Developing My Personal Development Skills - Essay Example

Reflective Learning Journal Name Course Tutor Date Introduction Police professionalism requires the following three requirements; crime suppression, be free from political influence, and be centralized and rational. However, police professionalism requires that one adheres to the rules and regulations stipulated and therefore it is not a one-man show. Police officers are currently facing many challenges in their work and hence require professional development to keep abreast with the rising technology and population as well. Proper policing may not take place without an officer having integrity. Integrity helps in evaluating and judging without impartiality (Bowersox, 2008). A police officer with integrity combines the code of ethics and professionalism of law enforcement and this allows them to be professionals. A police officer requires two forms of integrity; personal and professional integrity in order to serve well. Many people fail to associate intellectual prowess with policing. However, I would like to make it clear that professional policing requires an intact intellectual ability. It has become so serious to an extent that intellectual ability is used for entry levels in different police departments in the world. Intellectual ability is wide and subjective ranging from judgment, organizational, behavior, counseling, human relations, management, and counseling. I will therefore consider myself a professional developed police officer under a situation of being able to integrate procedures, discretion, and attitudes relevant in my field of policing. Policing requires proper understanding of technical aspects and procedures and primary duties of a police officer. To be granted discretion in any policing department, the society must be able to see loyalty and trust in you. Policing also requires an individual to be industrious (Gordon, 1995, pp. 34-48). This means that the police officer is able to possess working habits that are leading to objectives set and required. The current global job environment is as tough as it can be. In today’s day and age, especially after the economic crises of 2008, the fresh graduates are struggling to make their way into professional life. The tough economic situation has made it very important for fresh graduates to polish their transferable skills before entering into professional life. Reflection on the nature of professionalism required for my chosen career Many institutions will demand for professional development due to interest in life long career chosen by an individual. The reason for my professional development career in police force requires me to develop a sense of moral obligation, maintain professionalism and competence at work, enhance my career progression, keep in touch with the latest technology and practices, and to comply with regulatory organizations in the police force. According to (Kakar, 1998), series of online professional development courses helps people focus on specific contents and targets that a learner needs hence a positive effect on part of the learner. My type of career also requires incorporation of collaborative platforms especially since the major role of a police officer is to maintain law and order. According to (P.E. Carlan, 2000), professional development is a challenge many employees expect due to rapid changes in technology and rising population. In my career as a police officer, there is increasing chances of population increase in addition to changes in technology especially when dealing with terrorism. It is for this case that I need to engage in professional development to help me encounter challenges while at work. There are some transferable skills which have become integral part of any profession in today’s fast moving world. These universal transferable skills include communication, teamwork, interpersonal, leadership, and problem solving skills. Keeping in view the guidelines provided by different websites regarding skills required by a successful police officer, I have merged this information with my personal knowledge of transferable skills required by a successful police office in Riyadh police as my father served Riyadh police department for more than 30 years. Due to the nature of this course I chose three most needed transferable skills for my personal development. These skills included Leadership, persuading and critical thinking skills (Faris, 2010, pp. 3-4). A police officer will have to learn how to deal with stress management since this work entails dealing with various kinds of people with different needs. The ability to make decisions quickly is a skill that is necessary for this job. Proper communication skills are necessary since a police officer is a leader and a commander of law and order in the society. For this purpose, I require good communication skills. I do understand that being a police officer is not an easy job as it seems like and in my opinion being a police officer means being a very committed law enforcement officer whose job is to help other people before himself and who needs to be brave but not head start stupid. Keeping in view the role I play as a police office, I believe that I need leadership, persuading and critical thinking skills in order to become a successful police officer who is capable of taking his own initiatives and leading a team of policemen and other subordinates. I have all those abilities and I understand that dealing with the public, victims of crime and dangerous or potentially dangerous situations and people, requires a range of skills and abilities. Carefully and critically analyzing my attitude and motivations, I believe being a police office is my ideal job. A positive attitude towards policing is realized while on duty. Positive attitude requires that an officer show high standards of excellence within the profession and lead by example. To be a successful police officer I needed to develop good communication skills. This is necessary since the police department communicate differently against each other and the rest of the public. Police officers communicate using coded language amongst themselves for security purposes. Development of proper written and spoken language is therefore very essential. According to (Bruns, 2005), police officers require proper education especially on how to communicate due to the coded language they use. Quick decision-making is also a skill that I will need to develop in order to be a successful police officer. Policing encounters many challenges and requires the ability to make decisions faster. Failure to make quick and right decisions may lead to gross consequences such as loss of innocent lives. Proper decision-making requires the officer in charge to have firsthand information regarding the case. It also requires that the police officer follow the right protocol in making a decision. However, it is important to note that courts and not police officers handle most legal cases regarding police intervention. Our daily activities lead to considerable levels of stress. Proper stress management is an essential tool that a police officer requires. Under many circumstances and various police units in the world, police officers have used their weapons to turn against each other in cases related to domestic violence, revenge, or competition for promotion at work. Most of these cases are stress related if observed from a certain perspective. Police officers are entitled to handle weapons that they use to protect civilians. However, under certain circumstances they use these tools to destroy innocent lives. It is therefore important for a police officer to ensure proper self-management to avoid such cases. It is therefore necessary for a police officer to engage in leisure activities, which helps in reducing stress related cases. During certain times in life, a person would feel to be out of work and join with family and friends to spend some free time in form of relaxation. It is our dream to be free to pursue what we want and to spend our time meaningfully in pleasurable ways. A lot of research conducted concerning leisure and recreation shows that there are paramount benefits in relation to leisure. Leisure provides 5 basic key benefits which include; economic, social, physiological, environmental, and psychological benefits. Most people relate leisure to physical and mental health, economic development, family bonding, and environmental awareness, which is necessary for a police officer. Evaluating ones learning and skills is a critical aspect to know where one stands before taking any initiatives to improve his/her skills. It is also the ability to know and check whether personal initiative and goals are being achieved. Evaluation provides room for correction and improvement as well. In my case I have taken some online tests which have helped me to understand my unique set of skills and areas which need immediate attention in order to be successful in my future career which has been discussed in detail above. Conclusion In conclusion, I would like to appreciate the learning experiences that I have received from my work place. The experiences have helped me mould myself into a responsible police officer who with good credentials. Developing ones career and professional skills at work place has also helped in improving the reputation of my work place. Whilst developing my personal development skills I have learned that keeping record of accomplishment of learning is very important and no big task can be achieved efficiently if it is not being broken down into smaller components. Other than that I have also noticed that developing any skill is a lifelong process, it can only show slight improvements in the course of three months or so. Bibliography Bowersox, D. (2008). Logistics Leverege. Journal of Business Strategies , 85-99. Bruns, D. (2005). Patrol Officers' Opinions on the Importance of a College Degree. Law & Order, 53 96-99. Faris, T. (2010). Managing the supply chain using cash to cash metric. 8th international conference on logistics and SCM research, 1-15. Gordon, S. (1995). Supply Chain and Bench marking. Information Logistics Vol 8, 38-44. Kakar, S. (1998). Self-Evaluations of Police Performance: An Analysis of the Relationship between Police Officers' Education Level and Job Performance. Policing 21, 632. P.E. Carlan, a. F. (2000). The Promise of Humanistic Policing: Is Higher Education Living Up to Societal Expectations? American Journal of Criminal Justice, 235-245. Read More