Assignment 2: Revisions of Foundations of the Development and Functions of Police
WEEK 4 ASSIGNMENT

WEEK 4 ASSIGNMENT 8

Foundations of the Development and Functions of Police

Rimi Salwan

CRJ 210 Law Enforcement Operations

Professor Mark Pereyda

July 30, 2020

Question 1

Policing in America grew in three eras: the political era, reform era, and community era. Each period was characterized by different features, advancing from the first to the third. Policing provides the history of police from childhood through training to serve in America’s street (Hemant et al., 4). The police were taught using different policing models, such as community policing, problem-oriented, and traditional, as well as zero-tolerance. The above models provided efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery. The three eras portrayed different characteristics, as discussed below.

During the political era in the 1840s, the local politicians were represented by the police who patrolled the neighborhoods to enhance law and security. Failure to deploy civil workers created a room for hiring the police to perform public duties. The mandate of hiring, firing, and managing the police was with the local politicians. The political era meant that the politicians’ mission was to be accomplished by the police who had to keep the politicians pleased or else they would be fired without explanations. The political era was marked by the American industrial revolution and slave trade abolition. Large cities were also formed from the political age. The period was later associated with brutality, and the corruption and reform era began in the 1970s to rectify the political era’s mistakes.

The reform era was characterized by diversity in policing issues, political reforms, and social activism to address the people’s problems by industrialization, immigration, and political corruption. Urbanization was also of the reasons for the existence of the reform era. During the reform era, technological advancements were witnessed. The policing process took a new twist, and officers could patrol in vehicles to decrease the response time, which used to be too long during the political era. Community era was developed in the late 1970s, and some parts of the 1980s after the reform era and the police could be seen in the frontline to enforce civil rights. During this era, the police promoted positive interaction with the locals, developed long-lasting partnerships, and were focused on problem-solving.

Different features characterized each policing era, and the way of doing things defines the above explanations. Besides the identifiable differences, the three periods were similar in that they aimed to develop the Americans’ independence and create a sense of belonging to all citizens. The eras depended on each other, following an improvement and development pattern from the first to the third.

Question 2

During police training, the unskilled and inexperienced trainees are taught the state laws and ways of carrying out criminal investigations (Daniel et al., 1). The police are also trained on handling firearms, controlling traffic, and self-defense in case of personal attacks from enemies and other fighters. Before trainees’ graduate and are ready to handle the service professionally, they are required to know some computer skills, acquire defensive driving skills, and administer first aid to themselves and their colleagues at work. The essential skills and training that police trainees should learn as soon as they arrive on the police training grounds are computer skills, state laws, and firearms training.

Learning the state laws would enable the trainees to know what they are required to do to be law abiders and reputable people in the society. Learning state laws acquaints people with knowledge of their limits and boundaries as required by the law. Police officers should lead by example and for the citizens’ best interest; hence, they should be conversant with the state’s rules and regulations and adhere as required. Academy police should undergo computer training to help them match the ever-growing technological standards. Investigations are done electronically using computers and other gadgets that need adequate knowledge to perform duties as required. The final needed essential training is the use of firearms. Trainees must be taught how, when, and where to use guns to avoid casualties and self-attacks such as suicide cases.

Failure to administer the above skills to police trainees would be deadly. For example, young police may use office firearms to commit suicide or kill innocent people; hence, proper training is required. Officers not skilled in operating computers would pose security concerns and portray the inability to handle cyber-crimes and other internet-related cases. Another real-world event would be officers who do not understand the state laws; this could create a police unit’s bad public reputation.

Question 3

Community policing grants the community more responsibilities in handling minor concerns. The city must not involve the police in petty issues; they can solve themselves but instead should feel free collaborating with the police in undertaking significant matters. Community policy calls for interdependence between the police and the community in enforcing law and order (Travis, 5). Four leading principles characterize community policy.

The first principle is the philosophy and organizational strategy, which requires police to be guided by law in enforcing community guidelines. The principle requires the policy and the community to develop attainable strategies that mutually benefit all the involved parties. Commitment to community empowerment is the second principle of community policing. The city should be considered essential and an asset; hence should be empowered to facilitate law enforcement in conjunction with the police. Community members should be taught the state laws and the consequences of defiance. Decentralized and personalized policing enables citizens to handle security issues from wherever they are by taking personal responsibilities and being brother’s keepers. The fourth principle is to provide immediate and long-term proactive problem-solving mechanisms to ensure that no problem lasts. The community has the responsibility of settling any issue arising from whichever dimension.

Principles of community policing facilitate law enforcement by involving the community in administering justice and order. The city experiences a sense of belonging hence carrying personal responsibilities in ensuring the success of community policing. Community policing differs from traditional policing in how the two perceive the community in its diverse policing goals. These differences would be experienced through community policing in a scenario where the population is involved in creating more police resources to administer law and prevent criminal activities. On the other hand, traditional policing would call for the community to be forced into a crime response system where investigations are taken after the fact. This would take a lot of time.

Question 4

Many police agencies across the world prefer the SARA (Scanning, analysis, response, and assessment) model of problem-solving in their areas of jurisdiction. Each stage is essential in the problem-solving process. The scanning stage involves identifying the recurring problems that touch both the police and the public and developing goals of dealing with the issues. The scene is essential as it enhances the problems’ selection to determine their frequency of occurrence and provide a closer examination to create the best results. Scanning is followed by an analysis of the identified issues to determine the root cause and the best formula for working it out. The analysis stage is primarily for the proper understanding of issues and helps in developing a workable hypothesis of how the problems exist and how they can be solved.

The response is the third process where interventions from the police are welcomed through sound brainstorming. Before responding, benchmarking from neighboring communities is encouraged to acquire the best solution for the problem. The response stage helps in outlining a response plan effective in solving the problem. The final step is assessment, where a determination of whether the idea was implemented is made. The assessment stage requires officers to evaluate the entire process to determine whether the set goals and objectives have been achieved by properly utilizing resources. The collection of public ideas about how the process has been initiated is crucial in the response stage. It enables officers to analyze the feedback and identify areas of improvement. This stage is vital because it defines the SARA model’s success and areas of development in case the project did not meet the set standards (Steve & McGregor, 2).

Question 5

Detectives and the undercover officer must possess a high level of intelligence and discipline. They deal with a very delicate docket that requires sharpness to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery. The top five qualities to be possessed by the two parties are as discussed below (Devin & Sharps, 3).

Detectives and undercover police must demonstrate a sense of humor. Humor at the workplace fades the seriousness of work and enables the officers to interact freely with the public and acquire the information in question from the primary source. Officers need to be comical to convince suspects and avoid suspicions from the audience. The second quality is critical thinking skills. Detective and undercover policy must be intelligent to apply critical thinking skills in situations that seem complicated and sometimes beyond human control. Investigators should deal with cases depending on the magnitude and the evidence provided. After a thorough analysis of various scenarios, especially in areas of ethical dilemma, the ability to make firm decisions requires critical thinking skills.

Patience is the third quality that must be utilized to make investigations successful. Investigators should be patient enough not to make a ruling before acquiring all the information needed from different parties. Regardless of obtaining the information needed during the investigation, due process must be followed to administer justice to all the parties involved. Both detectives and undercover officers must exercise self-control to avoid doing things beyond their jurisdiction. Self-controls enable the officers to remain humble and execute their duties as required by the law. They should not exceed or do less of what is expected because of favor, discrimination, or other personal gains. The fifth quality is excellent listening skills. Good listening demonstrates professionalism and the ability to lead and be led. Officers must listen keenly to get the bottom of what they are investigating before giving their final stand. The above-discussed qualities are very much needed in the real world because most of the investigations being carried are feared not to follow the required procedures, and investigators do not have the top five qualities as discussed.

Sources

1. Blumberg, Daniel M., et al. “New directions in police academy training: A call to action.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16.24 (2019): 4941.https://journalcswb.ca/index.php/cswb/article/view/116/243

2. Burton, Steve, and Mandy McGregor. “Enhancing SARA: a new approach in an increasingly complex world.” Crime Science 7.1 (2018): 4.. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40163-018-0078-4

3. Kowalczyk, Devin, and Matthew J. Sharps. “Consequences of undercover operations in law enforcement: A review of challenges and best practices.” Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology 32.3 (2017): 197-202. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2016-49735-001

4. Ojha, Hemant R., et al. “Can evidence and voice influence policy? A critical assessment of Nepal’s forestry sector strategy, 2014.” Society & Natural Resources 29.3 (2016): 357-373. http://202.45.147.21:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/371

5. Richardson, Travis. Developing Understanding in Effective Community Policing: A Single Case Study. Diss. University of Phoenix, 2019.https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315202662/chapters/10.4324%2F9781315202662-7

WEEK 4 ASSIGNMENT

Foundations

of

the

Development

and

Functions

of

Police

Rimi Salwan

CRJ 210 Law

Enfor

cement

O

perations

Professor

Mark Pereyda

July

30, 2020

WEEK 4 ASSIGNMENT

Foundations of the Development and Functions of Police

Rimi Salwan

CRJ 210 Law Enforcement Operations

Professor Mark Pereyda

July 30, 2020