Dealing with Policing in the Society - Essay Example

Comparative look at traditional versus community-oriented or problem-oriented policing and Section # of INTRODUCTION The police force has always been a very important part of the system which runs the country as it has been handed the responsibility of looking after the justice that ensues as well as the elimination of all sorts of crime. They have a role in which they have to do their task actively and the time element is very crucial in their job description. If the police do not reach a spot where they are needed on time, their reaching afterwards would not be of any importance. Moreover, the influence that they have on the country is of a very high level and they have been vested the authority and power by the Government to regulate and manage matters across the country to their utmost potential. They play a binding force in the society in which they operate. If they would not have been present, the law breakers would have been on the loose, with no fear of the law enforcers and would not have felt any obligation to follow the rules. (Thomas, 1993) The police force is also a very visible occupation in any system as the most is expected out of them. They are expected to act in ways which will make the society a better place to live and this puts a lot of pressure on them. Moreover, they are also often criticized the most on various points, ranging from the ethical view point and the crucial nature of their job. (Mike, 2005) The police force has seen many changes in the way it is organized, in the way it is carried out and the following pages will throw light on this journey of policing. TRADITIONAL POLICING When it comes to studying the traditional policing, which has prevailed since time immemorial, it would help if the history of policing is studied. The first police force was organized in the year in the country of France to assist King Louis XIV. But if we consider the history of police all around the world, it can be said that it has originated and flourished in different parts of the world in different time periods due to slightly different reasons. (Thomas, 1993) In Ancient China, the police force was known as the “prefects” and this title has existed for more than hundreds of decades. In the state of Jin, these prefects were dispersed all over, and each one of them had a different kind of authority, which was limited to a certain extent and even their employment period was set and defined, rather than ongoing. They had to report to the local magistrate. (Mike, 2005) When it comes to Ancient Europe, the surprising factor is that it was the slaves who were made to serve the purpose of the police. These slaves were owned publically and this was the rule in Ancient Greece. They had to keep a check outside public meetings. They maintained the discipline which was required and kept the crowd in order and control. They were called the “vigils” (Adrian, 1979) As mentioned above, the first proper police force was formed under the King Louis XIV and it was organized in the city of Paris. Europe’s biggest city at that time was Paris. The title of the highest post in this police force was “lieutenant general of police”. The definition of this police force was to make sure that the serenity of the state is maintained through all means and to be a boulder to any sort of disturbance, or evil that the state could face and to make sure that each and every citizen lives by the rules and understands the importance of doing so. The police had both economic duties as well as social duties. They had to safeguard the economic interests of the country in totality and that of every individual as well plus they had to maintain that social calm and binding force that a society needs. Therefore, the duties were challenging and the expectations were high. The police force is now pretty much known as having a monopoly in an area where they can use their authority and power with as much rigor as they want plus the fact that they can even use physical force to get their task done gives them a very visible difference in the eyes of the law breakers and every citizen for that matter. (Tim, 2005) Many anthropologists have commented on the role of the police force to be changing and revolutionizing as being helpers in the rise of capitalism and who played a central role in undermining the working class. In the 19th century and onwards, escalated development was seen in this job area. The most obvious development was that now policemen had uniforms to wear. They had uniforms, from which they can be distinguished from afar. This police force was that of Paris as well, which was reorganized after the French Revolution. This was the work of Napolean I who gave these police officers the name of “city sergeants”. In United States of America, it was Boston which saw the establishment of the first organized and proper police force in the year 1838. It is also important to note the way police forces have been usually organized. The primary three ways of police organization are centralized, decentralized and paramilitary. In the centralized police organization, the police officers are given less authority on decision making and less autonomy on the task that they have been given to perform. When it comes to the decentralized decision making, police officers have got a lot of authority and say in the decision making process and they can change their decisions right on the spot according to the situation at hand. There is a vast difference between both of these ways, as the decision making authority in the centralized lies with the highest authorities, which can sometimes be the undermining forces for the successful service that a police force can provide, whereas in the decentralized, decision making is scattered and is high with every individual police man and this can sometimes give great results if every police man understands the responsibility which has been vested in him and acts in a smart manner but this can also go wrong when individual police man, sometimes, misuse the authority that has been vested in them or simply make the wrong decisions as they are not that experienced to make the right choice. (Adrian, 1979) The paramilitary way of police organization does not exactly mean the military way. Rather, it is a group which has to be formed in such a hierarchy which defines its style in the manner in which a military is designed. And it even operates on a command structure which is highly military in nature. (Tim, 2005) COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING Community oriented policing is the new way in which policing is being carried out and has pretty much changed the way the police force is supposed to act and how they are supposed to be perceived by the public. It is a new way in which law enforcement can be done. Street crime is on the rise nowadays and community oriented policing very well can curb these problems through its nature. Street crimes such as violence involving crimes or even as simple as drug trafficking can be effectively eliminated through the following of the community oriented policing. The most encouraging factor for this type of policing is that it has become successful in gaining acceptance on a large scale in many countries and in many types of police organizations. (Mike, 2005) Basically, community oriented policing comes down to trust and the cooperation of the police force on the public that they serve and the public’s extension of faith and collaboration that they wish to extend to the police force which serves them. The whole idea is based on the fact that efforts of belief and trust will be mutual and will be present on both sides of the spectrum. It works very well with vicinities which have been highly afflicted with street crimes and problems related to helplessness and despair around the area. Its foundation is based on the fact that it is simply aiming at solving the problem at hand, rather than having a proper whole police force set up to follow rules and procedures in doing their task. The police force, if it follows the community oriented policing, will be able to be prevent the problem before it strikes, following the principle of “prevention is better than cure”. The police force will not start acting after the problem has strike, rather it will build such a repo with the public in which it operates that the public will themselves come to the police to get the problem solved before it is too late. In this approach, the public and the police will work hand in hand in maintaining the peace of the society. A police officer is assigned to each area and then it is his job to build trust for himself in the eyes of those who occupy the neighborhood in which he has been posted. Even those people who simply come to the area to work but live somewhere else must also be included in the agenda of the police officer to build trust for himself. Because they are business people and they are involved in the business which is going on in the area. Businesses can have many problems, which would need to be sorted out before they actually occur. (Thomas, 1993) Problem oriented policing strategy is pretty much same as the above mentioned community policing. It even has a response device, where the police officer will get ready and give out alternatives as to how the problem should be faced. What should be done by the police themselves? What should be done by the public? An assessment is done simultaneously of the problem so that effective solution of the problem can be taken out and loopholes in the whole strategy can be caught. (William, 2007) COMPARE AND CONTRAST Comparing and contrasting the traditional versus the community oriented policing is not an easy task as both these approaches have their due share in the society. The traditional policy is one which has existed since time immemorial and the foundations of the policing have been formed on this policy. Whereas, the community oriented policing is a relatively new concept in the area of policing and is hoping to form a central part in the way future policing will be done. Therefore, a vast difference comes in the time periods since which they have been here and the place they have in the subject of policing. (William, 2007) The major similarity lies in the fact that both want to maintain the peace and calm in the society by being its binding force. The final aims and objectives of both will be the same but their resultant path will be different and the approach they use to problem solving will be different. (Alan, 2002) Another contrasting factor is their approach to problem solving. The traditional approach believes in curing the problem after it has occurred, whereas the community oriented or problem oriented approach is bent upon preventing the problem before it can happen. Therefore, the ratio of problems occurring in the traditional approach is way more than its latter because no efforts are made to curb them before it happens. Moreover, another contrast is that when the problem finally occurs, the police officers who follow the community oriented policing approach have a more thorough and deeper understanding of the problem that the one who will follow the traditional approach because the community oriented approach will have had a forecasting outlook towards the problem before they could have occurred and therefore they have prior assessment of what the problem is and how far its impact can reach and the effects it can have on various people. It would therefore become even easier for the community oriented police officer to solve the problem than the traditional police officer. (William, 2007) Another difference between the traditional and the community oriented approach is that the community oriented officer will be more connected with the people that he is serving. The trust and faith that the people will have on the community approach officer will be way higher than they have on the traditional police officer. The traditional police officer is thought to have intentions which serve his own purpose and the fact that he is just being a police officer because it is his job. It is blamed upon him that he does not do it out of self interest in the job and the fact that intrinsic motivation does not underlie the traditional police officer is primary. (Philip, 2002) Another fact that exists is that the traditional police officer is viewed to make misuse or excessive use of the authority that has been given to him. It has even been blamed upon them that they can sometimes even go as far as using physical force against the public. But when it comes to the community oriented policing force, they have been said to have a special place in the hearts of the public in the sense that the public highly trusts them and has full faith in them in terms of solving their problems and taking them into confidence in issues they would never tell anyone about. (Tim, 2005) The last comparison is done in the trial and testing of the general rules and procedures that form each approach. The rules of the community oriented policing approach have not been tested till date and the results have not been verified. Whereas, the traditional policing approach has been in function since time immemorial and has curbed crimes since ages and therefore, the approach is pretty much tried and tested. CONCLUSION In conclusion, it can be said that both traditional approach and the community oriented approach to problem solving have their own set of pros and cons and it would be very difficult to suggest a single approach’s effectiveness more than the others. Yet if given a choice, it would be the community oriented or the problem oriented approach that would outweigh the traditional approach, because it gives a very responsible and non dictator picture of the police force where it plays its due job very effectively by being an ally of the public for which it serves, rather than serving the purpose of being a fear of element for the public in general. (Alan, 2002) When it comes to the future of the policing, what is very important is the fact that every police officer should feel accountable for the duty that has been vested in him. When the element of accountability will come in each police officer, the police force will be escalated to another level of respect from the public because it will know that the police force has their best interests at heart. Moreover, other recommendations for the future are that the police force should learn to adapt to the environment and act according to what the present situation needs. (Tim, 2005) Lastly, the police force should not believe that it, in any way, is superior to the people that it is serving. Rather, it should be bent upon connecting to the community in any manner that it can, because if it tries, the community can be a great force for the police people to get their work done right and on time. (Philip, 2002) References 1. Newburn, Tim (2005) Policing: Key Readings 2. Wright, Alan (2002) Policing: An Introduction to Concepts and Practice 3. Kinnane, Adrian (1979) Policing 4. Rawlings, Philip (2002) Policing: A Short History 5. Oliver, William (2007) Community Oriented Policing: A Systematic Approach to Policing 6. Brogden, Mike (2005) Community Policing issues related to the design, operation and management 7. Feltes, Thomas (1993) Community Policing: Comparative Aspects of Community Oriented Police Work Read More