San Diego Police Department (SDPD) is the major law enforcement agency in San Diego. The department was established in 1889 and has had a rich history. The establishment of a state of art headquarters in 1938 marked a significant step in the development of SDPD. Prior to this development, the department did not have a physical presence at the City Hall. It operated out of City Hall for a lengthy period of time. The vision of the department is to ensure that its employees feel valued and work closely with the community to demonstrate best practices in policing. The department works hard to ensure that its members foster a high level of public trust and safety in the City. The major goals include reducing violent crimes and ensuring effective policing. The members of the department are represented by San Diego Police Officers Association on matters pertaining to labor relations (SDPOA, n. d).
Establishment of SDPOA
The Association was created in 1912. The union represents about 1850 members of San Diego Police Department (SDPD). About 98% of the members of the Association are from the police force while the rest are professional sworn members of SDPD (SDPOA, n. d).
Benefits of SDPOA
The major role of the union is to assist police officers in San Diego Police Departments on matters related to wages and general working conditions. Improvement of members and their families’ social relations and welfare is also a major responsibility of the Association. In moments of sickness, distress, death, and strives, the Association offers enormous support to the members and their families.
The Association bargains wage increase and improvement of working conditions on behalf of the members.
When the City makes ordinances that affect the wages and welfare of the police officers in the City, it is the responsibility of the Association to appeal and demonstrate that employees’ contractual rights were infringed. The union has, in its history, made several achievements in this regard. For instance, when the City made a ruling to reduce its contribution to employees’ retirement fund, SDPOA appealed on behalf of the City employees.
The Association ensures that members get their retirement benefits in accordance with the law. All members of the police force in the City and other professionals working for San Diego Police Department are entitled to retirement benefits. The Association continually negotiates for increase and timely release of retirement benefits.
SDPOA represents its members in City decision making process. The San Diego City Charter empowers the City to set employee benefits and retirement plans that will apply to all employees. However, the City engages the Association in making such decisions. This ensures that employees take part in making decisions regarding their labor relations through the union (SDPOA, n. d).
The members of the Association are also represented in cases of unfair dismissal by the City. Unfair dismissal happens when an employee’s employment contract is terminated in a manner regarded unfair by law. If the City dismisses an employee in such a manner, the Association seeks to reinstate him through a court process. The Association may also recommend dismissal of an employee if gross misconduct is proven.
What SDPOA has done to its officers and the community?
The Association has played a big role in ensuring that its members are adequately compensated for the services they offer. The retirement benefit systems have been put in place through the initiative of the Association. Compensation of retirement benefits to its members has become more efficient due to San Diego City Employees Retirement System which the City established in partnership with the Association (SDPOA, n. d).
The Association has ensured that the community is engaged in policing activities. The Association uses social media (twitter and Facebook) in keeping in touch with the community. Effective policing is the major gift that the Association has presented to the community.
Reference
San Diego Police Officers Association (SDPOA). (n. d). Web.
The major role of police officers is seen in their maintenance of public order following a legal framework. A police officer is, in his day-to-day duties, expected to adhere to the laid down legal principles if he has to be effective in those duties. However, we have often heard of episodes where the police have been found to flout the same laws they purport to enforce. Cases of police brutality, unlawful arrests, or even illegally obtained evidence are not new to our ears.
This means that, in many instances, the police themselves are ignorant of their crucial role in ensuring the prevalence of the rule of law at all times. Therefore, they need to be directed and guided on how to carry out this role. In addition, who could be more suited for this position except for their own supervisors? This essay discusses the various ways the police supervisors can, through coaching, monitoring, and counseling their juniors to effect change in their institutions and ensure a religious following of the law.
Supervising
Role of police supervisors
Though normally overlooked, the role of police supervisors is very vital, not just to that particular institution, but also to the whole society at large. “Clearly, the work of sergeants – much like that of a symphony conductor – can either enhance or weaken the community’s perception of the department’s professionalism” (Werder, 1996, p. 2). Their success is seen, not by how skilled they are in their work, but by what proportion of those skills is portrayed by their subordinates through the performance of their duties. They achieve their roles through the motivation of subordinates, coaching, and counseling.
Mentoring an employee involves teaching. “Mentoring can be defined as the proactive development of each subordinate through observation, assessment, coaching, teaching developmental counseling and evaluation” (More & Miller 2007, P.280). It is aimed at increasing a subordinate’s productivity by imparting skills as well as a sense of belonging.
Supervisors should evaluate their performance and reward each person’s work accordingly, depending on how good or substandard it is, thus making them accountable for their actions. This further motivates them. Most individuals look forward to being valued by their seniors through promotion, recognition, and approval. This makes them satisfied with their work resulting in increased productivity. Failure to do this reduces employees’ morale and productivity.
It includes motivating subordinates. Motivation is a very effective method of increasing the productivity of staff. The study has shown that “…unhappy officers are more apt to be absent, suffer more symptoms of fatigue, burnout, or anxiety, and less likely to identify with organizational goals” (Fitch, 1982). The reverse is also true.
Coaching
Can be realized through effective communication. This is where supervisors ensure that employees stay focused on their primary responsibilities and perform their duties to standards. They formulate rules and policies to be and implement them on their juniors. “In performing this role, they help to build and maintain the all-important trust relationship between a community and its police” (Froese, 2011).
Open communication ensures that subordinates know exactly what the organizational goals and objectives are. They perform their duties in line with the overall organizational direction. But these should not be so static as to hinder innovation. “The best supervisors define their objectives and then allow officers to decide on the best ways to accomplish those jobs” (Fitch, 1982). Also, they should not be so vague as to cause confusion and conflicts.
Coaching does not only require effective communication, but it also requires effective listening. “A truly effective coaching process involves a two-way communication” (More & Miller 2007, P.263). Effective listening gives the subordinates the confidence that their ideas and opinions are important, and this helps in their involvement in decision making.
Counseling
Is also a way of effective police supervision. Supervisors provide daily guidance to their subordinates. They watch over them, give orders that are to be followed, and build strong teams from among their juniors. “They are the first vital step in the chain of command that delivers policing services to a community” (Froese, 2011).
Therefore, the role of police supervisors should not be underestimated in the maintenance of law and order. “When a supervisor’s engagement is less than needed, it has a pervasive negative effect on everyone else on the shift, with potential consequences for interactions with the public” (Froese, 2011). Failure to effectively supervise the police force is a sure way to create mistrust between the community and the police, a situation that may breed very undesirable consequences.
Limitations of supervision
To start with, the supervisory role requires a higher level of experience and human skills than ordinary supervisors normally possess. With their leadership position, they need to have a deeper understanding and grasp of natural human thinking. Most of these supervisors do not have any special training in handling human resources. The end result is a miserable failure out of no fault of their own.
Most institutions do not give these individuals the attention they deserve. The only thing they do is define the role, set ambitious objectives to be achieved and then go ahead and pox some individuals into those predefined job groupings, without evaluating the suitability of their targets in handling those positions. “Transition into a supervisory role is often left to chance” (Froese, 2011).
Overcoming challenges
The first step to overcoming these challenges will start with the specific supervisor himself. They have to understand how crucial their role is for the stability and successful development of the police institution. They should be well aware of their reflective influence on their subordinates. “[Supervisors] have to be cognizant that with their ability to influence, every comment, gesture or nonverbal communication is interpreted by their subordinates as either support for, or rejection of, a management position” (Tully, 2002, p. 9).
Also, they should Endeavour to gain massive knowledge in their area of operation. This knowledge may be acquired through formal education, i.e., by taking part-time courses in educational institutions. They could also read other available materials such as magazines, journals, or books on the subject. The bottom line is, they should understand their job and its demands, and they cannot be excused from that duty by blaming the institutions they work in for not availing training programs.
Part of this learning process involves understanding the core values of their institution. But that in itself is not enough; they must go a step further and ensure that these values are instilled in their subordinates to create in them a sense of responsibility in their duties. “To do otherwise not only devalue their role as a supervisor but acts as a catalyst for misconduct problems within a police organization” (Water, 2004). By instilling a sense of responsibility in them, the supervisor helps the subordinates to identify with that institution and take their duties, not as an income-earning means, but as a way of life to be enjoyed on a daily basis and to be performed with utmost dedication (Michael, 2004).
Organizational role
The police institutions should also put more resources into the area. Management should provide development needs to police supervisors. Funds should be set aside for this purpose alone. They should appraise their staff and identify their areas of lacking. Then chose their method by which employee development is to be achieved. They could choose an educational institution and make arrangements for such training. It could also be an on-the-job experience, which is the most important. “It is well known that 80% of personal growth happens on the job and, while a formal course is a good start, what really counts is on-the-job experience” (Froese, 2011).
Further, the organization needs to acknowledge their hard work and reward them. This will be done after evaluating them effectively. Their important contribution needs to be sought and considered in management. “They need to be seen as part of the management team, included in decisions that influence how services are delivered and listened to when advice is being sought on methods, priorities and plans” (Froese, 2011). This makes them feel useful and appreciated.
Conclusion
As we have already seen, the role of supervisors cannot be undermined. The supervisors literally determine how orderly the community is just by the effective governing of their institutions. Without them, there would be no coordination within the police force, and this will consequently cause a state of chaos in the society. They regulate their subordinates, which, in turn, regulate the outside world. Therefore management should always ensure that these individuals are accorded their due credit, and the supervisors should, in turn, play their role effectively.
References
Fitch, B.D. (2008). Motivation: Re-thinking the Supervisor’s Role: Law and Order Magazine.
Froese Forensic Partners Ltd. (2011). The Importance of Effective Supervision in Law Enforcement: Suite 1000, 55 University Ave., Toronto, Ontario, M5J 2H7. Web.
Michael, Waters. (2004). The Leadership Role of the First-Line Supervisor in PoliceOperations: Published July 2004, The Florida Police Chief Magazine.
More, H and Miller.L. (2007). Effective Police Supervision: Coaching, Counseling and Mentoring, 5th Ed, Chapter 9, copyright Mathew Bender and Company, inc, a member of the LexisNexis Group.
Tully, E. (2002) The Slippery Slope: National Executive Institute Associates, Major cities chiefs association and Major County Sheriff’s Association Leadership Bulletin, 1-11.
Werder, E. (1996). The Great Sergeant! National Executive Institute Associates, Major Cities Chief’s Association & Major County Sheriff’s Association Leadership Bulletin1-9.
Thesis statement: Police can develop better trust and confidence among the people by adopting ‘community policing strategies’.
Considering my excellent track record, and as a reward of my dedicated delivery of duties, I was appointed as the new chief of the police department at one of the major cities of the United States. The prime task that confronted me was to improve the image of my department among the people. I needed to establish that the relation between the people and the police could be reinforced by adopting community policing policies. I wanted to make my colleagues understand that once trust is built between the police and the public, people become easily approachable which might help in acquiring important information and leads.
Police image between people
It is understood that such a policy would establish an easy line of communication between the police and the public and as a result, the service calls might increase (initially) but the long-term effects of such a bond will be quite beneficial. Police officers feel encouraged because most of their service calls are affirmative. Moreover, when the law enforcement personnel perform their duties well, the whole community is a winner. The police personnel also consider their jobs safe and uncomplicated to perform; they face fewer legal problems and can get extended job years. The community holds a high opinion about them, which increases their morale. The benefits of community policing (to both sides) are innumerable. The fear of police among the community is replaced by the trust that makes it a safer place to live. As a result of better cooperation between the police and the people, tensions and conflicts are minimized and better safety for children and the aged are guaranteed. Crimes are also minimized and whatever little crimes that happen, are resolved quickly.
One thing that I have learned by experience is that if the relationship between the police and the community is to be made better, police should use force only when all endeavors such as persuasion, counsel, and warning fail to achieve the desired result. Police personnel should never emerge to seize the authority of the judiciary. Community policing requires the police personnel to follow the policies laid down by the department in directing their efforts towards ascertaining and diminishing the cause of any particular crime and reducing the fear among the people.
Community policing is governed by nine Ps (Love 7). The first P relates to the philosophy of community policing. The philosophy of community policing suggests that the community needs the police to provide policing based on service and to avail the cooperation of the community in such policing. The police personnel is required to prevent a crime to take place instead of waiting for it to happen and then taking action against the culprit.
The second P is for personalized service. Appointing a ‘community policing officer’ from amongst the community builds a sense of security among the community members because then people feel that the police personnel are people like themselves and as such, the obscurity between the two is finished. The third P is for policing. Police personnel will always be referred to as police who maintain law and order. But the amended system requires the police personnel to be proactive in their approach. The fourth P is for patrols. This particular P requires the police personnel to be more active while patrolling the streets. They should be easily approachable and reachable and should have a bigger vision of the area.
The fifth P is for having a permanent posting. It is important for having a police officer in a particular area permanently so that better relations are developed between that officer and the surrounding community. It needs time for a relationship to develop. If different officers are posted on different days in any particular area, the people of that community will not be able to become acquainted with the officers or develop any sort of relation. The sixth P refers to the place. A city cannot have similar neighborhoods. There will always be a difference in their opinions and approach. So it is a general practice of the police department to assign police personnel to their place. This gives them a sense of responsibility and cares for their place and the people.
The seventh P refers to the proactive nature of the police personnel. The eight P is for promoting a better relationship between the police and the people. Such a relationship is based on mutual respect and support. The ninth and final P refers to the problem-solving skills of the police personnel. The police personnel is advised not to consider enforcement of strict law as the only way of stopping a crime. On the contrary, they should concentrate on identifying the root cause of the problem and put an end to it.
Being the police chief, I am well aware of all the Ps of community policing and I will endeavor to abide by them. A police chief is responsible for being a role model for his/her subordinates. Excellent leadership qualities are a pre-requisite and as a result of the tons of experience that I have, I have developed such qualities. A police chief is also committed to protecting the life and property of the people. In pursuance of this responsibility a police chief has to establish goals for the department (“What Does a Police Chief Do?” par. 1). It should be understood that not only the police personnel but also the people are responsible for maintaining law and order. Though the police play an important role, it is the responsibility of each one of us to safeguard our community (Wynn 1).
I am also aware of the fact that there is a trait called ‘dirty work’ prevalent among some of the police personnel. Such officials tend to use coercive force to maintain law and order. It is also possible that instead of the so-called ‘dirty work’, the situation also sometimes demands the use of coercive force to maintain law and order. Such situations come into existence when persuasion, counsel, and even warning yield no result. In such a situation the police personnel has to resort to coercive action (Alpert 182).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the police department can develop better trust and confidence by adopting community policing policies. Such policies need to be followed religiously for the betterment of the community. After all, police personnel is also a part of the community. The community members are also obliged to cooperate with the police personnel in the performance of their duties. This can only be possible if there is an excellent bond between the police and the people.
Works Cited
Alpert, Geoffrey. Understanding Police Use of Force: Officers, Suspects, and Reciprocity, Cape Town, South Africa: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print.
Love, Dwayne, Community Policing: Building Relationships. 2002. Web.
Although the first fusion centers to increase information exchange among governmental and non-governmental institutions were opened in the US in 2003, the promotion of active collaboration between police and these centers has become a new goal for authorities recently. A decade ago, fusion centers collaborated primarily with federal and state agencies responsible for homeland security to fight against terrorism. Today, the situation is rather different, and a new strategy or change promoted in law enforcement institutions is the collaboration between fusion centers and police or local agencies (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019). According to Lewandowski and Carter (2017), the reason is that the idea of intelligence sharing was not appropriately realized for fusion centers and police because of barriers associated with data exchange in these law enforcement agencies. Consequently, there is a need for police to implement the innovative strategy of cooperating with fusion centers, referring to the analysis of past mistakes. The implementation of this change means that the police will focus on removing barriers to the data exchange they receive from or send to fusion centers to guarantee a secured flow of intelligence.
Background Research
Multi-agency information centers effectively operated in the United States before 11 September 2001, but after the terrorist attack, the activities of these centers were reconsidered to develop into fusion centers. A fusion center can be defined as an agency, the purpose of which is to collect, analyze, and share information at local, state, and federal levels (Carter, 2015; Lewandowski, Rojek, & Manjarrez, 2017). Lewandowski and Carter (2017) state that the most significant feature of fusion centers is their ability to share intelligence vertically and horizontally. The reason is that “within intergovernmental relations there exist both ‘vertical’ (federal–state–local and state–local) and ‘horizontal’ (federal agency–federal agency, state–state, and local–local) federal relationships” (Regan & Monahan, 2014, p. 479). Fusion centers receive information from local police agencies and federal law enforcement agencies to further spread and share it in a way that will contribute to preventing terrorist attacks. Within a short period of time, fusion centers became discussed as an advanced response to terrorism in all regions of the United States.
The reason is that the authorities understood that the key to addressing the threats of terrorism were in collaborative efforts of different institutions, guaranteeing the collection, selection, analysis, and interpretation of various types of intelligence. According to Esparza and Bruneau (2019), “fusion centers were considered a panacea that would overcome the challenge of linking the nation’s 15,000 separate local police departments and 27,000 fire departments” (p. 331). The necessity of finding new approaches to sharing intelligence among all the law enforcement agencies, governmental and private organizations in the United States made the authorities propose fusion centers as a solution to the problem.
Currently, there are nearly 80 fusion centers in the United States that cooperate with different types of law enforcement agencies, including the police. However, as it is stated in the literature on fusion centers, during the period of the 2000s-2010s, the opportunity to collaborate with fusion centers was not used appropriately by local police agencies (Carter, Carter, Chermak, & McGarrell, 2017; Lewandowski et al., 2017). According to Carter et al. (2017), the reason is that the law enforcement system in the United States is primarily decentralized. Consequently, agents in different organizations lack required knowledge and training to effectively share intelligence with various agencies. The necessity of referring to collaboration was discussed again by Lewandowski, Carter, and Campbell (2018), who accentuated the benefits of intelligence-led policing, and Esparza and Bruneau (2019), who compared the approach to policing in different countries. In many local police agencies, the strategy of cooperating with fusion centers has not been integrated yet. Therefore, the focus of modern experts and researchers is on promoting the change in police agencies and improving the collaboration with fusion centers to facilitate law enforcement procedures.
Implementation of the Change
The implementation of a change based on promoting the cooperation between police and fusion centers is a complex task that requires focusing on different aspects of police activities and strategies. It is necessary to concentrate on the discussion of the implementation process in a police agency with reference to such critical areas as organizational theory, interagency collaboration, organizational socialization, leadership, and organizational deviance. The detailed analysis of these areas is important to support the discussion of the steps required to implement the practice of cooperating with fusion centers in police agencies.
Organizational Theory
The following theories should guide and support the implementation of the innovative strategy of police agencies’ cooperation with fusion centers: the contingency theory as the organizational theory and the theory of information sharing. The contingency theory explains that there are multiple contingencies or variables that influence an organization’s development and operations. In this context, there are certain attributes or variables which are associated with an organization’s effectiveness. To remain successful, it is necessary for an organization to achieve the balance between internal contingencies and external ones (Carter et al., 2017). While applying the contingency theory to the implementation of a cooperative strategy in police agencies, it is necessary to concentrate on the fact that the external situation on which police agencies depend includes the risk of terrorist attacks and associated violent activities. Internal factors include the attempt to establish collaborative relationships with fusion centers and most police agencies in the 2000s and barriers identified in relation to the organizational structure and culture.
There are certain policies in police agencies that regulate their information sharing with fusion centers that were designed and implemented years ago. If today these policies do not work appropriately, it is necessary to revise and improve them with a focus on applying an innovative approach to cooperating with fusion centers (De Castro Garcia, Matei, & Bruneau, 2017; Esparza & Bruneau, 2019). Modern police agencies seem to have almost all the required resources to actively cooperate with the personnel in fusion centers because of available technologies. Nevertheless, there are still certain barriers that prevent collaboration, and this situation can be discussed in the context of the contingency theory.
However, referring to the concept of contingencies, it is important to note that the external situation in which police agencies and fusion centers operate lack centralization in the United States. Therefore, the implementation of a strategy that is oriented toward supporting the collaboration between fusion centers and police should be based on developing principles that will eliminate negative impacts of a kind of decentralization in the work of law enforcement agencies in the United States (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019). The development of an effective guide for police officers and training programs to stimulate intelligence sharing are important steps to find the balance between contingencies and achieve success for local police agencies.
According to the theory of information sharing, certain factors that can stimulate or prevent information sharing should be emphasized to understand how people view this process and how they can exchange information. Factors that can affect the process of information sharing include organizational culture, values, policies, norms, leadership, people’s perceptions, and assumptions (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019; Lewandowski & Carter, 2017). There can be certain barriers to information sharing associated with people’s attitudes to intelligence and the overall procedure of exchanging data. The implementation of the collaboration strategy between fusion centers and police agencies is important today because of increased risks of terrorist attacks and the necessity of uniting efforts and exchanging all available intelligence.
However, the process of information sharing is complex when it is influenced by human-related and organizational obstacles, which include security issues, prejudice, fears, improper corporate culture, and the lack of cooperation. Still, Lewandowski and Carter (2017) note that “law enforcement must have effective mechanisms for sharing information as well as a willingness to engage in proactive information sharing” (p. 468). To implement this change in police agencies, it is necessary to inform police officers and authorities in agencies about the advantages of cooperating with fusion centers and educate them on collecting and exchanging information to use in terms of access, authorization, and security issues. Biases, the lack of information on the procedure, and the lack of knowledge, support, and training make police agencies avoid focusing on the information sharing concept and its benefits.
Interagency Collaboration
The idea of the change to be realized in police agencies is directly associated with the area of interagency collaboration. Thus, the focus is on promoting the collaboration between police agencies and fusion centers as state-owned entities (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019). The change to be implemented in police agencies in this case is associated with adopting a strategy, according to which the cooperation between fusion centers and police is well-organized and supported to contribute to homeland security and crime prevention (Lewandowski et al., 2018). The collaboration between fusion centers and police is discussed by researchers as significant to guarantee proactive policing and prevent terrorist attacks at all levels.
In its nature, a fusion center is an entity based on the idea of collaboration where several law enforcement agencies cooperate to share important information on cases, threats of terrorist attacks, suspected individuals, and other details. According to Lewandowski et al. (2017), “While fusion centers have the potential to be of great benefit to local police agencies, the relationship is meant to be mutually beneficial for all parties involved. State and federal agencies do not have the manpower or placement to monitor daily activities on the ground” (p. 168). Despite the acknowledged benefits, the collaboration of fusion centers and law enforcement agencies is connected with many challenges based on organizational, political, and social issues (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019). Therefore, the goal of the currently discussed change is to overcome these challenges and ensure that intelligence sharing and dissemination are realized effectively.
In some cases, police offices have fusion centers in their agencies, and in other cases, police offices can interact with the representatives of local fusion centers. In both cases, the focus is on the effective interaction based on the idea of cooperation. Researchers accentuate that collaborative intelligence efforts between fusion centers and police agencies are not operational enough to achieve high results in fighting with terrorism and other security issues (Lewandowski & Carter, 2017). Therefore, while re-implementing the principles of collaborating with fusion centers in police offices, it is necessary to follow certain rules (De Castro Garcia et al., 2017). The first rule is the determination of a clear framework, according to which the communication and sharing of information between the representatives of fusion centers and law enforcement agencies should be realized.
The second rule is the determination of types and formats of data to exchange and what systems to use. Collaboration is typical for governmental organizations, private sector organizations, and law enforcement agencies, but it is effective only when appropriate technologies and tools are used for communicating (Lewandowski & Carter, 2017). Although interagency collaboration is critical for the law enforcement area, “the 79 fusion centers, based primarily on state geographic districts, seldom collaborate, in contrast to the coordination that was anticipated and intended” (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019, p. 334). According to Regan and Monahan (2014), the problem of organizing interaction between agencies can be in the fact that most researchers and experts are focused on examining collaboration and coordination in the context of fusion centers’ work, but more attention should be paid to accountability of these centers to guarantee effective exchange of data. Consequently, when implementing the strategy of promoting collaboration between agencies based on the use of fusion centers, it is necessary to guarantee that employees are informed about all the channels and tools to be used for successful sharing of data.
Organizational Socialization
An adjustment process associated with the adaptation to changes is observed in organizations when certain advancements are implemented. The success of accepting a change and familiarizing with it highly depends on organizational socialization. If there are certain changes in an organization, individuals require some time and support to effectively adapt to new roles and duties assigned to them. The problem is often observed in cases when the change is associated with alterations in the corporate culture (Carter et al., 2017; Lewandowski & Carter, 2017). When speaking about the implementation of the strategy supporting collaboration between fusion centers and police agencies, it is also necessary to pay attention to the aspects of organizational socialization.
In police agencies, officers and other employees are expected to learn what intelligence can be provided to them by specialists of fusion centers. The focus is on the role of analysists and the ability to receive access to volumes of data collected from different local organizations. Furthermore, they are expected to establish a strong relationship with the specialists of fusion centers according to the principles of collaboration that is included in the organizational culture (Lewandowski & Carter, 2017). Although these principles do not contradict the rules of operations in police agencies, in most cases, employees in these law enforcement agencies do not know how to deal effectively with security and other related issues when sharing and using data.
It is necessary to provide training for workers in police agencies to guarantee their organizational socialization and adaptation to new rules are realized successfully. Police agencies often avoid using the assistance of fusion centers because they do not know how to send effective requests, what data can be collected and within what period of time, what security issues need to be addressed, what formats and technologies can be used for intelligence sharing (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019). The problem is that “Without relevant training police forces can have no practical role in intelligence work. In the U.S., police officers, whether members of large forces or small town units, are minimally trained in intelligence gathering” (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019, p. 332). Moreover, if police agencies lack computer technologies to work with additional software and databases, the barrier to collaboration can worsen (Carter, 2015; Lewandowski & Carter, 2017). Therefore, training is needed to ensure the proposed change in police agencies can work despite the fact that some years ago the collaboration of police agencies and fusion centers was promoted.
Training should include information on and the development of practical skills regarding the use of computer technologies, the use of effective requests for data, the regulations regarding sharing secured data, principles of interpreting analysists’ reports, and principles of decoding data. In many cases, local police agencies resist collaboration with fusion centers because they lack technological and skilled human resources to effectively interact with fusion center specialists (Lewandowski & Carter, 2017). The lack of training in police officers emphasizes the situation when these employees are deprived of efficient data to prevent terrorist attacks because of skill barriers.
Leadership
The implementation of the change can be sufficient only when leaders succeed in motivating employees to accept upcoming changes and adapt to new processes and roles. The re-implementation of the strategy oriented toward the collaboration of fusion centers and police agencies can become a challenge for police authorities because these leaders are expected to prepare the background for the change. Fusion centers work according to the principles of independent authority, but they are still state-owned entities that need to work according to the state legal framework of constitutional bounds (Lewandowski & Carter, 2017; Lewandowski et al., 2017). Effective leadership in the case of stimulating collaboration between fusion center specialists and police officers can be observed when leaders help their employees adapt to new processes and provide required guidance.
In different police departments, the second level of leaders to pay attention to include supervisors for groups of police officers. Thus, supervisors should be assigned to perform as leaders who can provide police officers with all the necessary support and assistance during the process of adapting to changes in processes. These leaders need to demonstrate what models of collaborating with fusion centers to use to address critical tasks (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019). At this stage, it is also important for supervisors and leaders to convince police officers and other professionals that intelligence provided by fusion centers is helpful and easily arranged to be used by a variety of employees. The benefits of collaborating with fusion centers should be accentuated and explained (Lewandowski & Carter, 2017). The reason is that many police agencies in different areas of the United States have negative experiences of cooperating with fusion centers referring to the period when fusion centers could be organized on the basis of local police offices.
These problems, prejudice, and barriers should be overcome by leaders in police agencies. The focus is on fighting with employees’ fears, concerns, uncertainty, and unwillingness to accept the change through demonstrating the advantages of this innovation (De Castro Garcia et al., 2017). Furthermore, supervisors are also responsible for organizing training for their followers to make sure all specialists in a law enforcement agency know how to work with new databases, channels of communication, and technologies to reduce stress and failures. In addition, employees need to be informed regarding the specifics of accountability related to fusion centers because responsibilities and regulations can differ significantly in these agencies, causing misunderstanding during their collaboration (Regan & Monahan, 2014). Still, referring to the question of leadership, it is also important to remember that “fusion center networks are dominated by law enforcement” in most cases because they are headed by leaders with a specific law enforcement background (Regan & Monahan, 2014, p. 483). It will be possible to ensure that leadership helps fusion centers and police agencies to cooperate if their leaders unite their strategies.
Organizational Deviance
Organizational deviance can be observed when members of the organization violate certain norms, rules, and standards. In the context of implementing the change oriented toward stabilizing the cooperation between police agencies and fusion centers, organizational deviance was observed in the past when the first attempts to organize fusion centers in police agencies were made (Carter et al., 2017; Esparza & Bruneau, 2019). The current task is to avoid such problems now, when implementing the improved strategy of cooperation. Fusion centers are not effectively used today for collecting and sharing critical information on terrorism to prevent attacks, and the problem is that some obstacles and issues were not addressed during the implementation process a decade ago (Carter et al., 2017). Certain steps need to be done to prevent police agencies from organizational breakdown because of the discussed change.
The first step is that fusion centers and police agencies need to have the same technological base or compatible technologies to easily exchange different formats of data. The second step is associated with providing employees as analysts of fusion centers, police officers, and other agents with training to guarantee they work efficiently with software and programs (Carter et al., 2017; De Castro Garcia et al., 2017). Another step is the provision of guidance regarding authorization, ethics, security, and legal issues because information sharing is a complex issue (Carter, 2015). The problem is that fusion centers are “multijurisdictional and multipurpose settings” which do not have “federal statutory basis” (Regan & Monahan, 2014, pp. 475-476). As a result, there are issues associated with accountability and regulatory standards to control data flows in these centers and between other agencies. Common technical standards and instructions are important for employees to work with data effectively and use all the advantages of fusion centers (Lewandowski et al., 2018). When specialists receive detailed guidelines on cooperation, they have access to advanced technologies, know how to collect and share intelligence, they can avoid organizational deviance.
Conclusion
The implementation of the change in police agencies can be interrupted by a range of challenges and barriers. Currently, it is necessary to implement the strategy supporting the collaboration between fusion centers and police because these relations can positively affect the work of law enforcement agencies in their fight with terrorism among other tasks. Five areas that need to be taken into account during the implementation process include organizational theory, organizational socialization, interagency collaboration, organizational deviance, and leadership. The implementation of the change will be realized in the most efficient way if the authorities focus on organizational socialization, training, and support for employees through leadership. Typical problems observed during organizational changes in law enforcement agencies also include the lack of technologies and resources to adopt advancements. Therefore, another important step in the implementation process is the guarantee that police offices have an effective technological base for exchanging intelligence with fusion centers. In this case, it is possible to achieve effective results for the police and cope with the barriers typical of implementation processes.
References
Carter, J. G. (2015). Inter-organizational relationships and law enforcement information sharing post 11 September 2001. Journal of Crime and Justice, 38(4), 522-542.
Carter, J. G., Carter, D. L., Chermak, S., & McGarrell, E. (2017). Law enforcement fusion centers: Cultivating an information sharing environment while safeguarding privacy. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 32(1), 11-27.
De Castro Garcia, A., Matei, F. C., & Bruneau, T. C. (2017). Combatting terrorism through fusion centers: Useful lessons from other experiences? International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, 30(4), 723-742.
Esparza, D., & Bruneau, T. C. (2019). Closing the gap between law enforcement and national security intelligence: Comparative approaches. International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, 32(2), 322-353.
Lewandowski, C., & Carter, J. G. (2017). End-user perceptions of intelligence dissemination from a state fusion center. Security Journal, 30(2), 467-486.
Lewandowski, C., Carter, J. G., & Campbell, W. L. (2018). The utility of fusion centres to enhance intelligence-led policing: An exploration of end-users. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 12(2), 177-193.
Lewandowski, C., Rojek, J., & Manjarrez, V. M. (2017). Using a fusion center model to manage and improve border security. Journal of Applied Security Research, 12(1), 160-178.
Regan, P. M., & Monahan, T. (2014). Fusion center accountability and intergovernmental information sharing. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 44(3), 475-498.
If you were in charge of appointing a monitor what qualifications/skills would you look for?
The police reform aimed at improving the culture of law enforcement officers and increasing their productivity may have positive results. Innovations involving the appointment of an appropriate monitor by the court can also be an effective measure. However, in order for such a move to be justified, it is crucial to ensure that the person occupying this position has all the necessary skills and is able to confirm his or her qualification in practice. According to Eterno, Barrow, and Silverman (2017), an experienced monitor could help policemen follow “the basic rules of risk and risk” and control their compliance with job descriptions (p. 191). Otherwise, the involvement of this employee is unreasonable and may be viewed as an experimental step rather than an effective measure.
For a court-appointed monitor to be a helpful officer, it is essential to have knowledge that could be sufficient to interpret police practice. It is not necessary to have “perishable skills” described by Walker and Archbold (2018) as part of law enforcement training (p. 34). However, to avoid misunderstanding and the incorrect assessment of certain situations, a monitor should have a law degree and working experience among the representatives of relevant agencies.
If I were assigned to find a specialist for this position, I would look for a law school graduate with good recommendations. There is no need to hire a former police officer to eliminate the ignorance of certain issues. Nonetheless, Morgan, Murphy, and Horwitz (2017) remark that a qualified monitor should be familiar with the basic requirements and job descriptions of police officers. Therefore, an employee with a university degree in law and working experience is a suitable candidate.
After all the recent revelations of misconduct in the DOJ and FBI, should they be subject to a consent decree to restore the public’s faith and trust in them?
A consent decree imposed not only on ordinary police brigades but also reputable government departments, for instance, the FBI or the DOJ should not contradict the generally accepted norms of the law. Since in these departments, certain violations were periodically identified and made public, there is no need to hide these cases. On the contrary, legitimate sanctions applied to large government departments should be mandatory practices in order to avoid double standards and censure by the public. According to Chanin (2015), in some US jurisdictions, the Department of Justice deliberately promotes the policy of disclosure and general publication of controversial issues.
This practice may help ensure that high-level government agencies obey the law as much as the police and are able to recognize and correct the mistakes made. If the reverse work is carried out, for instance, the prevention of publications about controversial and ambiguous situations in authoritative departments, it is likely to aggravate the situation and complicate the resolution of conflicts with the public.
Audits conducted by the FBI can be directed to the agency itself to disclose potential violations and, as a result, resolve a number of issues. For instance, Phillips and Jiao (2016) give examples of cases where inspections were conducted by force in the DOJ, which is evidence of the lack of this board’s orientation to follow the generally accepted instructions. If competent agencies are involved in analyzing the practice of large departments, it will make the entire system transparent. As Peled (2016) remarks, sharing information may be useful to strengthen public confidence in the legitimacy of individual departments’ actions. Therefore, the FBI, the DOJ, and other government agencies should not avoid subjecting to a consent decree.
References
Chanin, J. M. (2015). Examining the sustainability of pattern or practice police misconduct reform. Police Quarterly, 18(2), 163-192. Web.
Eterno, J. A., Barrow, C. S., & Silverman, E. B. (2017). Forcible stops: Police and citizens speak out. Public Administration Review, 77(2), 181-192. Web.
Morgan, T. H. S., Murphy, D., & Horwitz, B. (2017). Police reform through data-driven management. Police Quarterly, 20(3), 275-294. Web.
Peled, A. (2016). Coerce, consent, and coax: A review of US congressional efforts to improve federal counterterrorism information sharing. Terrorism and Political Violence, 28(4), 674-691. Web.
Phillips, J. R., & Jiao, A. Y. (2016). Institutional isomorphism and the federal consent decree: The case of the Los Angeles Police Department. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 39(4), 756-772. Web.
Walker, S. E., & Archbold, C. A. (2018). The new world of police accountability (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Captain Strong has quite a difficult task to fulfill as the situation in the department is rather complicated. Patrol officers’ morale is low and they find their jobs dissatisfying. This leads to low quality of service provided and exceeding level of turnover. Lots of managers view organizations as a structure and employ the holistic approach (Hester & Adams, 2014). In this case, however, Captain Strong should utilize a combination of the holistic and reductionist approaches. She can choose the reductionist approach that will help her to address particular parts of the system. It is important to understand the needs of each employee and make sure that basic needs will be addressed. When these issue have been addressed, she will be able to develop a holistic strategy to maintain the necessary atmosphere in the working place. She will be able to develop an effective system where all employees are satisfied with the job and are willing to work hard.
Obviously, patrol officers need to be motivated. They are overloaded by work and are unwilling to work hard. Zehndorfer (2013) stresses that motivational strategies should be equally applicable to all employees. Otherwise, they will be ineffective. Financial motivation has proved to be a universal strategy which is valued by the vast majority of employees (Zehndorfer, 2013). Nonetheless, scarce resources require development of other strategies. Hence, Captain Strong may introduce certain monetary reward. This can be a reward for outstanding performance during a particular period (a month, a year) or in a particular case. At the same time, Captain Strong has to introduce other benefits which could be valued by the employees. It can be effective to ask the employees to complete a brief questionnaire on their aspirations, needs and expectations. She also can launch certain training for the employees. The training will aim at development of efficient strategies to complete reports. Employees feel they are overwhelmed with paperwork. Hence, they need to be taught to complete this task more efficiently (using less time and effort). It can also be effective to consider the amount of paper work. Sometimes employees have to complete reports which are unnecessary. Captain Strong has to make sure there are no such reports in the department.
It is noteworthy that the E.R.G. theory is applicable when developing effective motivational strategies. The theory includes three classes: existence needs, relatedness needs and growth needs (Jost, 2014). Thus, monetary rewarding will address existence needs. It is also clear that there are serious issues when it comes to relationships in the department. The policy existing in the department make it impossible for patrol officers to satisfy their relatedness needs. However, it should be done to motivate employees and help them work more effectively. Since it is prohibited to have lunch or coffee breaks in the same restaurants for more than two officers, patrol officers should have another opportunity to interact. There should be a canteen within the department where police officers can have lunch and communicate. Apart from this, there can be weekly meetings to share ideas, experiences, problems and solutions. Patrol officers have to feel support of each other on daily basis. As has been mentioned above, training can help make patrol officers’ work more effective. Some of these training sessions may be aimed at development of team work within the department. It is clear that workload and lack of interpersonal relationship leads to dissatisfaction and excessive turnover. Finally, it is important to take into account growth needs of patrol officers. It is possible to launch a system of ratings. For instance, top three patrol officers can be chosen each month. The best employee can get monetary reward and some other benefits.
Another motivational strategy which is applicable in this case is job enrichment. In the first place, it is necessary to note that job enlargement will not be useful. Job enlargement “extends the scope of actions in a horizontal dimension” and employees have to complete more tasks which are often routine (Jost, 2014, p. 371). This approach will lead to a higher level of dissatisfaction. On the contrary, job enrichment will make the tasks completed more diverse. Employees will not get tired of fulfilling routine tasks. It is noteworthy that this approach also implies feedback and communication which will have a positive impact on development of proper relationship in the department and employees’ satisfaction. At this point it is necessary to note that patrol officers claim they have little time for their preliminary investigations as well as their patrolling. Therefore, it is important to analyze the workload and, perhaps, reduce the amount of work each patrol officer has to conduct.
In conclusion, it is possible to state that Captain Strong can improve the situation and she needs to pay specific attention to the workload and employees’ motivation. It is crucial to make sure that the tasks completed are necessary. It is possible to optimize some tasks. Captain Strong can also consider launching some training and rewarding.
Reference List
Hester, P.T., & Adams, K.M. (2014). Systemic thinking: Fundamentals for understanding problems and messes. Norfolk, VA: Springer.
Jost, P.J. (2014). The economics of motivation and organization: An introduction. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Zehndorfer, E. (2013). Leadership: A critical introduction. New York, NY: Routledge.
There is no use denying the fact that the modern society could be taken as the complex of various institutions the efficient functioning of which guarantees its further development and prosperity. Moreover, these very institutions also provide people care and protection, making their lives easier and more comfortable. With this in mind, it is possible to say that the humanistic image of modern society promotes the growth of the interest and the level of attention devoted to these very aspects of society.
Under these conditions, police also obtain new features and tools that change its traditional way of functioning. These changes are aimed at the improvement of the efficiency and performance of the police. However, along with this changes the level of demands towards the candidates also grows as they have to be able to work under complicated conditions and in terms of all modern trends.
Process of hiring
Thus, speaking about the process of hiring and candidates who want to become police officers, it is vital to mention several important points. First of all, one realizes the fact that a would-be police officer should satisfy the requirements that exist. It is obvious that some special training which is provided in a police academy is needed. However, not everyone could become a police officer. A person should be in an excellent shape as this sort of job implies various kinds of physical activity.
Secondly, a candidate should also be able to act in complicated and stressful situations. That is why, various psychological tests that determine the ability of a person to cope with the great level of stress are provided and help to determine whether a person is ready or not. A candidate should also have good driving skills as car chases are an integral part of the work. Besides, there are not all demands which exist, however, very often theses aspects have a great impact on hiring.
Necessary skills
Nevertheless, in accordance with the modern requirements the process which is used to recruit law enforcement personnel consists of several stages. First of all, candidates have to answer the questions of a questionnaire and apply for the job. Thant they also have to pass the written examination which will help to determine the general level of knowledge of people who want to become police officers. The written exam is followed by the oral one. Candidates are interviewed in order to determine their sustainability for the position of Police Officer (Police Officer Hiring Process, n.d).
This exam is also very important and helps to obtain more information about various candidates. The next step is the examination of physical skills of all candidates. It has already been mentioned that any police officer has to be in a good shape, that is why the results of physical agility tests are very important for the future career. Finally, if the results of all previous tests are satisfactory, any candidate, no matter what culture he/she belongs to (Wilson, Wilson, & Thou, 2015), could be offered a job.
Resting on the above-mentioned information, it is possible to conclude that there are some very important trends in the process of law enforcement hiring. One can realize the fact that this complicated procedure helps to bolt out unprepared people and select only the best candidates which could contribute to the development of police and its image in the region providing efficient services to people.
The given practices could be taken as rather successful as they introduce the multi-level selection of really worthy candidates. The fact is that various aspects such as the level of knowledge, physical skills, experience and stress resistance are studied. Moreover, it also helps to avoid some biased approaches and allow representatives of all genders and ethics groups to become police officers (Cordner & Cordner, 2011).
Another thing which influences the procedure of law enforcement hiring is the training provided for would-be police officers. There is no point in spending money on a person who will not be able to become a good police officer. Recruits have to attend the classes eight hours a day during for 25 weeks (Police Officer Hiring Process, n.d). They will attend both some classes and lectures and also practical training aimed at the development of technical skills. The main aim of all these classes is to prepare a candidate for a post and work in terms of streets. That is why, the process of training is given a great deal of attention. Recruits who pass all these stages could become police officers and continue their career at some police department.
Conclusion
With this in mind, it is possible to make a certain conclusion. The job of a police officer implies that a candidate should have good knowledge, physical skills and be able to act under some complicated situations. That is why, to determine whether a person could be a police officer or not a certain procedure of law enforcement hiring is introduced. It analyzes the most important skills of a candidate and determines his/her future career. The given procedure could be called rather efficient as it helps to continue development of police and improve the performance of the would-be police officers.
References
Cordner, G., & Cordner, A. (2011). Stuck on a Plateau? Obstacles to Recruitment, Selection, and Retention of Women Police. Police Quarterly, 14(3), 207-226. Web.
Police Officer Hiring Process. (n.d.). Web.
Wilson, C., Wilson, S., & Thou, M. (2015). Perceptions of African American Police Officers on Racial Profiling in Small Agencies. Journal of Black Studies, 46(5), 482-505. Web.
Dubai Police Force has remained critical towards supporting the needs of different individuals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE government established the organization in 1956. The organization’s mission is to improve the life of every citizen in the country. The organization enforces the country’s laws and regulations. It also maintains the required security measures. The institution has made it easier for every individual in the United Arab Emirates to realize his or her goals. This discussion explains why Dubai Police Force is an excellent organization that supports the needs of its stakeholders.
Is Dubai Police Force a World Class Organization?
Aspects of a World Class Organization
Every organization wants to become successful. Successful organizations are ‘benchmarks in their respective industries or sectors’ (Schwab 2010, p. 84). Such organizations have specific aspects that make them profitable. To begin with, ‘such organizations outperform themselves’ (King 2013, p. 62). This situation explains why they offer the best services to their clients. Such corporations also work hard to achieve their goals. According to King (2013), such companies and organizations embrace the concept of continuous performance (CP).
The workers and employees in such agencies focus on every targeted goal. This practice makes every employee happy and delighted. Most of these companies embrace the power of strategic planning (Racine 2012). A sense of ownership is common in such companies. Successful organizations encourage their managers ‘to engage in effective communication and decision-making practices’ (Milakovich 2013, p. 18). Finally, the issue of work-life balance is common in such organizations. Every manager wants his or her employees to achieve the best goals.
Why Dubai Police Force is a World Class Organization
Dubai Police Force uses the best strategies in order to support its duties. The institution embraces the power of strategic planning. The practice has resulted in new improvements and goals (Schwab 2010). The agency uses the best institutional performance indicators (IPIs) in order to understand the strengths and weaknesses of its operations. This situation explains why the organization finds it easier to achieve its goals. Dubai Police Force uses precise measures whenever performing its functions. The approach has resulted in positive goals. The organization also embraces a process-centered approach. The organization ‘has transformed different inputs into positive results’ (West 2014, p. 7).
Strategic planning remains a critical aspect at the organization. The agency focuses on the needs of different communities and families. This knowledge has made it easier for the institution to promote the best practices. The institution trains its police officers. It ‘also integrates new ideas into its design process’ (Johnston & Shearing 2013, p. 23). The strategy has played a major role towards addressing the changing needs of every citizen (Jain & Kedia 2011).
Dubai Police Force uses an integrated system to liaise and cooperate with different stakeholders. The agency has hired many workers to support its mission and vision. An integrated system ‘ensures every function is completed in a professional manner’ (Dobre 2014, p. 13). The ‘organization’s activates are carefully interconnected in order to focus on the targeted results’ (Cordner & Das 2012, p. 47). A strategic approach is also evident at the company. The managers embrace the power of strategic planning. The managers also formulate new plans and improvement practices in order to produce positive goals.
Dubai Police is a leading institution because it manages its financial and human resources. Every police officer gets the best resources and financial support. The practice has promoted the spirit of community policing. New partnerships between the communities and the officers have also emerged (Dobre 2014). Dubai Police Force encourages different citizens to offer their feedbacks. This practice continues to support the organization’s mission.
The organization understands why security is a critical issue in every society. Teamwork remains a major approach at the organization. The employees and police officers at the organization have established new teams. This practice has produced positive results at the organization (Abed & Hellyer 2006). Every person works hard in order to promote the institution’s performance. Communication is a powerful practice at the organization. Effective communication and proper decision-making approaches ‘have maintained the highest level of morale at the institution’ (Armstrong 2006, p. 12). This strategy has continued to support the organization’s obligations.
The organization identifies new opportunities and technologies ‘in an attempt to have new improvements’ (Hurreiz 2012, p. 49). This practice has made it easier for the institution to deal with insecurity. This development has made Dubai Police effective and competitive. This situation explains why Dubai Police Force is a leading security organization in the world. The agency uses modern technologies to solve its problems. It also formulates ‘new procedures towards dealing with insecurity’ (Dobre 2014, p. 3). The concept of work-life balance produces positive results in this organization.
Conclusion
Dubai Police Force considers the effectiveness of the TQM model. This model offers powerful guidelines that can make many organizations successful. The police force focuses on new practices in order to improve its performance. The force also uses teamwork in an attempt to achieve its goals. The decreasing level of crime in the United Arab Emirates supports the agency’s performance (Abed & Hellyer 2006). In conclusion, Dubai Police Force exhibits the major aspects of an excellent organization.
List of References
Abed, I & Hellyer, P 2006, United Arab Emirates Yearbook, Trident Press Limited, Dubai.
Armstrong, M 2006, A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, Kogan Page Limited, London.
Cordner, G & Das, D 2012, Urbanization, Policing, and Security: Global Perspectives, CRC Press, New York
Dobre, C 2014, The Relationship Between Competition Policy and Competitiveness, Web.
Hurreiz, S 2012, Folklore and Folk-life in the United Arab Emirates, Psychology Press, London.
Jain, S & Kedia, B 2011, Enhancing Global Competitiveness Through Sustainable Environmental Stewardship, Edward Elgar Publishing, New York.
Johnston, L & Shearing, C 2013, Innovative Possibilities: Global Policing Research and Practice, Rutledge, New York.
King, D 2013, United Arab Emirates, Marshall Cavendish, Dubai.
Milakovich, M 2013, Improving Service Quality in the Global Economy: Achieving High Performance, CRC Press, New York.
Racine, L 2012, Harnessing Quality for Global Competitiveness in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, McGraw Hill, New York.
Schwab, K 2010, The Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010, World Economic Forum, New York.
West, M 2014, Education and Global Competitiveness: Lessons for the U.S. from International Evidence, Web.
Given the concerns of the Auditor General, provide a suite of recommendations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the first stage of the WAP selection process for new police members
It is possible to provide several recommendations that the administrators of the West Australian Police (WAP) should consider to improve the efficiency of their recruitment strategies. First, they need to re-evaluate the importance of different selection criteria that they use. Some of them can prevent WAP from finding suitable candidates. In many cases, it is impossible to evaluate a person’s in terms of job knowledge, tolerance of stress, or interpersonal sensitivity before he/she encounters real-life difficulties associated with police work.
Additionally, in many cases, people can give the answers that the recruiters expect, even though these responses do not reflect their values. Finally, some of the selection criteria are not fully consistent with one another, for example, one can mention the respect of authority and initiative. Therefore, recruiters need to remove some of the selection criteria. This recommendation is particularly relevant if one speaks about psychometric testing that each applicant has to undergo at the very beginning of the recruitment process. This is one of the suggestions that can be singled out.
Additionally, the recruiters should focus on the interview process which is aimed at identifying the applicants who can meet the demands of WAP. One of the options is to ask the applicants to provide written responses to the questions. The main advantage of this approach is that recruitment officers can evaluate the responses more objectively (Mctaggart 2014, p. 121). Moreover, in this way, one can eliminate the risk of interviewer’s prejudice against a candidate. In this way, one can significantly increase the efficiency of selection, especially at the early stages.
Apart from that, it is possible to design a set of questions or dilemmas that throw light on the complexities of police work. The applicant should be asked to provide their solutions to these problems. This approach will enable recruiters to gain a better idea about the values of a person, and his/her understanding of the police work as well as the challenges that law-enforcement officers can face daily. These are some of the main issues that can be identified.
Overall, these procedures are helpful because they enable HR professionals to gain a better idea about the behavior of a person and the choices that he/she can take under various circumstances. Moreover, these strategies will assist recruiters in finding applicants who are more suitable for police work. These are the main benefits that WAP can achieve with the help of the proposed strategies.
What recruitment strategies would recommend increasing the number of female and indigenous recruits for entry to the Academy?
Much attention should be paid to the recruitment of females and the indigenous population. At present, these groups are underrepresented in the police departments. One of the strategies is to ask employees to offer written responses. As it has been said before, this approach will ensure that recruiters will focus on the responses of an applicant, rather than his/her gender, race, or ethnic origins. This is one of the advantages that this strategy can bring to the recruiters.
Additionally, more attention should be paid to the accountability of recruiters. In particular, these professionals should explain why they have decided to reject one of the candidates. This requirement should be particularly relevant at the time if they deal with a female or a representative of the indigenous population. This approach can make it more difficult for HR professionals to act in a biased or prejudiced way when they choose a certain candidate. This is why this precaution should be taken.
Moreover, it is necessary to implement outreach programs that will attract people who may be willing to work in the police (Dale 2002, p. 51). The main problem is that many people, who are suitable for police work, do not know that they can be employed by WAP. Overall, this strategy can help WAP increase the pool of candidates coming from social groups underrepresented in governmental organizations. This is one of the details that can be distinguished.
Moreover, it is possible to set some minimum quotas that the recruiters of WAP should meet. To some degree, this approach can be described as positive discrimination. However, these quotas should be very low because positive discrimination can lead to conflicts between the employees of police departments. In particular, some of them may say that a certain applicant was accepted only because of his/her race or gender (Greene 2007). This is one of the pitfalls that should be avoided by HR professionals. Finally, the administrators should investigate possible cases of discrimination against applicants or trainees. This policy can significantly decrease the prejudiced treatment of people in this governmental organization,
Overall, the strategies of WAP should be aimed at supporting the needs of individuals who were previously discriminated against by governmental institutions. Nevertheless, they should not pursue diversity at any cost; in other words, they should not employ a candidate, only due to his/her gender or ethnicity since this policy can undermine the efficiency of many police departments. This is one of the arguments that can be advanced.
References
Dale, C 2002, Affirmative Action Revisited, Nova Publishers, New York.
Greene, J 2007, The Encyclopedia of Police Science, Taylor & Francis, New York.
Mctaggart, J 2014, Definitive Guide To Passing The Police Recruitment Process: A handbook for prospective police officers, special constables and police community support officers, Constable & Robinson, New York.
In this assignment, the researcher focused on the study conducted by Ibrahim Seba, Jennifer Rowley, and Rachel Delbridge, in their article Knowledge Sharing in the Dubai Police Force. The research has critically analysed the works of these three scholars in the context of the knowledge management system. In order to justify the need for this study, the paper has elaborately explained the rationale for the study. The paper then focuses on the approach taken by the scholars in proposing for the best ways of using knowledge management system in promoting service delivery of the Dubai police force. Finally, some of the barriers to knowledge sharing have also been analysed.
Précis
I believe that the practical application of the principles of knowledge management done by Soltero, Melendrez & Valenzuela (2013) shows maturity in understanding the concept of knowledge management. The manner in which knowledge management principles has been used to improve the training environment shows that they understand problems faced by trainers and trainees in a learning environment. They propose effective ways on how these problems can be solved through the use of a knowledge management system. Their paper has identified seven key areas in a knowledge management system that closely compare to what has been learnt in this unit. They include knowledge identification, acquisition, creation, dissemination, application, storage, and assessment. These are the key areas that that are vital in improving decision making processes in an organisation. The article validly explains how knowledge management can be used practically to improve the learning environment.
Introduction
The research found in Knowledge Sharing in the Dubai Police Force is a research paper written by Ibrahim Seba, Jennifer Rowley, and Rachel Delbridge who were interested in developing an understanding of knowledge management and knowledge sharing among the players in the public sector (Seba, Rowley & Delbridge 2012, p. 120). The researchers focused their study on the Middle East, a region they considered an emerging economic power given the number of interests that the international investors have in the region.
The research paper sought to capture how the public sector, specifically the police force in Dubai, use knowledge management to improve their performance in promoting peace and security within the city. The police force plays an important role in maintaining law and order within a country. However, it is worrying that a wave of insecurity has hit several countries in the Middle East because of the superior management structure of criminal gangs. In most of the cases, the police are always caught unawares when these gang strike.
Sometimes the intelligence agencies would gather the information, but fail to pass it to the relevant authorities in time because of the poor communication system. The scholars believe that the unfortunate scenario can be solved by having a superior knowledge management system that can promote efficiency in sharing the relevant information to help the police force. Their work focuses on how the police force in Dubai can use the knowledge management system to improve its service delivery.
The rationale of the study
Conducting research is a very involving process, and it is important to have a clear justification as to why a given research process is worth a study (Gerami 2010, p. 235). The Middle East region has suffered from numerous terror groups, the fact that it has crippled trade and development in the region. In most of the cases, the criminal gangs are always well-organised than the police force. It is a fact that some of these gangs fight for what they believe in for the benefit of society.
However, the approach they take is wrong, creating anarchy in the country. It is important to find ways of addressing the problem posed by these gangs. It is unfortunate that the police force in this region has been unable to handle the situation, making it difficult to assure the residents of this region their security (Girard 2005, p. 12).
Figure 1: Technical System Architecture.
The research is important because it seeks to review the proposed approach of how the public sector in the Middle East, especially the police force in Dubai, can use the knowledge management system to promote security in this region. The research seeks to find a way in which these officers can make use of Technical System Architecture- shown in Figure 1- to share information and coordinate their activities in a way that would bring success in their work (Buckman 2004, p. 32). From this assignment, the researcher will be able to determine how well these scholars have used the concept of knowledge management in their proposed strategies.
Summary of the research paper
The research work by these three scholars focuses on how the public sector in the Middle East can promote efficiency in their service delivery through the use of a knowledge management system. This research work is divided into five major parts. In the introduction, the researchers introduce the topic by highlighting the problems faced by the public sector in this region and how the use of a knowledge management system can help in addressing the problems. In the literature review, the researchers look at the works of other scholars and case studies of the success made by the public sectors in other regions through the use of knowledge management systems.
This section starts by analysing the process of sharing knowledge in the public sector. It then analyses the knowledge management in the context of the Arab culture. The third section is the methodology of how the researchers conducted their work. In the fourth section are the findings of the research based on the data obtained. The last section is the conclusion and recommendations. From their findings, the researchers highly recommend the use of a knowledge management system by the public sector in the Middle East as a way of promoting efficiency in service delivery.
Analysis
Knowledge management policies
According to this article, the Dubai police force has invested a lot in promoting service delivery in this country. It has been committed to finding ways of utilising any piece of knowledge gathered from the field in promoting security in the country. However, the researchers have realised that the authority has not managed to find the best ways of sharing knowledge because of their inability to use the knowledge management system. The police force has failed to use the knowledge as presented in Popper’s Three Worlds of Knowledge shown in Figure 2. The inefficacy of the police has largely been blamed on the knowledge management policies that are currently in use (Dawson 2000, p. 51).
Figure 2: Knowledge Management System
The policies do not focus on how different stakeholders in this department can share information for the betterment of the services delivered. This explains why sometimes the intelligence gathered by the relevant authorities within the force fails to reach the officers on the ground in time to help them prevent crime from taking place. The particular approach that these scholars have taken in making the proposal on how to improve this service clearly demonstrates that they have an understanding of the concept of the knowledge management system (Dalkir 2011, p. 56).
Knowledge sharing in the public sector
These scholars have also given a detailed review of how the public sector can use the knowledge management system to promote knowledge sharing based on the Technical System Architecture shown in Figure 1. The scholars show some level of maturity in understanding the concept of a knowledge management system based on how they propose the manner in which the data should be collected, analysed, and finally disseminated to the responsible authorities.
It is important to collect data from all the relevant sources about security issues in the country and then send it to a centralised system for analysis. Once the information has been analysed, it should be sent to all the relevant users to guide their decision-making process. Once they have used the information, they need to give feedback on how helpful the information was. It helps in determining how the information can be readjusted to address some of the major concerns in security matters.
Barriers to knowledge sharing
In their research, the scholars identified some of the barriers to knowledge sharing that was affecting the ability of the police force in Dubai to share the relevant information. The barriers they have identified in their study are some of the common barriers that affect information sharing in most organisations. The first barrier is ineffective leadership. According to Walsham (2001, p. 603), ineffective leadership may affect the ability of an organisation to gather, analyse, and disseminate knowledge as expected by the stakeholders. They also identified time allocation as another barrier.
According to Lambe (2011, p. 177), trust is another common barrier that always affects the efficiency of the knowledge management system in many organisations. When the stakeholders lack trust in one another, then they tend to withhold some important information to themselves, the fact that hinders effective sharing of knowledge. Sometimes the organisational structure of an organisation or the reward mechanism may affect the ability to share information effectively (Wilson 2002, p. 32).
List of References
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Lambe, P 2011, The unacknowledged parentage of knowledge management, Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 15, no.2, pp. 175-197. Web.
Seba, I, Rowley, J & Delbridge, R 2012, Knowledge sharing in the Dubai Police Force, Journal Of Knowledge Management, vol. 16. no. 1, pp. 114-128. Web.
Walsham, G 2001, Knowledge Management: The Benefits and Limitations of Computer Systems, European Management Journal, vol. 19. no. 6, pp. 599-608. Web.
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