Leadership Skills for the Criminal Justice Professional

Leadership Skills for the Criminal Justice Professional

Criminal justice professionals need leadership skills. If they are not seen to be leaders, their jobs are made more difficult because it is harder to get criminals to obey them when they give orders or need to secure and get control of a situation (Nordin, Pauleen, & Gorman, 2009). They also need to be able to work with other officers and show skills that make them leaders. Those skills allow rookie officers to look up to officers who have been there for some time. In addition, police and other criminal justice professionals must have leadership skills because they are generally looked up to in their communities. While there have long been stories of "crooked cops," there are some people in any profession who have difficulties or who are untrustworthy. The majority of those who work in the criminal justice system are good people who are interested in doing their jobs and who want to help people in their communities and elsewhere. With the right leadership skills, those good people can do a great deal of good for people around them and can help people who may be struggling to stay on the right path (Walsh, 2010). Leading by example is one of the best things any person in the criminal justice profession can do.

One of the main leadership skills criminal justice professionals need is the ability to talk to others. Leaders are leaders because people want to follow them. If a person wants to be a leader but cannot talk to others and does not have people who want to follow him or her, then leadership is simply not possible. Calling oneself a leader does not make that person a leader - followers make that person a leader. To truly lead, the followers must be there of their own free will and not because they were coerced or because they feel as though they have to follow a person in order to be accepted. By talking with others in a way that exhibits authority but also provides compassion and friendship, people who work in the criminal justice system can accomplish much more in their community (Bryan & Mackenzie, 2008).

Ethics and virtue are also leadership skills that people in the criminal justice profession need in their lives (Walsh, 2010). They must remain ethical on the job, but they also have to keep their ethical focus when it comes to their personal lives. If they are not able to remain ethical, they may end up losing their jobs and they could also damage their personal lives when it comes to their homes and families. There have been cases in the past of people in the criminal justice system having problems at home with issues such as domestic violence. While these difficulties did not occur on the job, they still reflect on the character and abilities of the person who went through the difficulties or who caused them to occur. Anyone who works in criminal justice or who wants to work in criminal justice must be aware of the potential for problems and the difficulties that a lack of ethics can cause in life, in order to avoid a loss of the trust and leadership ability that comes with being an ethical human being (Walsh, 2010).