Assessing and Refining the Personnel Decision-Making Processes in Law Enforcement Agencies

Law enforcement leaders have a great burden and responsibility to ensure the safety of the public. However, poor promotion and leadership decisions that result in performance failures can quickly erode public trust and confidence and negatively affect public safety. This study examined leadership decision making by chief law enforcement executives relative to key personnel assignments within their organizations. The theoretical frameworks for this qualitative study included Situational LeadershipRTM and constructive development and the research questions probed the current understanding and use of these frameworks in the decision-making practices of police professionals. Focused interviews conducted with 9 chief law enforcement executives from 3 diverse agencies in the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan area examined the significant task and personnel decision-making processes in use. Using constant comparison, an inductive and exploratory analysis of the qualitative data yielded findings that identified gaps in practice, including subjectivity in decision making and processes that do not account for task complexity in relation to staff capability, leading to a high potential for role failure. Understanding these gaps led to the creation of an educational framework and other useful tools to assist law enforcement leaders in decision-making processes relative to staff assignments. The tools provided will aid law enforcement leaders in gathering objective information concerning staff capabilities and development levels. Through engaging these tools and resources, law enforcement leaders can positively affect social change by improving the consistency of success for staff in these roles, which will result in benefits to the individuals, the organizations, and the public they serve.