Discretion, Accountability & Future of Policing - Essay Example

?Discretion, Accountability & Future of Policing Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts 8th February, 2012 Introduction The society we live in today experiences a lot of problems including high crime rate and a lot of social problems. The work of the police in the society is important in ensuring the society live and operate in harmony. Contemporary policing demands that the implementation of several strategies that ensure the police force runs effectively. This essay will look into the techniques used by the police force as it concerns with their use of discretion in undertaking their duties. The essay will explore several theories advanced in elucidating on police discretion and how effective are these policies are in addressing the challenges facing law enforcers. Current Theories on Police Discretion Several theories have been advanced to analyze the behaviour of the police in undertaking their duties. One of the theories that have been advanced to explain the approaches to policing includes the Barley and Nixon theory. According to these authors, policing is a state of analysing the needs of the people in the society with the idea of providing security. These authors explore the activities of the police in the United States during in the 80’s and offer several lessons on policing. One of the lessons that we get to learn is that the police do not prevent crime but deal with criminal situations when they arise. However, these authors advance the theory that policing is best practised when it is analysed from a professional and constitutional manner (Broderick, 1977). For instance, they analyse the state of policing in the United States with the aim of providing solutions and setting up policing institutions. According to Barley and Nixon, through the solution of the problems facing the police we get to solve the problems associated with policing in the society. Another theory that was advanced in the analysis of policing was done by Bernard and Angel, whereby they elucidated on the aspects of the criminal justice system. Their theory analyses the differences in police discretion from a rational goal against the functional system model. Several theories are advanced by Bernard and Angle, whereby they talk of the theory of police professionalism as highlighted by Bittner in 1974. Other theories that were analysed include the theory that looks into problem-oriented issues and community policing. One of the theories that was analysed was the broken window theory, whereby researchers looked into a system where neighbourhood order was essential, using this model it was concluded that mutual regard for the system was good. The broken window theory was in effect an approach whereby people in different neighbourhoods felt safe when the police patrolled around their homes (Broderick, 1977). However, these activities had no effect in reducing the crime rate around these neighbourhoods. Most of the theories on policing were activity oriented and thus in the late 1990’s, new theories and approaches to policing were introduced to deal with realities and complexities of criminal justice. The criminal justice system is organised in a manner where the police force remain an integral part of the system. These new theories were aimed at total re-organization of entire areas of the criminal justice system. Some theories have been linked to the societal developmental changes such as economic changes or change in imprisonment rates. The court system which operates hand in hand with the police in the criminal justice system was reformed to improve on efficiency thus leading to changes in the policing sector (Gottfredson, 1979). New and improved systems of police operations were adopted across different countries with the aim of improving the effectiveness of the different police forces. For instance, the city of Cincinnati police force has adopted the use of crime prevention data obtained through research into crime (Duffee, 1980). The city has collaborated with students and researchers in making use of maps, case analysis or charts and graphs. Police officers are taught on how to analyse crime and recreate scenarios that are effective in fighting crime. Hypothesis Analysis The several theories that have been advanced to reform the criminal justice system have had the effect of changing policing in societies. One of the major impacts of these theories is that the police all around the world have become more informed on the criminal justice system. Early theories were meant to address problems facing policing and these led to formation of more effective police forces in curbing crime. The theories formulated in the 80’s were meant to address problems of increasing police presence in different sectors of the society. This approach was effective in turning police officers into professionals with the ability and powers to make decisions. However, these theories highlight the ineffectiveness of police officers in handling criminals since the police had powers of detention and human rights abuses on suspects (Duffee, 1980). The criminal justice system in the 80’s faced the problem of lack of necessary laws to guide on police discretion in matters relating to crime prevention. As a result, policing was reformed into a professional body in relation to dealing with crime. It was only in the early 1990’s that policing changed when organizational culture change was advocated in the policing sector. During this period, several theories elucidate that the policing was turned into an effective system with the capability of tackling crime. Criminal justice system studies were conducted with the aim of turning policing into an effective system capable of providing security. However, professionalism was not enough in enhancing police discretion since accounting for the actions of police was difficult. As a result, the reforms in the courts and the justice system were necessary in ensuring that the police operated within their mandate (Gottfredson, 1979). The changes were important for the criminal justice system since it ensured the police forces operated within the constitutional framework set in the criminal justice system. Several reform programs were introduced to tackle issues like tribalism, nepotism and corruption among police officers. Laws such as criminal law became the basis upon which the police conducted their operations leading to the police taking up new role as law enforcers. These new laws and reforms improved the relations between the police and other offices within the criminal justice system (George, 2011). This is because the police became more accountable for their actions as since they were guided by the laws enacted by different governmental arms. Impact of Strategies’ Implementation The implementation of the several theories in the world of policing has changed the criminal justice system completely. For instance, these days we take a look at policing from different perspectives. The role of the police has changed a lot from the past whereby the police were viewed as being in charge of the criminal justice system. The reform in the criminal justice system has had a big impact in the role the police play as a part of the criminal justice system. The role of the police in the criminal justice system is vital since the act as an intermediary between the important institutions such as the judicial system and the prisons departments. The early 1980’s, the studies were conducted to reform the police and give more resources for the task of implementing its activities. Early studies showed that the police were ineffective due to the fact that they lacked professionalism. At the same time, the lack of independence was a major problem that the police encountered since no laws were enacted to control the tasks to be handled by the police (Duffee, 1980). The early 90’s brought about a change in policing whereby policing turned its operations towards professionalism. The police force in several areas operated organizational change that was necessary in ensuring the police remain effective in their duties. For instance, several studies have shown that cities such as Cincinnati and other regions adopted technology and knowledge in fighting crime. Moreover, the police were more equipped to handle crime and tackle the challenges they faced easily. Police operations during this period increased rapidly since resources and other facilities were availed to police officers (Sparrow, 2011). Organizational change was the most emphasized reform during this period and this aimed at changing certain organs or structures within the police force. Organizational change was successful in maintaining dominance in the police force since operations were centralised. Moreover, new technology was embraced with the core technology relied upon being sourced from the outside world (George, 2011). The main challenges to professionalism was the act gaining legitimacy among police officers especially the lowly ranked officers who did not have prestigious positions. Furthermore, the work of the police is murky since it deals with addressing problems in the society and provisions of services to the people. Due to these, organizational change did not have the expected impact in changing policing. Embracing professionalism through organizational change was not effective enough in bringing change to policing. As a result, different scholars proposed the adoption of realistic and legitimate reforms. These reforms would address several issues plaguing the criminal justice system and it involved making realistic approaches to criminal justice. In some instances, reforms worked well in changing the police institutions but in some instances it did not. For instance, according to researchers such as Walker, he concluded that reforms resulted in hydraulic like changes in the policing sector. According to these scientists, reforming one section of the police leads to other problems cropping up in another section (Sparrow, 2011). As a result, policing has not changed much since the achievement of wholesome police reforms is very difficult. Reforms that have had the most effect in changing the institutions and characteristic of policing were those aimed at the society. Most of these reforms looked at the community and had the capability of changing social structures. For instance, currently the police face major challenges such as terrorism or the upsurge in immigrants in countries such as the United States (Sparrow, 2011). As a result, policing reforms should be geared towards addressing these issues from a broader perspective. Conclusion The criminal justice system is a complicated system since it comprises of different fundamental organizations. The effectiveness of the criminal justice system depends on the amount or limit of the discretion of the police. Several reforms have been enacted to control and monitor the behaviour of the police in undertaking their duties. Most of these reforms were geared towards changing the organizational activities of the police. The police had to conduct their activities in line with the rules and regulations set by different organs within the criminal justice system. Reforms in the police sector contributed heavily in ensuring law enforcement are practised as per the expectations of the society. The more challenges the police faced, new laws and changes were enacted to tackle the problem facing policing in the society. All these changes were necessary and they were all obtained through the significant changes in the society. References Broderick, J. J. (1977). Police in a Time of Change. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press. Duffee, D. (1980). Explaining Criminal Justice: Community Theory and Criminal Justice Reform. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland. George, L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson. (2011). Broken Windows: The police and neighbourhood safety. Cincinnati: The Atlantic Monthly Group. Gottfredson, M. R. & Hindelang, M. J. (1979). Decision Making in Criminal Justice: Toward the Rational Exercise of Discretion. New York: Plenum. Sparrow, M. (2011). New Perspectives in Policing. Boston, MA: National Institute of Justice. Read More