NCJ Number
79727
Journal
Canadian Police College Journal Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: (1981) Pages: 81-97
Date Published
1981
Length
17 pages
Annotation
After discussing the special characteristics of police management, this paper explores the roles of formal training and education and then describes the development of a police management curriculum at the Canadian Police College.
Abstract
An ideal police manager is characterized, and the contributions that education and training make to management development are reviewed and contrasted with the benefits of job experience. Ways that a police force can enhance the development of its managers are suggested, such as giving junior managers increasing opportunities to assume more responsibility and creating performance measures that are related to force objectives and career development programs. Formal training provides relevant decisionmaking opportunities that prepare managers for on-the-job reactions and teach theoretical concepts that help managers make better decisions when time is available. Based on discussions with police managers concerning their needs as well as managerial theories, a methodology for evaluating police management training programs is outlined. Following a brief description of the management resources offered by the Canadian Police College, the paper traces the development of a management training curriculum by a College task force. Areas addressed included the police role in current Canadian society, police decisionmaking at all levels, and the need for a variety of instructional designs which use pragmatic scenarios based on real data to teach decisionmaking skills. The curriculum committee concerned with management technology also identified competencies that police managers should acquire and suggested that performance standards for each competency be developed. The paper contains three references.