NCJ Number
168255
Journal
Police Studies Volume: 19 Issue: 1 Dated: (1996) Pages: 1-17
Date Published
1996
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Selection criteria for individuals seeking to become police officers continue to receive attention from practitioners and academicians, but minimal attention is paid to selection criteria for police chiefs.
Abstract
To obtain information on requirements for the police chief position, a national sample of 122 police chiefs in the United States was surveyed. Police chiefs were randomly selected from a 1993 directory of all municipal police chiefs. The survey questionnaire consisted of three sections: police agency demographics, personal demographics, and police chief qualifications. Results indicated police chiefs supported police management experience and extensive training and education as two important selection criteria. Further, they said leadership and communication were the two top skills a police chief should possess, followed by decision-making, organizational, and staffing skills. Additional research is suggested to study differences between what selection criteria police chiefs consider important and selection criteria identified by theorists and researchers. The police chief survey questionnaire is appended. 26 references and 6 tables