The Police Interaction with the Criminal Justice System - Term Paper Example

Urban Policing Introduction The concept of Urban Policing originated in 1820s. The civil society of London was controlled by the Metropolitan police in the year 1829. Police practices vary from one field to another. In the Urban policing system various job responsibilities assigned to different departments. In the modern policing system most of the administrative as well as operational procedures are performed by the police departments. Before 1820, the safety and security of citizens were taken care by private security agencies in the western society. After the introduction of Policing system most of the security measures were performed by the police teams and they were under the direct payroll of government. The police interaction with the criminal justice system like criminal justice, juvenile justice and public mental health system is regarded is the relationship between urban policing and the criminal justice system. Some historians argued that the in response to the rise in criminal activities police force was created however there is little empirical evidence in favor of the arguments. Social scientists in the modern world believe that creation of police force was a result of gradual change in the long-run trends. New York experienced most of the riots between 1806 and 1900, which explains that Urban Policing was implemented because of gradual intolerance against riots and disorder. In the 20th century police forces were made in-charge of almost all social securities. The performance of urban policing depends on other parts of system along with criminal justice system as it is directly proportional to swift processing of criminal cases and proper judgments by prosecutors and judges. This paper highlights the important factors of urban policing and its impact on criminal justice system. Discussion This part of the essay will compare and contrast urban policing on how it has or it will impact the criminal justice system. Historical implications of Urban Policing Community policing has become the national mantra of the American police. For more than 15 years police officers, problem-oriented policing and community have been advanced as powerful organizing themes of public safety. The term police, itself means civil administration and police departments have been in-charge of administration of the city unlike the military force. The police represent the civil power of government. The first organized American police department was created in Boston in 1838. The police forces have been deployed during riots and they worked according to the instructions provided to them by the administrative departments. The hierarchy of police system is directly under the political parties and it has resulted in distrust of people on police forces. It has been observed that the police system works for public welfare and they play pivotal role in maintaining peace and safety in the society. The police departments of United States of America are divided in several departments and agencies. The most prominent police department is the New York Police Department, which is accountable for any kind of criminal activity in the society. Each and every criminal activity is recorded in the file of the New York Police Department and this department is situated in several places in order to assure public safety. Comparison There are many similarities in the working style of the of the urban police system at present compared to the past. With the interference of external pressures including demands for honesty, efficiency and crime control the focus of the police system has narrowed on crime. Criminal activities are first reported to police departments and they take legal and ethical actions to resolve the problems associated with the crime and present people convicted for crime to the justice system. From distant past to present it has been observed that much interference of political parties and capitalists in the working system of police has resulted in ignorance towards small crimes. The inefficiency in working of urban police have resulted in delay of court procedures and affected the judgment system in the past. In the modern world also there are many examples, where it has been observed that innocent people have been provided with wrong judgments due to interference in the working of police system. Police departments are also responsible for collecting proper evidences and present the same in the front of the justice system in-time in order to make sure that there is no room for wrong judgments. The government has understood the circumstances and developed federal agencies above the police system to make sure that the police department is working appropriately for betterment of people. The incorporation of federal agencies over police system has improved the working style of police men to a great extent. The urban policing have a great impact on the criminal justice system. The urban police system in the modern world is responsible for collecting evidences regarding a crime and identifying the responsible for the crime. After identifying the person the police department is also responsible for further investigation, if the person denies from the criminal act. After gathering complete evidences the police department is responsible for presenting the accused to the criminal justice system i.e. the court of law (Monkkonen, 2004). If the accused is found guilty the justice provides sentence for the punishment and the police department is again given orders to hold the criminal in the correction centre. The entire procedure is based on the efficient working of the police department. Drug and Narcotics Department is an extended part of Urban Policing. The Drug and Narcotics department is responsible for identifying supply of illegal drugs in the society and punish the persons handling drugs. In United States of America there are strict laws against usage of drugs and accused people can be imprisoned life-time if found guilty. The Drug and Narcotics department was formed because the police department was not sufficient to identify criminal activities because of too-much pressure they were already exposed to. In the working method of the Drug and Narcotics department the local police department plays important role because the illegal drugs and the accused person are sent to the local police department from where they are finally sent to the judicial system. This shows the responsibilities and the working of the urban police department in the society. The FBI has published an annual Uniform Crime Report that contains extensive reports of both non-violent and violent crimes. Non-violent crimes are mostly regarded as the criminal activities related to property. The FBI has been investing most of the criminal activities in the United States of America since 1960. It has been observed that the crime rate has decreased simultaneously after the implementation of agencies like FBI in the police working system. The government of United States has focused on enhancement of technology for the working system of police and it will have positive effects in the future of criminal justice system (Fassin, 2013). The law enforcement agencies have also observed the urban police systems are facing some difficulties to mitigate the criminal activities that are being operated internationally. In order to reduce the criminal activities much technological advancement has been incorporated in the working system of urban police. The instruments and arms urban police use are of high quality and many terrorists and criminals have been caught using the instruments. The ongoing issues related to terrorism have become a global concern and many countries are fighting together against terrorism. The urban police forces are authorized to investigate any person during suspicion. In order to overcome the challenges associated with future criminal activities like terrorism, FBI has already implemented some steps that can prevent disastrous events, which occurred in past. Installation of public surveillance cameras in public places, use of satellite camera to locate a people or track commodities etc can help to prevent acts related to terrorism. These implementations can also be useful in tracking of criminals. Hence there are many examples that are implemented by the urban police, which has been useful at present and it will have positive impact on the future of criminal justice system. Contrast The urban police system had a different kind of role during the 1820s and later part of 19th century however there have been some developments due to which gradual changes have been observed in the working of urban police system. Previously the urban policing was initialized to fulfill the issues related to public security only. However, urban police in the modern world perform majority of the tasks related to administration apart from operation. The police department in past was based on only one single agency under the direct order of the government. The police department in the modern world is divided in many parts. There are several departments and effective working is expected from them in order to make sure that there are no wrong judgments provided in the court of law (Slovak, 1988). Previously there was low technical equipments and low budget vehicles provided to police-men. In the modern world security has become one of the most important factor and police-men are provided all sort of equipment required to keep the society peaceful and safe. The formation of extended agencies like FBI and Drug and Narcotics department has been done because the criminal activities in the modern world have greater effect and every country is fighting to overcome the challenges associated with crime. Apart from the formation of several departments, there are some changes that are constantly being observed in the working method of the urban police system. It has been observed that community policing has become a new orthodoxy for police men. The changing relationship between police and public is the main reason behind emergence of community policing. Community policing has many perspectives and each of them is built on assumptions it has very little empirical evidence (Lippert, 2013). The theme of community policing suggests that law enforcements can be focused on a high scale. Apart from community policing in recent times problem-oriented policing ideas have also captured the vision of police officials. Previously the focus of policing was to follow law enforcement and in the modern world crime prevention and community building are the major objectives of policing. Previously the police cops reacted after getting order from their hierarch however in the modern world police cops are proactive and they try to reach a place of crime immediately after getting information from any source. This shows that policing has gradually changed with the change in the society. Hence the working conditions of the urban police department have developed on a large scale compared to the traditional policing. Need for enhancement Despite the facts that urban policing has gradually developed from the traditional form of policing, there are some areas where improvement is required. The urban policing in the 19th century was insufficient to deal with the criminal justice system. From the year 1950 to 1970 criminal activities were occurred the most in the United States of America. Moreover, occurrences of riots were also optimum during this period. In the year 1960, the special department of United States of America, FBI was given the power to introduce law enforcements and set parameters of criminal activities. During this period, some other extended department of urban policing was also formed to overcome the issues related to crime (Wolcott, 2005). The idea of deviation of the policing system was successful and government of the United States of America incorporated some new laws for the betterment of the American society. Social disturbances are a part of the society and they can-not be aimed to be eliminated completely but changes in the police system played very important role to overcome the challenges. Similarly the problems that exist today in the society need emphasis and the primary target of the urban policing is to focus on the issues appropriately. There is always a requirement of change in the society and policing is one of the most important parts of a civilization hence enhancement of policing is an essential part. Theorists and historians believe that changes have occurred in the urban policing due to rise in criminal activities but the next phase of change in police system has different implications. Most of the incidents in the Western countries like France, Britain have faced lethal interactions between youth and the police due to which major concerns have been emerged. The participation of youth in riots is not acceptable for any society in the world. Youths are regarded to be the future citizen of a nation and their safety and interests should be the primary concern for the government and the policing (Martin, 1995). There is a scope for change in the urban policing due to the traditional methods of reacting during a crime incident. Urban policing are highly disciplined and the cops are required to follow the direct orders from their seniors despite the consequences. Enhancement is required in the police department due to this reason because sometimes the order-givers are not aware of the situation in a crime scene. It is essential that police cops understand a given situation and react appropriately based on the favor of their nation. In the United States the incident of September 11, is remembered as a gray day but the way of reaction from the urban policing was not expected during the period. The government agencies and police department acted emotionally instead of acting professionally and many innocent people became victims. There is a system that urban policing follows and it is required to understand that there might be a problem in the system due to which issues like criminal activity and corruption is still high in the society. Implementation of technology is not enough to deal the problems that have encountered the entire police system. Some changes are required to be made in order to mitigate the problems completely and enhance the safety and security of people. Changes required for betterment of Urban Policing There are several changes that can be implemented for enhancing the urban policing. First of all Safe guarding the freedom of citizens is essential hence urban policing should try to hire more cops and assure people the safety towards their living. Most of the countries face problems due to social disturbance. There should be strict laws against the people, who create social disturbances and police departments should make charges against each every criminal either accused for violent crime or non-violent crime. Preservation of public property is also an essential requirement along with preservation of private property (Ismaili, 2010). In the modern world urban cops have worked appropriately to take responsibility of property related issues but in some areas due to lack of maintenance of law and order people create problem in the society. Urban police should be given the authority to take legal actions in any circumstances against any person with or without power. Police department should be made more powerful and their actions should only be validated by their own department. Urban policing should be trained to respect life of people and preserve democratic processes. Law enforcements should be fair for every citizen of a nation and each and every task performed by police cops should hold responsibility and integrity. The minority group should not be paid more attention in the modern world in fact each and every group should be treated equally. Unequal treatments can only give rise to riots and other social disturbances. Urban policing is mostly utilized by politicians, capitalists and actors for their security purposes. Usage of public services unnecessarily should not be entertained unless in official duty situations. Use of police forces in safety of elite people reduces the amount of force required for securing life of other people as well as property. Hence urban policing system should be changed in order to maintain equality and prosperity in the society. Police forces should be deployed during public conflicts and they should be provided that weapons that do-not hurt people. Riots and mass-mob are mainly the result of conspiracies or regional conflicts hence the people participating in the riots are generally innocent people. Urban policing should be given special training to handle these types of delicate situations. Improvising urban policing is not possible by changing the police working system only. Government and people have to be supportive in order to implement the changes (Dempsey, 2013). It has been observed that most of the times government or citizen of a country do-not allow necessary changes to occur in the civil system. The interference of people and government due to their personal interest causes the nation to suffer. Hence it should be kept in mind that urban policing is just not a group of people giving orders. Urban policing is the system that safeguards the civic requirements of people and police forces should be supported in order to enhance the criminal justice system. Conclusion Based on the above discussion, it is clear that urban policing has a significant impact on criminal justice system. The urban and rural policing system was incorporated in the society in 1820s and several changes have been made in the policing system thereafter. Urban policing plays a very important role in the interaction process with criminal justice and juvenile justice. The police departments are responsible for identifying criminal activities and criminals in the society. They are also responsible for setting appropriate charges against accused convicts based on which the justice system declares the punishment for convicts. There have been many changes in the urban policing system from distant past to the present system. In the modern world urban policing system is expected to act in proper time and ensure that there is no delay in processing of criminal cases. The police system is a centralized civil authority that has been provided with special power for maintaining law and order in the society. Urban policing is completely handled by legal bodies and police officers are strictly required to act according to the law enforcements. Urban policing is not only responsible for identifying accused persons; they are also responsible for following rules and regulations while handling convicts in the correctional centers. In the past the performance of police was not much valued due to which many disturbances like riots occurred in the society however in the modern policing system such problems have been rectified and proper systems have been incorporated for betterment of criminal justice system. There are some areas, where enhancement is required in the urban policing system in order to deal with future problems associated with criminal justice. Hence, it can be concluded that urban policing plays a pivotal role in the society and its relationship with criminal justice system is significant. References Dempsey, J. (2013). An Introduction to policing. New Jersey: Pearson. Fassin, D. (2013). Enforcing Order. New Jersey: Pearson. Ismaili, K. (2010). US Criminal justice policy. New York: Springer. Lippert, R. (2013). Policing Cities. Stamford: Cengage Learning. Martin, M. (1995). Urban Policing in Canada. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Monkkonen, E. (2004). Police in Urban America. New York: Springer. Sloval, J. (1988). Styles of Urban Policing. New York: McGraw-Hill. Wolcott, D. (2005). Cops and Kids. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More