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May 27, 2024

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1 Middle Management Issues in The Commerce Police Department Adam Charles King Georgia Law Enforcement Command College Columbus State University, Class 89 Dr. Butch Beach November 26, 2023

2 Problem Statement The Commerce Police Department has an issue with middle management. The department has promoted unqualified officers due to limited options. The current practices and procedures leave the city open to liability from several areas. Lack of training in crucial areas needs to be addressed for the future

3 Contributing Factors Several factors have contributed to issues within the middle management ranks of the Commerce Police Department. Addressing and understanding these factors will play a role in the success of the department moving forward. - The Department has promoted unqualified officers from necessity rather than competency to fill empty spots. - There is an absence of any agency policies that require new leadership to attend formal supervisory, management, or leadership training before taking their new positions. - There is a lack of agency-specific training on human resource issues for management that would aid in a better understanding of the department. - Budgetary hurdles prohibit traveling for advanced training that will develop leadership skills and prepare better managers.

4 Discussion The Norwegian police officer must have a high school education and a blameless reputation. After selection, they must complete a standardized training program (Brown, 2023). This “Norwegian Police University College” is where officers must complete a bachelor’s degree program that takes three years. This consists of one year enrolled in a police academy where they study ethics and civilization. An additional year would be spent in field training and the final year writing a “thesis”. Additionally, officers must return after five years on the job for continued training. They also must complete a degree in law if they wish for a promotion (Brown, 2023). That is in contrast to the police here in the United States. According to a report by the U.S. Department of Justice, there are more than 14,700 agencies in the United States. These agencies employed 708,000 full-time sworn officers and an additional 348,000 that are full-time civilian employees. The total number of full-time employees in America is nearly 20% of the population of Norway With nearly 15,000 agencies in America, there are just as many policy and procedure manuals that dictate operations in those departments. Agencies receive great latitude when it comes to the minimums that they require. The Commerce Police Department requires only a High School diploma or GED to be considered for employment (CPD Policy, 2023). The Georgia Bureau of Investigations website states that a candidate must have a Bachelor’s degree and also lists vision requirements (GBI.gov). This shows that even in the same state there is a considerable difference for positions that all fall within the spectrum of “law enforcement” The framework of law enforcement in America comes from a Jeffersonian-era idea of self-sufficiency and the lingering taste of British occupation. Essentially, If a central unified

5 police force in America were to exist there would be massive distrust. This is why America adopted a fragmented policing model and will more likely than not, at least in the near future not be able to morph into anything resembling what is found in Europe (Hirschfield, 2020). The author also notes that not just a strong feeling of governmental distrust created what we have today, but it was also born out of practicality. America is far vaster than any European country and this alone would make communication, transportation, and budgeting for such an endeavor an incredibly tough demand (Hirschfield, 2020). With a large number of agencies and the liberty given to them to carry out their duties the best way, their citizenry and officials see fit. We have a wide breadth of outcomes of management within agencies. Chief Gerald Garner of Corinth Texas, who held the rank of Chief for Corinth, Texas, says it best when he states that it is not okay to promote and hope “she’ll grow into the job.” He also states from personal experience that when in doubt “don’t do it.” He goes on to describe that if no candidates jumped out then do not be afraid to start the process over. According to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (GaPOST, 2023) records of personnel from the Commerce Police Department, the average Sergeant in the department had four years of experience when promoted to the position. The corporals when promoted had an average of one year upon their rank increase. This is not a phenomenon present only in rural Commerce Georgia. In a 2018 report, Chuck Wexler was able to determine that agencies are radically changing. He cites that agencies have lost 30% of staffing over the last few years. He notes that this has changed the opinions of command staff in agencies. When polled the majority stated that a sergeant needed at least five years or more of experience. This is far different than the ten years they used to be expected to have in times past (Wexler 2018).

6 Wexler also discusses findings from Dr. Robin Engel. He previously mentioned that Sergeants are directly in control of 85% of the department at the line level. Dr. Robin Engel spent two years studying the relationship between sergeants and their subordinates. She found that the subordinates matched their supervisors for better and worse. If Sergeants were out in the field using excessive force then those underneath them would model that behavior. Your sergeants are essentially the greatest influencers in your organization's forecast (Wexler, 2018). A survey of 12,549 police officers in England and Wales, which represents roughly 10% of all officers in those countries found that officers wish to be led by other officers who have put in time (Hoggert et al. 2018). This study was conducted in light of new sweeping policy changes that allow police supervisors to enter the force without ever having police experience. Of the 12, 549 respondents they found that only 493 (3.9%) agreed or strongly agreed that the direct entry scheme was a good idea. Over half of those surveyed were in the strongly disagree category. When officers who disagreed with the direct entry were asked what the most important factor in police leadership was they stated that experience was the most important factor. One respondent stated, “ You cannot order and expect others to do what you have not done yourself…….peoples live’s greatly depend on the experience and actions of police officers” (Hoggert et al. p150). Officers on the frontline continually express they value a leader who is a senior officer with direct street experience. This is due to people being attracted to those with shared experiences. Officers believe that there is an exclusivity that is only understood by those who have done the job. This lends credibility and the idea they have hard-earned and hard-learned knowledge (Hoggert, 2018). The Commerce Police Department has over one hundred different policies and procedures. Some policies dictate how to handle the field training of new officers. There are

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