160 likes | 320 Views
Training Police Leaders in Solomon Islands Emerging findings from an evaluation. Victoria Herrington Australian Institute of Police Management ANZSOC, Geelong, September 2011. Overview. Solomon Islands – a potted history The Leadership Development Program (LDP)
E N D
Training PoliceLeaders in Solomon IslandsEmerging findings from an evaluation Victoria Herrington Australian Institute of Police Management ANZSOC, Geelong, September 2011
Overview • Solomon Islands – a potted history • The Leadership Development Program (LDP) • Emerging findings from the evaluation of the LDP • Challenges to success • Next steps
Who are the AIPM? • Chief commissioners across Australasian policing form the Board of Control (BOC) • Administered by the AFP • Primary objective is to help provide superior leadership for police and emergency services
Solomon Islands • Independence from Great Britain in 1978 • The Tensions (1998-2003) • related to land rights and economic opportunities between residents of Guadalcanal and migrants from Malaita • Police fractured along ethnic lines • High levels of corruption and violence • Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) • Participating Police Force (PPF) • Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF)
The Leadership Development Program (LDP) • To “deliver a leadership development program to enable Solomon Islanders to effectively lead and manage the RSIPF” • LDP delivered at 5 levels from recruit through to executive. • Level 1 is delivered by the RSIPF • Levels 2-5 are delivered by the AIPM with RSIPF facilitators • Community Action Learning Projects (CALPs)
Leadership Capability Framework • Curricula informed by the RSIPF Leadership Capability Framework, dictating the skills required by officers at each level. • Rank specific requirements set out across six domains: • Making it happen • Communication • Leadership • Management • Integrity • Cultivating working and professional relationships • Individuals can progress through the LDP stages dependent on rank (2-5)
Evaluation Methodology • What is ‘success’? • Individual and organisational change • Mixed methods design involving: • LDP participants • Internal stakeholders • External stakeholders • Multi-phase (5) data collection • A note on ethics
Data involved in this presentation • Drawn from interviews and focus groups • Therefore concentrates on perceptions of individual and organisational change • 24 participants • 16 RSIPF • 7 PPF • 1 AIPM • A comment about the context of data collection
Impact (self report) on the individual • High perceived value of the LDP from those attending the course • Use of leadership nomenclature • Instigation of reflective activities • Delegation and use of initiative • Courage to address difficult issues (elephant in the room) • Self-awareness and understanding of limiting beliefs • Awareness of the inherent leadership role of policing
I see that a lot of senior police officers are mingling with others and forget that they are police officers. I saw one officer talking to some members of the community and saying they should fight with someone who has [wronged] them. But when that senior officer left I went over and told them that they shouldn’t always do what that police officer says. I told them that it was good to know that some police officers are better than others, and some do not always provide the right advice. (LDP3 participant).
I use my knowledge about myself, and sometimes when playing sport. I take the lead socially, and in the work place will take on jobs and say “give that to me”…at sport for example I will say “I’ll organise the coconuts for the game”. I will also now jump in and take on jobs and use my initiative…I saw that my manager was not organising a task well, and he should have tasked us to do something, but he didn’t do this. He failed in this. But I didn’t wait for this to happen, so asked my boss if I can do some of these jobsfor him. (LDP3 participant).
Impact (perceptions) on the organisation • Perceptions are fragile and vulnerable to bad news stories • Low visibility of the individual impact, leading to frustration related to continuing (integrity) concerns • Perceptions can become a reality • Where PPF and RSIPF input is required to turn capacity into capability • Need to sell the value of the LDP
Challenges to LDP ‘success’ • RSIPF and SI faces a number of challenges • Absenteeism (sickness and moonlighting) • Retirement • Community confidence • Resources • Geographical hurdles (centralisation) • Population growth • ‘Wantock’ • Economic instability (logging) • Reliance on donor funds • Cannot be solved by leadership training alone, although LDP ‘success’ is intrinsically linked to this
Next Steps For the research… • 6 month follow up • CALP case studies of good practice • Interviews with external stakeholders For the AIPM… • Continuing to work in partnership • Identify and supporting talent • Continue being reflexive
Victoria Herrington vherrington@aipm.gov.au Tel: 02 99344802 Australian Institute of Police Management The Former School of Artillery North Head Scenic Drive Manly, NSW, 2095