driven by diverse networks to ensure that the BPD can attract the best candidates from various communities.

Third, the current hiring process should be streamlined to ensure that it is not impersonal, lengthy, and demanding. The hiring process, specifically for communities of color should not have irrelevant requirements acting as hurdles, including referencing and examinations. The BPD has improved in hiring practices because prospective applicants can now review available career opportunities at the Web site to acquire insights concerning hiring processes, contact background investigators, and get the latest information on the progress.

Finally, it would also be vital for the BPD to analyze hiring data to determine if there are any compliance issues, intended effects, or if the Department still encounters challenges.

Solution Two: Highly Skilled Personnel

Police are expected to associate with community members in a highly respectful and just manner. However, not all officers possess skills for good interpersonal relations. It appears that training programs do not focus on class, race, and politics, which could influence the public perception of police performance and the ability to relate well with the public. As such, training on the effects of race on interpersonal relations with specific reference to history, past and current affairs will be included in the training program. This area will also cover effective customer service to the community.

Training will emphasize the importance of customer service and, therefore, officers would be encouraged to participate in such training programs. Specifically, traffic and patrol officers would offer more information in a more pleasant fashion. This approach may require redesigning current traffic stop practices. It would also be necessary to assess the impacts of such changes on police courtesy after training. For example, police will be encouraged to provide their full details or business cards, as well as specific reasons or tickets for stopping a pedestrian or a driver.

Training for crisis events will also be administered to help officers relate well to individuals during crises. This training program will be specifically important for patrol officers and District Supervisors.

The BPD should also learn from other successful police services. The Department is currently experiencing critical organizational change, which also requires an organizational culture change to address inconsistent effects of public safety and racial profiling issues on communities of color. Specifically, the Department should work alongside the US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division to get technical support and collaborate with the University of Baltimore or any other institutions of higher learning to research the effects of its change initiatives on the public.

Finally, training on skills should also introduce external consultants to the Department. Consultants will work on cultural competency and personnel training; conduct needs assessment to determine areas of weaknesses and views on racial profiling, and assess the Department’s current training programs to understand how they relate to issues of communities of color and racial profiling.

Solution Three: Collaboration with the Community for Mutual Trust and Coexistence

Centuries of atrocities on people of color have led to poor relationships with the law enforcement officers. Minorities are skeptical and distrustful of the police, and this is a risky situation for the community. Through conscious efforts to reach out communities specifically negatively impacted by racial profiling, the BPD will be able to create long-lasting trust, ties, and mutual understanding that would be vital in lessening suspicion and advancing opportunities for a constructive approach to the community challenges.

To achieve this, the BPD ‘s Civilian Review Board, the BPD’s Community Collaboration Division, and the Baltimore School Police will work with various community groups and leaders to promote collaboration. Such meetings may target youth events, peace-building initiatives, meetings for a live conversation, and other preferred efforts involving communities of color.

Solution Four: Data Collection and Analysis

The BPD should collect, analyze, and share all collected data involving police stops with various stakeholders, including minorities. The main objective of this solution is to gather relevant data on all police stops and analyze them to provide useful insights that can be used to address racial profiling. Data will provide the actual situation, notable achievements, and facilitate policing policy change. The BPD will assess and refine data for collection on racial profiling when officers interact with communities of color to enhance the reliability of the collected data and ensure useful information is available. The Department should have systems for storing such data. Moreover, it can rely on local universities to conduct studies on racial profiling.

The Implementation Plan and Process

A Draft Code of Ethics

Introduction

The draft Code of Ethics is based on the notion that the policing Department has a duty to protect the community and prevent crimes. As such, members of the Department are expected to meet this role through fairness and impartiality. It is also noted that a significant number of officers act with integrity and honesty. Nevertheless, some officers may display some aspects of unprofessional conduct and consequently, ruin the reputation of the entire BPD.

The Code of Ethics defines principles and behavior standards aimed at enhancing, reinforcing, and supporting optimal standards among officers at the BPD. This Code of Ethics also serves preventive roles. Specifically, the Code of Ethics should address issues of racial profiling and other concerns that raise ethical situations in policing. No officers should engage in any unprofessional conduct and, therefore, they are expected to question behaviors that do not meet the set-out standards (College of Policing, 2014). In addition, the Code of Ethics encourages officers to report and take action to determine unwanted policing.

The Code of Ethics

Honesty and Integrity

This standard requires the BPD personnel to act with honesty and integrity. Police officers are encouraged to use their positions, identifications, and/or warrant card for policing roles only. That is, they should not use such privileges for personal gains. Further, the BPD should run based on transparency and openness. This is important in maintaining and promoting mutual trust between the BPD and the community. Therefore, officers who meet this principle should be sincere and truthful; courageous in their right behaviors; act firmly on objective decisions; do not intentionally mislead or make false allegations; avoid soliciting or accepting offers that could compromise impartiality, and do not abuse their positions for personal gains.

Equality and Diversity

This standard is extremely important for racial profiling. It requires the BPD officers to uphold the rule of law regarding human rights and equality, treats every person justly, impartially, and with respect. Officers are expected to demonstrate empathy and compassion as they interact with people of color. Officers should handle people based on their needs, respond positively to vulnerable persons who may require additional assistance, and play an active role in preventing and opposing possible discrimination based on individual diversity. Officers should also act on merit and make informed objective decisions. Further, they must also recognize the needs of protected persons with diverse characteristics, including disability, age, race, religion, sexual orientation, beliefs, and gender among others. Finally, officers will also use any available opportunities to enhance diversity and equality in the city.

Confidentiality

This standard requires officers to understand and be familiar with confidentiality issues and data protection as required under the law. Any police-held information must remain confidential, and it can only be used for legitimate roles only. Hence, no police officer should provide information to unauthorized persons whether on or off duty. Officers should understand that by conducting unlawful searches and accessing personal data, they could be held accountable under the law irrespective of their findings. Officers who abide by this standard capture the right information, only disclose such information when required to do so under the law, and always maintain the confidentiality of all sensitive and commercial data.

Conduct

Members of BPD are expected to maintain the highest standards of behaviors at all times. They must, therefore, focus on how members of the public regard police behavior. Police officers should assess whether a given action, behavior, or omission could negatively affect public trust and confidence in the BPD. The police will rely on various strategies to assess whether a particular behavior has discredited policing based on a given situation. Although media are important, other alternatives to capture officer behaviors are available for the Department. Officers who meet this standard behave in a manner that does not discredit policing and the BPD.

Hence, they avoid activities associated with reputational damages and eroding trust and confidence. They also comply with the law and requirements of the Fraternal Order of Police’s 2012 Blueprint. Further, the officers do not engage in any activities that could compromise their positions or colleagues’ position or the entire Department. They are punctual and have high standards of appearance whether on or off duty in uniform or plain clothes.

Additionally, supervisors are encouraged to ensure that police officers act professionally and conduct their duties as required. Any behaviors and actions that do not meet the minimum threshold of the Code must be addressed immediately. Reporting is also encouraged to address challenges and behaviors that do not meet the standards. Supervisors must evaluate, take the necessary action, or otherwise escalate unethical conduct and wrongdoing outside the Code of Ethics. The BPD will also not tolerate victimization or discrimination of officers who report the unprofessional conduct of other officers.

Selflessness

The BPD personnel is expected to act in the best interest of the community rather than themselves. Officers will act honestly and ethically because the community expects them to do the right thing in the right way without discrimination. Hence, the Code of Ethics should guide the decisions and actions of officers.

References

College of Policing. (2014). Code of Ethics. Web.

Hoskote, M. (2014). Berkeley Police Department’s Solution to Racial Profiling. Web.

Johnson, C., & Peralta, E. (2016). Justice Department Issues Scathing Report On Baltimore Police Department. Web.

US Department of Justice. (2016). Investigation of the Baltimore City Police Department. Web.