Law Homework Help

Topic:  Please discuss the following:

• How can a leader positively affect a law enforcement organization?
• How can a leader negatively affect a law enforcement organization?

Peer Response #1

Leadership is imperative within criminal justice organizations and law enforcement agencies. Leadership guides and influences members of an organization to work towards accomplishing common goals. Leaders within law enforcement have a significant amount of influence within the agency and can inspire the attitudes of members within the agency. McCarthy and Parent (2015) stated “leaders within law enforcement agencies play a significant role in determining the ethical orientation of their agency” (p.121). Due to the amount of influence leadership in law enforcement has, a leader can either negatively or positively impact the agency overall, however, leadership should strive to only have a positive influence. The responsibility of leadership within any organization is to help the accomplish organizational goals and mentor, teach, and positively influence employees. The attitudes of leadership in law enforcement agencies sway the attitudes of employees. Research determined that leadership plays a substantial part in affecting organizational safety and can impact employee actions and mindsets within an organization (Willis et al., 2017, p. 284). There are numerous ways in which a leader can positively or negatively affect an organization.

Leaders can positively influence a law enforcement agency by implementing constructive changes within the agency such as morale boosting initiatives that increase employee motivation. “A leader has a significant amount on a team member’s satisfaction, commitment, and engagement” (Macauley, 2015, p. 299). Law enforcement leadership can create reasonable incentives that encourage and have lasting positive effects on the agency. On the contrary, law enforcement leaders can negatively impact a law enforcement organization by knowingly or unknowingly promoting an undesirable working environment. Another way a law enforcement leader can negatively impact an agency is by being disengaged with their role and/or employees. Bonner, Greenbaum, and Mayer (2016) stated leadership withdrawal can result in employee disconnection (p. 732). Leadership disengagement and employee withdraw undesirably impacts any law enforcement agency. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:33 “do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character” (New International Bible, 1978/2011). It is important to refrain from negative thoughts and those who promote negativity, even if they may be leaders.

Peer Response #2

A leader is one of the most influential components of a law enforcement entity in the modern era of policing. A leader creates and approves the initiatives which propel an agency into a future of legitimacy and community engagement, or conversely, destroy departmental morale, create high-burnout levels, and leave a department cemented in a past criminal justice philosophy which is not appropriate for the modern day.

A leader can negatively affect an organization in a variety of ways. The first is creating burnout due to certain organizational factors. Burnout due to organizational factors simply means that leadership greatly affects the efficiency in which an officer can do their job (Giblin, 2017, p. 212). Furthermore, these leaders lead by paper, hinder an officer’s critical decision making ability, and resort to favoritism. This organizational factor creates burnout, which is best described as “emotional exhaustion” with the job (Giblin, 2017, p. 205). Ultimately this burnout can create turnover (Giblin, 2017, p.221). Additionally, complacency in training and modern policing methods can lead to organizational accidents which if identified earlier could be eliminated (Giblin, 2017, 284). An ineffective, abusive, leader affects employees even further because such a leader creates an acceptance of silence and even further burnout (Xu et al., 2015). Silence in modern law enforcement is completely unacceptable. Law enforcement officers must now speak out and possibly intervene when a coworker acts inappropriately. Based on the National Consensus Policy on Use of Force (2020), in the modern day officers have a duty to intercede when they believe a cohort is using excessive force (p. 3). This silence is one of most negative effects a leader can have on an organization.

Of course, a leader can positively affect an organization as well. Dean Crisp (2017) delineated that a good leader establishes an environment where relationships are encouraged (p. 30). These good leaders who build relationships have subordinates who understand their why and buy into the message of the organization (Crisp, 2017). An effective leader does not strive to be the smartest person in the room, and being the case gives every person a voice to express their ideas and philosophies and opinions. The positive effect a good leader has on a law enforcement organization is that they give their employee a voice. This type of leader is a participative leader. A participative leader gives employees voice, and makes them a part of the decision making process (Miller et al., 2017, pp. 184-185). With such a leader, positive change starts occurring and employees feel that the leader listens to their opinions and inevitably they “…enjoy coming to work,” (Miller et al., 2017, p. 185). This strong and effective person whose style of leadership finds a way to build relationships, listens to others and makes law enforcement personnel want to come to work is a biblically based leader. This leader acknowledges that, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm,” (Holman Christian Standard Bible, 1999/2007, Proverbs 13:20). This leader walks with the wise and knows the fools who are antiquated and are trying to hold an agency in a problematic past. A good, effective leader establishes an agency that will benefit all people within its reach.