Challenges in Police Administration: A Comprehensive Analysis Example

Law enforcement is a criminal justice field that faces various challenges. The police service is tasked with law enforcement functions in the United States. The modern police service has evolved from the past due to different situations. Thus, with the increase in the number and complexity of situations, the police administration has become challenging. The citizens expect the police officers to provide maximum security. In some instances, when an insecurity case is reported, the public complaints are high. As such, police administrators are faced with maximum pressure to ensure that they carry out their work diligently. This paper examines challenges in the current performance of the functional role of police administration.

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The criminal justice department is faced with indisputable predicaments and issues. This is because of the various challenges and public expectations that the police administrators have to achieve. The police administration is tasked with various responsibilities within the police service. The police administrator's fulfillment makes the challenges seem workable. Currently, a police administrator's job is faced with pressure and risks and requires one to be rational and satisfied to offer effective administration (Cordner, 2016). A police administrator faces different work-related demands within the course of administering services.

A criminal justice administrator is expected to have the necessary managerial skills and competencies to address and resolve job-related challenges. This is because it is in the successful resolution of the issues regarding the administration of the law enforcement position that satisfaction is achieved. However, a law enforcement administrator should expect various challenges within the execution of duties.

Modern society is informed and creates many demands on law enforcement administrators. The needs of contemporary society can render a police administrator powerless and unable to execute the administration work in the criminal justice system (Lum et al., 2017). Contemporary challenges consist of the threats and problems created by the transformation and boldness of the various violent actions done by international terrorist groups. Local and foreign terrorism currently comprise a significant challenge for police administrators (Ramshaw et al., 2019). Terrorism became a focal issue after the 9/11 terror attack in a country perceived to be very powerful in the world. Due to such insecurity challenges, police administrators have been tasked to ensure peace and order in all communities.

American society is presently regarded as more susceptible to prospective terror attacks. Thus, police administrators are expected to meet the challenge of ensuring a system of preparedness. Thus, a law enforcement administrator is expected to develop a program to show readiness for such an insecurity. Moreover, there are other forms of internal problems that exert much pressure on the police administrator, causing strained relationships with other colleagues at the workplace. A police administrator is faced with a situation where he/she needs to decide to combat insecurity. In some instances, the decision made may not be in favor of the other officers. Such decisions can be challenging to make since they may lead to strained relationships between police administrators.

A police administrator is expected to protect the lives and property of the people. In the current society, people expect the police to be capable of addressing and resolving any insecurity eventuality. Thus, it is upon the police administrator to prepare police teams of different capabilities and position them for any insecurity. Thus, the police administrator is supposed to roll out plans to improve the training and preparedness for an eventuality. The police administrator faces challenges in an endeavor to show the level of readiness in the case of an attempted insecurity activity.

The modern nature of the police demands that a police administrator be a law enforcement officer and a service provider. People expect that police officers should provide services in a friendly manner (Cordner, 2016). In some situations, the police administrator is faced with the challenge of giving directions to the team. For example, when dispersing rioting people when some are destroying property. Sometimes it is challenging to provide instructions since some people will complain if the police use force. For example, if the police use reasonable force to disperse rioters, the surrounding community may complain and demand a change in police administration. Thus, a police administrator is faced with a decision-making challenge when giving some orders.

Terrorism-related challenges have rendered the job of police administrators challenging. As the administrator carries out the internal role of managing the police service, the community also expects him/her to be prepared to offer protection in case of an attack. The role of a police administrator is demanding, and thus it is critical and necessary for the police manager to have the qualifications needed for the job (Davis & Bailey, 2018). Incompetent and unqualified individuals would not be able to resolve the issues and challenges associated with the police administrator job. When a police administrator executes his/her job successfully, the police executive successfully attains fulfillment in a job well done.

Police administrators receive extreme pressure from politicians and other influential people when their associates are arrested. Constitutionally, the police have the responsibility of arresting lawbreakers. Once the police arrest an influential person, the police administrator is contacted by a politician or another person of influence to release the associate before forwarding him/her to court. Thus, some administrators succumb to illegal transfers or demolitions when they fail to yield to pressure. Others who yield to external pressure contribute to a miscarriage of justice, creating a bad police reputation to society.

The current technological advancements have revolutionized the police administrator's job. However, technology has led to the creation of more challenges in the police administration. Today, it is not enough to put police officers in the street to curb crime. Some criminal activities are committed in Cyberspace. Cybercrimes are challenging to resolve because they require expert training to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators (Lum et al., 2017). As such, a police administrator is faced with the challenge of preparing police teams to counter such crimes. The current technology requires the utilization of advanced crime-fighting technology to battle the criminal's misdeeds.

Some of the police administrators are not competent in handling modern technological tools used to fight crimes. This is because some tools require advanced training that some administrators are not acquainted with. Due to the tight work schedules and job demands, the police administrators do not get sufficient time to receive such training. The police administrator is required to manage and ensure a competent and reliable police force (Ramshaw et al., 2019). The police administrator occupies a complex and broad-scope position. As such, a police administrator is required to maintain high levels of professionalism when relating to others in the workplace and society. The police administrator can still perform effectively in his/her role when he/she is fulfilled. The satisfaction of the law enforcement administrator is a crucial determinant of job delivery. A police administrator can overcome the work challenges by earning the trust and respect of the whole police service and the society where the police organization serves.

References

Cordner, G. W. (2016). Police administration. Routledge.

Davis, C., & Bailey, D. (2018). Police leadership: The challenges for developing contemporary practice. International Journal of Emergency Services. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJES-04-2017-0022

Lum, C., Koper, C. S., & Willis, J. (2017). Understanding the limits of technology’s impact on police effectiveness. Police Quarterly, 20(2), 135-163. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611116667279

Ramshaw, P., Silvestri, M., & Simpson, M. (Eds.). (2019). Police Leadership: Changing Landscapes. Springer Nature.