The criminal justice system has the vital task of enforcing the criminal law and delivering justice. It achieved these goals through the effective integration of a series of functions across different departments in the system. It is therefore vital that each department in the criminal justice system has an outstanding leader with the skills that enhance communication, teamwork and collaboration, to coordinate the efforts of multiple disciplines towards a shared goal. The broad range of knowledge in the U.S criminal justice system that is required to make balanced decisions makes criminal justice leadership a delicate issue. Wright (1999) asserted that leadership is the key to ethical practice in criminal justice agencies. In recent times, the public light has shone brighter on the U.S criminal justice system, presenting dissatisfaction with certain areas of the system. There is a myriad of current issues affecting criminal justice leadership today. As the pressure to address these issues rise, leaders need to make use of the guidelines of different leadership theories to make sound judgements. This report will examine the issues of police brutality and the rising population of prisons. It will also explore some of the leadership theories that apply to the U.S criminal justice system as well as historical leaders and how they have dealt with similar issues.
Police Brutality
On Monday, May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year old African American man, died at the hands of a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, in Minneapolis. On a video recorded by bystanders, Chauvin pins his knee on Floyd’s neck, who repeatedly says, “I can’t breathe.” The next day after the video was shared in social media, protests broke out in Minneapolis. The rest of the country joined in the preceding days that by the end of May, the National Guard had been deployed in more than two dozen states (Taylor, 2020). Internationally, 40 countries held protests in support of Americans. The criminal justice system is usually at a technical spot when it comes to dealing with the issue of police brutality. The problem is especially severe when claims of racial discrimination are in the mix. The line between serving justice and giving in to the pressure of the public is too thin in such instances. In many cases, including the current one of George Floyd, the public opinion has been action issued by the criminal justice system in response to police brutality was not sufficient or appropriate. The Minneapolis chief of police fired the four officers involved in the arrest of George Floyd the following day after the incident. Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter (Taylor, 2020). However, activist groups across the country are disputing the criminal justice conclusion of the murder as second-degree and calling for the prosecution of the rest of the officers present during the arrest. To them, justice has not been served. A leader in the criminal justice system should prepare to encounter such an issue. Making the right decision in such a publicized case is paramount. Leaders need to remember to uphold the law despite the pressure to give in to the parties involved. Any weakness to give in to partisan demands will cost the system presently and in the future. Moreover, it is not just about dealing with the outcome but also about preventing such occurrences in the future. Now is the time for leaders in the criminal justice system to work on the methods that will ensure an end to police brutality. Devising new methods and procedures for police to follow while in the line of duty, which will involve maintaining boundaries while equally upholding the law, maybe what the leaders need to do.
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Rising Population in the Prisons
The prisons have received a significant amount of attention from the call for reforms of the U.S criminal justice system. The outcry is not only on the dramatic rate at which the number of the incarcerated population is rising but also the unequal composition of this population. The Prisoners in 2018 report of the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported the incarcerated population to be 1,465,200 individuals. The total admissions of people into the prison system was 596,389 exceeding the unconditional releases, which stood at 157,000. The same report shows that the imprisonment rate per 100,000 U.S residents was 218 for whites, 1,134 for blacks, and 549 for Hispanics (BJS, 2018). The broad distinction is evident. Research has attributed the overcrowding of prisons to the increased crackdown of drug traffickers, who make the highest percentage of prisoners, and violations of parole and probation conditions, among others. Lugo and Woolredge (2017) identify the problems of increased victimization cases and other crimes that threaten inmate safety as the consequences of overcrowding of the prisons. Scholars have also associated the rising cost of managing prisons to this increasing number. Additionally, the issue of overcrowding makes analysts question the effectiveness of the prison system in providing rehabilitation. The high number of inmates exceeding what the various rehabilitation programs can accommodate limit the effectiveness of these programs. It is for this reason that many incarcerated persons in the U.S have a previous record of imprisonment. Since the system does not deliver on its purpose, a released convicted offender ends up committing another crime that takes him back; thus creating a cycle.
The attack on the efficiency of the prison gives leaders in the criminal justice system the tough decision on what reforms would solve the problem. Apart from dealing with the population, the top priority should be controlling the crime rate as well as ensuring justice is served to the lawbreakers. If the solution if to replace the prison term penalty with other forms of criminal punishment, the leaders need to decide on the most effective ones. Shorter prison centers that ensure the inmates get into rehabilitation programs as soon as they are incarcerated would be more constructive than the long terms that only aim to promote the “get tough” movement (Lugo & Woolredge, 2017). Among several options, the best strategy that will solve this issue need to be implemented.
Leadership Theories
Many theories have come up to explain what makes a great leader. It can be conclusive from the theories' vast propositions that the qualities of a good leader are as flexible as the issues that leaders face in the course of their leadership. Nawaz et al. (2016) identify in their review identify various leadership qualities. The most applicable in the criminal justice system are contingency theory, style and behavior theory, process leadership theory, transactional theory and transformational theory.
Contingency Theory
The contingency leadership theory agrees with the earlier statement on the flexibility of the issues facing leaders. It believes that there is no one correct leadership style. Rather it depends on the quality and situation of the followers (Nawaz et al., 2016). The contingency theory takes into account the changing dynamics of the external and internal factors of an organization recommending that an effective leader is one who adapts to these changes and decides as per the diversity of each situation.
Transformational Theory
The transformational leadership theory is about the involvement of the followers in processes and activities that enable them to see a superior social dividend from their actions (Nawaz et al., 2016). It is about raising motivation for both the follower and the leader. The transformational theory is especially applicable in police departments concerning the police chief and the officers. For example, the bigger picture for such the department would be a reduction of crimes in the city. The police chief who follows the transformational theory will focus on the needs of his or her team to empower and motivate them to set aside personal interest for the attainment of the department's goal.
Servant Leadership Theory
According to this theory, the servant leader focus on the challenges of the followers, sympathize with them and nurture them. The idea is that the leader is a servant first to the needs of the followers, and from there, he or she can build trust, empathy, ethics and teamwork (Nawaz et al., 2016). The police face many issues in the course of their work that may threaten their mental health and well-being as well as interfere with their enforcement of the law. A servant leader in a department would empathize with the challenges that police face in the field fast before demanding numbers that show productivity. Such a theory would work in assuring officer support from their leader and appreciation, thus encourage reciprocation of a desired quality of work.
Historical Examples of Effective Criminal Justice Leaders
Corporal Gary Cunningham and his colleagues of the Rialto Police Department in California pioneered the use of police body cameras (Demetrius & Okwu, 2014). Body cameras have significantly contributed to increasing police accountability. Many states adopted the use of body cameras after that following its proven success. Although not entirely, body cameras have helped reduce the issue of police brutality by keeping the officers accountable and increasing the community’s confidence in the police.
In 2009, the governor of New York David Paterson signed a reform bill that eliminated mandatory minimum sentences in most drug cases. He additionally offered diversion to treatment programs and alternatives to prison and permitted some people who were sentenced under the Rockefeller laws to be resentenced. The reduction of probation terms to low-risk offenders added on significantly reducing the prison population in the state.
References
Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2018). Prisoners in 2018. Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p18.pdf
Demetrius, D., & Okwu, M. (2014). Meet the first US police department to deploy body cameras. Aljazeera America .
Lugo, M. A., & Wooldredge, J. (2017). Overcrowding in Prisons. The Encyclopedia of Corrections , 1-8.
Nawaz, Z. A. K. D. A., & Khan_ PhD, I. (2016). Leadership theories and styles: A literature review. Leadership , 16 (1), 1-7.
Taylor, D. B. (2020, May 30). George Floyd Protests: A Timeline. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/article/george-floyd-protests-timeline.html
Wright, K. N. (1999). Commentary: Leadership is the key to ethical practice in criminal justice agencies.
