article: Police Chiefs and distance learning

http://policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display&article_id=970&issue_id=82006

 

I thought these were interesting takeaways from the article:

"Once those personal decisions were made, I knew that my job required me to be two things above all else: a leader and a communicator. I had long since concluded that these two areas encompassed 95 percent of my time and were the most important qualities needed to succeed and excel in my profession. In most organizations of 200 or more members, the need for the chief's direct technical and law enforcement involvement is generally diminished by their own staff's expertise. What is most needed from the police chief is the ability to influence, negotiate, manage, facilitate, and champion the needs of the force and community. "

"Like most of my peers, I have seen hundreds of officers working hard for an advanced degree that may challenge their intellect but is completely irrelevant to what they will be asked to do in the real world of the police profession. "

"I knew that if I were to decide on this method to facilitate my learning it had to meet certain specific criteria:

A highly recognized university with official accreditation

The professors who were a mix of Ph.D.'s and practitioners

Professionally diverse classes with both returning and traditional students

Cohort (learning team) structure

Non-law enforcement curriculum

Focus on building leaders more than producing scholars

Treatment of students as equals

None of the bureaucratic inflexibility of the average university system"

"I strongly encourage all chiefs to reach out, take a chance, and grow to learn and learn to grow as they continue their journeys in leadership through distance learning, an education delivery method that fits chiefs' schedules. "

Dave