Concordia University St. Paul DigitalCommons@CSP Concordia University Portland Graduate CUP Ed. Dissertations Research 3-1-2020 Understanding Challenges in Modern Police Leadership: A Multi- Case Study of Procedural Justice Reform Leadership KelliAnn Klindtworth Concordia University - Portland, kellikgarcia@gmail.com Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.edu/cup_commons_grad_edd Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Klindtworth, K. Understanding Challenges in Modern Police Leadership: A Multi-Case Study of Procedural Justice Reform Leadership (Thesis, Concordia University, St.
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Concordia University - Portland CU Commons Ed. Dissertations Graduate Theses & Dissertations 3-2020 Understanding Challenges in Modern Police Leadership: A Multi- Case Study of Procedural Justice Reform Leadership KelliAnn Klindtworth Concordia University - Portland Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.edu/edudissertations Part of the Education Commons CU Commons Citation Klindtworth, KelliAnn, "Understanding Challenges in Modern Police Leadership: A Multi-Case Study of Procedural Justice Reform Leadership" (2020).edu/edudissertations/435 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Theses & Dissertations at CU Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Ed. Dissertations by an authorized administrator of CU Commons.
For more information, please contact libraryadmin@cu-portland. Concordia University–Portland College of Education Doctorate of Education Program WE, THE UNDERSIGNED MEMBERS OF THE DISSERTATION COMMITTEE CERTIFY THAT WE HAVE READ AND APPROVE THE DISSERTATION OF KelliAnn Klindtworth CANDIDATE FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF EDUCATION Julie McCann, Ph., Faculty Chair Dissertation Committee Trish Lichau, Ph., Content Specialist Michael Hollis, Ph., Content Reader ii Understanding Challenges in Modern Police Leadership: A Multi-Case Study of Procedural Justice Reform Leadership KelliAnn Klindtworth Concordia University–Portland College of Education Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the College of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Transformational Leadership Julie McCann, Ph., Faculty Chair Dissertation Committee Trish Lichau, Ph., Content Specialist Michael Hollis, Ph., Content Reader Concordia University–Portland 2020 iii Abstract This multi-case study examined the experiences of leadership in police departments currently focused on implementation of reform through the lens of procedural justice. The study collected the experiences of six leaders in a single department who have leadership responsibilities over other officers. The study sought to understand the common challenges, barriers and elements that contributed to the success of shifting paradigms and behaviors in a department focused on building trust and legitimacy with the community they serve.
Based on interview data, the participants in this study identified key areas of consideration for the implementation of procedurally just reform. The four key areas included the importance of formalized education, the role of character, the need for on-the-job modeling, and finally the consideration of time in the realization of reform efforts. The identified themes create an understanding of the most important elements in creating a strategy for reform implementation. The themes are reflective of the identified need for officers to understand and ultimately adopt procedural justice as a foundational principle for policing.
The experience of subjects in this study further supports and enhances the recommendations made by the 2015 President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing and provides firsthand accounts of the movement from policy recommendation to action. Keywords: procedural-justice, policing, police-reform, police strategies, police leadership iv Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………ii List of Tables. x List of Figures. xi Chapter 1: Introduction.
1 Introduction to the Problem. 1 Background, Context, History and Conceptual Framework for the Problem. 2 Statement of the Problem. 4 Purpose of the Study.
6 Rationale, Relevance and Significance of the Study. 7 Significance of the study. 8 Definition of Terms. 9 Procedural justice-based reform.
10 Chapter 2: Literature Review. 11 Introduction to the Literature Review. 12 Police occupational culture. 16 Review of Research Literature and Methodological Literature.
17 President’s Task Force findings. 18 Procedural justice-based policing. 19 Police occupational culture. 27 Review of the Methodological Issues.
30 Synthesis of Research Findings. 31 Critique of Previous Research. 32 Literature Review Summary. 36 vi Research Questions.
36 Purpose and Design of the Study. 38 Research Population and Sampling Method. 46 Data Analysis Procedures. 48 Limitations of the Research Design.
53 Conflict of interest assessment. 54 Ethical issues in the study. 56 Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Results. 57 Description of the Sample.
57 Research Methodology and Analysis. 61 vii Summary of the Findings. 63 Formal education is important. 64 Modeling is vital to behavioral change.
64 Allow time for culture to evolve. 65 Presentation of the Data and Results. 66 Defining procedural justice. 66 Familiar methods used for implementing reform.
67 Procedural Justice Success Stories. 72 Challenges and Barriers to Procedural Justice Adoption. 74 Police Culture and Time to Evolve. 78 Chapter 5: Conclusion and Discussion.
80 Summary of the Results. 82 Discussion of the Results. 84 Discussion of the Results in Relation to the Literature. 87 Formalized education is important.
90 Modeling is vital to behavior change. 90 Allow time for culture to evolve. 92 Implication of the Results on Theory, Policy, and Practice. 95 Recommendations for Further Research.
100 Appendix A: Request to Solicit Participants. 108 Appendix B: Solicitation Email for Participants. 109 Appendix C: Scheduling Email for Selected Participants. 110 Appendix D: Consent Form.
111 Appendix E: Interview Protocol. 114 Appendix F: IRB Approval Form. 115 Appendix G: Statement of Original Work. 116 ix List of Tables Table 1.
Activities and Methods Used ………………………………………………………………. Success, Challenges and Barriers …………………………………………………………. Comparison Between Themes and Conceptual Framework ………………….…87 x List of Figures Figure 1. Four key components of police transformation…………………………….
President’s task force recommendations…………………………………. Police department organizational structure…………………………………. Summary data collection process……………………………………. Arriving at sample size……………………………………………… …………….
Data analysis process……………………………………………………………….… 62 xi Chapter 1: Introduction Introduction to the Problem Police interactions with the community are under constant scrutiny. In response to several high-profile instances of a disintegrating interactions between police and local communities, the question of how to improve the integrity of our criminal justice system looms large. Even before the completion of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing in 2015, police leaders faced the urgent challenge of departmental reform. The findings of the Task Force, and corresponding 59 recommendations, provided an essential roadmap to shifting the dialogue around police and community and improving the overall relationship between the two.
The first pillar identified by the Task Force includes a focus on building trust and legitimacy through the adoption of procedural justice as the guiding principal for police interactions both internally and externally (President’s Task Force, 2015). Despite the Task Force’s well-articulated call to action for procedural justice as a guiding principle, only a small amount of literature and research is available to help leaders navigate the implementation of this complex organizational reform. While the case for procedural justice as central to gaining legitimacy is strong, far less literature exists specific to the understanding of how to tactically create reform in a department using procedural justice as the central guiding principle. To bridge the gap between theory and implementation, literature documenting the leadership experience is essential.
Sharing information across leaders and departments can help to aid in the navigation through this complex organizational reform. Sharing experiences also affords leaders the opportunity to better navigate the tactical strategies available to address reform issues. These shared experiences create a catalogue of tried and tested methods that have impacted the success of other leaders. The absence of these shared experiences slows the process 1 of reform implementation and adoption by preventing the creation of best practice resource.
Best practices are defined as procedures based on research and experience that produce optimal results and can be used as a standard widespread adoption (Merriam-Webster, n. Best practices, when crafted and used widely can help to expedite and influence change across the institutional landscape. This study was designed to increase the body of knowledge related to police leadership during procedural justice focused organizational reform and to make leadership experience and best practices more widely available. Background, Context, History and Conceptual Framework for the Problem Sir Robert Peel is commonly referred to as the father of modern policing (Jones, 2017).
His principles of policing influenced the establishment of the London Metropolitan Police force in 1829 and include important insights into the relationship between police and community. The relationship between police and community is even more important in American police departments as a distinct feature of the American policing system is the decentralization of policing to local governing bodies (President’s Task Force, 2015). While many foreign countries approach to policing includes federal oversight, American policing is made up of localized governance. This feature can be both a key strength and weakness of the American system as this decentralized approach to police governance creates room for variations in ethical and professional practices.
A style of policing known as community policing began in the 1960s as a response to a perception that police were failing to stop crime and keep people safe (Demrkol & Nalla, 2017). Community policing is a term that is used to describe a type of policing where community residents and police work collaboratively to create public safety. It centers on the bi-directional responsibility for lawfulness and the role that the community engagement plays in creating 2 acceptance of policing. Community can be defined by a number of different attributes including geography, race or other unifying features.
The term community policing is intentionally ambiguous in order to allow for interpretation of the concept of community and serves as an umbrella for identifying the general partnership between people and police (Goldstein, 1987). In 2015, the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing reignited the focus on the relationship between community and police and the practices used to ensure strong relationships between the two. The Task Force identified key opportunities to reform policing strategies and crafted 59 key recommendations targeted at improving policing in the United States. Among the 59 recommendations produced from the Task Force, the first pillar focuses on trust and legitimacy between police and the community (President’s Task Force, 2015).
The Task Force identified that achieving trust and legitimacy requires an increased use of policing strategies known as procedural-justice, to ensure strong bonds between police departments and the communities they serve. The findings of the President’s Task Force aligned with the increasing demands of communities for policing reform. Through their reporting and sharing of information, the media also plays an important role in the increased awareness of the issues surrounding police interactions with the community. Demirkol and Nalla (2017) indicate that when community policing strategies are implemented, a generally positive response is garnered by the community, along with positive decrease in crime rates.
While research supports the concept of implementation of community policing policies and strategies, there is a clear gap in the understanding of how to help lead organizations from current state policing practices, largely based on historical behaviors and authoritative right to influence, to new and improved approaches to policing and community interactions. While community policing is based on the 3 role that communities play in building policy and culture, procedural justice is a philosophical approach to policing that is more in line with creating trust and legitimacy through shifts in mindset and behavior. As police leaders implement procedural justice principles throughout their departments in both policy and procedures, little is captured in the form of understanding the challenges that those leaders face when attempting to implement the theoretical reform. The purpose of this study is to capture the stories of those leaders and to fill the void of first-hand experiences in leading a department through the changes associated with procedural justice- based reform.