Essay on Leadership in Law Enforcement

Edward Flynn is the former chief of the Milwaukee Wisconsin Police Department. Before assuming office in the year 2008, he served in the Massachusetts executive office as secretary and Springfield as the police commissioner. Flynn has served twice in the said position. He was brought up in New Jersey and is one of the graduates of the class of 1966 at the Christian Brothers Academy. Most importantly, he is a graduate from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice as a holder of a Masters degree in Criminal Justice (Hacker and Roberts, 2014). In his marriage, Flynn is said to have had an affair with a journalist named Jessica McBride. He also faced numerous public protests during his tenure at the Milwaukee Wisconsin Police Department. However, I believe that despite the many difficulties he met while he was in office, he was widely an effective leader when it came to serving the people.

When Flynn assumed office, he initiated the process of transformation of a department that had been sadly lagging behind other similar departments. In this age when there is complex computerized data on crime, the department had been mostly dependent on the analysis of crime data by evaluating printed reports concerning crime incidents and sticking those onto the maps using pushpins (Ford, 2016). In the modern times, it is almost impossible to carry out investigations on sophisticated crimes using such outdated methods of analyzing data. This is because criminals are employing advanced technology to carry out their operations; therefore, there was no way the police department was going to keep up with addressing issues of crime in their jurisdiction. Crimes were increasing at a speedy rate and before investigations into crimes became too much to handle. However, when Flynn stepped into the office, he set up corrective measures by introducing a computerized system of analyzing crime data which largely helped in reducing crime in the targeted hotspots.

In his effort to reduce crime, Flynn daringly confronted detectives, the influential members of his department, and pushed them to be more active instead of sitting on their desks the whole day. He encouraged them to be keener on working closely with the beat cops (Milwaukee Magazine, 2018). The reaction from the detectives was unpleasant at first, but they gradually became cooperative. Being on the streets enabled these detectives alongside the beat cops to be able to acquire information first hand because they were regularly on the ground when most of the crimes were taking place. Before his tenure, information gathering by the police was poor hence resulting in most criminal cases being thrown out by the courts due to insufficient evidence to prosecute the perpetrators of crime. This meant that more criminals were on the loose and crimes continued rising daily. However, Flynns effectiveness in office ensured that officers were on the ground (including bicycle cops) hence information gathering was on point. This enabled them to take necessary prevention and corrective measures which led to a reduction of crime rates.

He made an effort to change his departments reactive approach to a proactive approach to problem-solving. He never wanted to be judged by the number of arrests he made, the traffic citations that have been issued, or response time. He wanted a decline in crime and fear in Milwaukee to be the determinant of his success. During his tenure, statistics showed a decline in crime by 20%. Notably, violent crime had also reduced by a near-similar figure of 22% (Press, 2018). These achievements were enabled by a similar size of the police department as his predecessor with lower expenditure on overtime pay. Expenditures on overtime had been a headache on the Milwaukee Common Council for a long time before the arrival of Edward Flynn. Evidently, Flynn was able to carry out the operations of the department more efficiently at a lower cost. His reactive approach to matters was a huge factor in reducing crime and overhead expenditure, which is just another proof of his effectiveness as chief of the police department.

The numbers of complaints concerning the Milwaukee Police Department were recorded as 480, 363 and 308 in the years 2007, 2009 and 2010 respectively (Byrnes and Baxter, 2016). Evidently, there was a great improvement in the effectiveness of the department from the time Flynn assumed office. That was the only reason for the consistent reduction in the number of complaints. It is also a remarkable statistic bearing in mind the massive increase in of traffic stops on the roads, and the frequent subject stops. Many citizens also reported an improvement in the response time by the police department after he assumed office. Improvement in response time means more criminals were arrested, either before they committed a crime or before they could get away after committing a crime. Such response rates made it certain that the residents of Milwaukee were satisfied hence there was no reason to complain, which is more proof of the effectiveness with which Edward Flynn served the people of Milwaukee.

Despite the numerous positive contributions of his administration, Flynn had his fair share of bad moments during his tenure. In the year 2012, Scott Walker, Wisconsin Governor, accompanied city and state officials in requesting an independent examination of crime data at the Milwaukee Police Department. Such calls resulted from an investigative journal report which supposed that there were a high number of cases filed concerning stabbings, child abuse, and beatings. These cases had been misrepresented in the records as minor crimes between the years 2009 and 2012, and therefore, the Milwaukee Police Department had provided the FBI with wrong information concerning the cases filed at the department. The misrepresentation of crime data, if correct, would have altered Flynns claim of a decline in crime rates by 2.3% to a 1.1% increase in the year 2011(Ford, 2016).

Additionally, Chief Flynns occupancy in office was flawed by police officer shootings on civilians. The exposed the wide rift between the relations the police officers and the minorities have in Milwaukee. He guided the police department through rough times as there was continuous rioting following the shooting of Sylville Smith, a black man, who was shot by a black officer. In the year 2014, there was also shooting of a black man who was mentally ill, Dontre Hamilton, by a white officer. Flynn later relieved the officer, Christopher Manney, of his duties following the killing of the mentally ill black man. However, this did not make matters any better for Flynn. A year later, a group of 74 people accused police officers illegal strip searches which led to compensation, a sum of $5 million, by the city to the 74 people (Ford, 2016). Black people and Latin Americans in the City also accused Flynns police department of a series of frisk searches selectively targeting them, accusations which Flynn denied. Therefore, it is clear that Flynn's tenure in office had its fair share of predicaments.

Overall, despite the innumerable challenges that Flynn faced while in office, he was mostly an effective leader. He introduced computerized systems for crime data analysis, a proactive approach to handling crime, and more street cops to reduce crime rates. If I were placed in the same position as Edward Flynn, I would handle issues using a similar approach to problems. I would instill leadership in rookie officers by encouraging them to be more proactive in their respective roles. I would also inspire confidence in them by defending them in the face of public criticism. This would enable them to perform their duties without fear of being left at the mercy of the public. I would approach leadership failures by making public apologies and finding the best approach to calm the residents of the city. After all, slip-ups are common in all human beings, and it is how we handle them that defines us.

References

Byrnes, M. and Baxter, J. (2016). The principal's leadership counts!. Milwaukee, Wis.: ASQ Quality Press.

Ford, M. (2016). Milwaukee Voucher-School Leaders Views on Accountability: What Are They, and Why Do They Matter?. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 15(4), pp.481-499.Hacker, S. and Roberts, T. (2014). Transformational leadership. Milwaukee, Wis.: ASQ Quality Press.

Milwaukee Magazine. (2018). Why Police Chief Flynn is so Effective. [online] Available at: https://www.milwaukeemag.com/WhyPoliceChiefFlynnissoEffective

Press, A. (2018). Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn says hell retire. [online] Wisconsin Law Journal - WI Legal News & Resources. Available at: https://wislawjournal.com/2018/01/09/milwaukee-police-chief-edward-flynn-says-hell-retire