Commanding officer - Personal Statement Example

Task Commanding Officer As a commanding officer of the 103rd precinct, I am responsible for crime within the district. This 103rd precinct refers to a multi-cultural command around the area. The neighborhoods in these areas comprise of Hollis Park Gardens, downtown Jamaica Business District, Lakewood, Jamaica and Hollis. As a commanding officer of this area, I am responsible for all the crimes that take place within these neighborhoods. In addition, I also shoulder the responsibility of the quality of life within these societies, community affairs, and the level of crime within the community, which is at an all time high. As the new commanding officer of this 103rd precinct, have come up with a number of solid measures that will enable me to control the levels of crimes within these regions, as well as, ensure that the community is a safe and peaceful place to reside, with reigning peace and safety (Addington and Lynch 280). The level of crime within my precinct is very alarming to the extent that some old folks are contemplating moving out of the neighborhoods to safer regions. The region has a wide variety of crimes, which include felony assaults, auto theft and carjacking, burglaries and robberies, street mugging, and rape cases are very common in the area. In addition to these petty crimes, the region also has hardened gangsters who conduct daylight robbery, and fail to consider the quality of lives that they take away in the course of their theft or robbery escapades. All these criminal activities make the region an unsafe place to reside, as well as, a poor place for investments or any other business activity (Eterno and Silverman 66). My responsibilities as the commanding officer of this region are to reduce to a manageable level the rate of crime in the region, as well as, make the region conducive for both habitation and business investments purposes. The first way of reducing these crimes is to analyze the reason and cause behind each criminal activity. Research from crime stats of the region provides that the main reason why the region has a high level of crime is the lack of proper policing activities in the region. The area has a low ratio of police to citizens. The recommended ratio of police to citizens in this region is three police officers for every VIP, and one police officer for every 750 commoners. However, the current statistics of police to the public provide two police officers for every VIP and one police officer for one thousand five hundred common citizens (Kalinich, Klofas and Stojkovic 45). I intend to increase these ratios of police to the public to the recommended levels. Having the right numbers of police patrolling the region will lead to a considerable reduction of crime in the region. Furthermore, the police we have in the region, the lesser the levels of crime as criminals will feel afraid to perpetrate their criminal activities around a law-enforcing officer. In addition, the public will also feel protected and secure to carry on their day-to-day activities because of the assured security provided by police patrolling in their neighborhoods. These police department will station posts at strategic points in the region, with special considerations of regions that have high rates of crimes such as ghettos, shanties and slum regions. These officers will also conduct 24/7 patrols across the entire region in order to apprehend criminals who might be robbing or stealing, as well as, maintain general security of the area (Sutton and Trueman 14). The next step of reducing crime in my region will be to introduce a community-policing program. This is a program, which will initiate a unique relationship, as well as, a cooperation pact, between the police department and the public. Through this policy, I intend to bring the police closer to the public and foster a close-knit relationship between these two centers of the community. The resultant effect will be the creation of confidence, trust and loyalty between the two parties involved. As such, it will be much easier for the police to conduct their operations, as the public will happily cooperate with them. For instance, the public is usually aware of the whereabouts of all criminals in their regions. These criminals are their friends, family members, relatives, or close acquaintances. The public knows every movement these criminals makes, as well as, understand the adversities of the activities that they do, such as rape trauma, theft, robbery, and bloodshed, or death (Addington and Lynch 280). Since the public does not want to remain hostage to the criminals in their region, they will open up to the police and have these criminals arrested and brought to justice in order to maintain peace and tranquility in the area. The close relationship resulting from the community-policing program will foster faster transfer of such information from the public to the police. This is because members of the public will do this freely without fear of apprehension or ridicule for snitching. Consequently, the police will also set up a toll free hotline and distribute the numbers to the public in line with this policy. As such, any member of the public can make an anonymous call to the police department to report an on-going crime, or to snitch over the whereabouts of some hardcore criminals, or provide the police with relevant information that will enable them solve a given crime, such as providing evidence to a crime (Eterno and Silverman 66). This strategy of having adequate police officer manning the precinct, as well as, making sure they carry out their jurisdictions to the later will surely lead to a considerable reduction of the levels of crime in the region. Furthermore, the participation of the public through a community-policing program will enhance security levels within the community further as the police will get hold of all the necessary information that they require in order to apprehend criminals in the region, or to stop various crimes from happening. This move will enable the police to be proactive rather than reactive. They will use the intelligence they collect from their CID departments, as well as, the information provided y the public, to prevent criminals from undertaking crimes. This strategy will be especially helpful in eliminating drug dealers from the community, and putting an end to their drug trafficking business (Kalinich, Klofas and Stojkovic 45). One of the reasons why this area has a high level of crime is because of the drug business conducted in the region. There are numerous drug dealers in the region, selling all kinds of hard drugs and narcotics to the public, including heroin, bhang, cocaine, and opium. The presence of these drugs worsen the insecurity levels on the region as drug addicts will result to crime, especially those who are jobless and do not have a stable source of income, in order to get cash to procure their drugs to satisfy their daily cravings for drugs due to addiction. The community-policing program will enable the public to provide the police department with relevant information about these drug dealers, their movements, their activities, and their illegal operations. This information is very necessary to the police in such a manner that the police can easily monitor them and apprehend them during the act so that they get enough evidence to put them away in prison for a long time (Sutton and Trueman 14). My second responsibility is to watch out for the affairs of the community. These include all the activities undertaken within the area and their impacts or implications on the lives and survival of personnel within the community. I have to ensure that the community lives in peace and harmony and that everyone understands, cooperative, and helpful to their friends, neighbor, or strangers. For instance, these community affairs may involve close relations of all members of the society. As such, members of the public will be willing and able to assist one another thereby eliminating cases of desperation that sometimes drive people into crime. In addition, it will eliminate conflicts between members of the society, such as the rich and the poor, business traders and customers, neighbors to neighbors, as well as, natives to foreigners or strangers in the community (Addington and Lynch 280). This community faces a tragedy of discrimination resulting from racial differences, ethnicity, and religious affiliation. The whites, who are the majority of the population, look down upon the blacks and the colored races within the community. This racial discrimination arouses a lot of tension within the community, which may result, into war, crime, or other vengeful activities that may lead to massive losses of lives and property. In addition, the Muslims who are a minority in the community tend to introduce certain practices in the community that may lead to conflicts. However, their desire to transforming the entire community into Islam worship is a move that is totally against the rights and freedom of worship. Hence, the situation leads to a ticking bomb that can explode any time into religious conflicts and warfare. As a commanding officer of such a multicultural region, I am responsible of ensuring all members of the society coexist peacefully despite their differences (Eterno and Silverman 66). I intend to eliminate these conflicts by eradicating all anxiety, tension, and fear within the community. I would like to come up with a policy that would facilitate free interaction of all people despite their social status or affiliations. This I will achieve through a community empowerment program whereby the whole community comes together to work on a task or a project the benefits all members of the society despite their color, religion, ethnicity, or amount of wealth. These include police initiated activities such as crusades, seminars, and fundraising projects for a communal goal or activity that will result to beneficial outcomes to all members of the society. As a result, all members of the society will be accommodative of each other. They will not treat those different from them in any way or form with discrimination or bias. They will work and cooperate with each other, cooperation that will foster peaceful coexistence of all members of the society (Kalinich, Klofas and Stojkovic 45). The quality of life within my precinct is very wanting, especially considering the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor. The community has a small number, in fact, a few countable individual who are extremely rich and affluent. On the other hand, the majorities of members of the community are poor and live from hand to mouth. This widening social gap leads to a poor quality of life for members of this community since the poor do not give the rich peace to enjoy their money. Most of the low-income earners end up engaging in illegal or criminal activities in order to fend for themselves, and incidentally steal from the rich. As a result, the rich end up spending a tremendous amount of their fortune to protect and consolidate their wealth, an action that creates more tension and animosity in the society, such as increased crime levels (Sutton and Trueman 14). I intend to resolve this problem and enhance the quality of life within my community for both the rich and the poor by eradicating such tension and animosity that exists between the rich and the poor. I will use my position as the commanding officer of my precinct to invite prospective investors into the region, with an assurance of security and a conducive business environment, to invest into the area. This would create an expansive window of employment opportunities for most of the poor people within the community. As such, they will get financial empowerment and upgrade their standards of living from hand to mouth to an affluent social status. In addition, this effect will trickle down to the rich who will have less poor people to worry about who might loot their wealth. Consequently, tension and anxiety in the society will be a thing of the past, especially among the rich and the poor, hence a better quality of life for all members of the community (Addington and Lynch 280). Apart from empowering the community to be able to stand up for themselves financially, I will also initiate program whereby the police will go out and speak to the public, e.g. in public schools, in churches, or areas where large crowds of people gather from time to time. The police will talk to the public about the necessity of living in harmony with one another, especially the poor in relation to the rich. These speeches will incorporate encouraging the rich to start projects and programs that will empower the poor, most of whom were youths, through the creation of employment or other income generating activities. This will eventually lead to complete cooperation between these two factions of the society, and increase their loyalty and confidence in the police department. Henceforth, the police will be able to perform their duties smoothly without having many issues on their plate (Eterno and Silverman 66). In conclusion, my main motive in this precinct is to reduce the level of crime in the region through undertaking a number of activities. The first one involves increasing numbers of law enforcing officers in the community. The second is introducing a community-policing program whereby the police and the community collaborate freely to root out crime from the society. The third strategy is empowering members of the community so that they do not entirely depend on crime in order to generate their income. Proper execution of these measures will lead to a significant reduction in the levels of crime in precinct 103 (Kalinich, Klofas and Stojkovic 45). Work Cited Addington and Lynch. Understanding Crime Statistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Print. Eterno, John and Silverman Eli. The Crime Numbers Game: Management by Manipulation: Advances In Police Theory and Practice. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2012. Kalinich, David, Klofas John and Stojkovic Stan. Criminal Justice Organizations: Administration and Management, 5th Ed. Stamford, Connecticut: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Sutton, Raul and Trueman Keith. Crime Scene Management: Scene Specific Methods. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2013. Print. Read More