Leading Group Challenges

Leading Group Challenges * Police, courts and corrections are part of criminal justice organizations. Each of these organizations face challenges every day and the leaders of these agencies must deal with these challenges (Duelin, 2010). The types of criminal justice leaders range from police chiefs and sheriffs to prison superintendents, and heads of government, state, or local task forces. Some of the challenges they confront are budget and staffing shortfalls, political perspectives on the roles of law enforcement personnel in society, and the changing nature of crime and the difficulties associated with keeping up with these trends (Bryant, 2010). * Funding for law enforcement agencies are dependent on state and local funding for their operations. Budget cuts trigger staffing reductions for criminal justice managers. Personnel reduction makes it hard for officers to train for response to volatile public safety threats. These budget cuts also influence decisions on how to deal with offenders. Budget cuts over time can force the criminal justice system to spend less money on probation and parole supervision that help to keep prison populations lower. These same budget cuts can result in staff reduction in prisons, the closing of prisons, and the release of prisoners early to lower prison population (Bryant, 2010). * Officer safety and moral can be affected with the reduction of staff and budget cuts. Officers would have to work longer hours and do more to uphold public safety. The strain of doing more with less under dangerous conditions with potential community resentment can cause stress and lower morale. If these issues go unaddressed, the stress on the officers can cause problems that could have negative perspectives on law enforcement (Bryant, 2010). * The changing nature of crime is hard to keep up with. Internet-based or cyber-crime is a challenge for law enforcement agencies, from the local police departments to the FBI. There are two

References: * Bryant, B. (2010). What challenges do criminal justice managers face?.  EHOW. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/list_6187103_challenges-criminal-justice-managers-face_.html * Duelin, D. (2010). What challenges with leading groups in criminal justice organizations?.  EHOW. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/list_6883806_challenges-groups-criminal-justice-organizations_.html * Stinchcomb, J. & McCampbell, S. (2008). Jail Leaders Speak: Current and Future Challenges to Jail Operations and Administration. Office of Justice Programs. Retrieved from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/pdf/Jail_Focus_Group_Report.pdf * Miller, Y. (2010). Challanges of leading groups. KeepArticles.com. Retrieved from http://www.keeparticles.com/challanges-of-leading-groups_a13534.htm