Massachusetts Police Leadership Institute

The purpose of the Massachusetts Police Leadership Institute is to provide mid-level police executives with the values, knowledge and skills required to administer police units, programs and operations. It is assumed that such practice will be within an environment of rapid social, economic, cultural and technological change to which police departments will be continuously adjusting.

The content of this program will be both police specific and generic. While many management skills are generic and cut across both the public and private sector, this program is designed to apply general principles of leadership, management and organization specifically related to police. Consequently, students will note that the faculty consists of both academics who have spent their careers studying police and other criminal justice agencies, and police professionals who have proven management and leadership experience.

This course also assumes that mid-managers are important in contemporary police departments. Virtually all mid managers, or aspiring mid-managers, are familiar with the notions that mid-managers are a source of resistance to change in policing and that aspects of mid-management are redundant as police departments decentralize decision making to sergeants and patrol officers. First, regarding redundancy. The issue of whether or not there are too many mid-managers in a police department is a very different question than whether or not mid-managers are important. We all know of departments that have too many mid-managers. Often, mid-managers positions were created to give officers more opportunities for pay increases – a not undesirable goal, but a problematic way of achieving it. Sometimes, politicians wanted to ensure that a friend, relative, or constituent got promoted - and created the extra positions. Regardless, the issue of numbers of mid-managers is different than their function.

Most contemporary management thinking understands that mid-managers are absolutely essential to the development of high performing organizations. Policing is no exception. Mid-managers are those persons in police organizations who must translate the basic mission of the organization (as put forward by the chief executive) into reality on the streets. They must tailor the basic mission to a highly dynamic world in which problems and populations are in constant flux. Moreover, mid-managers must understand and translate changing community needs and demands back to chief executives so that organizational strategies can continue to be relevant to local realities. In this respect, mid-mangers are people “in between:” they take general missions and focus them on particular situations; they take particulars from their situations and channel them back to top management so that top management can make strategic adjustments.

In addition, just as top executives lead police departments, mid managers lead police units. Thus, although analytic and other administrative skills are absolutely essential to good mid-management, such technical skills are not sufficient. Good mid-managers lead: they lead by vision, values, character and example. They don't make others perform: they make other want to perform.

Finally, the purpose of this program is to introduce future police leaders to the rich police practice and research that now exists. It is broadly acknowledge that since the 1970's policing has been the most carefully studied and scrutinized public sector institution.

Consequently, policing has led local government both in problem solving and neighborhood governance. To continue their professional development, mid-managers must understand the rapidly accruing developments in practice and research.

In a profession that deals in the life and death of citizens, no one can be excused from his/her responsibility to understand the professions state-of-the-art research and practice.

In the final analysis, the Massachusetts Police Leadership Institute is about leadership. Its purpose is to educate leaders, first in their current positions, second, ultimately of their departments and finally, in their profession – policing.