Discuss the enormous responsibilities of a twenty-first-century police leader.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

A twenty-first-century police leader has an enormous responsibility to enforce the law, to give their subordinates lawful orders, to maintain order, to build public trust through transparency, and to ensure the constitutional rights of everyone they serve. A key component to being an effective leader is to continuously train in the areas they supervise. In essence, to be a life-long learner. In addition to taking leadership courses that focus on personnel and management issues, today's police leaders must also get regular updates on developments in criminal law and constitutional procedure that apply to the operations of personnel they supervise. Just as a patrol officer or detective cannot afford to be several years out of date on basic policing procedures, the police supervisor must stay current regarding their knowledge of the law, constitutional criminal procedure, and best practices. To be able to correct and guide subordinates when they make mistakes, and to ensure that investigations are handled lawfully, the supervisor needs to know at least as much as, if not more than, their subordinate officers. Supervisors must be proactive in reading case law, and keep up to date with the changes that occur. At a minimum, every supervisor and manager should have a core understanding of the legal matters that impact their work.