Commentary
| Published date | 01 March 2008 |
| Date | 01 March 2008 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1350/pojo.2008.81.1.426 |
| Subject Matter | Commentary |
The
Police
Journal
COMMENTARY
Recently criticisms of the quality of police leadership have
been articulated both internally and externally. Though the
apparent failure of leadership is not a condition confined to
the police service, it is one which needs to be addressed but
has so far remained unresolved. The Home Affairs Committee
recently held a new inquiry into policing and the NIPA’s chief
executive, in giving evidence, anounced the launch of a new
police leadership strategy.
The quality of police leadership is a frequent topic of conversa-
tion whether located in Home Office meeting rooms, university
seminar rooms or police station canteens. It is often a discussion
which generates much emotion and as often is inconclusive. It is
not a new topic of debate. Upon joining the police service in the
late 1970s I was introduced to the stark realities of the outlook of
career constables many of whom possessed a cynical and
depressing view of the quality of police leadership. More
recently criticisms of police leadership have been articulated
both internally within the police family (see, for example,
HMIC, 1999) and externally (Vick, 2000). However, and as
noted by the Cabinet Office (2001), the apparent failure of
leadership is not a condition confined to the police service and is
one which needs to be addressed:
There is little shared understanding of the qualities required
for effective leadership in today’s public services. Leader-
ship theory is riven by conflicting interpretations, in a full
spectrum from those who emphasise the primary importance
of personal qualities to those who say that systems are all-
important. Leaders themselves often do not understand the
reasons for their own effectiveness. (Cabinet Office, 2001,
cited in Dobby, Anscomb & Tuffin, 2004)
While the cynicism I encountered may be explained by the need
for junior officers to respect the operational credibility of senior
The Police Journal, Volume 81 (2008) 1
DOI: 10.1358/pojo.2008.81.1.426
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