All organizations, especially law enforcement, need leadership. Maintaining a reliable leadership structure is key to the success of any organization. The philosophy of the modern style of police leadership involves a leader who is strong, competitive and unreceptive to change. Police leadership is based on an autocratic style founded on integrity and courage, which embraces teamwork, involvement and shared leadership (Cordner & Scarborough, 2010). This leadership style works well in an emergency situation where quick decision making and tight control are needed. The negative aspect of this leadership style is the inability of the organization to function in the absence of leadership. A common style of police leadership is a more bureaucratic style where the leader manages “by the book,” everything must be done in accordance with already written policies and procedures (Cordner & Scarborough, 2010). When a certain problem or concern is not covered in the book, the leader refers to the next level to make a decision. This style removes the leader's ability to manage and forces strict conformity to the "book." This style can be very effective when dealing with dangerous situations that can be a common occurrence in police work. Historical Development American law enforcement is based on English models that began in the early 1800s. In 1829, the English Parliament approved the Metropolitan Police Act (Walker, 1983). Sir Robert Peel, considered the father of modern policing, introduced this act to Parliament (Walker, 1983). This act established the London Metropolitan Police which was the model for American policing. This policing method incorporates...... middle of paper ...... org/about/generalorders/go020100Cordner, G.W., & Scarborough, K.E. (2010). Police Administration (7th ed.). Albany, NY: LexisNexis/Anderson Pub.Kania, R., & Davis, R.P. (2012). Managing criminal justice organizations: An introduction to theory and practice (2nd ed.). Waltham, MA: Anderson Pub. Means, R. (2007). Getting on the same page: Minimize inconsistencies in supervision. Police Chief's Journal, 74, 10.Price, B. (1996). Female police officers in the United States. Female police officers in the United States. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/policing/fem635.htmWalker, S. (1983). Policing in America, an introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill. Wuestewald, T. (2013). Police Chief's Magazine. The changing face of police leadership. Retrieved from http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=859&issue_id=42006