“The Death of a Police Department: Congress May Have to Save Washington’s Police Department” by Carl T. Rowan Jr.

The article “The Death of a Police Department: Congress May Have to Save Washington’s Police Department” is by Carl T. Rowan Jr., who wrote it in 1995. By the time he was writing the article, he was serving as a Washington D.C attorney. Still, he did have experience working for the Metropolitan Police department (MDP) in the 1970s as an FBI agent. In this article, Rowan expresses his views on how MDP had changed from what he once knew back when he was working there. Back then, officers were disciplined and motivated. The department is now corrupt, officers are sloppy, untrained and they lack the will to perform excellently. He argues that the department’s efficiency is compromised. He observed that these changes occurred due to poor leadership from chiefs and the Mayor. From this article, it is clear that for any organization to be productive, excellent leadership skills are vital, discipline, and commitment shown by leaders eventually flows to other workers.

Summary of the article

The article begins by stating that some officers from MDP complained to the Law Enforcement Alliance of America (LEAA). The complaints were about misconduct, favoritism, crime, and poor standards in MDP. These problems have emerged due to the leadership of some MDP chiefs and Mayor Marion Barry. He states that the problem first began in the 1980s with chief Maurice Turner who appointed his friends as senior staff because they enjoyed the protection of Turner, they made serious mistakes, but they never underwent any disciplinary action. Since then, the misconduct of senior staff gained popularity. Serious malpractices by Winston Robinson, Ike fuelwood, Charles Bacon, Claude Beheler, and William Sarvis have since gone unpunished. On the contrary, some received promotions while others were on the Mayor’s shortlist waiting to get appointed as police chiefs (Rowan, 1995).

Mayor Barry contributed to poor quality of MDP services by hiring unqualified recruits with very low test scores. The new hires did not undergo background checks. As a result, some recruits were ironically criminals. Applicants only required a GED to join, and they did not conduct any polygraph. The current officers are poor at report writing and preparing for trials. Some of them have a criminal history so severe that they cannot testify in court. The few good officers lack the motivation to work and are quickly leaving the department. Increased budget cuts have caused the department to lack teletypes and other such necessary equipment. Furthermore, the Mayor favored his political career; he increased the number of city employees and decreased the number of police to gain the loyalty of the people. Rowan concludes by suggesting that the federal government should run MDP for better management (Rowan, 1995).

Reaction

I think that this article is truthful, cronyism is prevalent in the world today, and its effects are usually harmful to any institution. When a person appoints his friends in senior positions, their performance may be lacking because of the protection given to them. People should get jobs according to their credentials instead of ensuring quality performance. This article increased my understanding of the effects of a political leader running a relevant department such as public security. Such leaders always put their political interests first when making decisions. Their actions are usually biased because they always put their political interests first. For example, the decision by Mayor Barry to reduce the number of officers so that he can increase city workers may make him win another term but at the cost of the people’s safety. It is, therefore, safe for federal governments to run sensitive departments.

I also agree with Rowan’s observation that the behavior of the management ultimately determines the performance of other workers.  When the administration is strict, fair, and, disciplined workers are more likely to perform better. Poor management brings poor performance. I think that this paper is beneficial in highlighting and advising about management practices. I can recommend this paper to my peers so that they can learn from the past and avoid some mistakes made by past leaders when they take up leadership positions in the future.

References

Rowan, C. (1995, October 8). The Death of a Police Department: Congress May Have to Save Washington’s Police Department. The Washington Post.