Policing Facts in the United States of America - Research Paper Example

? Policing in America Introduction The police department is majorly responsible for law enforcement in the United s of America.The police is mandated to ensure the safety of civilians by arresting any suspect or declared criminal to be tried in the law courts. Once found guilty of the offence, the criminal could be charged or punished through several ways, including being admitted in the correctional facilities among others. The police could also collaborate with other relevant bodies or agencies to respond to emergencies or threats to the civilians. Such emergencies include fire breakouts, floods, earthquakes and criminal attacks, among others. Among other responsibilities of the police include protection to top leaders, maintaining the general peace and order, protecting specific governmental or public property or infrastructure and ensuring order in the correctional facilities among others (Siegel, 2008). As a police officer, I would admit that my work is interesting and helpful to the public; however, it is faced with several challenges. This discourse tends to elaborate on the policing in the United States of America. Functions of the police According to the United States of America’s constitution, the police is mandated to ensure some specific responsibilities. The responsibilities are divided into three different categories namely maintaining order, enforcing law and providing service. The police are required to maintain order, mean they should protect the public from a few individuals who may opt to compromise the general peace of the public. The public has the right to call the police in case of crime or any suspicions. The rights have ranged from domestic to the public levels. In the family level, any of the spouse or children is free to call the police hotlines incase of any disparity. The citizens are encouraged to know their rights and call the police in case there is a party compromising the general peace of the other individuals. The police are also required to enforce the passed laws. This means that they have to ensure the laws are followed to the later, furthermore, they are to arrest any violator and bring her or him to justice. This could differ with different categories of the police. For instance, the local sheriff is not required to take the law into his or her own hand but to arrest the suspect and hand him or her to the judicial system. The marshals are however mandated to kill or arrest the criminal depending on the situation (Dammer, 2010). The marshals apply when the criminal is declared lethal in the public. The police are also required to provide services to the public or citizens. This applies in case of calamities or disasters. The police is required to collaborate with various bodies like the medics, first aid agencies to comfort the victims, by transporting them to safer grounds among other activities. The police should also protect the victims from being violated by the public and here they ensure there is no looting or robbery of the victims’ property. The police could also guide tourists or foreigners ensuring their general safety. The police could also enlighten the public on the dangers of certain substances like drugs, prostitutions and gambling among other activities. Still on services, the police could provide a safe environment for lost children or adults then later leas with relevant bodies like child care departments to ensure the victim is delivered to the right parents or guardians. The same police provides safety to the public during public gatherings like in sport arenas, public rallies or crusades. Police are also required to help the elderly adults in the banking facilities, health care facilities among others. Types of police in the United States There are different types of police in the country, and each is mandated to different responsibilities. The different categories are organized into some agencies, with each state having different kinds of agencies. It is also important to note that the police tend to have different powers and responsibilities as required by the State. Federal police is mandated by the United States Code to enforce federal laws. The federal police can operate in the entire country, and on many occasions, they partner with other law enforcement agencies like the FBI, among others. However, they are only to investigate cases under their jurisdiction. The department of Homeland Security corresponds to United States customs and border protection, Immigration and Customs enforcement, the secret service and the transportation security administration among others (Rosenberg &Turner, 2006). The department of Homeland security could in many occasions’ leas with the United States Coast Guard. However, the U.S department of defence may be involved during war among other serious criminal cases. It is important to note that different agencies may be forced to work together in case of serious calamity, or in a scenario where a large geographic area is affected. The agencies must first ascent to the mutual aid agreement like U.S Federal Protective Services, which dictates different roles played by the different agencies. The federal police is not authorized to the powers of the general police according to the United States constitution. However, they are mandated to handle criminal issues related to foreign affairs and those involving state to state (interstate). This laws at times tie the hand of the federal police for instance, they are not allowed to arrest any non-federal criminal or suspect, provided he or she does to move to another state. Majority of criminals could take that advantage and compromise the public peace or order. However, should the fugitive move to another state, he or she violates the federal law and can be arrested by the federal police (Roberts, 2002). Department of justice (DOJ) is another important police agency under the federal police. This group is majorly involved with the criminal investigation processes. They may collaborate with the FBI, DEA and the United States Marshalls among others. The Marshalls are involved when the suspect or criminal is rendered lethal, and he or she may be needed alive or dead. The Marshalls majorly handle the terrorists and serial killers among others. On many occasions they are not required to have search warrant to enter any private or public facilities. The State police is another category of police in the United States. The state police are majorly mandated to ensure the general and safety and health of the public. Different states have different names for the state police and these include State patrol and highway patrol among others. The state police reports or is under the attorney general in each state. The state police is further divided into different subdivisions, for instance there are those responsible for order in the campuses, state hospitals, correctional departments, water department and the game wardens among others. Both the departments have full powers to arrest any criminal or suspect who tend to compromise the public safety or order. The county police is another important category of police found in metropolitan cities. Some counties mandate the sheriff to handle minor criminal cases like minor thefts, trespassing and forgery among others. The county police is further subdivided into full-service, limited service and restricted services. The full -services are wholly mandated to oversee the police roles in the whole county. The limited –service police are not mandated to render their services in some locations, however, special contracts or arrangements can be made to enable them to serve such locations. Restricted –service police on the other hand only provide security to facilities or property owned by the county. They may patrol and maintain order on the county roads or major highways. They could also provide reinforcement to the municipal police in case of major criminal cases or occurrences. The sheriff officers could also be divided into the above categories. The full service sheriff is mandated to ensure complete law enforcement in the entire county. This may include regular patrol and investigations in any part of the county. The limited service sheriff on the other hand is mandated to ensure law enforcement in selected regions or institutions in the county. However, special agreements can be met to enable provide services to other non-jurisdiction areas. Restricted sheriffs are authorized to ensure law and order enforcement in specific locations, facilities and property owned by the county government. These duties may include providing safe transportation of prisoners from one facility to another, ensuring peace and order in the law courts, security in public auctions. The municipal police is another category of police who maintain law and order in the cities and larger communities, among other areas. They are majorly associated with towns or cities with larger budgets and responsibilities. The municipal police department is also called the metropolitan police department and is formed by emerging various police departments into a common unit. The main problem facing the metropolitan police department is the rapid population growth, which result in major criminal and social crimes among others. Who qualifies to be a police officer? There are certain qualifications to be met for one to gain entry into police training facilities then later get inaugurated to be a police officer. There are other special qualifications to be made for one to handle firearms among other special responsibilities. One has to be a legal citizen of the United States of America, must have a minimum of high school diploma, college degree or must have served in the country’s military system without any kind of indiscipline discharge. The candidate must be in good physical, psychological and generally medically fit. The candidate must have a clean criminal record; he or she must have a valid driving license without any serious traffic offence. The candidates are required to exhibit high levels of morals. One has to pass through the narcotic department to ascertain the accumulation levels of hard drugs like marijuana, cocaine and heroine among others (Terrill, 2009). The candidate should have no serious domestic offences or mental instability among others. Finally, the candidate should fit to walk around with firearms. The candidate is then subjected to various interview sessions which compromise of both written and oral interviews. The candidate is further subjected to various medical and physical fitness tests before he or she is promoted to the next stage of recruitment. There is a special team to conduct a background check to ensure the candidate is qualified or fit to be a police officer. The background check includes checking the candidates’ public relationship with the public. The candidates’ fingerprints are taken and run in various security systems to check whether he or she had committed any serious criminal offence. The candidate could also be subjected to a polygraph test under the monitor of a qualified psychologist to determine the candidates’ mental stability. The police oral board later meets the candidates and some relevant oral questions are asked before one qualifies. This is the category where the majority of the candidates is disqualified. The disqualified candidates’ records are kept so that they can be called upon should there be a shortage of police officers. After competing the training session, the candidates are inaugurated through a special festival where they are required to oaths so they can become police officers legally. Challenges facing the police department Any professional is expected to have the bright and dark sides. The police is faced with various challenges and these include the stipulated criminal laws in the country. The laws a times limit the police from eliminating the criminals in the country. The federal police is not allowed to arrest any criminal who commits a non-federal crime provide he or she stays in the state. Criminals could take advantage of these rights and commit more crime like harming the police or the public in general. The police is not allowed to arrest any criminal once he or she crosses the border of the neighboring country like Mexico. Various criminals are known to commit serious offences in the United States then seek refuge in the neighboring nations. Such crimes include kidnapping, supplying drugs, currency forgery and rape among others. The police at times have less superior weapons compared to those with the criminals and this may limit their efforts to bring the criminals to justice (Mcguire, 2004). Finally, a majority of criminals is technologically smart so that they can easily manipulate the police officers on duty. The police are paid low wages and this could force some to be dirty, and collaborate with major criminals like drug lords among others. Conclusion To conclude, the police is mandated to ensure law enforcement, order and provide specialized services to the public. There are different kinds of police which include the state, federal and municipal police among others. The police is required to have some set of weapons like the revolvers, pistols, teasers, active rifles and handguns among others. The weapons should only be used in special instances to slow down or kill the criminals depending on the crime situation. There are various qualifications to be met before one legally becomes a police officer. Such qualifications include the citizenship, academic qualifications, medical and physical fitness among others. The candidates are then subjected to the police oral board where some relevant questions are asked and those who fail are disqualified and required to exit from the training institution. Finally the candidate is inaugurated and made to say some oaths before one is crowned to be a legal police officer. The police is faced with various challenges and this include limiting legal framework, poor arms or weapons, poor technological know how and low salary package among others. However, despite all the challenges, the police are required to remain alert to protect the public from any kind of danger of frustrations. References Dammer, H. (2010). Comparative Criminal Justice Systems. USA: Cengage Learning. Mcguire, J. (2004). Understanding psychology and crime: Perspective on theory and action. USA: Open university press. Rosenberg M.,Turner R. H. (2006). Social Psychology: Sociological Perspectives. USA: Transactions Publishers. Roberts, J. (2002). Changing attitude to Punishment. USA: Willan publishers. Siegel, L. (2008). Essentials of criminal justice. USA: Cengage Learning. Terrill, R. (2009). World criminal justice systems. New York: Elsevier press. Read More