Administrtive Strategies in Criminal Justice

¶ … Administrtive Strategies in Criminal Justice

Organizational and Admin. Strategies Organizational and Administrative Strategies in Criminal Justice

Organizational and Administrative Strategies in Criminal Justice

In his book titled, Turnaround, William Bratton gives us his version of how his leadership style helped him to become the success that he is in law enforcement. Some people are of the belief that leaders are born and some believe that leaders are made. Bratton, through his own personal story shows us that he is a combination of both schools of thought. This combination displays itself throughout the book and one of the reasons Bratton gives us a glimpse of his childhood and in particular how he and his father handled neighborhood bullies is to give us an idea that the leadership seed was planted early on in his life.

Throughout Bratton's story, he shows us that he is tenacious, forward thinking and that he persevered through many difficult times in his life and in his career when many would have gotten discouraged and given up. Early in his career when he was passed over for a promotion because of politics and because some thought that at the age of thirty-four he was too young, he didn't let that deter him. Bratton is not the type of individual to lick his wound and find a corner to sulk in. He always seemed to be thinking ahead and if plan a did not work, there was always a plan B. For him and sometimes a plan C. A perfect example of this is when he was basically demoted after believing he had a shot at becoming the police commissioner of Boston.

Bratton tells us that he was not the first cop that this happened to, but where the others gave up and accepted their fate, he worked harder. Even though this was a major setback to his career and it was discouraging, Bratton did not give up or give in. Instead he worked harder and his work ethic did not go unnoticed. As a result, he was approached about becoming chief of the police at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). Even though this appointment was far from the police commissioner position Bratton had his heart set on, he accepted it because he knew the job would play a part in getting him closer to his goal.

When Bratton first arrived at the MBTA, he goes into detail about how the agency was mismanaged in shambles. He further explains how he was able to turn the MBTA around and make it a respectable agency. He was able to do this because he is a hands-on type of manager and did not operate with a closed door policy. He actually communicated directly with the officers and was able to make small, obvious changes that had a major impact on improvements throughout. Working for the MBTA was a major accomplishment for Bratton. Because he was in touch with his subordinates and actually cared about improving their morale in order to improve the agency, he was successful.

Bratton was aware of the reputation he was building for himself. He still had his sights set on becoming a police commissioner and he was willing to work his way up to the title. An important lesson that his story tells us is that when you have done all that you can in a position and are satisfied with your accomplishments, it is time to move on to the next challenge. This is how we grow and learn to be leaders and Bratton is an excellent example of this. After his accomplishments at the MBTA, he went on to accept the position as superintendent of the Metropolitan Police (Mets). Bratton describes the Mets as one of the worse police departments in America with no direction or vision for the future. One again, Bratton was willing to get his hands dirty and get out on the streets with the cops and find out exactly what they were dealing with as well as get suggestions on how the make the agency better.

Again, because of his 'open-door' policy, Bratton was able to come in and transform the Mets within a short period of time. Once he accomplished what he set out to do, he was ready for something else that was more challenging and the New York Transit Police is what he set his sights on. Bratton was strategic in that he studied the New York transit system and the city itself in preparation for his next job. When offered the position of chief of this agency, he did what made him a success in the past. He got out there and pounded the pavement with his cops to actually understand why crime was so rampant on the subway systems.