The Need For Effective Leadership In Police Force

The Need For Effective Leadership In Police Force

It is a common fact that a nation can practically be measured and assessed by the kind of police force it has.

The quality of the police itself largely depends on the type of its internal leadership profile.

This is very pivotal because on it hangs the overall fortune of the force of any nation.

In other words, an ineffective, weak, and ill-prepared leadership will lead to an equally paralyzed force.

Relatedly, professional and people-oriented policing is a cardinal indicator of the health of any nation. As the policing system of any nation goes, so goes the kind of democracy therein.

The need for a properly trained and motivated police force, thus, cannot be over emphasized and this begins at the very top echelon of the command.

Truth be told, the Nigerian Police has, over the years, demonstrated that it can be rated as one of the best given the right impetus.

For instance, the Nigerian police have, on various occasion unraveled some high-profile criminal cases in the country.

They have also sacrificed their comfort for the protection of the citizens, some have even died in the course of their duty.

In the same vein, successive governments have also done their best to improve on the force through better welfare packages.

These are all very important in the quest for the nation to have a refined and renewed police force.

It is also an indication that the saying “the Police is your friend” can be achieved, with better training and improved welfare, which are aimed at boosting their morale and professionalism.

However, the leadership of the force has continued to attract the most attention when discussing the fortunes of the service. Various regimes have also grappled with this challenge.

For instance, there have been strong poor image perception and allegations in the public space that the rank and file officers deployed to the highways and designated points of duty make “returns” to their bosses at the helms of affairs.

If such allegation is anything to come by, it means the fight against corruption will keep going in cycles within the force.

As law enforcement officers themselves, nothing short of good conduct is expected of the Police force especially among the leadership.

In fact, they are in the right position to give valuable advice to those in government and insist that the laws are respected and upheld.

To this end, they should divorce themselves from politics and not allow themselves to be used as weapons in the hands of the executive and political leaders.

This is key as an African proverb says “a fish starts to rot from its head”.

Thus, a good leadership at the helms of affairs of the Nigerian police force will spontaneously translate into an effective and professional force.

Therefore, for the police to be strategically positioned to deal with criminality, the management must be right.

The apex leadership of the police force must be one that is decent, engaging, developmental minded, and repositioned to work with modern tools.

It is only this that can bequeath the nation with a vibrant police force well stationed to address inner city crimes, banditry, and all forms of cyber security challenges.

The search for such leadership of the police must be on the front burner as the nation hopes for a motivated, effective, and 21st century compliant force.

By Emmanuel Bello, Edited By Grace Namiji