Time Management-
Time management is about organising a schedule for completing work. If there are several court cases that all need case papers doing, time management is about setting aside time to complete all of the case papers in time for the court hearing. Case papers are essential to be able to charge a suspect successfully. Case papers involve all enquiries that have been done on the suspect and any papers that may involve evidence for a successful charge.
Reliability-
Reliability is about being trust worthy. People need to able to trust you and know that you won’t let them down. This is very important in the public services especially in the police as other members of your team need to know that they can trust you and you will be there for them if they need you. If you are on a 999call and you call for back-up then you need to know that you can rely on someone to answer and give you a helping hand.
Attendance-
Attendance is about arriving at work. Attendance in the police again is vital. If you are working at the Case Progression Unit (CPU) then you need to be there everyday as you only have a certain amount of time to work on a suspects case papers and sort everything out that is relevant in time for the suspects’ court appearance. If you are taking days off of work then you have less time to get everything ready. Again case papers are vital for guaranteeing that a suspect is found guilty.
Composure-
Composure is all about staying calm under pressure. You need to stay calm so you know that you are making the correct decisions and doing the correct things. If you are dealing with a non-compliant prisoner, you need to control yourself and make sure that you don’t do anything to hasty. You need to make sure that you keep your calm and do everything properly. You need to ensure that you can’t be left open for allegations, so you need to do everything by the book and make sure that the whole arrest is legitimate.
Attitude-
Attitude is all about the way in which you look at things. If you look at things with a positive attitude then you will more than likely be able to complete it and do it effectively. If things are looked with a negative attitude then you will find that you don’t enjoy what you are doing and will find yourself having problems with the task. Police officers need to look at things with a positive attitude as I feel that attitude affects all of the other qualities. If you have a bad attitude then personal presentation is affected your punctuality, attendance, time management, reliability and your composure are all affected. Police officers need to have a positive attitude to make sure that they deal with all calls correctly and are always associating with the public in an appropriate manor.
Personality-
Personality is very much affected by attitude. If a person has a very positive attitude then you will find that person very much wants to be at work and do well. This is all about personality. Personality is also about how people deal with other people and how they deal with being put in certain situations. In the police force it is essential to have a good personality, you need to have a good attitude and be able to deal with
members of the public effectively. You need to be able to keep your calm and keep control of the situation. This all comes into personality.
Performance-
Performance is affected by a lot of these qualities, attitude, personality, attitude and also time management. These qualities will affect how much work you complete. Performance is important in the police as certain targets have to be reached. Police officers need to be performing at there maximum all the time as the public need to be reassured that the police are doing there best and getting hard criminals off the street. The public can be reassured by the police showing them these targets and being able to say that their police officers have reached these targets.
All of these qualities are absolutely vital in the police service. To be a good police officer you need to have all these qualities and you also need to understand authority. With authority there are several different types. The different types of authority are Authoritarian, Dictatorial, consultative and also participative.
Here is what these types of authority mean and some examples.
Authoritarian-
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Characterized by or favouring absolute obedience to authority, as against individual freedom: an authoritarian regime.
- Of, relating to, or expecting unquestioning obedience.
(www.dictionary.com)
This explanation basically means that there is one person who is in charge. One person takes the lead role. This person has the authority and authoritarian authority is basically where the lead person gives and order and it is not debatable. You just do it. In the fire service authoritarian authority might be used if a fire fighter tries to run into a fire to save someone but the lead fire fighter deems it to be unfit. He will give an order to the fire fighter to stay where he it and to not enter the fire. This is authoritarian authority.
Dictatorial-
- Tending to dictate; domineering.
- Of, relating to, or characteristic of a dictator or dictatorship; autocratic
(www.dictionary.com)
This is where someone of a higher rank dictates to someone of a lower rank. The higher ranking officer is only recommending things to do. For example in the police, if an officer arrests an awkward suspect and the officer isn’t sure what to charge the suspect with, he can go to the sergeant and ask for help. The sergeant might tell the officer what to do and what to charge the suspect with but the officer doesn’t have to do exactly what the sergeant says. The sergeant is only dictating to the officer and recommending. This is dictatorial authority.
Consultative-
- Giving advice; "an advisory memorandum", "his function was purely consultative"
()
This is very similar to dictatorial. Consultative is where two people can discuss a topic. If in the ambulance there is a patient that needs medical attention, the crew might have to discuss what options would be best for the patient. This has to be done extremely quickly as the patient could be near to death. At the end of the discussion the crew member that has taken the lead role with the patient has overall say but can still get a second opinion. This is consultative authority.
Participative-
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To take part in something: participated in the festivities.
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To share in something: If only I could participate in your good fortune
(www.dictionary.com)
This is where the person, who has taken the lead role, takes part in what is happening. In the police force in a riot, the person who has the lead role i.e. the sergeant has to participate in helping to clear the riot. The sergeant cannot give orders to the officers who are already attempting to clear the crowds if he himself is not already in the crowd as the sergeant won’t a clear view of what is happening and in that sort of situation there is a very high chance of communication error. This is participative authority.
Bibliography
Online Dictionary-