Leadership underperformance: the impact of the lack of knowledge management in municipal police agencies

The Impact of the lack of knowledge management in municipal police agencies The police all over the world have been grappling with various challenges that have been brought up because of the challenges that have been brought up by the changing lifestyle patterns and security systems. The 21st century has been characterized by several challenges that are completely different from those that existed before, around 100 or 1000 years back (Ugelvik 45-6). While the police of that time dwelt more on preparations for new problems and their ability to intervene and bring immediate solutions, those of the 20th century had few advantages, they predicted future challenges and prepared to deal with them effectively.
Currently, the police are facing different challenges that are affecting their output as far as security and efficiency are concerned. For instance, the police in several municipal agencies are experiencing unlimited access to information, sharing of ideas and global experiences with the friends in other places, limited education and training on modern security and surveillance systems among others. These among other issues in the police agencies play a big role in determining the quality of life that a nation expects to have, quality systems mean better quality and standards of life.
Information and effectiveness of police agencies
It is a common observation that information sharing is the backbone and lifeblood of policing, despite this; information and knowledge sharing among police agencies continues to remain scanty across several municipals and various security organizations (Gottschalk 132).
In a research that was conducted over the impediments standing in the way of police efficiency and effectiveness, there are a number of mutually exclusive impediments that were cited as affecting the effective process of knowledge management in police agencies as shown.
Adapted from: Gottschalk and Geoff 219
Impacts of ineffective knowledge sharing among policing agencies
The prevailing inefficiencies arising from the impediments to knowledge and information sharing have brought huge challenges to effecting policing in municipalities and the nation at large. It has given room for lawless groups to tamper with people’s confidential matters through cyber crime among other ways.
There has been a public outcry over the porous nature of security systems; this has led to public exploitation and loss of property as well as information about people’s financial welfare and investments among others. In some states, there have been decreased levels of investment by locals and foreigners because of the reduced confidence levels in the security systems.
Recommendations
In general, the idealized and normative conception of democracy in information and knowledge sharing suggests information ha to flow freely within and across all levels of municipals, the society and country at large (Gottschalk and Geoff 234). In fact, everyone has right to access certain information that is deemed to be of public or personal significance.
Nonetheless, this free flow of information, within the context of contemporary policing, has to be creatively designed within the realities and influence of information and knowledge accessibility, politics, need for information security, values, as well as the organizational context (Gottschalk and Geoff 238). All this, as well as cooperation and coordination of all stakeholders, is essential in ensuring effective and efficient policing not only in municipals, but also in the entire country.

Works Cited
Ugelvik, Synn. Justice and Security in the 21st Century: Risks, Rights and the Rule of Law. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2012. Print.
Gottschalk Peter. Knowledge management in policing: Enforcing law on criminal business enterprises. New York, NY: Hindawi Publishing Corporation. 2008. Print
Gottschalk, Petter and Geoff Dean. ” Knowledge Management in Policing: The Case of Police Complaints and Police Crime.” The Police Journal 5. 2 (2012): 1-17. Print