How do we recognize police leader-thinkers?

Abstract

The ability of police leaders to be thinkers is impacted by the environment of policing in the early twenty-first century. The traditional conceptualization of the role of the police no longer accurately captures the diversity and complexity of contemporary policing. The police officer in the early twenty-first century is a psychologist, mediator and problem-solver and has near-continuous contact with community residents (Griffiths 2020). In some police services, officers are involved in a more holistic approach to problem-solving that has the potential to effectively address the underlying issues that contribute to crime and disorder, rather than merely responding to the symptoms of these issues.