Author

Scott H. Dole

Date of Award

Spring 3-5-2024

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Administration (MPA)

Abstract

A leadership development program is key to training, sustaining, and retaining officers in a police organization. This research paper focuses on leadership development at the Alameda Police Department (APD) to improve staffing levels. As of January 2023, the department is funded for 88 sworn officers. As of December 2023, the department has 66 sworn officers, which means staffing is down 28%. Professional and academic literature was used to show that the staffing crisis in law enforcement (LE) is a national issue and APD is not immune to these staffing challenges. The research used a Mixed-Methods Research (MMR) approach to collect quantitative and qualitative data, which was analyzed to accept or reject the hypothesis. The data was collected from 90 APD employees and 10 Subject Matter Experts (n = 90 quantitative, n = 10 qualitative). Collectively, there was a 96% agreement rate amongst survey respondents that validated the assumptions in this study. The input and themes provided by the Subject Matter Experts also validated the assumptions. Based on the findings of this study, it has the potential to impact staffing levels at APD.

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