Customer Reviews

Effective Police Leadership

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The book offers practical techniques and "can do" leadership strategies for over-coming obstacles police leaders encounter everyday. It encourages the reader to answer three basic leadership questions: Where am I going? How will I get there? How will I know when I have arrived? EFFECTIVE POLICE LEADERSHIP is inspirational; the reader learns the importance of developing vision and direction.

I only read this book because I had to as part of a promotion process/assessment center. First, the editing was non-existent. Seriously. Grammar, spelling, syntax errors abounded. Many subjects and themes overlapped, repeated and contradicted each other in various chapters, separated by whole other chapters. Also, give us some credit for not being complete idiots. Enough with the "can-do" platitudes.

It was difficult to read for comprehension and could have used a LOT of editing. It was only slightly more enjoyable to read than "The Green Monster" of old, only because it wasn't as lengthy. It had none of the redeeming values of "The Monster". It was as if the author just dictated this stuff of the top of his head and sprinkled a bunch of end notes around for credibility. It didn't work. The only good thing about the "case studies" was that they took up space and were somewhat cohesive as opposed to the rest of the rambling.

I can only guess that the glowing reviews of this book came from friends, relatives, coworkers, subordinates, students of the author or other instructors at the same university hoping for a reciprocal 5-star snow (I said SNOW) job. I've been a police officer for over 26 years, have been promoted several times and have read my share of self-improvement books and books required for testing purposes. This was one of the worst.

The theme for most of the book seemed to be: "Community policing good, traditional policing bad. Nobody knows what Community Policing is, but we do know that police command should be decentralized and command authority should be given to police officers in the field and they should all attend neighborhood watch meetings. Also, you need to hire psychologists, sociologists and professional planners to evaluate your department."

The Army's loss was the police book mill's gain. The price was two or three times what it should have been. I haven't looked at the "study guide" yet, but it better be better than this book.

EFFECTIVE POLICE LEADERSHIP is reader friendly, inspirational and includes case study applications. The book is a combination of relevant theories and practical applications. It meets the needs of the men and women of law enforcement and students interested in the field of criminal justice.

EFFECTIVE POLICE LEADERSHIP addresses two key leadership requirements: Character and Competence. The book provides police officers the navigational system for developing a can do attitude. The chapters and themes provide a compass for developing vision, inspiration and direction. This book offers practical techniques and can do leadership strategies for over-coming obstacles police leaders encounter everyday.

EFFECTIVE POLICE LEADERSHIP is for police officers and students who aspire to serve in a leadership capacity. This book is an excellent resource for studying future responsibilities and promotional opportunities. The book explores the roles of chief, senior leader, middle manager and sergeant. The chapters and themes develop essential leadership skills that encourage others to follow your leadership in the Twenty-First Century.

EFFECTIVE POLICE LEADERSHIP provides a framework for your professional leadership development. The book will help you answer three essential leadership questions: Where am I going? How will I get there? and How will I know when I have arrived?

This book offers practical guidelines. I believe this book inspires you to reach your fullest potential as an effective police leader. I encourage anyone interested in this topic to consider purchasing this book.

The author of the review "Bad" could not have been more on-target. (And now I will proceed to be similarly lambasted by those of you who deem my articulate review "unhelpful" simply because I don't agree with you that this book will solve all of the world's problems. Thus, since I write negative reviews AS WELL AS positive ones, I will certainly never challenge anyone's "Top 100 reviewer" status.... but that's another story; I digress...)

This book is a jumbled cacophony of lists, adages, and "how-to" advice; all with no inherent interconnection, and limited usefulness in practical terms. I, like other reviewers, was only reading it as it was required reading for an online law enforcement course I was taking (I am a cop). Therefore I felt the need to warn those of you who are actually contemplating the voluntary reading of this book for purposes of enhancing your career.

I notice of course the flowery praise from other reviewers. This is somewhat unexplainable to me. All I can think of is that we as a people (admirably) are more likely to comment on something we feel positive about, than the opposite. And don't get me wrong, if this book helps you in some way, or you feel it has effective information to suit your needs, then by all means, I am not knocking your experience. Certainly there is SOME amount of helpful info to be gleaned here (thus the 2 stars instead of one!). It just seemed like overall, you are just being given an "information dump", with little coherence or style to speak of.

Additionally, many of the concepts and actual phrases are taken DIRECTLY from US military doctrine, as well as the actual leadership publications. At times this is appropriately noted and referenced, but other times it is not. (I spent 9 years in the Army, and some of the terms and phrases the author uses are VERY familiar, believe me!)

The real-world examples and anecdotes are few, and lackluster, and the author is quick to jump back into his ingrained style of dumping on you more maxims and formulas (some of these are so clicheed as to be almost PAINFUL to read, especially if you have read a few self-development books in the past). In the end one is left with the impression, "I could have written this book!"

Also the review would not be complete without noting the gratuitous and sometimes ghastly grammatical errors. They are all there folks: misspellings, syntax errors, usage issues, incomplete sentences, the works. I am not an English major, but come on, isn't someone supposed to review this stuff before publication? If you have read a few books in your life (not saying you need to be Einstein) you will surely find all the grammatical flaws distracting- and, admittedly, a bit disheartening from a man trying to "teach" me something.

Like I said, if you get something out of this book, my hat's off to you. Personally I found it dry, formulaic, and almost completely UN-helpful. There HAS to be better books on leadership out there! Wait... I'll recommend one right of the bat: try to get your hands on Army Field Manual 22-100, "Military Leadership". You'll find great historical examples, practical applications (to the military, though, not police work), and you may be surprised to find some of the same information as in Baker's book! (Minus all the grammatical errors though).

I was a little hesitant in purchasing this book since it was written by a military leader who likely operated in an environment where authoritarian leadership is the norm. My concern was unfounded. It is written for police leaders and in language that is easily understood. The author has some great insight into what it takes to be an effective leader. More importantly though, he gives some concrete examples and ideas on how to act as a leader. The case histories are based in hard reality with examples most police officers will be able to relate to. I really can't say enough good things about this book. It should be required reading for all police brass.

I give this police leadership book a 5-star rating. All the fundamentals are there in an easy-to-read format. This book makes a contribution to the field of law enforcement and I am glad that I had the opportunity to read it. The book encourages ethical police leadership and a sense of duty and honor.

This book is such a great leadership review!
Anyone who reads this book should get a better understanding of how to become a great leader. The text is clear and to the point. After reading Baker's leadership book there is NO excuse for poor performance. It was nice to read a book that had all the information on this topic and was actually easy to comprehend.
If you don't get the principles of leadership after reading this book, you never will. I recommend it to my friends as the best study guide out there.
Grab a copy and see for yourself.

EFFECTIVE POLICE LEADERSHIP is essential reading for anyone who aspires to achieve supervisory or command responsibilities. The content is presented in a clear and precise manner that encourages the reader through the various topics.

The chapters flow easily and the author's active writing style enhance readability, retention and understanding. The learning progressions and clarity of the writing encourages the application of leadership principles. This book is also essential reading for promotional exams and advancement through police agency ranks.

I highly recommend this book. It represents a major contribution to the field of police leadership.

I read this book because it was on a list of books for a promotional exam. After reading it once, I hated it. Then, in an attempt to give it a second chance I read it twice. I don't know what Mr. Baker's backround is, but I know what it is NOT! Sitting in a police car policing the streets of a large city. This man is so naive thinking that the answer to the communities of America has anything to do with stupid formula's or getting a few "squeaky wheels" together in a room. I will agree with the concept of walking your beat and getting to know your community but is that not common sense? Upon completion of this promotional exam, I will burn (not throw away) this book to prevent it from getting into the hands of ANYONE!

I am only briefly into this book. Boring dry and mundane is what I am experiencing. What a hard book to try to get through. Hope it goes some place soon. This is like a bad movie.