Chiefs of the local police – leaders of the local police organization – are at the crossroads of different policy areas. They constantly need to strike a balance between the expectations of the judicial and governmental authorities, the police organization, the public and many other stakeholders. The diversity of these sometimes conflicting demands – representing the complexity inherent to the police organization – offers a number of distinct challenges for police leadership. This article outlines different issues in police leadership with particular attention being paid to the leadership context of local police chiefs in Belgium. In the first part of this paper, we aim to summarize what the concept of leadership entails and discuss different leadership theories. Within this part, we also discuss research into police leadership in particular. In this analysis of (police) leadership, we try to define common grounds as to what constitutes ‘good’ police leadership. First of all, this overview tells us that the answer lies in the integration of different elements (traits, behaviour, situation) and different styles of leadership (transactional, transformational). A second conclusion is that (police) leadership is contingent on the particular context. In a subsequent part, referred to as ‘the police leadership debate’, we discuss the particularities of leadership in police organizations. On the one hand, we discuss the importance of leaders in the police organization and, on the other, we discuss the importance of context in leading a police organization, which refers to the hierarchical, bureaucratic and reactive nature of the police service as well as elements of accountability and pro-activity and to the particular demands of the socio-historic context. In a third part we discuss the Belgian case of police leadership. We outline the particular context of police leadership in Belgium while highlighting the implications and challenges for leaders. Specific attention is paid to the possible impact on police leadership of the local and national authorities, the local and federal police organization and the particularities of the district and the historical context of police reform. Subsequently, we discuss the Belgian policy on the police chief of the local police organization and highlight the problems that reside in the cycle of selection, performance, evaluation and development for the function of the local chief of police.