Problem Analysis with Recommendations Report

Problem Analysis with Recommendations Report

Alexandria Brown

Southern New Hampshire University

Introduction

Out of the two articles that I read, I decided to use The Flawed Emergency Response to the 1992 Los Angeles Riots (A).  I chose this article because of the content that it covered.  The article spoke about the events that led up to the Rodney King riot.  The article also discussed the history of profiling in the minority community.  I wanted to discuss how early intervention could have stopped a violet riot or prevented many deaths.  The research plan I want to use is gathering facts from credible sources. I want to analyze and describe the current research in the field that would help address the situation.  I also want to address the best practices.  I want to use my book; peer-reviewed articles and sources who could provide valuable information to help with my final project.  

Based on the leadership in criminal justice, the main issues or downfalls with the actions of leadership they could have addressed the public sooner than they did.  Although the mayor and police chief were aware of the trail, they did not expect a not guilty verdict.  They did not plan for the worst outcome of the case.  The Emergency Operations Board did not have any special meetings or discuss what needs to be done in case there was a riot (Falkenrath & Rosegrant, 2019).  I believe having a better plan, and everyone on one accord would have prepared for the riot better.

Leadership Analysis

The selected case study is The Flawed Emergency Response to the 1992 Los Angeles Riots (A).  This case study was chosen because of the events that were led up to and occurred during the riots.  The events that happened after the riot also make the article review leadership styles and their roles.  It is essential to understand leadership because it shows how a person may react in certain situations.  It also shows how things could have been prevented if leadership showed a better handle on the circumstances.  Various factors make a leader and manager separate from each other.  A great leader focuses on connecting daily work with goals that are achievable from their subordinates a manager only looks at short term and what can be done right now.  A leader can relate to their peers and respect their input; a manager sees titles or organizational charts and wants to be liked (Dizon, 2015).  

The leadership in this scenario did not lead the department to prevent or decrease the amount of violence in the riot.  There was a lot of finger-pointing instead of stepping up and saying what was done incorrectly. Out of all the committees that were in place to handle things such as the riots no one thought to come together and plan in case something happened. The EOO could have prepared an emergency plan tailored to the trail.  The EOO did not hold a special meeting during the trial.  There was no planning on how to train for a possible civil disturbance or how to prioritize competing task (Faulkenrath, Rosegrant, 2019).  Seeing that Gates could have arranged for backup forces to be alerted and available in advance shows he looked at his gain. Teaching others that they could handle anything was the first part of a let down as a leader.  Not only was this the first time this was done, but it was also done in 1965 when the riots erupted, and Police Chief Parker did not ask for help, but he also refused the Sherriff’s Department offer of additional deputies (Faulkenrath, Rosegrant, 2019).

The actions of leadership in this scenario show that there was a lack of communication that impeded addressing the problem.  One of the significant issues was Chief Gates, and Sheriff Block did not have a great working relationship.  Gates was facing pressures to resign and did not meet with his staff to discuss any behaviors that may occur.  Judge Stanley Weisberg announced that the verdict would be read in two hours to allow emergency agencies to prepare.  No one prepared for the outcome and did not think the risk was high for a riot.  Under every situation, the communication gets affected as some circumstances demand direct and strict communication and in other situation leaders has to opt for indirect ways to communicate.  That is what lead to miscommunication with the leaders.  For the action-based leadership style, the leader's primary focus is an assignment, group, and individual.  The leader concentrates on the task given, the team working on that assignment and individual issues of the team members (Luthra & Dahiya, 2015).  The barriers of excellent and effective communication which these leaders lacked were planning and purpose before communication effectively with the team, choice of inappropriate techniques no planning to conclusively tell the group how to handle the riots, and lack of inability to adopt change.  

The supervisors in this chosen scenario have not functioned as effective leaders.  There were so many actions on where they could have improved the situation or spoke differently towards the riot.  Once the verdict was read Chief Gates did not declare a tactical alert or take other immediate action.  Nothing was done until an hour and a half later.  The EOC was not at full operation when the verdict was read (Faulkenrath, Rosegrant, 2019).  Mayor Bradley made a statement that shocked some, but for others, it was needed.  He stated his disdain for the verdict but asked the public to not react in a riot.  For him to say these actions well past the verdict, the uprising was already happening.  To be an effective leader requires a higher stage of moral reasoning of the leaders (Pollock, 2017).  An effective leader thrives on accountability.  Leaders crave challenges and define the team effort for achieving them.  Not of the leaders in this scenario was a visionary or transformational.  No trust was brought out during the process of the trial or riot.  No engagement at team level brought collaborative feedback.  Loyalty was questioned because there was no consistent respect for how people were treated.  The direction was not given sufficiently to satisfy recognition leads, and responsibility was not accepted to create a new platform on how to handle the riot (Morgan, 2016).

Analysis of Ethics

Ethically there were various stages that the leadership could have approached things differently.  One step was being prepared for what could happen.  In the early 1990s conditions in some of the Los Angeles neighborhoods had lingering effects following the Watts riots.  The communities suffered extreme poverty and jobs were at a low (Faulkenrath & Rosegrant, 2019).  Leaders set the pace and tone for the department policy and ethical behavior.  Proper training and motivated leaders are an essential factor for achieving high standards across the agency.  By adhering to those ethical codes, it causes the public the chance to trust and the officers and restores faith in the system.  Unscrupulous behavior can manifest and create distrust in the system (Fortenbery, 2015).

        Public communication did not happen in The Flawed Emergency Response to the 1992 Los Angeles Riots (A).  The judge did not read the verdict right away because he wanted to give law enforcement time to gather and execute a plan.  No one stepped up and created a plan.  No one was prepared for the verdict.  They all thought someone would be found guilty.  There was no communication in place to help guide the public and to guide the officers on duty.  A leader is among one of the employees with exceptional skills set and in one situation or another has the potential to step forward and take charge.  Leadership communication is defined as inspiring and encouraging people through systematic and meaningful sharing of information (Luthra & Dahiya, 2015).  All the leadership involved in The Flawed Emergency Response to the 1992 Los Angeles Riots (A) no one communicated the importance of meeting and executing a plan.  No person felt the need to listen to another person.  The relationship between Mayor Bradley and Chief Gates seems to overflow in their ability to protect the community.  Mayor Bradley used the entire incident as a chance to forces Chief Gates from office (Faulkenrath & Rosegrant, 2019).  Instead of preparing for what was wrong with the beating of Rodney King there was defiance between Bradley and Gates.  The Christopher Commission was recommended to execute changes in the disciplining officers who have made racist remarks and change the excessive forces that were used in the organization.  None of the leaders showed what it takes to be exceptional.  An exceptional leader not only looks at the good and training of individuals but also look at what could happen.  The leader would plan for the unexpected.  Looking at past cases and reviewing the information in the Rodney King case, someone should have stepped forward and said we need to have procedures in place in case the outcome is not what we expect.  No one said a statement until after the verdict was read and it was too late.  The leaders should have kept talking to the public during and after the trial to inform them about the process and how they wanted them to act.

        The leadership of the organization did not factor in ethical concerns.  No one attempted to address the community about any problems with Rodney King.  Although the officers involved in the issue was tried by a jury, no one thought to discuss the potential of what could happen.  The code of ethics adopted by the IACP is a valuable guide to unethical behavior.  The prevalence of ethics violations in an organization often is guided by the quality of its leadership.  The leaders must start and continue positive and negative reinforcement to instill sound moral behavior throughout the organization (Fortenbery, 2015).   A strong ethical leader has a personal relationship with subordinates that has a foundation of modeling, identification, and persuasive authority.  Police have a choice to arrest or not to arrest, to mediate or to charge and in decisions to use deadly force (Pollock, 2017).  When appropriately trained police can use such choices in each situation, they encounter.  By not being prepared for the riot, some things may have been avoided.  The police staff would not have been outnumbered.