Changes in the society affect the responsibilities of the police officers, their organizational structure and the qualifications needed for the position as a police officer. The society has expectations that pose challenges to the police system regarding their responsibilities and the general framework for their work. This increases the potential of conflicts between the police and society in the process of executing their duties (Clarke & Knake, 2010).
The judicial background opposes most of the responsibilities police perform and both the judiciary and society view such responsibilities in relation to legitimacy aspects. The public relates the requirements of the police force to the expectation of the society where the police are expected responsibly to respond to the situation. In order to meet the requirements, the police officers need expertise and skills to plan and execute their duties. Police officers also need high-level interpersonal skills in addition to cognitive skills (Clarke & Knake, 2010).
The police officers are expected to use problem-solving techniques according to the constitution in the operational situations that are becoming more complicated with time. Recording and evaluation of data require use of the information technology according to the law before any decision can be made (Clarke & Knake, 2010).
The society is experiencing new forms of crime and the needs of the people for security are continuously changing. Therefore, police officers have to cope with the new trends in the community and adjustments within the police organization. In addition, police officers need to have visionary thinking by first perceiving themselves as a “learning system”. The members of the police force require supporting one another to ensure that learning is continuous. Some cases presented are technological and require police forces that are equipped with technological expertise to handle them. The modern technology is influencing the police force even more and demanding for effectiveness. Police officers require having the right tools to handle electronic data according to the new leadership expertise. Whenever there is a new position for police management that involves electronic handling of cases then only the qualified individuals are advantaged. The police force requires permanent life-long retraining in areas such as financial managements to help them come up with flexible budgeting methods. Police managers need to familiarize themselves with commercial terms such as business executives to prepare them with the principles of economic management (Bayley & Nixon, 2010).
Deployment of both human and material resources in a way that will not risk the traditional responsibilities by the police is another challenge. In order to manage business principals the deployed human resource in police force must have a background in areas like cost managements. This is a challenge for both the individual police managers and entire police sector. The managers in the police force need to be innovative in order to make viable decisions. The police system is in need of managers who are professional with in-depth skills, creative, flexible and able to implement the strategies according to the visions of the police force (Bayley & Nixon, 2010).
Establishing strong cultural values is the other challenge facing the police force where new strategies need to be followed by the managers after being implemented. Police force can only be effective if cultural values in the community are observed and all the police officers feel respected and motivated. Therefore, police force needs regular training to equip it with the culture that matches the modern societal needs. The training should use an approach that promotes confidential partnership, fair allocation of responsibilities, and transparency in communication to motivates the staff (Clarke & Knake, 2010).
Training police officers to be open minded and honest in handling cases is important in ensuring new strategies are put into practice. When the police officers are open-minded, they understand other people even when their personal and cultural values differ. Police officers that are trained on the importance of these values also respect their colleagues in the organization while dealing with them regardless of their leadership positions (Bayley & Nixon, 2010).
Loss of motivation is a challenge in the police force because when members of the organization lack motivation it becomes expensive for the organization to run its responsibilities. Members fail to report to work punctually or absent themselves for no good reason. Regular motivation sessions should be planned for the members where other than increasing their salaries they should be taught about the importance of being responsible police officers. A study on this objective showed that sickness and absenteeism are attributed to poor responsibility and reduced opportunities for self-realization by the police officers (Beck & Wade, 2004).
It is important to realize that training police officers must include transformation process in both content and methodology. Continuous learning in the police force has become more important than before to equip both individuals and the entire police organization with new values of practical policing. Such training should be carried out through planned seminars and briefings. Traditional classroom teaching is not the best in equipping students with interpersonal skills, as it does not always result to behavioral change. The best approach for instilling skills and values among the police officers is through workshops where members are trained on short courses about scientific and analytical skills. However, the cognitive teaching approach should be continued but balanced with modern methodological instruments (Clarke & Knake, 2010).
References
Bayley, D., & Nixon. C. (2010). The changing police environment, 1985-2008. New perspectives in policing bulletin. Washington: Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.
Beck, J., & Wade, M. (2004). Got game: How the gamer generation is reshaping business forever. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Clarke, R., & Knake, R. (2010). Cyber war: The next threat to national security on what to do about it. New York: HarperCollins.