Promoting Excellence in First-Line Supervision: New Approaches to Selection, Training, and Leadership Development

When PERF decided to hold a national conference on first-line supervision in police agencies, PERF members were asked to bring one of their top sergeants to the conference—a first-line supervisor who exemplified the qualities that agencies need to take on the challenges of modern-day policing. Fifty chiefs and sheriffs responded to the request. The sergeants and mid-level supervisors they brought to Washington, D.C. for the Critical Issues in Policing conference on April 3, 2018, were knowledgeable, articulate, and attuned to the important role they play in their agencies. They helped PERF understand how the role of first-line supervisors is changing, and what police and sheriffs’ departments need to do to keep pace with those changes. This report is intended to help refocus the spotlight on the importance of first-line supervisors to achieving effective, constitutional policing.

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Provider: PERF

Publication Date: October 2018