Challenges for leadership in public security institutions: the case of the Lithuanian Police.

Viešojo saugumo institucijoms, tame tarpe ir policijai, reikalinga permąstyti, kaip naujai šias institucijas valdyti, bei konstatuoti, kad lyderio savybės yra būtinos ne tik vadovams, bet ir kiekvienam pareigūnui. Tokį poreikį lemia pokyčiai darbo rinkoje ir pripažinimas, kad gebėjimas operatyviai reaguoti į kintančią aplinką, veikti kritinėmis sąlygomis ir greitai priimti sprendimą yra vienos svarbiausių darbuotojo savybių. Be to, „naujos kartos“ policijos pareigūnų įstojimas į tarnybą, didelės galimybės ir iššūkiai, susiję su technologijų prieinamumu ir plėtra, ir kiti veiksniai yra saistomi ir su pokyčiais platesniame policijos veiklos kontekste: globalizacija, didėjančiu biudžetiniu spaudimu, kintančiu nusikalstamų veikų pobūdžiu, socialinės inžinerijos injekcijomis, emocinio intelekto svarba, taigi, ir augančiu profesinių-psichologinių žinių poreikiu suprasti ir vertinti socialinius kontekstus, visuomenės lūkesčiais policijos reagavimo į įvykius greičiui, kokybei ir kt. Kintantis daugiabriaunis policijos veiklos kontekstas verčia keistis ir pačią organizaciją bei kelia kitokios, novatoriškos lyderystės policijoje poreikius. Tad lyderystės ugdymas tampa pagrindiniu teisėsaugos pareigūno profesijos ateities rūpesčiu. Straipsnyje analizuojami egzistuojantys lyderystės stiliai ir lyderio bruožai viešojo saugumo srities kontekste, taip pat apžvelgiami lyderystės kompetencijų teisinio reguliavimo ypatumai viešajame administravime ir policijoje, lyderystės įgijimo, ugdymo ir vertinimo procesai policijoje bei jų nuoseklumas.Changing socio-economic factors, the strictness of society as a recipient of services, its innovative approaches to the importance of human qualities in professional activities strongly influences not only activities of institutions but also management models. The significantly changed context of policing is forcing changes in the police organization itself and raise the need for different, innovative leadership in policing. Therefore, public security institutions, including the Lithuanian police, need to review existing management practices, recognize that leadership and management are not identical concepts, and state that leadership qualities are necessary not only for managers but also for every police officer. The main aim of the article is to analyze the peculiarities of leadership traits in the context of public security institutions and the processes of leadership assessment and development in the Lithuanian police. The dimension of leadership analyzed in the article - from the definition of leadership and the concept of competencies to the possibilities of its development in the Lithuanian police - shows the relevance and novelty of this topic, and at the same time this research raises serious concerns that law regulation processes of acquiring, developing and evaluating police leadership consistency must be thoroughly reviewed and properly elaborated. The results of the study have showed that a behavior of leader in the context of public security should be constructed through both transactional and transformational leadership models without treating them as opposite models. The behavioral needs of the police leader in practice would be allowed for optimal disclosure for this reason. There is a lack of clarity in the definition of leadership in targeted legislation. In addition, the issues of leadership development in the Lithuanian police are not conceptualized, coordinated, or systematically addressed. Separate curricula or target training subjects for the strengthening of leadership competencies in the field of public security are not developed. The traditional practice of vertical career advancement in the public security system is based more on academic knowledge, practical experience and a well-established ranking system, while leadership competencies/traits become a matter of course, a comprehensive approach to leadership competency development is not ensured. Furthermore there is no clear agreement on what traits are considered important for police officers at different levels of the status of police officers (including managers at different levels), what sets of leadership competencies are needed at different levels of leadership, how comprehensively those competencies are developed and assessed. In order to achieve a systematic and integrated approach to leadership in the public security sector including a consistent and purposeful development of leadership competencies that meets the requirements of the present, it is necessary to assess the need for leadership competencies of the Lithuanian police in the future